Aurora - Pearson 323

So Girlfriend and I drove down to VA on Sunday to take a look at a 32’ Pearson. It had been advertised as an offshore-capable vessel with many cruising amenities (not that the extras made me look at the boat but they don’t hurt either). After it took us several hours longer than we expected to get there, we got to the pier where the boat was.

Boy was it in rough shape. The pier itself was either not entirely finished or partially destroyed and every boat there was the worse for wear; a few were floating cess pools of rain water someone had tied to the dock.  

I was nervous.

Very nervous.

I really didn’t want to have driven all that way for a quick look-over of a shitty boat that barely floats.

Luckily, the Pearson itself didn’t look too bad from the outside (with the exception of the heavily barnacle-crusted bottom I could see).  Rigging was ok but old, deck was solid with no soft spots, a little crazing but not much.

The pictures from the website of the cabin were not overly misleading either except that it was a lot dirtier and grimier than I had expected (the pictures don't really show that I suppose).  

Also, they left the boat’s documents out so…. I took a look at them. They are asking 19K and the estimate they got a few years ago puts the boat at about 22K. Ok. Not too bad. However, the previous owner bought the boat for 10K in 2003, not including the survey and it was a lot younger, and cleaner then. Hmmmm….

All in all, not a bad boat but I don’t think I really see Girlfriend and I living comfortably with the small galley, and lack of cabin doubleberth. Its all good though cause I’m looking at another boat in two weekends, right during the Annapolis Boat Show weekend. I’m going back to look at its interior because I liked the look of her outsides during a previous visit.

I’m hopeful for this upcoming one but not tied to it if for some reason its not what I want.

More Buried Treasure

There were some photographers at the the Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day and I just found thier pictures from that night. Enjoy!

The two pictures above were taken seconds apart but I definitely look more punched-in-the-face-by-the-Grog in one than the other.

This is BlackJack, our waiter. We've had him a few times and while I think he's pretty cool, I suspect that he's perpetually drunk; which I suppose is to be expected at a pirate tavern...

 This guy is one of the guys dueling in my earlier pictures.

...and a great time will be had again in the near future. Of this, I am quite sure.

Close But No Cigar

 I went out sailing with my Dad last night on the last "Summer" evening for 2010 and boy was it gorgeous out! Winds were 8-10 with gusts up to 13 knots just as the sun was setting. Perfect wind direction too. 1 gybe total: out and back. No tacks. Hard to beat that. 

Just as we were coming in, so was a pretty hefty thunderstorm. A lot of visible lightning. 

We came in early enough but we were still out a bit longer than expected so we didn't get to smoke the cigars I brought for the occasion which was a bummer. We'll just have to save them for next time...

A Duel You Say?

Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day went well. Got some free pirate swag (t-shirt, gold coins, eye-patches, and mints), a lot of grog was had and a duel broke out!

All things considered, a damn fine day was had by all!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

A Day of Pirates

Today is Talk-Like-A-Pirate day and after spending my morning watching my sister's indoor field hockey tryouts, I will be swaggering on down to Silver Spring, MD; the home of one of my favorite bars

The Piratz Tavern.

Yes, I did have to make reservations at the Piratz Tavern for Talk-Like-A-Pirate day but that is no matter because they will be having the Heavy Seas brewery guys there giving out free samples of their beer and additional swag.

AND EVERYONE WILL BE TALKING LIKE A PIRATE SO ITS AWESOME!!!

If you want to find out how it all got started, I suggest that you take out your spyglass and point (and click) it the general direction of this webpage here.

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! 

HAPPY TALK-LIKE-A-PIRATE-DAY 

FROM CAPTAIN BLACK AND HIS CUTTHROAT CREW!

She Should Never Let Me Start...

How to Buy a Boat - Part 1

Did you know there is a lot to know about boat buying?

SPOILER ALERT: Turns out there is.

That’s what I’ve been doing lately. A lot of reading up on things to look out for, things to check for, ask about…etc. That and a lot of looking at sailboats.

Here’s a breakdown of what I’ve discovered while searching through a lot of boats:

1. The boats you want are out of your price range.
   
2. The boats you can afford are too small for what you need.
   
3. ...Or are in really poor shape.
   
4. If you find the boat you want, in good shape for close enough to your budget as is to be expected, it will be too far away. The overall cost of checking out the boat and bringing it to your location would be too much to be an economically sound decision (darn you California and your moderately priced sailboats!)

I’m still making these rules up as I go so feel free to add anything you feel I’m missing.

Lately, I’ve actually started making appointments to see the boats I’ve been drooling over/eyeing skeptically. I’ve only seen one boat so far that I found on craigslist; it’s a Willard 30 Cutter rig. It’s been out of the water for a bit and is in rough shape but the price sounded enticing enough. Apparently there were only 30 of these made which has me feeling like its rare boat and I’m getting a good deal but at the same time, there may be some problems that a boat builder wouldn’t have been able to work out after only 30 boats.

I’ve been leaning towards the odds that the boat has problems since I emailed the owner a few days ago, asking some questions about the boat (does it float, what maintenance has been done on it…etc) just trying to get a better feel for the boat and see if its worth getting a surveyor for, but have yet to get a response. I sent a follow-up email but I’m not holding my breath. The interior of the boat was packed with stuff so maybe the guy has been using it as a storage unit and is rethinking selling. I dunno...

Anyway, I’m going to look at an Irwin 35 this weekend and a Pearson the following week. I plan to use the boat as a liveaboard for a year or two before setting off and doing some cruising and a circumnavigation with Girlfriend so I want a boat that will function well in both situations. I’m not entirely convinced about an Irwin’s bluewater  capabilities but I’m looking into it and I’ll get a better idea after this weekend when I get to see the boat up on the hard.

At least after reading up on the subject, I know what to look for and to avoid in terms of a bluewater boat. The section that all the books seem to be missing is where to find these boats for a deal. [sigh]…Alas.

If anyone else is interested, I’ve put up my reading list below. I’m still working my way through them but mostly the parts about what to do AFTER you have a boat. I’ve devoured the parts about how to pick and chose a boat. 

1. Twenty Affordable Sailboats To Take You Anywhere

2. Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear

3. How to Sail Around the World : Advice and Ideas for Voyaging Under Sail

4. Self-Sufficient Sailor

5. The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat

6. All in the Same Boat : Living Aboard and Cruising

7. Practical Sailors Practical Boat Buying

Pictures from ARW - 2!

Got some more pictures from Annapolis Race Week. One of the Mids (Naval Academy) from the Race Committee Boat snapped these. This was our start on Monday 09/06/10.

And off we go!