Match made in heaven?

[MoonSailer]

Looked for Two Years

We started out looking for a 20 something then upped it to a 30 something. Money was very important... Using books and the internets sail calculator we defined parameters and the ubiquitous catalina 30 was considered strongly but we decied it wasn't suitable for our cruising goals. Then we saw a Pearson 323 and it looked good but was already sold. 45' mast and 4.5' keel fit well with our agenda. The capzise ratio of 1.75 and reading about their cruising abilty sold us and we started looking for a Pearson 323. Looked at a few in poor condition and finally found one on the internet. As I was asking about the P323 a P323 owner told me that he had one for sale. We looked at it and liked it and the survey went well and we had a boat!!! We've owned our boat almost 4 years now and she has performed well. We are up on a lake now but plan to take the boat back to the coast within a year...maybe this fall after hurricane season is over. We really enjoyed out 2 1/2 years on the coast but gas prices and marina prices made us decide to move to a lake until we can retire and go sailing.

 

[ELindstrom]

Our Hunter 30

In April 2002, my wife, daughter and I went to New Jersey to see a Hunter 28.5. Our 240 was on the market and we were seeking a larger, more comfortable sailboat for our family to sail on Cayuga Lake in NY's Finger Lakes region.The deal on the 28.5 fell through but I decided to check out other boats along the coast while we were there. While driving north on the Garden State Parkway, I got a call from Brian at Sandy Hook Yacht Sales letting me know which boats they have listed. After checking out an old Catalina and a Hunter 33, I made my way to Sea Bright, New Jersey to check out a 1978 Hunter 30 that was just recently put back on the market after the original deal fell through. As soon as I boarded this boat, I knew she had to be ours.

 

[G Thorn]

Paint job

My Neighbor had a Catalina 22 and a aqurious. He needed his house painted and I wanted the Catalina 22. Enough said. Now to paint the boats bottom and get her into the water.

 

[Joe11688]

Boston Boat Show

In the 1980s, I had a Sanibel 17 that I had bought new at the North American Small Boat Show in Newport RI, and it got fire damaged one year while sitting on it's trailer, which is a whole other story. Fortunately, I had insurance on it and made out fine. A few months later, I went to the Boston Boat show and put some money down on a Mac 19 and almost bought it until I saw the O'Day 222 and decided to get that because it had better features than the Mac, and came with a roller trailer, unlike the Catalina 22 that I also liked, which required the bunk trailer. I did no prior investigation into the O'Day, but while I was at the show, I pestered the dealer and his twin brother with every question that I could think of. These guys were very helpful and was able to talk the O'Day people into doing some things to my new boat at the factory that they wouldn't ordinarily do for any dealer. She's a small boat but she's fast and comfortable and I spend at least one overnighter on her, every week in the summer. She has more O'Day 25 parts on her than 222 parts. I've done so many modifications on her that she really doesn't look like a stock 222 anymore. I really have to honestly say that she's the boat of my dreams.

 

[Drifter13460]

Start of a dream

It was love at first sight when it came to my 1982 Irwin citation 34'. Since I was just a little kid growing up in the fla. keys standing on the shore, I would dream of sailing off in the sunset, but like most people as I grew up, moved off the keys, mairred and had kids years would pass by,but I never lost sight of my dream of sailing around and seeing new places. My wife and I had a 26' pace for years that we sailed around the west coast of fl. then a few years ago I came across a old friend who had this Irwin, the boat had been sitting and needed some work and he needed to move her cheep he told me, so off I went to see the boat not really thinking to much about it, but as I climbed aboared and stood there looking I felt at home like I had this boat all my life, this was the boat of my dreams. Since then I have sailed all around the state, over to the bahamas and looking forward this year of sailing to bahamas and on down to the virgin islands. Well happpy sailing to all.