How Do You Let Go?

[Julie Mor]

There's a boat my heart wants but my brain tells me to run away. It's been neglected, even forgotten and it needs a lot of work... but it has great bones, great potential and I can't let it go. The moment I stepped aboard, like being away for years, I was home.

We've looked at a lot of nice boats, but I keep being drawn back to the "bad girl." This boat is the "bad girl" because she's like the one your parents told you will be nothing but trouble. And even if you know they are right, you can't get her out of your mind.

She was all but forgotten when, a couple of months back, I found out the owner dropped the price. And back I came. I looked at the pictures and videos I took, remembered the times I was aboard her, and dreamed about sailing her into a new port - again and again.

Common sense won over and I was about to forget her, for the third time. Then I heard the price dropped again. With the gravitational pull of a black hole, I started getting drawn back in once more. Three time's a charm?

Once again, I pulled out the arsenal of logical reasons why I need to forget about her and it started working. Then my partner, weakened by a mean winter that won't go away, said, "Maybe we should just put in an offer and get the hell out of here!" My knees buckled, my head spun round, I heard the Sirens' sweet voices calling me back.

I've called out to Amphitrite, the Goddess of the Sea, and begged her to end this suffering. I'm still waiting for a reply.

[Sandero]

Julie,
I don't know the boat and if you can hop aboard and sail away and the price is right... why not?

But you do not it needs a lot of work. If that is OK with you and you can use her and do the work to at the same time... again... why not?

I've seen some very cool boats on the hard for years as owners lovingly refit them. I suppose their itch to sail is not strong enough or they enjoy working in the boat yard.

I work on the boat year round and with intensity at Spring commissioning time. I prefer having the boat in the water and useable.. not as a project.

I am sure you will make the right decision. And how cool will that be? VERY!

[brantleychuck]

What great writing. I hope you get her and continue to write so expressively about all the adventures to come.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Cheechako]

Eventually you just have to pull the trigger. But if your head is telling you "walk away" after not looking real intensely at it... your head is likely right. Figure 3 to 4 times the work and stuff that you actually see will need done.
It's easy to buy... not so easy to make it right....


Yes, those price drops etc really do get you thinking... but beware... a better price still doesn't get you sailing vs being a boat mechanic...

[sailorchic34]

Bad Girl would make a great boat name too. You only live once.

After all the spreadsheets and logic, the boat that pulls the heart strings is the one too get.

If it's not a wood boat, go for it. Every boat is a project boat. If it floats and the engine runs then all the work can be done aboard. Been there, done that.

[barnaclejim]

I agree with Sailorchic34, that overactive brain is just gonna continue to send up red flags. Besides a year in a boatyard builds character, and until you have seen all the way under her knickers and feel secure about all those moving parts you wont feel as secure when the weather takes a turn. Not much more exciting than a woman who smells of epoxy, diesel with a hint of bilge. Thats Amore!

[ctl411]

Sounds like you found your boat. I don't mind a "project" boat at all. For me it needs to be usable now. It may not shine but it must be cheap and a decent ( in my mind) deal. If you love the boat, that's all that matters.

[Island Time O25]

Think of this boat as your potential partner. Your brain may say no, your parents may say no, your friends may say no. But at the end if your "you know what" tells you yes than you climb on for the ride. And even if in the end it turns out to be a disaster everyone warned you about - we only live once and it's the ride that matters as the destination is the same for everyone.

[four winds]

Bad Girl, Bad Girl, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when the winds come for you?

The heart is mightier than the wrench.

My humble vessel has spent one month on the hard in the last eight years. Sold my pickup in December and spent every penny on the boat in January. It's far from perfect still.

Everything I own is floating now. Currently wandering along the Gulf coast towards Appalachia with $201 dollars in my pocket and no job or income. I welcome the unknown.

Reason is the usurper of the sublime.

Sorry for the useless post.

[a64pilot]

I'd throw a real low ball offer out there, one you know they won't take.
It's what I did, and darned if they didn't take it, but there was a caveat, as is, where is.
And I searched like the Devil trying to find something bad wrong, but couldn't.
Still haven't

[letsgetsailing3]

See: The road not taken, by Robert Frost.

If something tugs at your heart, do a calculation. If you can make it make sense, do the thing that pulls you for whatever reason.

It's very easy to do what everyone else would do. It's also a little boring. To say it differently, you generally regret more the things you didn't do than the things you do.

[rognvald]

Julie,
A few things to think about:

1. Romance and Reality are Polar opposites
2. Do you want to sail the boat or work on it?
3. Are you capable of working on things other than cosmetic:
Rotten decks, chainplates, engine, rigging, sails, structural issues,
blisters,etc, or will you have to pay a professional?
4. Do you have adequate funds to buy supplies or pay for a
professional?
5. Do you want to be a boatyard sailor that is always going to launch
next month, but never does?
6. Most "deals" do not end as well as 64 Pilot's which is why there
are countless boats nationwide that have been abandoned in
marinas.
7. Have you considered why the owner keeps dropping his price?
Why hasn't someone bought it already? If it's a real deal,
there will be players. And finally . . .
8. Most healthy, intelligent women I've known like "Bad Boys,"
however, they rarely marry them. . . great for a fling, but
not long term.
Hope this gives you some food for thought. Good luck and good sailing.

[sailorboy1]

I don't really understand why anyone would even look at a boat that their brain said no to.

You are suppose to go look at boats your brain is agreeable to, and out of those get the one your heart says to.

If this boat followed that you would have gotten it already.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Julie,
A few things to think about:

1. Romance and Reality are Polar opposites

If that's the case, you're doing something wrong. There is no reward without some risk.

I'm not saying do something stupid, but if you can mitigate the risks in a reasonable way, risk gets rewarded. Hard work is OK. Impossible, wishful thinking isn't. You have to decide which this is.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

If that's the case, you're doing something wrong. There is no reward without some risk.

I'm not saying do something stupid, but if you can mitigate the risks in a reasonable way, risk gets rewarded. Hard work is OK. Impossible, wishful thinking isn't. You have to decide which this is.

Perhaps I should rephrase that for clarity: Romanticism and Reality are polar opposites. I did not mean "Romantic "literally, as in Romance, but rather in a philosophical/literary sense.
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