A lament for the demise of my old sailboat

[jrowan]

I just have to report the downfall of my old S 2 to the idiot that I sold her to.
About a year and a half ago I sold my beautifully restored S 2 1980 8.5 meter racer-cruiser to guy who bought her at the marina here in Va. I spent a year doing a complete refit on the boat, and everyone always remarked on how sweet she turned out after the restoration. I bought her for only 5k and sold her for over 15 k a year later, so U can imagine that she was pretty much in bristol condition for the money spent. We had outgrown her with my growing family, so I reluctantly sold her to a fella who lied & said he was an experienced sailor. He is just an experienced liar. I wanted my baby to go to a good home, but instead she went to hell. This fool on his first week out got her grounded so hard that he killed the engine & trans. & actually called for the coast guard helicopter for help! Then he proceeded to leave a kid stranded 200 miles from home who was supposed to be his 1st mate. Then he let his girlfriend fall off the dock at the marina & nearly drowned. She had to be resusitated on the dock by EMS. Then he managed to get his young son's arm broken by trying to get him to tow this boat by rowing it with a dinghy! I kid you not.

After allowing the boat to ride up on the dock & tear out all the stantions & rigging it was finally time for the marina to kick him out. I was actually interested in buying the boat back from the marina for salvage, but the bastard had it towed away to god knows where. I'm sure I'll her about it with a new disaster story in the local news. I know its not my boat anymore & its kinda like a divorce - can't live with her or without her. But I'm kinda bummed about it. What makes me the maddest is being lied to, and that he goes around blaming me & my boat for all the problems he created through intentional neglegence & stupidity. But I took his money & bought a beautiful Catalina 30, and she is the bomb. C'est la vie.:cry:

Here is a link to the ad that I posted for the sale of my S 2 & the pics show how nice she was: http://www.sailboatlistings.com/cgi...ault&uid=default&view_records=1&ID=20820&mh=1

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[Stu Jackson]

Let it go.

You'll live longer.

Please.

 

[Sail123]

The best part of that story is the ten grand in your money clip.

Most of us put in work into our boats and are lucky to sell breaking even.

Don't incorporate the buyers life choices into your memories. Your life is all you control, nothing more.

I used to own a 1968 firebird convertible and a 1971 Z28. In my minds eye, I still do. I now own a motorcycle with the Z28's engine, close enough.

 

[Me and Boo]

Oh wow. Was this the same guy who was kicked out of the marina and decided to sail in front of Irene? Maybe in the same family line?

 

[Anonymous 121765]

JR,
That REALLY sucks pal.

I've met these types before, but I read people well from the beginning. Liars like this stand out & put up red flags for me. He must have been a good liar.

I remember selling my C22 years ago to a co-worker. Like you, I did a whole refit before I sold her. The guy took a job elsewhere & we were not in contact. A year later, I was told by a mutual friend that he destroyed the boat in short order. The boat sunk at the dock (at the dock??) & sold for scrap. It really was a disappointment.

You always want cherished belongings to go to a better home, unfortunately I find that mostly is not the case.

I recently sold my motorcycle to a guy. I did all the bling & upgrades over 9 years, and pulled trophies with her. There was no bike like her in my area. At every light, people in cars would compliment her.

From the beginning I knew she wasn't going to as good a home. I'm sure to be disappointed when I see her next, as the guy lives close to me. But, as you've said, C'est la vie, I guess.

In your case, some people just shouldn't be allowed to procreate at all!

CR

 

[Bad Obsession]

Can't fix stupid. I agree with Stu....let it go. I know that you felt pride in your work and in your old boat, but once you let go of her it is best to let her go. At least you don't have to walk by anymore and see what the guy has done. Maybe it is best for the person you sell a boat to move it away from you!

 

[jrowan]

Yeah, I know y'all are right. I need to let it go. We had some found memories of sailing that boat, and I can't complain if I'm one of the few who actually sold a boat for more then I paid for her. I would like to say that a boat is just a posession, a vehicle. But I think that boats have souls in them, you get an attachment to, and its hard to see something you worked hard on get abused.

Bad, you are so right about it being better that I don't have to see the wreckage anymore. I'm actualy more conerned about this guy killing somebody, with my old boat being his weapon. I don't know what everyone will do at the marina without him for gossip anymore!

 

[dj2210]

I feel your pain also. My beautiful Morgan 34 was sold due to us moving to the southwest with no water nearby. I found it for sale 13 yrs later and it looked a wreck. The name on the stern which was hand painted by my father was painted over with black paint. The hull looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. Everything looked in disrepair. It saddened me and I thought about buying it back but decided not to. They were only asking half of what I sold it for.

 

[Brad on Vashon]

I don't know about boats having souls, but they certainly are vessels of our hopes and dreams and aspirations as sailors. That hard stuff to move from one boat to another.

 

[Bob S]

J,

Not been there, this is my first boat, but I do know how I'd feel if I saw it happen to her. Lots of blood sweat and tears go into them. Sorry you had to see it.

 

[shipwreck66]

Sorry to here that, she looked pristine. I'm eyeballing an old Irwin 37 right now that needs a little TLC but I'm promising the current owner if I take her I'll treat her right.

 

[Bad Obsession]

My uncle had a Catalina 27. It was a 1973 that he bought in the 80s. He put more miles behind her stern that anyone else I know because he use to cruise for months as a time. He has been about everywhere in the Chesapeake Bay. He had her about 20 years.

He sold this boat. The first guy that bought it put it at a different dock in the same area. During a hurricane it broke loose and drifted back to the dock where she use to be kept. It ended up on top of the dock.

The boat was fixed because the damage was minor. It was sold. The next owner got a slip back at the same dock that my Uncle was keeping his newer boat, a Catalina 34. I keep my boat in the same area.

The owner that moved it back to his dock painted it odd colors, allowed it to fall into disrepair, and eventually got drunk on the boat one night, fell as he was getting off of the boat, hit his head on the dock, fell into the water, and drowned.

I have many good memories of that boat because it was my Uncle that got me into cruising. When I look over at that boat I still get a wierd feeling knowing that someone died on it.

 

[jrowan]

Bad, You're right about once a boat gets a bad vibe, its hard to erase.
Shipwreck: Beware & look hard at older Irwin's. The big ones are usually cheap for a reason. Their build quality was not that good. They had very light weight alumnum stock used in their rudder tubes and can fail there. Look over a big Irwin real hard before putting your money down. Sometimes bigger ain't better, just more of a headache to take care of.