The Waiting Period...

[Jim H]

I have to admit that we're in the waiting period...

This is the time between the accepted offer on a new (used) sailboat, and the survey, sea trial, review of documents, and final decisions and bill of sale.

Let's admit it's a strange time. The family is all very excited and distracted by the possibility/probability of the new-to-us sailboat, but one really can't commit to the full idea since things aren't settled yet and new things could be discovered that change the course of the deal.

It's a strange time-- not quite the "best day" of a boat owner's life, but and important and critical period leading up to it when one is moving toward a long-term commitment but being as objective as possible about it.

Like buying houses, there will always be another "perfect boat" if this one doesn't work out, but it's hard not to get carried away with imagining the future with the one in the cross hairs.

Next Saturday, the survey, and a sea trail the following weekend (weather permitting). Interesting times...

[teshannon]

Jim,
Actually I thought that was an exciting time. What boat do you have an offer in on?

[sailingdog]

Jim—

What boat is it??? Good luck on the Survey and Sea Trial... I hope you have reasonably good weather for it.

[midlifesailor]

We'll that waiting period is more fun than the one I'm in. After 6 months of looking, we finally came across a clean, nice looking boat that met all my desires and had some nice extras to eke a bit more performance from what is a moderate cruising design. We didn't make an offer on the spot because we wanted to wait until we closed the pending sale of our current boat. That sale went through, and I was ready to call and make an offer the next day. However, my wife felt she needed to see the boat again before commiting. I didn't push the issue, and of course someone put in an offer before we could get back over to look again. :-(

So after 6 months of looking at nearly every boat in our size and price range on the Chesapeake, we're back to square one. Waiting for something new to come on the market.

[T34C]

Did you try making a better offer? Seller could possibly get out of deal after survey if you are offering more???????

BTW- Not that I would recommend it for everyone, but a non-contingent offer trumps a contingent offer.

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by midlifesailor

So after 6 months of looking at nearly every boat in our size and price range on the Chesapeake, we're back to square one. Waiting for something new to come on the market.

I'm sorry to hear that-- I hope that the typical "spring tide" of boats for sale brings something along for you. On the West Coast of the US, the brokers always mentioned that trucking a boat on I-5 could cost a lot less than many buyers expected, meaning that boats from other areas (or even the Great Lakes) could be brought in.

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by teshannon

Jim,
Actually I thought that was an exciting time. What boat do you have an offer in on?

I'll post pics and equipment list if everything settles as expected.

It was fun setting up the criteria, however. Our last boat was optimized for the Columbia River (lighter airs, former racer, easy to tack). Our next boat needs to be up to the Solent, the English Channel, and maybe some Med action. Since we have two kids, comfort in a seaway and dependability in an expected blow were rather high on our list (moreso than light displacement and racing sails).

During our search, it seems the most common choice in "family cruisers" was the Jeanneau Sun Odyessy 37/36/35, but we found that we're really not "almost new" boat people. We also considered Malo and older Halberg Rassy boats, but we were more attracted to boats designed (and perhaps overbuilt) for British waters.

I'm looking forward to seeing her again next weekend, and spending the day with the surveyor.

[Faster]

Best of luck, Jim... enjoy the adventure.

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by Faster

Best of luck, Jim... enjoy the adventure.

Thanks for the encouraging words. For the curious, here's a photo gallery of boats we looked at but didn't place an offer on:

http://www.photos.sailingvoyage.com/v/album_020/

We had a lot of variables to consider (cruising range, age of kids, cost, pristine vs. elbow grease condition, etc.), so we looked at a broad range of boats. The largest were the Malo 38, Westerly Oceanranger 38 and Sigma 38. (Jeff H is probably cringing-- such different boats). The smallest were the Contessa 32 and an almost new Maxi 31. In between were other Westerly boats (including the Seahawk and Fulmar), Rival 32s, a Najad 34, and even a Voyager 35 pilothouse for fun.

One thing we learned-- pristine boats gave us a bit of stress factor given the time needed to keep them pristine, and the fact that our kids are careful with boats but we didn't want to always be worrying about fish guts on the teak or in the cabin.

A second thing we learned-- on some center cockpits, the companionway was like a ladder down into a small apartment. You were either outside (in the cockpit) or inside (down in the apartment). We didn't like this compared to a aft cockpit, where you can talk and easily pass hot drinks to the person at the helm or others in the fresh air.

Third thing we learned-- we could look through grime and dirt and still see the bones of a boat and what we could bring out of her. We could look past the cosmetic and easily changed to imagine the boat in our ownership-- we were more concerned about larger, less visible risks of old rigging, engines, sails, electrical systems, etc.

Here's the Malo 38:



Here's the Westerly Oceanranger 38:



Here's the Sigma 38:



Here's the cockpit of a Rival 32:



There's many more pics and boats at the gallery link above.

[midlifesailor]

Jim/T34C,

Thanks for the ideas. Given the direction of the economy it seems we should be in a buyers markey so I have not considered an attempt to out bid the guy.

As for trucking a boat, I'm starting to consider that even though I'm just looking for a decent bay boat, capable of coastal crusing. I'd been thinking that trucking that type of boat to the Chesapeake is like bringing "sand to the beach", but unless there is a wave of boats coming on the market if Feb-Mar, I may have to consider expanding the search to include the Great Lakes and deep south. It'll all work out in the end I'm sure.

Congratulations on a beautiful boat. Its the kind of boat I'd love to have, but my other interests limit my choices to older production boats at this juncture.