We Found a Cruise-A-Home [#2]

In November 2016 we came across a completely gutted Cruise-A-Home in Friday Harbor, Washington.  It was more of a project then we were looking for, but the price was something we could afford.  I emailed the seller a couple of times before finally deciding to make the trip to go see it.  My husband, son and I decided to go, but our daughter wasn't interested in joining us.  We had to take 3 ferries, which took all day, to get to Friday Harbor from where we live in Bremerton, but it was a pretty fun trip.  The ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor was crazy expensive -$59- but the ride was beautiful, and the island has always been quite a treasure. 



We had a wonderful overnight stay at the Earth Box Inn and the best New York pizza at Cousin Vinny's Café.  The next day we went to The Bait Shop for fish and chips before getting back to the ferry. Definitely bring lots of cash, they upcharge tourists here. 

Anyway, as soon as we landed we headed to the marina and saw the Cruise-A-Home.  From a distance the exterior it looked great, and I got really excited.  As we made our way closer, we realized it was not as pretty as we initially thought.

But then we actually climbed onboard and went inside.  It was dark and dingy with wires sticking out everywhere. If you have ever seen the TV series "Breaking Bad" you would have thought this was the floating version of a meth lab.
The company who owned it, Friday Harbor Marine, had been using it as a satellite station for their Mobile Mechanic Service.  The Friday Harbor Marine building had caught fire a few years back and this boat had become their saving grace for keeping their business afloat.  They had been using as a floating repair shop for the last couple of years and it really showed.  The inside had a work bench, peg board shelves, and tools galore.  Fortunately, they had rebuilt their mechanic shop and no longer needed this boat and were selling it for $9000.

Once we got passed the dark and dingy we noticed that it had a new water tank, new water heater, new fuel tank, new water lines and manifold, and new electrical panels.  We asked about this and found out that prior to their fire, the company owners had originally purchased it for personal use and were in the process of doing a complete tear down and restoration.  Unfortunately their loss caused them to change course and instead they used it as a temporary shop until they could get things rebuilt and re-established.  Now that they were back on course, they no longer had an interest in continuing with the restoration process.  

The mechanic who had been working on her explained to us everything he had done before the fire as well as the maintenance he had been doing since.  He had put in a new vacu-flush system and holding tank, new water and fuel tanks, a new water system with labeled manifold, new hot water heater, new framing in the ceiling and walls in many places, and new battery banks.  They had installed a new electrical panel but had just started re-wiring the boat before the fire so it would need to be finished, though he recommended pulling all the wiring and starting over to ensure there was no corrosion or broken wires anywhere.  All in all it was a good start on a rebuild on a solid hull. 


We knew this boat was way more of a project than we really wanted, but with all the mechanical replacements in new condition and the only thing really needed was cosmetic, some minor fiberglass work and the interior finished, we discussed, really I begged and pleaded, and I convinced my husband we could do this and that it would be a good investment.


We offered Friday Harbor $7000 plus $250 for delivery to Port Townsend and made the purchase on Presidents Weekend, November 2016.  We were excited and scared because this boat was going to be a big undertaking, but we now owned it, mess and all!

The Story continues.....