Since we are down here at the gulf for a few days, and since I am in the middle of refitting our Venture 25 sailboat in preparation for taking her for our first sail, and knowing that the area has lots of sailboats, I decided to check out the local craigslist for parts, etc...
I get on and low and behold there is a guy selling various boat parts that he gleaned off of salvaged boats from Hurricane Ivan. After a short phone conversation, we planned a trip to his house. What a wonderful old fella. I picked up a VHF radio, a couple of hatches, some stainless hinges, a traveler block, a ladder, and misc. other items for a total of $75.
But better than that he turned out to be an expert in servicing and rebuilding marine engines specifically the Atomic 4. It also turns out he is an Ex-Marine like me. He lives right on the water and has a wonderful shop and garage right under his house. They also have a guest house and invited us to stay sometime. He and his wife lived on their Cal Cruising 46 for 18 years and is just a wealth of knowledge. They have sailed all over. I was talking about just finishing up the book "Dove" by Robin Lee Graham, and he said that he was in the harbor blowing his horn when Robin finished his journey.
After doing a little research I found that the boat they own is the actual boat that the owner of the company Jack Jenson built for himself and sailed for over 110,000 miles. It's amazing the people you meet in round about ways.
Several weeks ago I answered an add in our company classifieds about a 15' home built boat for only $600. It turns out the the guy selling the boat and his wife are also cruisers, and have logged many miles on various boats. The builder of my little skiff is also a certified captain. He and his wife have become friends of ours and are going to go with us on our initial voyage in our Venture 25 and show us the ropes. We can't wait.
It turns out that the little 15' skiff is a Phil Bolger design called the Diablo. He had to get the hull number and will be delivering the little boat to my house all for the grand total of only $600. What a steal. We took it for a spin on the lake where they live and my little 9.9 Honda from the sailboat actually gets the lightweight little Diablo up on plane and pushes her down through the water pretty well.
It is pretty cool to have met these really cool people and we haven't even taking out boat sailing yet.
I get on and low and behold there is a guy selling various boat parts that he gleaned off of salvaged boats from Hurricane Ivan. After a short phone conversation, we planned a trip to his house. What a wonderful old fella. I picked up a VHF radio, a couple of hatches, some stainless hinges, a traveler block, a ladder, and misc. other items for a total of $75.
But better than that he turned out to be an expert in servicing and rebuilding marine engines specifically the Atomic 4. It also turns out he is an Ex-Marine like me. He lives right on the water and has a wonderful shop and garage right under his house. They also have a guest house and invited us to stay sometime. He and his wife lived on their Cal Cruising 46 for 18 years and is just a wealth of knowledge. They have sailed all over. I was talking about just finishing up the book "Dove" by Robin Lee Graham, and he said that he was in the harbor blowing his horn when Robin finished his journey.
After doing a little research I found that the boat they own is the actual boat that the owner of the company Jack Jenson built for himself and sailed for over 110,000 miles. It's amazing the people you meet in round about ways.
Several weeks ago I answered an add in our company classifieds about a 15' home built boat for only $600. It turns out the the guy selling the boat and his wife are also cruisers, and have logged many miles on various boats. The builder of my little skiff is also a certified captain. He and his wife have become friends of ours and are going to go with us on our initial voyage in our Venture 25 and show us the ropes. We can't wait.
It turns out that the little 15' skiff is a Phil Bolger design called the Diablo. He had to get the hull number and will be delivering the little boat to my house all for the grand total of only $600. What a steal. We took it for a spin on the lake where they live and my little 9.9 Honda from the sailboat actually gets the lightweight little Diablo up on plane and pushes her down through the water pretty well.
It is pretty cool to have met these really cool people and we haven't even taking out boat sailing yet.
