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Old 10-07-2010, 10:25   #31
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I think if I owned a Spindrift 43 I would sell it now while it still has some value...
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Old 15-07-2010, 19:02   #32
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Hi All,

I’ve hemmed and hawed over whether to join in on the discussions here. TaoJones has asked me a few times because he thinks I’d have something to add to the community. I’m not sure about that, but have decided to give it a shot anyway. We've sailed a few miles and know a bit about just dropping out and going, so I guess maybe that's where my "expertise" would lie.

During our first cruise I avoided taking part in this place. Frankly it seemed to me as if all I would do is spend my time defending myself, pointing out blatant lies, and trying to explain my sense of humor. Tao calls my humor self-deprecating, and I guess that’s exactly what it is. I don’t take myself very seriously. I don’t pretend to know it all. And I really don’t give a toss what anybody except my wife and daughter think of me. So for those reasons it hardly seemed worth it to join in. But it’s been a few years now and we’ve got a new boat, and, well...

So I thought I’d just jump right in and use this thread as a starting point. I’ll address some of the comments that have been made already, and in the future if anybody has any questions or comments I’ll do my best to hit on those too.

Ali and I have just bought our second boat. We join a select few in the ranks of boat owners who have gone from catamaran to monohull. I’m sure more than a few people are wondering why we would do that. It really comes down to two things. One: price. We paid $48k for this boat. $157k for the cat. The one thing I always want in a boat is the ability to lose it at any time and not have it destroy me financially. We don’t insure our boats so this means paying cash and being able to absorb the possibility that one day it will be worth zero. On our first trip we had one financial threshold and now we’ve got another.

Two: it is a new challenge for us, and to me that’s what life is about. Aside from our eight hours of sailing classes in a J24 we’ve never sailed on a monohull. We sailed around the world and spent a lot of time drinking beer in friend’s monohull cockpits, but we never went sailing in one of them.

Yes, we bought this boat sight unseen and without a survey. We had a friend check the boat out for us and ultimately decided that we felt this was such a good deal that we didn’t want to miss it. We made the offer the first day. As for surveyors, I think they are a waste of money. We paid Charles Kanter to survey our Wildcat and I think we all know how that turned out. His recommendations on our survey were to install a tie down strap for the batteries, and to tighten a loose bolt on the rudder post. That’s it. Not long after that we discovered that basically the entire boat was delaminated. I wouldn’t pay one of these guys ten cents, much less five hundred dollars, to step foot on my boat again. I’d rather put that money to work fixing the problems that I find.

sneuman - I think you’ve got a rather inflated sense of how much money there is to be made off of a self-published book. I make about a buck on the Kindle versions, and about $2.50 on the print. I think we all know the only way to make real money on a sailing story is to sink in a storm and be rescued days later.

slomotion - You make a good point. The circumnavigation was our goal. When we set out we figured we’d go around the world and then right back to Chicago to work. But about halfway around we decided we really liked the traveling aspect of the trip. Not so much the sailing, but the getting off the boat and being immersed in a new place. The Med is when we decided we wanted to do the VW trip. Now that a few years have gone by we’ve sort of come full circle. With a baby now we’ve decided that the cruising lifestyle is the way we want to raise our girl. We want her to be outdoorsy, independent, and free from as much media and advertising as possible. We don’t know how long it will last, but for now that’s our goal.

GordMay - Quick math: 14,500 posts x 12 minute avg/post = 174,000 min. / 60 = 2,900 hours / 16 waking hours in a day = 181 entire days spent sharing these sorts of insights. Wow.

Kia Ora - Now that is a seriously funny one-liner. That’s my kind of humor.

Anyway all, Ali and I are moving aboard our new boat in a few days. We’ll live in the Bay Area for a while. We may or may not make it down to Mexico this year. We don’t know for sure as some minor medical issues may keep us in the States through the winter. But either way we’ll be living on the water, fixing up a thirty year old boat, and raising a baby girl. Should be fun. And you’re all welcome to join us either through our website or here. If you’ve got questions or comments feel free to post them here or e-mail us directly any time.

Later on.

Pat
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Old 15-07-2010, 19:55   #33
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Welcome back to Cruisers Forum, Pat. Very informative update, there, in your first post in five + years. Now you need to put up an avatar - I'm thinking something like:
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Old 15-07-2010, 20:04   #34
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Congrats on your new boat and baby. Sounds like you'll have another fun adventure.
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Old 15-07-2010, 20:06   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kia Ora View Post
I think if I owned a Spindrift 43 I would sell it now while it still has some value...
I assume you posted to add something of value but I can't figure out what it might have been ?



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Old 15-07-2010, 20:09   #36
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Pat,

Keep it coming! Read it all, loved it, love the humor, love the shore side trips and exploring and fast food even loved the 356 stuff as my dad is an avid collector of 356's and did the Great Race in a 1949 Hebmueler.

Keep up the great stuff and have fun with your little girl. Ours is 3 1/2 and my wife and I are just about fed up with the real world and looking towards your way of life..

Great stuff and don't let the neigh sailors get you down. If you make it to Maine you'll have a mooring as long as you need it. Course if you make it to Maine you might just love it and stay, at least for July & August..
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Old 15-07-2010, 20:20   #37
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Originally Posted by Get-a-Life View Post
We purchased our yacht sight unseen over the internet.

Asked for an accurate description from the owner, looked at a couple of photos, asked a couple of local sailors that knew of the brand, all sounded good so we made an offer on the basis of "as is where is" subject to the description based on honesty.

Jumped a flight from Hobart to Sydney the following weekend and checked the boat out. Some things a little worse than expected and others far better than expected. We couldn't take it for a sail as the water pump had stripped the impeller due to being run dry.

Hauled up the sails on the mooring and they passed muster.

Told the owner that the deal was still on, providing the engine was running smoothly by next weekend as we would be flying back to pick it up to sail back to Hobart.

Came back the next weekend, went out and inspected it again, loaded it up with provisions and a couple of hours later headed out to sea at 3pm, next stop - Eden (about 200+ miles away).

Spent 4 days in Eden waiting for a window in the weather to cross Bass Strait and down the East Coast of Tasmania to Hobart.

What could possibly go wrong.

Nothing, the boat was an absolute dream to sail, everything worked within the limits of a 20 year old boat.

Have now had it for 2 years and could not be happier, sure we have had to fix a few things and update systems, but if the sellers are honest then it is possible to get a bargain without all the BS of a surveyour.

KenM
I really love to read stories like this as it still gives me hope to mankind. I wish everyone could be as up front and honest as these people!! Thanks for sharing your story, great read!!
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Old 15-07-2010, 21:26   #38
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Welcome Pat! I'm glad you have decided to join us here. I'm very sympathetic with your choices. Happy trails to you and your lovely lady and hija. We'll likely run into each other down wind somewhere. I'll likely be in Sea of Cortez for a year or so.
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Old 15-07-2010, 22:11   #39
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Originally Posted by Kia Ora View Post
I think if I owned a Spindrift 43 I would sell it now while it still has some value...
Firstly welcome to Bumfuzzle.

Secondly I've googled Lock Crowthers design portfolio and it appears that he had 3 spindrift designs , the 37 , 40 and 45. As Lock was a stickler for builders constructing to plan, what particular spindrift variant was modified to get this 43. Was it a sawn off 45? And did the alterations have Locks blessing? I notice in the for sale adds there is a lot of claimed spindrift variants, but I suppose as Lock is no longer with us the advertisers can advertise what they like.
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Old 16-07-2010, 00:36   #40
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As a candidate fir an unkikely sailor I wish you well. At times you have displayed an amoying non-chalaince fir voyaging. I can't be bothered to be annoyed may you find your best. If someone fir some reason feals aggravated by your travels they could find better prey in history. Go read sea worthy and be annoyed with a drive that is different from what we expect good on ya many pleasant days
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Old 16-07-2010, 06:49   #41
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Welcome back from a newbie who did not meet you the first time around and congrats on the new baby and the new boat. Your blog is still on my to read list,but it has just moved to the top .
Best of luck with the move to the boat and hope you get to set sail soon.
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Old 16-07-2010, 07:31   #42
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good post bumfuzz, thanks
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Old 16-07-2010, 08:13   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bumfuzzle View Post
Hi All,

sneuman - I think you’ve got a rather inflated sense of how much money there is to be made off of a self-published book. I make about a buck on the Kindle versions, and about $2.50 on the print. I think we all know the only way to make real money on a sailing story is to sink in a storm and be rescued days later.

Pat
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Fair enough ... and welcome back. BTW, I basically agree with you about surveyors. If you understand boats very well and can be objective (or have a helpful friend who satisfies those conditions), you can probably learn more than a surveyor.
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Old 16-07-2010, 08:24   #44
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I have been following their blog for a few months and I enjoy it. I totally agree with buy low and and if it sinks have a beer. On my third boat and bought a Katrina ravaged wreck spent a year fixing it and now enjoying it (still have a list of todos but who dosen't). One thing about buying a boat needing work is that by the time you are done you will know all the good and bad ( I call it bonding). Many who visit this forum inquire about skills needed. I think the most important thing about cruising is knowing everything about your boat and what to do when ^&*% hits the fan.

Also, I think their baby is extremely cute and I am a guy who thinks babys smell bad.
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Old 16-07-2010, 08:31   #45
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Welcome, Pat. And congratulations!
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