How Do You Let Go?

[weavis]

In my youth, I hate that I can say that, I would rebuild cars from the ground up. Due to work commitments, it would sometimes take 2 years.

Later I bought a boat and did the same thing. Worked on the Engines, the interior, the electrics...... everything........only.......... I didnt have another boat to poodle around in whilst I was doing it. I missed being out there. I realised that when I was working on cars, I had other vehicles to get around in. Not so with the boat restoration.

Long observation short......... if the bad girl is water ready, and you know there are going to be tears and a possible breakup down the road BUT....... you want her, if you can do the work AND sail fairly immediately......... then you need to weigh the pain and the cost and either do it or walk away.

Long gone are the days of judgement for people doing things. If they know the consequences and the issues, who am I to stand in their way...... we seem to learn by our successes and failures. My only personal comment in this whole debate is whether or not you can use it like now........ and fix up in stages.

Now I wouldnt buy it because all my experiences with bad girls have been painful........ but it isnt me and I look for different criteria. I support your choice for whatever.

[Julie Mor]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

When I was looking for a boat to call mine own way back in 2007, I had already looked at the boat on yachtworld, etc. I found my boat on the bulletin board at the Berkeley marina. It was not a perfect fit. It was small. it was old and the sails had seen better days 10 years previously.

But I loved the shear line and the older look of it. All the rigging had staylocks and you could tell that at one time someone loved the boat, alas a long time ago A repowered diesel made the practical side happy. So the ROSE was the boat for me and still is. Yes it took a bit of work, but nothing I could not handle. I love my little boat.

I think most people know the boat that is for them and you will not generally find it using spreadsheets and logic. Sailing and living aboard is not logical, it's romantic as hell. We don't do it for logical reasons. Sailing is all about romance and exploration. what lays beyond the horizon.

You brought tears to my eyes...

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by 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.

It's hard enough trying to not be a boatyard sailer even when you buy the boat you think wont lead to that!
Much less the one you suspect will....
I've fallen in love with a number of boats that I kept reconsidering...it's definitely not a unique situation.... and felt real good about passing them up... later on... when I realized what I didn't know at the time....

[PortClydeMe]

Being a romantic at heart, I'll toss this in.

David Crosby sailed his 59' Alden wooden schooner "Mayan" for 45 years. Sailed the hell out of it, loved it, made love on it (I presume), and for him she was much more than a sailboat. She was his inspirational muse.

He later spent a lot of money refitting her (a million dollars, I heard), and she was later listed for sale for $750K. I think she's now been sold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AhFiePczT8

An old wooden boat, and I'D LOVE TO OWN HER!

There's a reason boats are many times named after women. This one isn't, yet many are. Many Maine lobstermen name their boats after women. It's considered good luck.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Julie Mor

You brought tears to my eyes...

So will 2 1/2 years of refit and an $800 a month yard storage bill. (Ask me how I know...)

[HankOnthewater]

In my opinion every purchase of a boat, any boat, is illogical: that is if one is counting dollars spent on purchase, time spent on maintenance, dollars spent on surveys, insurance, maintenance, repairs, registration, marinas, and finally monies lost in resale value, all that versus hours spent sailing, minus hours spent motoring into the wind, getting wet, getting cold, running out of food, dragging anchor at night etc..

No boat purchase would ever happen if only the above considerations would be taken into account. At best we would buy a caravan or RV.

At the same time many things in our lives are illogical: betting on the horses, buying lottery tickets, eating unhealthy, drinking alcohol, bungy jumping, voting for a politician, driving above the speed limit, and most of us indulge in these activities at times.

Where some people differ is the degree of being illogical in buying a boat. It all depends on YOUR point of view. In whatever position you are in this boat buying process, there are always boat buyers/owners to the left who are more logical than you are and always people to your right that are less logical. So it might seem, from your position, that your point of view is fairly balanced.

Another way of looking at it: acquiring a boat is like a marriage: buying a yacht with your head, without a heart could be like an arranged marriage, at best being comfortable, at worst the marriage will be on the rocks soon, with all hands lost. (and for 'hands' read: 'dollars').

Julie (OP), not sure if the above helps in you "letting go".

BTW, I am looking for a new boat in a fairly illogical way, and to balance this romantic/emotional/heart side, I have spreadsheets, and a multiplication factor of ‘3’ for costs, and ‘5’ for time. And I am sure will be happy with my next boat, whatever it will be. And yes, I will be then money-poor.

[Julie Mor]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

It's hard enough trying to not be a boatyard sailer even when you buy the boat you think wont lead to that!
Much less the one you suspect will....
I've fallen in love with a number of boats that I kept reconsidering...it's definitely not a unique situation.... and felt real good about passing them up... later on... when I realized what I didn't know at the time....

I should clear something up. I don't believe the boat will need a lot of boatyard work, maybe a couple of months at the most. After that the costs will be keeping her shipshape. I'm a hopeless perfectionist and it gets expensive. Whatever boat it is, I'll be working toward making her my pride and joy. But I will be sailing her, a lot... If a survey turns up anything that will mean months on end working on her in a boatyard, the love affair will end right there.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

So will 2 1/2 years of refit and an $800 a month yard storage bill. (Ask me how I know...)

Yep..... keeping the faith in the midst of scraping the decks and working a job and spending all the free time working on it because the yard charges make it a reality.

Lovely job E-C........

[DeepFrz]

How do you let go?
Ommmmm.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Julie Mor

I should clear something up. I don't believe the boat will need a lot of boatyard work, maybe a couple of months at the most. After that the costs will be keeping her shipshape. I'm a hopeless perfectionist and it gets expensive. Whatever boat it is, I'll be working toward making her my pride and joy. But I will be sailing her, a lot... If a survey turns up anything that will mean months on end working on her in a boatyard, the love affair will end right there.

Julie - Please don't think me a soulless curmudgeon. If I truly didn't love my boat and know in my heart that I "owed" her a refit after 7 years of pleasure, I never would have done it.

On the other side of it now, I am glad I did it. I know every square centimeter of her, I know exactly how she has been put together and she probably hasn't been in this good of shape since the 90's..

OTOH I will never do it again - LOL...

(OK - Never is a long time...)

Originally Posted by weavis

Yep..... keeping the faith in the midst of scraping the decks and working a job and spending all the free time working on it because the yard charges make it a reality.

Lovely job E-C........

Thanks - Wasn't trolling for compliments (blush) but really trying to be the counterpoint (bad guy) to all this love and gushiness.

Refits are not for the faint of heart or weak of wallet or limited of time.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Julie - Please don't think me a soulless curmudgeon. If I truly didn't love my boat and know in my heart that I "owed" her a refit after 7 years of pleasure, I never would have done it.

On the other side of it now, I am glad I did it. I know every square centimeter of her, I know exactly how she has been put together and she probably hasn't been in this good of shape since the 90's..

OTOH I will never do it again - LOL...

(OK - Never is a long time...)



Thanks - Wasn't trolling for compliments (blush) but really trying to be the counterpoint (bad guy) to all this love and gushiness.

Refits are not for the faint of heart or weak of wallet or limited of time.

My yard manager reckons he can tell who will complete a refit and who wont just by talking to them.......

On that basis, he allocates them a spot on the hard, those that he assumes will not finish are pretty well in the same area. It would appear his Spidey sense is alive and well.

[Kenomac]

Went through the very same brain game with our Oyster. Turned out to be the best deal and investment we've ever made. No regrets.

[boatpoker]

Weigh the pro's and con's and if you can live with the consequences ... go for it.
Home is where the heart is.

[boatman61]

Reminds me of a job a few years back.. two Portuguese lads in their late 20's got in touch and we met regularly once a week in a cafe I used at the time to discuss their choices and available dosh (not much).. anyway one day they showed up really excited with a boat and news prelim talks with their bank manager they would be able to raise the cash.. would I bring it to Portugal with them as crew.. also.. could I please go with them to help with the purchase and prep for the trip..
I agreed so we all met up at Lisbon coach station and caught an overnight coach to Seville then hired a car to get to where the boat was..
She 's a Waquiez 37.. a greyhound of the sea.. but was she in a state.. engine stuffed, sails near stuffed and rotted teak above deck and water damage below.. the ply bulkhead were rotten to just above cabin floor level.
The asking price was 20000euro's.. I told them no way so they drove across to speak to the owner and came back a few hours later with the news that they'd dropped to 16000... I said still to much.. but they'd been bitten.. anyway.. next time I went with them.. laid out the jobs list.. the difficulties/cost of getting her fit to sail to Portugal etc.. told them 2000 euro's is all she's worth.. if that.
Boy were the lads happy when it was accepted.. so 5 days later after I'd restitched all the sails.. the lads had bought and mounted an 8hp Suzuki O/B on the back.. the interoir borderline acceptable to live in.. we sailed for Portugal..
The lads fell out along the way and Emanuel bought his friend out without any trouble.. and after an engine rebuild (Westerbeake) by an old fisherman for peanuts.. a diy paint job on the hull and the topsides sorted she was launched again and now takes daytrippers out off Peniche to the Isla's Berlingas at the w'ends.
He's happy as a porker who found some truffles.
Its your dream.. only you can make it happen.. little comes to they who 'Wait'..


The launch

[Ex-Calif]

time, money, skill

Gotta have at least 2...