Well,
here I am, back in CA. In some ways it is nice to be back, but lots of
physical symptoms are back: tinitis, tiredness, headaches,
uncontrollable blinking. On the bright side, this narrows down the cause
to stress and to local environmental factors (probably pollens and
molds), so I am pleased.
So, on to the insanity bit....I went and looked at another boat yesterday and must admit that I am tempted. It is a Westsail 32 (something I've wanted to see for some time) and has wonderful headroom. The interior is similar in size to the Catalina 34, but lacks the aft stateroom (of course, I use that stateroom mostly for storage anyway...). The interior is in much better shape than mine. The exterior is in worse shape cosmetically, but better shape structurally.
The boat is $30k, “fairly firm”. Needs LOTS of exterior deck work on teak and gel coat. On the other hand, the boat is probably good for another twenty years or more and would take me confidently any damn place I'd want to go.
So, what does it have going for it? Good rigging, sails, hull, wiring, & engine. Far safer and more stable than the C34. Interior wood is in good shape. Easy to remove head liner, add 3/4” of foam insulation, and replace head liner for a BIG improvement in comfort.
Strikes against it?
Deck is rather ugly & could use lots of cosmetic work.
Has a far darker and slightly smaller interior than the C34.
Lots more teak(ie "work") than C34.
Old, small winches (single speed, not-self-tailing).
Small cockpit and lack of berths not really suitable for many companions.
Needs toilet (head is empty right now).
Is located on west coast (and I've been REALLY enjoying St John)
Mast is painted and will require continued maintenance.
Owner smokes and I do not know what it will take to make it less offensive (although I don't mind so far and figure scent will disappear in time.).
I figure the good rigging is worth $3k to me, the good sails another $3k, the functional lights and wiring and engine another $5k, the solid hull and nice rudder and anchor lockers is $10...or $15k. The small cockpit and tighter space and no aft stateroom and poor-condition decks are about -5 or 10k. I would not be able to sail this one into the Atlantic easily, something that might be worth $5k or so to me. So, the net is that it is worth about $25k to me.
On the other hand, the price of this boat is decent and I would love to sail it away and it would make a nice home. And it would be quite easy to sell later in the year. And it is the boat I was looking for last year before I found the Dorado.
I DID get a big kick out of the fact that he had seen the ad for and was impressed by the bargain price on the self-steering mechanism I bought.
I tend to think that I should buy it, ship the self-steering from St Thomas to here, sell the other boat after fiddling with it some more (or not), and......then what? Sail to Mexico and south? Go around the horn? Go up to Cape etc? I just don't know.....and am SO enjoying the Caribbean. I just don't know what to do next.
On the other hand, the boat is named Wanderer and I have very much enjoyed having the Wanderers in my life.....So, on to the insanity bit....I went and looked at another boat yesterday and must admit that I am tempted. It is a Westsail 32 (something I've wanted to see for some time) and has wonderful headroom. The interior is similar in size to the Catalina 34, but lacks the aft stateroom (of course, I use that stateroom mostly for storage anyway...). The interior is in much better shape than mine. The exterior is in worse shape cosmetically, but better shape structurally.
The boat is $30k, “fairly firm”. Needs LOTS of exterior deck work on teak and gel coat. On the other hand, the boat is probably good for another twenty years or more and would take me confidently any damn place I'd want to go.
So, what does it have going for it? Good rigging, sails, hull, wiring, & engine. Far safer and more stable than the C34. Interior wood is in good shape. Easy to remove head liner, add 3/4” of foam insulation, and replace head liner for a BIG improvement in comfort.
Strikes against it?
Deck is rather ugly & could use lots of cosmetic work.
Has a far darker and slightly smaller interior than the C34.
Lots more teak(ie "work") than C34.
Old, small winches (single speed, not-self-tailing).
Small cockpit and lack of berths not really suitable for many companions.
Needs toilet (head is empty right now).
Is located on west coast (and I've been REALLY enjoying St John)
Mast is painted and will require continued maintenance.
Owner smokes and I do not know what it will take to make it less offensive (although I don't mind so far and figure scent will disappear in time.).
I figure the good rigging is worth $3k to me, the good sails another $3k, the functional lights and wiring and engine another $5k, the solid hull and nice rudder and anchor lockers is $10...or $15k. The small cockpit and tighter space and no aft stateroom and poor-condition decks are about -5 or 10k. I would not be able to sail this one into the Atlantic easily, something that might be worth $5k or so to me. So, the net is that it is worth about $25k to me.
On the other hand, the price of this boat is decent and I would love to sail it away and it would make a nice home. And it would be quite easy to sell later in the year. And it is the boat I was looking for last year before I found the Dorado.
I DID get a big kick out of the fact that he had seen the ad for and was impressed by the bargain price on the self-steering mechanism I bought.
I tend to think that I should buy it, ship the self-steering from St Thomas to here, sell the other boat after fiddling with it some more (or not), and......then what? Sail to Mexico and south? Go around the horn? Go up to Cape etc? I just don't know.....and am SO enjoying the Caribbean. I just don't know what to do next.
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