How Do You Let Go?

[Canibul]

Almost three years ago now we bought a 30 year old boat. And to make that decision even more ridiculous, we bought THIS one because we couldn't get the one we wanted. So we bought an identical one that had been sadly neglected. It's so funny, now, years later, reading words like "refit" and " spent two years in the yard" and realizing how little I understood them at the time I first dismissed them. I had no clue how far I was going to get into this old boat. From a dark, dank stinking mystery of a boat we were ashamed to be seen on, I've now gotten to the point where I doubt that there is one square foot of interior surface on that boat that I haven't touched. I could post dozens of photos very similar those Ex-Calif has posted. I have now completely worn out four pairs of Carhartt canvas shorts just working on the boat. Translate that into the wear and tear and just pure friction of doing physical work inside bilges and engine rooms.

And the boat and I are changing together. I know a lot about this boat. I've rebuilt, replaced, or repaired every single system on board. I'm getting real comfortable with the boat now. It's starting to feel like home.

I don't think that happens if you buy a boat and never work on it. You never really know it. Kind of like renting a car.
Never buy a boat that's not speaking to you. And never act on any decisions made between three AM and sunrise.

[Sandero]

Julie,
As you know and has been pointed out several times... a boat is not an financial investment. It something you ENJOY spending money on, working on, living on.in, sailing and so on. Getting the balance is key. Most sailors LIKE or LOVE to fiddle with their boats... but not at the expense of not being able to enjoy sailing and living aboard.
It sounds like this will depend on how extensive the refit is and how much time on the hard in the yard is involved. If that calculus shows you can get in the water AND of course continue the refit/perfection... then go for it. You will be forever perfecting your boat because of entropy... boats need lots of TLC. And that sound like something you are not averse to.
Of course reality check means you must be able to afford this Bad Girl... near and long term... sweat equity or paying sub contractors.
Seems like this will come down to the survey.
Good luck with that. I think you may have found your future.

[FollowingCs]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I am so not the typical engineer.

I am constantly surprised at how many engineers I find sailing and living aboard. We are supposed to be logical, but seems it is a 50/50 chance that someone I chat with about sailing is an engineer.

~ Following Cs ~
BSEE by schooling, software engineer by trade for 25 years.

[jaybird1111]

somewhere, i have heard this said: "Never fall in love with a boat until after you've bought it."

[Julie Mor]

ROUND 1:
Ms. Emotional came out swinging with powerful jabs of visual imagery Ms. Logical was ill prepared to handle.

You step up into the companionway just before dawn. You feel a drop of morning dew fall onto your cheek from the boom above and see the love of your life at the helm. "Good morning, Sunshine."

"Good morning, Beautiful. How far away are we?"

"Not far. I've been seeing something on the horizon the last few minutes, but it could just be from staring too long."

"You let me sleep past my shift."

"I went to wake you but you looked so at peace, I just couldn't disturb you. You know me, I'm a night owl but this is the best part of the day."

You smile and turn toward the bow and see the sun just peeking over the azure horizon. The pearls of morning dew glisten on the cabin roof. A gust heels the boat to port and you feel her quicken her pace a bit. The only sound is the bow creasing the waves as it reflects back off the genoa and there's a slight din of music. You hear Malo playing Suavecito softly in sky.

And then, the unmistakable sight of land sits just over the port bow as the sun begins heating the day. What treasures and pleasures will this landfall bring? Your heart quickens as tranquility blankets your soul.

She's not the Bad Girl anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrG8-dv-DRs

Round 1: Ms. Emotional

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Canibul

And the boat and I are changing together. I know a lot about this boat. I've rebuilt, replaced, or repaired every single system on board. I'm getting real comfortable with the boat now. It's starting to feel like home.

I don't think that happens if you buy a boat and never work on it. You never really know it. Kind of like renting a car.
Never buy a boat that's not speaking to you. And never act on any decisions made between three AM and sunrise.

This is a little different than buying a hunk of fiberglass to go boating in.

You can certainly buy a boat to go places in, but if you want to do it holistically and get the most out of the experience, you're going to have to meld with that boat, so choose a boat that speaks to you from the beginning.

[mserafi1]

Almost a year ago I was where you are now. My perfect sail boat popped up on the Internet for an absurdly low price at a time when I wasn't planning on taking on additional projects. Abandoned at the dock (it's owner an involuntary guest of the county), was a puppy with sad eyes begging me to take it home. After further negotiation, she was mine and the process of rehabilitation began. Two months on the hard took care of the hull, masthead instruments, and rebuild of the auto-prop. The next eight months (at the dock) I replaced all the running rigging, installed new led lighting, re commissioned all the systems, performed maintenance where needed, and replaced anything that was worn out. "Escaped From New York" is now my perfect boat, exactly the way I want it to be. Shake down is scheduled for next week (if new rope clutches come in as promised&#128540 and I can hardly wait to make the first passage into the gulf. Looking back, I guess my natural tendency to be patient and willingness to invest now for future rewards paid off. A "perfect" boat at a great price.

Mike S.
Cape Coral, Fl.
"Escaped From New York"

[nimblemotors]

Make a low-ball offer on it, contingent on approval from the CF crew, then you can show the boat and get some firm opinions.

I don't believe the boat will need a lot of boatyard work, maybe a couple of months at the most

So that means it will take a couple years in the boatyard...does your partner have any interest in working on this boat?

[bsurvey]

hire a surveyor to go through the boat and give you a list of what is wrong. you can save money by going with him and taking the notes. so he won't charge you for a formal report and office time.


after review of the findings if you buy the boat you can pay him the office time to write a formal survey for insurance ect.


don't let emotions sway you. don't take on someone else's problem

[SV Siren]

I am at the very moment you are at right now. I have the contract to offer (after negotiating a verbal agreement over the phone) beneath my computer mouse as I type. This is for a boat that just makes my heart sing. I have friends and family who think I am nuts, and they may be a little right, but I have a history of being nuts to them. That said, this boat is one that I have lusted after since I saw her, and sailed on one. It is a project, don't get me wrong, but the bones are very good, and much of the work is cosmetic, but still, it needs work, oh, and a new engine, it is priced accordingly...and in my budget to replace.

I have a habit of taking on projects, but they all have been projects that spoke to my heart, with a little tempering from my head. Without your heart being in something, you will never really continue to love it, especially when things get difficult, or take longer than you thought. It is those times, that you can look at her, and just picture the outcome in your mind. In the time I will spend working on her, I will come to know her every system, and nuance, and it will be the way I want it.

That being said, I will sign the offer today, and send it in. A survey will be coming next, and I will be anxious as to how that comes out, any major unexpected items will be a deal breaker...which is my head talking. I would rather offer than not, better to know then always wonder what would have happened...but in the end I will wind up with a boat that will make my head turn every time I leave her.

[roland stockham]

You will so kick yourself if you don't do this, did you pick girlfriends on logic so why boats, they don't call them she for nothing!

[JulieMac]

Is buying a boat akin with the decision to have children?

You know the years of work involved. It will prove expensive. As an investment? Better to place your money in the markets. Will you be hurt and disappointed by the experience? Most certainly, yes.

But still, we most often go with our heart. Our lives are enriched with memories and heart flutters that no other experience can deliver. Will we be poorer for our decision? Monetarily yes, but experientially, no.

Sail on, Suavecito.

[Cheechako]

Quote:
I don't believe the boat will need a lot of boatyard work, maybe a couple of months at the most ...."

"So that means it will take a couple years in the boatyard...does your partner have any interest in working on this boat?"

Haha... aint it true!
It sounds like Julie has looked fairly intensely at the boat, which wasn't apparent in the original post. At this point only she/they can make that decision....
Sooner or later you have to go with something. I've never found the right boat in the right condition....

[Terra Nova]

When you want it bad, you get it bad.

[pshaydon]

Julie,


I did the same thing 25 years ago with a Freedom 44. Been wanting one since I saw one at the boat show in 1982. The surveyor said she needed a lot of cleaning and TLC, but that she would out last me in a gale so I made the decision to make an offer. I sent in a low number and thought I would be laughed away, but to my surprise was accepted. My life changed greatly, but the hours spent working on the boat and then sailing her have been well worth it. Now I am in the twilight of my years and planning a cruise to the Bahamas and beyond. Life is too short to look back and realize that "I could have done that, why didn't I?" Anyway, listen to the surveyor and then send in a lowball offer, and then have fun bringing her back to life. But most of all enjoy the trip.


Peter