About Us

This blog is our ship’s log...a journal of sorts...recording our destinations and notes about people, places, things, and activities – plus photographs and boat maintenance records. We also have family and friends who like to keep track of us.

We are Janine and Nick Mott of Tacoma, WA. We took delivery of Touch of Gray, an American Tug 362, on March 15, 2021. We look forward to many years of plying the waters of the Salish Sea and beyond. The boat is permanently moored at the Foss Harbor Marina. We live just a few miles away at Pt. Ruston.

We’ve had small fishing boats over the years but our first cruising boat was Pelican, a 2017 Ranger Tugs R-25 (delivery August 31, 2016.) What we didn’t realize when we got that first Ranger is how much we would both enjoy cruising! So, that next summer while at a factory gathering in Poets Cove, we decided to upgrade.

Europa, our 2017 29-foot Ranger Tugs Sedan, was delivered to us in the Foss Waterway in late July, 2017. They made it easy for us, taking Pelican as a trade-in.

Europa and Pelican

After we both retired at the end of June 2019, we began cruising for much longer periods of time aboard Europa…enjoying it more and more. By the summer of 2020, we decided we wanted something a bit bigger and more stable.

We began looking at larger boats, comparing apples, oranges…and, oh I don’t know…raspberries? So many makes, models, new/used, features, pros, cons…you name it! We had always admired American Tugs and after visiting their La Conner factory on our way home from the San Juan Islands in August 2020, we landed on the AT 362.

We typically cruise at around 6 knots, enjoying the scenery, watching wildlife, and not worrying…as much…about debris in the water.

We enjoy many activities when boating. Lots of walks…there is absolutely nothing like island hiking! We like to kayak - our two orange kayaks are typically on our upper deck rails, making us easy to spot! Touch of Gray has afforded us the opportunity to carry a much more robust and accessible dinghy, a 10-foot AB with a 20hp outboard. It's much more than our previous "get-to-shore" tenders, and we do a lot more exploring by dinghy.

We are part of the Waggoner Cruising Guide's team of volunteer Field Correspondents, helping to find out and share what's new and different in the places we visit. We occasionally write articles as well. 

As the 2022 boating season begins, we are excited to travel north into Canadian waters for a change.

Bon voyage!