THE DREAM IS STILL ALIVE!!!

Something is happening......   Wait what are these pictures of.....    Could it be????

More information to follow

Someday I'll be back !!

Place holder post?  Maybe?   Even though I'm broke, I've taken to looking at boat ads again.  Health costs for the fam have been paid for, leaving me at 0, but the dream is still out there!  And there are plenty of boats out there for sure.  

So now that the dust has been brushed off this thing, maybe I'll actually start posting, and following and just being my usual chipper self :)

Smooth sailing out there all that are on the water!!  Keep the dream alive for those of us that aren't!

Let's get these sails on

Today was the day I thought I'd figure out these sails. The previous owner is on his way to Spain so there won't be much in the way of advice on this.   Remember - I'm a rookie.  I could put the sails on a 16.5' Catalina no problem.  But this is a little bigger boat.  And I've never put a sail on a roller furler before.  

One of the old slides

Step one - figure out this rigging.  The main sail has these sail slides on them.  Some of them are missing.  Some of them are cracked.  You know what that means, yep - an excuse to go to West Marine!  Hey it's Christmas time - other people get to shop.  This is where I like to go.  A little pack of like 4 slides is $9.   They are just plastic right?  Oh wait I forgot - they have that it's for sailors so let's tack on some more money on that price!

The new one looks better

So I replace some of the missing ones, and one of the cracked slides.   I still need another trip to West Marine (I get the feeling there are going to be many trips in the future) to pick up a pack of plastic shackles (right term?) to connect the slide to the sail.

With the new slides in place all that is left is to hook the sail up to the halyard, and feed the slides into the mast.






The roller furling was a little more fun, but in the end I got it up.   It doesn't look as nice as the other boats,  But I think that's because I don't have the proper sun protection on my sail to protect it when it's rolled up.   Something to research on how to attach to the sail.

Sail is fed into the furler track

This sail was a bit more fun.  I had to raise it all the way (feeding it through the track in the furler) so that I could then furl it up.  It's kind of a fun process to try when the wind is blowing a bit and you are doing it by yourself.   But hey - that's part of the joy of owning a boat!

Not super pretty - but I'm just learning :)

Dream Meets Reality

Well the day is finally here.  It's mostly here anyways.  Paperwork in hand, but need to go make it all official like with the government and all the fun that entails.   But the S/V .........  is mine.  Actually, now that I think about it, there is no name on the boat, or the paperwork I have.  Does this mean I get to name it what I want?  How does that all work? That's one thing I definitely didn't look into how to do.

Did anybody else have a sense of what do I do now when the signed the paperwork?   I'd love to just take it sailing, but there's a new head gasket I need to put on the engine (part of the deal - don't worry - I did know about the status of the engine).  An older gentleman owned the boat and lived on the hook, so there is a bit of cleaning to do (you know us bachelor types).

The cushions are a bit dirty, and used, and honestly the whole boat could use a nice cleaning.   But I wasn't looking for spotless, I was looking for a solid boat, and that I think I got.  It's a 1977 Chrysler 30'.  I really love the layout of the boat too.  So while it's not really pretty to look at, a nice cleaning, and some cushions replaced and it'll look pretty good.



I'll have it down at Cut's Edge Marina in Palmetto, FL until I get at least the head gasket replaced (part is on the boat) should be ready to roll next week.   Then I have to decide whether to keep it there or bring it up closer (probably Harborage Marina in St Pete).  It'll probably get moved because I want my new baby near me :)

Now the work begins.  I'm a bit overwhelmed at the list I'm compiling, but that's the joy of boat ownership right? :)  

More updates to follow on my progress making this boat truly mine!

Boat ownership!

Ok, so maybe the title is a bit misleading.  I don't own it yet.  However the gentlemen's agreement is in place ( well maybe the seller is a gentleman anyways ).   I may or may not have mentioned a 1977 Chrysler 30' sailboat on the blog.  I think I mentioned it on Facebook.    But that is the boat for me.   I had looked at an Aloha 28' that was in great shape with all sorts of toys.  The owner of that boat, Bud, is a genuinely great guy who I now count as a friend.  He was selling his boat because he had heart failure and couldn't sail anymore.   He did however have a friend he was teaching to sail that wanted the boat, but didn't have the money so I told him to sell it to her on a payment plan so she could still sail, and when he felt good enough he could at least be a passenger on the boat .     I was kicking myself for letting the boat go, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

It turns out he had a friend that had this Chrysler he was living on, and had anchored out near Palmetto FL.  I had never heard that Chrysler had a marine division (however short lived), so was skeptical about the boat, but new that taking a look wouldn't hurt anything.  Once I stepped on the boat I knew that this could be the boat.   First of all, it was the first boat I had been on that's deck was rock solid.  No soft spots of any kind.  Down below I thought there must be some kind of illusion going on, as it felt really roomy down there.   Lots of built in storage, an interesting layout of the v-berth (crossing single bunks at different height), and a generous main cabin as well as roomy quarter berth.

Fred's (the boat owner) situation was he was moving back to Spain (he was British) soon, and wanted to sell the boat fairly quickly.   He mentioned a price of 10K, as we talked it went down a bit to 7K, and the final price became 5K a couple weeks later as his situation changed a bit and he has to leave earlier.  Patience apparently does have some benefits.

I apologize for the lack of pictures on this, but there will be MANY coming as I take possession and figure out where I will keep it.  My lease goes til the end of April, so I'll try to find something cheap until then (not sure if I'm comfortable anchoring it on my own just yet).

The day appears to be fast approaching when I will switch from Land to Liveaboard!!!!

Aloha 28 - I want this one!

I don't know how it was for all the other boat owners, but did you climb onto a boat, and just instantly think - this is home; this is the one?   The ship owner, Bud, seems like a geniunely nice guy who I'm sad to report, cannot sail anymore due to heart failure.  He doesn't necessarily want to sell it, but since he can't sail anymore it's just time.

This boat has way more equipment then I probably should get to start out with (more to go wrong I'm told).  And flies in the face of KeepItSimpleStupid.  But a pristine interior that includes, a fridge, microwave, toilet, ac, and numerous other things for the price of $6800 just seems like a no brainer.  The sails are in great shape, as is the rigging.

I wanted to sail the boat out right then and there!!    I guess I should make sure I can really afford it, and have a place to put it though - small details!  Also I have a willing passenger (Bud) if I ever want to go sailing.  Not that he can do any of the sailing, but he knows the boat.

Boat Search 2 of ......

Another day, another boat to look at.  This time I went and looked at a 1972 27' O'Day that was listed at $6500.   A very clean and obviously well maintained boat.   The Volvo Diesel started instantly, and the reassuring womp, womp of the engine told me she was working.

The owner, a very friendly ex-marine, was more then happy to share with me all of the maintenance he'd been doing on the boat.   He actually found out the boat was for sale when I called.  His wife has been busy trying to sell off his toys.   Hmmm, maybe this single life isn't such a bad thing after all :)  But he agrees actually they need to sell it.  He lives in a houseboat next to it with his wife, in this very nice and quiet marina (Pasadena Marina).  There seems to be a very friendly liveaboard community of about 20 people here.  May be an option for me.




Another nice thing about the boat is that I can stand upright in it (6'2").  Of course I have to stand with my legs apart a little bit, so maybe closer to 6'0" but still it's no hunching over in it.  An electric stove, an icebox, and a nicely maintained interior.  It has a good main sail, but no jib.  So there is something I would need to get.   But once I do there is a roller furling, and traveller, so that's nice.  It should be a boat I can sail single handed.  Even as green as I am.

Hmm - boats, boats, and more boats.  The search continues!