Many Flavors of Nomadness

[delmarrey]

Personally, I like looking for myself by watching the ads and walking the docks. If there happens to be a brokers name on the FS sign, then so be it.

But pick your own surveyor. And never put down a deposit unless you're sure it's the one.

I have had some good dealings with Everett Yacht Sales. Some know power and others know sail and they didn't seem too pushy. They normally charge a rate to put your boat on the hard by their office but since the one I was selling was getting so many hits they wavered the monthly fee just because it was bring in the drive-by's.

If you see a boat down in the Everett to S. Seattle area, let me know and I can take a quick look for ya (If I'm not schedualed out). The broker can't sell me the boat, I'm just looking for a freind out of town.

IMO long distance sales can be a tragedy. There are a couple stories here of a few costly events, including one of my own (only $600)..............._/)

[Microship]

Hi Delmarrey...

Thanks for the thoughts! I did escape the bogus surveyor back on the aborted deal a year ago; instead I found my own just in time. He issued some very strident warnings about the boat (a big steel one that was foamed to the bilge and showing serious corrosion and questionable ultrasound, not to mention a host of other problems including a propshaft so inaccessible that the only way to service it was to haul, cut access hole in keel, fix as needed, re-weld plating, and splash... a process the broker assured me was trivial and routine). That survey, along with specialized consultation on rig and engine, was money well spent, revealing that the "turnkey" boat would need another 60-100K at a minimum before venturing anywhere or actually raising sail.

On the tri, I worked both during the purchase and sale with Jerry Edwards, who really knows Corsairs. I would definitely hire him again.

Thanks also for the eyeball offer! Alas, two of my candidate vessels are in SoCal and a third is in BC, so I'm going to need a little preliminary co-bro chitchat to make sure a recon mission is justified. But I will definitely let you know if a local one looks interesting (I did check out the schooner at Everett, BTW, but there are headroom issues in the salon and it looks like a salty project boat with lots of arrrrh... aesthetically pleasing but impractical).

Long-distance sales make me very nervous, and not just because of a late-season coastal delivery as first shakedown cruise. These decisions are huge, and involve a tremendous amount of on-site exploration as well as having friends in the business who will help cast a critical eye on 'er. I have such a network here, but could easily be taken advantage of in Ellay.

Cheers,
Steve

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Steve,
Welcome aboard!! Good boat hunting to you. I've ridden BikeE before and enjoyed an excursion on the Kohala Coast on one. My favorite bike is an old Diamond Back that I've had for 20 years.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[dana-tenacity]

My current fantasy, should suit you:

YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

[dana-tenacity]

My current fantasy, should suit you:

YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

[seafox]

My current fantasy, should suit you:

YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

I don't repeat myself, repeat myself

[Microship]

<swoon> Oh, man, don't be showing me pictures of such a beauty just after my previous beauty moved out <wry grin>. I commented in my blog the other day:

The sensation last night, as I returned with a truckload of their cruising gear after delivering the empty trailer to North Vancouver, was startlingly akin to watching a girlfriend move out with the help of her new boyfriend. Mixed emotions, tight-chested jealously mingled with relief, the excitement of change tempered by fear of the unknown. Selling one's boat is not a simple thing.

Sexy metaphors aside, thanks for the link, Dana. When I got into trimarans in 1992 (beginning the Microship project), Chris White's book was the first thing I read... and Carisa is, not surprisingly, gorgeous. Funny how seductive these contraptions are: gazing at the pictures, it's easy to toss my stated requirements out the window and rationalize.

<sigh>

Cheers,
Steve

[shipofools]

Steve,

Farrier 41???

Might fit the bill. Not sure about the budget issue, but I think it will make a great platform for your needs.

Cheers,

[senormechanico]

Steve,

That Chris White boat is drop dead gorgeous.

Hoping not to start a mono/multi war, I have one question for you.

Having had a multi, how can you ever go back?

Steve B.
NWMA member and Dragonfly 1000 owner

[Microship]

Hi...

Shipofools, the Farrier 41 is outside my budget (at least the 2 currently on YW are). I have looked at a few other cruising cats including Manta and Lagoon, but none have really grabbed me yet, given my needs. For seasonal or low-latitude cruising, they would be extremely tempting for all the obvious reasons, but still I have the twin curses of not having been bonsai'd when young along and having the perverse need to take aboard entirely too much tonnage.

Senormechanico, you hit it on the head (and I'm tempted by the Dragonfly 1200, but again, it's pushing the budget beyond reason). Given that I need a mobile lab and full-time platform for year-round voyaging/gunkholing including high latitudes, I think I have no choice. However, that doesn't have to stop me from indulging in "tri-moments" - the Microship is too big and complex to go aboard any mothership I could ever afford, but that's not the case with a Hobie Adventure Island. I'm upgrading my current sailing kayak to one of those this week. Best o' both worlds: the geeked-out cruiser and the zipply little shuttlecraft, with a Trinka or similar hanging on the stern for more practical hauling.

Steve
(NWMA member)

[DeepFrz]

Steve, have you looked at this listing?

YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

[Microship]

Gorgeous! I don't want to be dependent on diesel fuel, but that is a beautiful piece of work and of course pushes my geek buttons. 1.4 gph at 6.5 knots is not bad, and she's certainly proven her mettle, so to speak. An aux electric system with plenty of photovoltaic acreage and a hybrid genset would probably be leisurely, but fun... and it's a hackable environment.

Their expedition website is great. Thanks for the link... I do default to sail for long-term sustainability, but as power boats go, Idlewild is very impressive. Sometimes I power more than sail anyway, and the space constraints are significant (especially in a multi!). Worth keeping in mind.

-Steve

[shipofools]

Microship, what is the budget range. Might helps us look for you.

Be well, love your site.

[Microship]

Shipofools - thanks for asking. I'd like to keep it close to what I got for the Corsair 36; a purchase of this scale is less painful that way. 200-ish, in other words, which is still completely insane when you set a plastic floating toy next to, say, 5 acres of fir-maple-alder forest and try to grasp that they are of equal "value." Makes no sense...

Cheers!
Steve

[jim lee]

Steve, Jim Lee here (We met at the Anacortes West Marine when you were getting your boat ready to sell)

I doubt you'd be happy with a crab crusher after getting used to your little multi hull machine. You'd waste most of your time checking to see if the anchor was really pulled up. "I swear this thing is parked or stuck or something!"

Come out any wed. night and I'll give you a ride on my lightweight, fin keeled, plastic monohull sailboat. It probibly won't go like your multihull, but its a blast to sail.

Before making such a large decition you need as varied set of acutal datapoints as possible. And this one should be pretty painless.

Wed. night 5:45, Slip F-81 Cap Sante marina. Not just Steve, any and all are welcome, we take passengers.

-jim lee