Hello from Annapolis

[Suijin]

Hello everyone.

I'm new to this board, as of today, but not new to sailing. I grew up on the water on the north shore of Long Island, in an old cedar shake house right on a creek at the back of a bay that I could literally hit it with a stone thrown from my bedroom window. I grew up sailing almost everyday that the weather was good enough, either on a sunfish or sailfish, then Blue Jays and 470s, and then an Atlantic class 30' day sailor (gawd that was a great boat). Our family was the proud owner of a 30' wooden Cheoy Lee that we sailed each summer up as far north as we could, up the Sound to Provincetown and beyond. A couple of summers we made it as far as Maine and back. My father finally sold that boat and we chartered from then on, usually boats we knew, around 50' or so. I've sailed down the east coast as far as Cape Lookout, and in the Grenadines as well.

Over the past 10 years I've lived in Washington DC and crewed on friends' boats, around the Chesapeake with the occasional run up the coast to Martha's Vineyard.

I'm in my early 50's and will be newly single soon. And I'm going to pursue the dream that I've had ever since I was a little boy of living on a boat. I'll be moving to Annapolis in the next month or so (45 minutes from DC) and I've had a few conversations with a broker about finding a 50-60' boat. I've owned a few boats over the years but never a big cruiser so the process of deciding what I want and looking at candidates is going to be an adventure in and of itself.

I've lurked here in the past and witnessed the incredible well of information that all of you contribute to. I look forward to being the beneficiary of that in the months and years to come and maybe even giving something back too.

[Kache Walk]

Welcome Suijin. Nice to have you here and in the neighborhood. I just bought my boat in Annapolis last year and am happy to share what I learned from that experience if you like, re buyers broker, survey etc. PM me.

I am looking to build my skill set to head up to P-Town and eventually to Maine and further North. Would love to hear your stories. There's a thread here on sailing to Labrador...

[Suijin]

Hello Kache!

I would love to pick your brain about working with brokers and surveyors. I have a pretty good sense of how the brokerage business works and I have actually had a few boats surveyed, but never in Annapolis and never for such a big boat. Of additional interest (euphemism for "anxiety") to me is also all the red tape stuff, such as papers and insurance, as well as selecting a home marina in Annapolis/Deale.

I'm leaning towards berthing in Annapolis, despite the increased cost, because I'll be living on the boat and I think Annapolis would be a more interesting place to be. My brother in law keeps his Rhodes in Deale and other than Skipper's there does not seem to be a whole lot there to pass the time.

I feel pretty good about the broker that I've been talking to. He's easy going and knowledgeable and already seems to have a good understanding of exactly where I am in my "process." He's at Annapolis Yacht Sales which I picked after some very brief googling.

I'll definitely drop you an IM.

BTW, "Suijin" is the Shinto god of water. I'm not big on Japanese mythology but all the other water gods were taken for usernames, lol

[Mark1977]

Welcome aboard.

[Amapola]

Welcome and greetings from southwest Florida! We used to keep our Tayana 37 on Weems Creek in Annapolis. It's a great place for boaters.

[BlackOak]

Welcome! Spent some time in Annapolis, went to school at Bates Middle, then Annapolis High back in the early 70's. Worked that boat shows every season I was there, for a little jingle in my pocket, worked the annapolis yacht club, and fleet reserve as a busboy/dishwasher when there was no boat show. I liked it there when I was a kid, it was a cool place to grow up. trashing around serverna park, eastport, hillsmere, racing on riva road, and riding down to route 50 headed to PG County when wine and beer was legal to buy at 18. Good times back then, and going to OC was a summer ritual!

[Kache Walk]

Hey Suijin,

Many paths, one water God they say...um, well, maybe only I say.

Even though I am in Deale, I like your thinking on Annapolis. There's lots going on there, including Rams Head, a small music venue with less than 500 seats with some good music coming through. There are a few marinas with an active liveaboard community. I bought my boat from a liveaboard at Port Annapolis. But hey, the thing about having a boat is you can dock it in one place for awhile and move it when you want to see life from another perspective. I'll stay in Deale for at least another year and reconsider. I pay about what you would in Annapolis but I like the amenities - a strong community isn't one of them. Many many times I am the only one in my part of the marina on a cold winter's night. That has its own perks, though.

You have more experience than I with boating, but just wanted to point out the benefits of a buyer's broker - they cost you nothing (they're paid a commission by the seller) and represent you, not a seller or listing. For me, as a newbie, this was essential in the price negotiation phase.

Wishing you the best. Stay in touch.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Welcome to CF suijin !

Oyster and Swan make pretty decent 50-60 footers.... Let me know if you need help with the shakedown cruise....

[Suijin]

Kache, I've actually been to the Ram's Head a bunch of times. I love venues like that and am a regular at the Birchmere when The Neville Brothers or Hot Tuna comes into town. Looking forward to being close to good music.

I just finished some casual research on marinas in Annapolis. The range in rates, amenities, and poshness seems to be pretty broad. Basically I'm going to want showers, laundry and fuel. I could care less about pools and that sort of fluff. From the looks of it there are a few options that seem to be a good value, particularly in Eastport.

As far as brokers go, I'm headed to Annapolis sometime this coming week to meet the broker I've been talking to F2F. I asked him to outline the process and his role and who he represents and he said it basically is like real estate with brokers rarely selling their own listings to their own clients and working the vast majority of the time through seller's brokers and splitting the commission. I had mentioned one boat to him that I had seen in their listings and he was quick to mention that the listed price was "pretty soft" given a survey that had been done recently that turned up a fairly major issue. He seems pretty forthcoming so far. I'll get a better measure of him when I meet him.

Happy, I would love and Oyster or Swan but they are entirely out of my price range. I did however see a Hinkley that was within my grasp although it's a traditional transom so the cabin space is much less. I grew up admiring Hinkleys from afar as in the NE they were the pinnacle of cruising sailing yachts at that time. Just gorgeous. Ah, the tension between aesthetics and usability. I'm sure it's going to be a constant companion for me as I look for my new home.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Kache, I've actually been to the Ram's Head a bunch of times. I love venues like that and am a regular at the Birchmere when The Neville Brothers or Hot Tuna comes into town. Looking forward to being close to good music.

I just finished some casual research on marinas in Annapolis. The range in rates, amenities, and poshness seems to be pretty broad. Basically I'm going to want showers, laundry and fuel. I could care less about pools and that sort of fluff. From the looks of it there are a few options that seem to be a good value, particularly in Eastport.

As far as brokers go, I'm headed to Annapolis sometime this coming week to meet the broker I've been talking to F2F. I asked him to outline the process and his role and who he represents and he said it basically is like real estate with brokers rarely selling their own listings to their own clients and working the vast majority of the time through seller's brokers and splitting the commission. I had mentioned one boat to him that I had seen in their listings and he was quick to mention that the listed price was "pretty soft" given a survey that had been done recently that turned up a fairly major issue. He seems pretty forthcoming so far. I'll get a better measure of him when I meet him.

Happy, I would love and Oyster or Swan but they are entirely out of my price range. I did however see a Hinkley that was within my grasp although it's a traditional transom so the cabin space is much less. I grew up admiring Hinkleys from afar as in the NE they were the pinnacle of cruising sailing yachts at that time. Just gorgeous. Ah, the tension between aesthetics and usability. I'm sure it's going to be a constant companion for me as I look for my new home.

Ah well.... I'll guess I have to hold onto my my Oyster/Swan cherry ....

I THINK THEY ARE OUT OF EVERYBODY'S PRICE RANGE!

Hinkley's are great boats....
Have fun first... Worry about the details later....

[Gelfling]

Welcome! And just because you are moving to Annapolis doesn't mean you have to buy your boat there. You have a whole bay to search! Deltaville has a few good boats on the market. PM me if I can offer any info about the brokers/surveyors in that area.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here and I hope you find the boat that's perfect for you. I've always said that in my experience a 36 footer is plenty big enough so I hope you don't discount the idea of looking at something smaller than the 50' you're interested in. Annapolis is a great boating community.
kind regards,

[Group9]

Welcome. I spent six years living in Arnold, Md and keeping a 25 Cal on a mooring in Chase Creek.

Annapolis/Eastport is one of my favorite places in the whole world. I think it will be fun (except in the winter maybe ) to be a liveaboard there.

[Octopussy]

Suijin,

Welcome aboard! We are currently in Annapolis... land based until we can negotiate out of our lease, to move aboard our sailboat!

We have our boat on the hard at Port Annapolis right now, and we're going in the water in 2 weeks. Then we'll be at Annapolis Landing Marina. There's a great liveaboard community here, and we hang out together... regardless of which side of Back Creek you park your boat on!

Anyway, we did a lot of research w/r/t marinas in the area... especially live aboard marinas. Happy to share, if you have any specific questions!

Good luck,
Octopussy
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