2020 Pandemic Panacea Passage - SUCKER-PUNCHED
- Thread starter jssailem
- Start date
@dLj
Dave, You got 2020'd. That's all. Enjoy the Keys and keep up the search. It will be easier in 2021.
If you find yourself driving down this way to look at a boat, I'll be glad to join you.
Dave, You got 2020'd. That's all. Enjoy the Keys and keep up the search. It will be easier in 2021.
If you find yourself driving down this way to look at a boat, I'll be glad to join you.
Yeah, in fact reflecting on all the steps coming up to this, I realize the primary problem was the covid epidemic. Otherwise I'd have put eyes on the boat instead of a virtual walk through back months ago... No one would have ever even known I'd looked at this one...
But for sure - thanks for the offer and I'll be putting you on speed dial...
dj
We all know too well, looking at boats is both pleasurable and frustrating. The lens makes them all look good.
But then upon actually stepping aboard, seems a majority are in much tougher shape than the ads reveal. I never thought about Covid in boat shopping. What you say is true, people are actually putting deposits on houses based on realtors phone cams, all due to Covid. It's also a trap for boat buyers. Assume nothing,...
When I heard of your adventure, I was surprised that there would be any doubt about concluding with a purchase and a trip up the coast. But under the circumstances, your commitment to making the correct decision, no matter the outcome, is admirable.
Sue and I did our boat search in April and May. We started by looking at models close to home to make sure we knew what model we wanted. That was an important step. Once we decided on a model, we expanded our search from North Carolina to Massachusetts. We had 15 boats in a narrow bandwidth of requirements and I ranked them based on the ads that I was looking at. We chose the range based on reasonable travel and a hotel stay for a weekend so that we could look at multiple boats on each trip.
That turned out to be futile when hotels were no longer allowed to accept guests. I eventually used three 12-hour days to look at 3 boats. Sue did one of those and that was enough for her. She wasn't with me when I found our boat, and it wasn't final until I made a 4th trip for the land survey. Then we finally were able to spend a weekend on Cape Cod for sea trial and to take possession and make her ours. That was 5 trips altogether, 4 of them for a single day. Finally, @Ward H & I travelled to Cape Cod to bring her home at the end of June/July. That was a solid 3 months of commitment to the hunt.
We would have looked at more boats, but Rhode Island was closed, I didn't have the stamina to go to NC to look at one boat that was high on my list, and a broker actually told me that the boat in Maryland probably wasn't in the condition that we were hoping for. COVID made it difficult for sure, but the scuttlebutt I was hearing was that boats were moving. I looked recently and I think all but 1 of the 15 are no longer advertised (for various reasons other than sales, I suppose).
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Sorry, I don't know. The owner @Jay Hays did join SBO when he read an old post of mine.
I was hoping to get a tour when I flew down, but that will have to wait, now.
dLj, I know you were planning to stock some Belgium Quad for me, so I will have one in your honor tonight.
To you Dave.
-Will (Dragonfly)
And I will send a toast back your way! Enjoy! We'll have to visit when you get back.
dj
If the boat had passed survey, I think the biggest flaw in your plan was not Covid but leaving immediately. Even if you are waiting to do most of the work at your destination, even a brand new boat isn't ready for a 1500 mile trip on day 1. Especially in the North Atlantic in winter. Many people have tried --well, actually not many have tried a first trip in "winter" . But it just never works out. Ask anyone with a cruising boat. And the ICW is safer but not necessarily easier. Much of the trip is in rural areas far from a good mechanic - a lousy place to have engine or mechanical troubles -- which are pretty much guaranteed to happen in a "new to you" boat. Allow at least a month after taking possession to get ready. Three months is more typical.
. But it just never works out. Ask anyone with a cruising boat. And the ICW is safer but not necessarily easier. Much of the trip is in rural areas far from a good mechanic - a lousy place to have engine or mechanical troubles -- which are pretty much guaranteed to happen in a "new to you" boat. Allow at least a month after taking possession to get ready. Three months is more typical.
I agree it was a risk. However, if the boat had passed the survey, then I had with me enough tools and equipment to handle the more likely eventualities that may have ensued. Additionally, don't forget, the more likely route would have been coming up the ICW. There are lots of places to stop and fix things along that route.If the boat had passed survey, I think the biggest flaw in your plan was leaving immediately. Even if you are waiting to do most of the work at your destination, even a brand new boat isn't ready for a 1500 mile trip on day 1. Especially in the North Atlantic in winter. Many people have tried --well, actually not many have tried in "winter"
While I agree with the risks you allude to, I have done similar delivery trips in other boats in the past. Indeed it is not for the faint of heart... LOL
I think the biggest flaw in this one was not being able to go see the boat beforehand and relying on a virtual walk through due to the covid problem restricting travel. If the boat had been in the condition stated, I would have been able to work with pretty much whatever else it may have thrown at me. It's not my first rodeo...
"But it just never works out." is a bit of an overstatement as I have done exactly this type of transport in the past. There can certainly be surprises, for sure. Also, the plan was not to leave on day one, but rather somewhere between day 5 and day 14.
dj
It's very simple. I had a 5 to 14 day window planned to make sure I could put the boat into a sail-away condition that would not endanger the safety of those aboard. The boat did not pass that expectation. I will always place the safety of those aboard the boat above all else. It was my judgement call.
dj
dj