This one's just a couple of guys shooting the breeze — Tim headed across a windy Elliott Bay to Shilshole to sit on Mike Ainsworth's boat (First Light Guide Service, part of Best Seattle Fishing) ahead of the summer fishing season in Puget Sound. No agenda, just talking shop: what the season's looking like, old crab bait stories, a swapped-pot heist, WD-40'd herring, and a boat tour along the way. If you've ever wanted to eavesdrop on two people who love this stuff nerd out for an hour, this is that episode.

Matt and Tim take a walk through a 2018 Ocean Alexander 70e while it's in the yard at Pacific Coast Yachting Services.

The conversation covers the features that stand out on this owner-operated cruising boat, including the hydraulic swim platform, multiple outdoor living spaces, enclosed flybridge, four-stateroom layout, and a surprisingly accessible engine room. Along the way, Matt shares why Ocean Alexander made certain design decisions and how features like Volvo IPS drives, Dockmate, lithium batteries, and modern onboard systems affect the ownership experience.

Seattle boater and entrepreneur Dave Siegfried joins Matt and Tim to discuss a challenge every cruiser faces: making good decisions about weather, tides, currents, fuel, and timing before leaving the dock. Drawing from years of boating throughout the Pacific Northwest, Dave shares how his experiences on the water led to the development of TidePilot.ai, a new AI planning tool designed to bring critical trip-planning information into one place.

In this episode of Floatplan, Matt and Tim step aboard a highly-optioned 2020 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer to explore how Sea Ray has reimagined the model for modern boating. From bowrider-style seating and a coupe hardtop to joystick docking, a hydraulic swim platform, retractable SureShade awning, and surprising overnight accommodations, this boat blends dayboat fun with genuine cruising capability.

We’re joined by Natalie Yuse of Deckhand Detailing and Max French of Pacific Coast Yachting Services to talk about what buyers really notice, the red flags that scare them away, and where owners should invest time and money before listing their boat.

In this episode of Floatplan, Matt and Tim are joined by Paul Zimmer of S3 Maritime and Nigel Barron of Platypus Marine to talk through what boat owners should actually fix before selling, what buyers notice first, and which survey findings most often derail deals.

This week on Floatplan podcast, Matt and Tim step aboard another iconic Northwest pilothouse yacht: the 58’ West Bay Sonship.

Join us aboard this locally owned (and available for sale) 1998 58’ West Bay Sonship Esperanca as we tour the cockpit, pilothouse, flybridge, staterooms, engine room, and lazarette while discussing thoughtful layouts, serviceability, maintenance considerations, and the features that make these yachts ideal for Northwest and extended cruising.

Matt and Tim sit down aboard a 1998 58' West Bay to tackle one of boating's most important — and most avoided — conversations: succession planning. From building your boat into your estate plan, to making sure the next generation is insured and capable of running it, to avoiding family conflict when it's time to sell, this episode covers the practical steps every boat owner should take now, while the boating is still good.

In this episode of Floatplan, Matt & Tim join Carrington Cyr, founder of Carrington Marine and a master Mercury technician with nearly 20 years of exclusive Mercury experience, aboard a Blackfin boat on the water in Seattle. Carrington shares his journey from GM-certified automotive tech to marine specialist, and how he eventually launched his own Mercury Marine dealership from scratch just 11 months ago.

In this episode, we sit down with Jose Gallegos of Gallegos Yacht and Boat Service to talk about what proper boat care really involves, from routine washing and detailing to major repairs and refinishing projects. We discuss how often boats should be cleaned and waxed, what happens when maintenance is delayed, and why preventative care is almost always less expensive than restoration.