FINALLY!!!!

M

Montana Salty

New member
After over a decade of planning we did it, we bought our boat this past week. We purchased Salty from an extremely nice guy in Anacortes and could not be happier. San Juans here we come......well..... as soon as these two "very new to boating" get enough confidence to do so....hope to meet some of you in that area and get a lot of help on boating, fishing, crabbing......if you may remember we are the retired ranchers from Montana and very new to boating....
 
Craig & Julie,

Congratulations! :thup You picked the right group to hang out with online. Any chance you'll be able to attend the Friday Harbor CBGT (C-Brat Get Together)? There will be Brats leaving from all the nearby launch areas so finding one to buddy-boat with shouldn't be a problem.

Hope to see you there.
 
I think that gathering is one week before we will be over to pick Salty up...... :cry: You can bet we will do our best to let the group know when we will be that direction....we need all the help we can get and are hoping we can find someone to boat with until we feel a bit more confident. We do plan to bring Salty back to Montana to enjoy on our beautiful lakes here and then do some trips to the San Juans as much as our schedule will allow. It's a very long drive from here. :wink:
 
Congratulations--and welcome aboard to the "new" boat! You live in a beautiful part of the world--but cold in the winter. Take that boat on down South--its not that far to Florida when its minus 30!
 
Welcome to the fold. It's a great group here. I love your part of the country. As a fly fisherman, I've been to many parts of Montana. I've fished the Clark Fork, Rock Creek, the Bitteroot, the Locsha, and the Selway [ok the latter two are in Idaho] in the Western part of Montana. Out of Bozeman there is....ok, just too many to name. Summer is just around the corner.
 
Congratulations! We are happy for you. It seems like we have so much in common with the new C-Dory adventures, animals and almost being neighbors. We really look forward to meeting you both. I plan to finish up with this Alaska firefighting distraction soon, so we can either meet up for a boating adventure or a Selway Bitteroot Wilderness backcountry adventure with our four legged critters. :D
 
Craig and Julie,

Congratulations! Yes, nothing like that day you purchase your own C-Dory, biggest smile on my face when I did the paperwork and took her home. We enjoy the heck out of ours and am adding stuff each year. To dos: Build a PVC rack over cabin for shrimp/crab pots and other storage. Built forward facing seat on port side for cruising.

Enjoy!

Patrick and Kim
 
Hi back to you all and thanks for the welcome..you will mostly hear from me, Julie, as Craig does not like computer stuff but he will ask me to ask a question etc......this is all so exciting for us...we are both retired, husband from the phone company, 43 years, and me, from the local power company, 23 years. And we have a very small hobby ranch in western Montana with a few Herefords and some horses. We may have met some of you at the Seattle Boat show over the last decade as we would come a lot to add more information to our dream of one day owning a C Dory. That dream came through with one simple phone call about Salty......talk about fate. We called on the perfect right day as Salty had not even been listed for sale.....It was meant to be. I had a picture of Craig taken in 2009 oogling Salty at the dock on one of our trips to Anacortes. I will post that picture today. We have chatted with a few ( Kenn and Harriet) and have heard for some of you during our search........we are so excited. Hope to meet you all!!!!
 
Congratulations, Craig and Julie. It's a heady experience as you contemplate all the adventures you will have aboard Salty. Since you said you are new to boating, I'd recommend you both take a US Power Squadron or US Coast Guard Aux safe boating class. Besides all the great information you will get, you will meet other boaters who will have questions you might not have considered. It's a great way to learn the basics.

http://www.americasboatingcourse.com/seminars.cfm

There are lots of very friendly Brats in the PNW who will be willing to give you some guidance. There may be the opportunity to tag along on a week-end or a day trip, to help "get your feet wet" (not literally).

Again, congratulations on achieving a decade-long goal. Besides the joy you will get from owning that great boat, you can look forward to your lawn looking worse, your job seeming less important, warm places accessible by trailer in the wintertime gaining importance, and significant wardrobe changes (boat shoes do go with most everything).

Welcome aboard!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Welcome, I know you'll have a lot fun with your new toy. One downer, please, please take a boating course. Power Squadron, Coast Guard Auxiliary, on line, anywhere. Believe me, you'll enjoy boating more and stay in it longer if you do.
 
Craig and Julie, congratulations on your recent investment. I've seen your vessel in the past in Anacortes. "Hearing" that you live in the Bitterroot Valley conjures up a number of memorable experiences for me. In the early 60's I worked a couple of summers on a cattle ranch south of Victor (It was across the highway from "Rocky's Rock Shop"). As a high school student at the time, I worked for board and room for myself and my horse and earned a bit of cash as well. On one occasion drove a tractor to Victor for a milkshake and on several occasions rode the horse to town for milkshakes. Good memories of swimming in the Bitterroot etc.
 
Give us a call when you get to Anacortes if you need any help or just to visit with another Brat. PM me for the phone number.

Warren
 
It's just me again, to reply to several...I am new at this so please forgive me if I error on sending replies....
@ Warren, might take you up on your offer next time we head to Anacortes....just came home from there Friday....please hold the rain for our next visit, okay?
@Dave S don't you just love our valley.....we live where most come to vacation. (non boaters).....I think Rockys Rock Shop is still there. We still use our horses to "pack in" to the wilderness areas of our state too.
@ Jim from Texas.....I am a Texas transplant....born in Wichita Falls, still own some property there and have an older brother in Dallas..... and for you and @ Allen and Genie regarding the Coast Guard Boating Safety. Thanks for the excellent information. Craig spent all last winter with that exact manual but we have not taken the course we will look into it for sure... We both know we are not ready for a huge cruise anywhere and we will take things very slow. Les at EQ said he will spend a day with us on Coronet Bay too before we go anywhere with Salty. Our plan is to use Salty on our lakes here without the worry of tides and currents and to both learn how to use the navigation devices. Gosh you guys are all So nice! :D
 
Craig & Julie - The C-Brat folks are really unique. Only a few cranks among us and many, many folks full of useful hints and experiences. Remember all of us had to start from scratch and learn the ropes. When you settle down you are still close to good boating in Montana and Idaho. If you really like isolation and the feel of big fresh water, Fort Peck isn't too shabby. I circumnavigated that water, all 1,500 miles of shore line in the 90s. It's different. But the San Juans and the Gulf Islands! Ye Gods. Died and gone to heaven.

I haven't many years left to boat, but hopefully, our bows will cross.
Best wishes and congratulations for making such a good decision.
John aka Yellowstone
 
Congrats on your new boat, and whatever you do, PLEASE take the boating safety course - we took the Power Squadron course, but CG Auxiliary or whatever, please do it! It will make your boating experience SO much more enjoyable to have confidence in your knowledge of rules of the road, good safety practices and basic navigation. You can always tell the folks who haven't taken the course, they are the ones you see aground on the wrong side of the buoys and daymarks!
 
In regards to boating safety course.......we do plan to take the course. ...Craig spent last winter with the Coast Guard Auxiallary manual in his lap, at his desk, every day. He is a huge manual guy and he did take one boating safety course on line already for Washington State. I think he plans to have RRR tattooed on his forhead and has drilled me several times on RED, RIGHT, RETURNING!! :lol:
 
Hi remember us......well we did it, our maiden voyage on Salty today....after a quick run through with Les from EQ we actually got away from the dock. By ourselves too...And didn't even run into anything....What a perfect day for our first outing. Weather was beautiful with winds calm and bright sunshine...we left the rain in Montana... Everyone here at Cap Sante couldn't be nicer....for total greenhorns like us it was the perfect day. Dan the guy that put Salty in the water was very nice and helpful. Saw our first sea wildlife as a seal popped up in the wake of the boat as we cruised along at breakneck speed of 6K....we don't want to get too wild out there. I know most of you are rolling with laughter at the thought of us getting excited about seeing a seal but where we live the only wildlife we see is a pesky raccoon or skunk..tomorrow Craig says I have to drive and dock.....everyone look out and stay away from P dock....woman driver......now I won't be able to sleep tonight. However, I really think I am going to like this life! :D
 
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