New (to me)
Boat Day.
I've posted a few times here asking for
advice. I'm looking for a cruiser. I've done my share of
racing, enough to realize I'm a cruiser. Don't get me wrong, I've won a few races in my day, but its not the type of sailing bug that bit me.
I started to zero in on a
c&c 25, and received support from my friends here.
Its a good
boat, but at the end of the day, I want to be able to stand up or lie down comfortably in my
cabin.
I kept looking at a boat forsale not far from me but couldn't get excited about the A4
engine. I kept putting off looking at it. I spent a lot of time thinking about and reading comments about the A4, I decided I might be a little too
diesel biased.
The boat I'm going to buy was owned by a local
marine shop. It was previously owned by a couple setting it up as a
liveaboard, but their plans changed. The
marine shop owners also operate a Christian organization that takes donated boats, fixes them up, sells them and donates the
money. They spent a lot of time on this one. It helps that I know the shop owners and have complete trust in them.
So this Saturday I'm going down to buy a fairly close to pristine
Columbia 8.7. I read some comments from folks here who don't love the 8.7, but this one has everything I need, except for a shiny new
yanmar. That's my compromise. FWIW, the guys said the A4 was fine when they got it, but they rebuilt it anyway. I'm a happy sailor.