This post is a long time coming and for that I am sorry.
As some of you may remember, I was on here looking for the next
live aboard for my girlfriend and I. We had traveled to
Mexico chasing what we thought was the Westsail of our dreams only to have that dream
rot away like all of Rita's bulkheads.
We then traveled to my parents place on the
east coast and thought about the
canal or even Good Hope. However, we began to miss our favorite ocean.
The trip in the
Pacific Northwest was beautiful as we lived in the back of our rented Yaris. There were some good boats and some that used to be good boats. We thought real hard on a few of those boats. We lived aboard our friends Tayana 41 and as we ground the old
fiberglass out of her
head we felt the pull towards our own
boat again.
Finally, someone called about our
Catalina 27 and it was back home we strode. As we
sold our home we revamped our search and figured it was back to
Washington we would have to go. Living with Jen's mom wasn't bad but she lives to far from our world.
As we walked the
dock after
cleaning out Storm, we ran across all the same boats that have been
for sale for what seems our entire sailing career. We looked at an Endurance 35, a CT41 etc etc. We made some offers but couldn't fit the right deal. And we continued to walk past the
boat that would soon, unbeknownst to us, be our new home.
For sale through the local
broker was a Valiant 40 that had been on the market for 6 years. We would always stop in front of this boat and dream but in the end we would always walk away with an excuse like "oh she's much too big" or "I don't like the idea of
wheel steering" or "oh where can we find the $90K being asked for this boat anyway?".
So one day, talking with a friend whom is secretly employed by these brokers, he informed us he heard a rumor that there was an offer in our ballpark that was accepted, but in the end the guy couldn't get the bank note. We hemmed and hawed and finally decided maybe its worth being laughed at (our self esteem couldn't be much lower anyhow). We tried to contact the brokers.. and tried.. and tried. After about 3 weeks of not having our questions answered we went to the harbormaster and got the owners home address. We heard back 2 days after sending the snail mail and were allowed to go aboard. We ran back to Seward to take a look. She was a bit dingy from sitting but gorgeous and well equipped. She looked like a place we could live (a little more spacious than a
Catalina 27 anyhow) but still that nagging
price tag.
So finally we hear from the brokers; "would you like to make an offer on Starship? And do not contact the owner again; we are looking out for everyone's best interest" mhmm.
Anyways we decided to go along with the
broker even though we weren't happy with her. We laid our offer on the table, heard the laughter and thought that was all. However, we didn't want to make the owner feel insulted so we gave him a call a few days later. Turns out he was very excited to hear we made an offer, even though the broker didn't tell him. He said it was lower than he would like but he could do owner
financing and would love to see it go to a loving couple. We settled on a number ($38K) and thought we were soon to be the owners of a Valiant.
A few hours later we get a call from the owner sounding slightly distressed. He tells us the boat has been hauled for an
inspection by another interested party, and if we were interested we would go see it. He then also told us if we were interested we could have her for 30K. The 2 of looked at each other and said after 6 years someone is interested? In November in
Alaska during a snowstorm? Why is he offering it to us for less than we agreed to?
So into the car we jumped and only nearly went into the ditch once or twice. Just before getting to town the broker gives us a call. "So i hear you're still interested in Starship?" "Yes" "Well we thought you weren't anymore, and thought its such a great boat that we ought to buy it for ourselves".
Silence came from our end as the confusion deepened between Jen and myself. "Well the boat is out of the
water if you'd like to see it, but i think we will be
buying the boat today."
So 15 minutes later, the brokers office was stormed as all of our emotions towards them came out. Another 15 minutes went by, a few papers signed, a check passed over the table and we were then the owners of a new to us 1978 Valiant 40 (which they hauled, pressure washed, had a full
survey done, and zincs replaced free of charge) for $30K. We scheduled her to be splashed the following day and moved aboard.
Jen and I have now been aboard her since mid-November and have had a blast figuring out what a great boat she has been. The previous owner (also the only owner) has been a wealth of knowledge and so friendly. I really thought i would have lots of projects this
winter but in fact she's in amazing shape!
I think I have already posted much more than most will read. To any of you who make it this far thanks for reading and I promise to get some of our adventures and pictures posted soon.