They Lied......

[Rocket1]

You've no doubt heard that the two happiest days of a boat owner's life are they day they bought the boat, and the day that they sell it.

Not so. At least I don't think so.

Having grown up around sailboats (my father lived on his I36 for 3 years), I dreamed of owning a sailboat for the better part of 3 decades before we finally were in a financial position to actually get one that would satisfy our needs and wants. "Katherine" is a Hunter 340 that we purchased in late 2011, having looked at several boats over a period of 18 months. She had everything we wanted and was in fantastic condition. We enjoyed sailing her for the next 3 years, though we found that my work schedule didn't allow for us to get out as much as we would've liked to. It started to dawn on us that we were spending a significant chunk of change every year for something that we just couldn't use enough to justify the expense. Add to that 2 kids starting college this fall....

Well, I'm sure you can see what's coming.

I half-heartedly hung a for sale sign on her about a month ago thinking that if she sold - great. If not - my feelings wouldn't necessarily be hurt. Of course, my luck being what it is, I got a call from a prospective buyer the day after I hung the dang sign. Survey and sea trial done, she will belong to someone else by the end of the week.

I don't mind saying it hurts to see her go, though I'm happy that she'll be getting used more often by someone who will take good care of her and keep her in top-notch condition.

There will be another boat someday, once the kids are done with college and (hopefully) my work schedule lightens up a little. But for now, I'll have to be content to surf the forums and start the dream all over again.

I will continue to lurk around here on the forums, just to stay up to date with the goings-on. A few thank-you's are in order. MS - you are a rock star. Your willingness to help and share information is well above and beyond the norm. When the next boat does come along, I will no doubt seek out your advice and surf your thread for answers to all of those vexing questions I will no doubt have. There are others here that deserve a big thank you, and you know who you are. Those that are always popping up to offer advice and answer questions. Thank you to everyone that keeps these forums the valuable resource that they have become.

A happy day? Not so much.

But, we'll be back.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I was faced with selling my girl this past year. It hurt. It hurt really bad. I had spent 8 good years with her and had her set up exactly how I wanted her. I took a lot of good cruises with her.

For financial reasons and other things I decided to sell her. It was a long goodbye. The hardest part was a trip that I had to do to move her to Deltaville. It was a spectacular sail and she did everything right.

I decided to downsize. The amount of money it is saving me is awesome. For the time being I will be cruising my Compac 23. It is nice to have a new girl and have hopes and dreams for her. It is nice to see how far your money goes with the smaller boat. It is still possible to do some extended cruising on her once I set her up properly.

Jimmy Buffett once sang "Every stop is a place to start." I think that is very true.

Keep your eye out and consider a downsize. It is easier on the budget and still good for the heart!

And yes....they did lie. Seeing a good boat go is the worst day, not the best.

 

[Picflight]

It's always exciting to start all over again.

 

[nolasafari]

Now you know you are a true sailor.

 

[topcat0399]

Now that we have one I can not imagine not owning a sail boat anymore.

You have my sympathy, and I'd be taking up dinghy sailing...

 

[shemandr]

When I sold my 356 it was not one of the happiest days of my life. Far from it. But finances made it necessary.
When you don't receive the yard winter storage contract, or do receive it but throw it away, you'll be a bit happier. When there's no winter storage bill you might even crack a smile.
There's always another way to sail. I've been doing quite a bit of OPB's and besides being tempted to grab the helm now and then it's been a good thing.
I'm feeling a used keelboat in my future but it will be simple and cheap.

 

[All U Get]

More rum Captains, more rum.

All U Get

 

[25yearslater]

I sold my Oday 22 and had to wait 25 years before the life situation was at a point where another boat was feasible. Hurt like hell to let the Teazer go. Finding YOT was a reminder of how much I loved sailing. Could have taken a loan and gone bigger, better, newer and faster but that POS Oday 27 was the boat I wanted. I bought the smallest boat that could do the job and spent 2 years slaving over the restoration. Now with everything paid for cash money, my piddling $900 dock fee and $300 storage make ownership not only enjoyable but ridiculously inexpensive. It might be that 25 years later was just the right combination. Good luck in your new boat search sailor.

 

[Rick D]

Not Looking Forward To It..

...some day I'll have to sell mine, a combination of age and finance. I am very not looking forward to the ordeal. While I have sold my last four boats myself, this would not likely be one that someone would buy without a broker. So, there's the lookie-loo issue, folks with big ideas and no money, financing and insurance issues on a 20 year-old boat, worries about surveyors who have to show off how smart they are by quoting chapter and verse, and having the boat stripped for a year being unable to use it. Ugh.

And, then there's the what-do-I-do-now question. I have owned a keel boat for 40+ years and all of my married life, so we have always had a second home. I'll be a fish out of water. I have put off this decision for a while and have every intention of doing so longer. Some times procrastination is useful.

 

[Chris Patterson]

I could tell this here, and not any place else much........but the last time I sold a boat that meant anything much to me, I was sitting alone in a restaurant eating dinner and I was REALLY hoping the table next to me was not paying close attention.
Seems like I could not get my face completely dried up.

For some of us with a heart of stone, that was odd. Boats mean something.

To us they do..

 

[lehighsail]

After Superstorm Sandy hit NJ we lost the first floor of our home. After about a week the police finally opened our area to owners and we got to see the damage. We were sad but we knew we would rebuild and things would be whole again. About 2 weeks later, they let us finally get to the marina where we docked our boat. We walked up to it and started to cry.
See my avatar. The house was bad, the boat was devastating. What is it about a sailboat that it becomes so personal. We understand your feelings about the sale of your boat.

 

[njlarry]

Working on repairing my new to me boat this spring I often felt that yes, there are two happiest days, the day you sell her and the day the check clears.
Now with only half a season and in spite of more work to be done, I don't look forward to the day we pass her on to her next keeper and can understand your feelings.
One door closes and another always opens...

 

[MetricMountie]

We lost our boat to Hurricane (Post Tropical Storm) Arthur on July 5th after the storm took a sudden turn and sliced right through our moorings. I got the call at 13:30 that day that she had burst her headlines and was headed across the harbor where she grounded and was beaten to death on a rock ledge. I stood and cried as five years of our work to make her ours was broken apart while I stood by and could do nothing about it. We now have a full insurance settlement for replacement value on our policy and we are looking for another boat but will never forget the memories made on Mysterious Ways. She was part of our family and our refuge from the work a day world.

 

[South Sagle Jim]

I am almost 70 and have sailed occasionally with friends. First time my wife came aboard we "showed her our prowess" by burying the rail. It took me 20 years to get her back on board with an instructor on a Rhodes 19 day sailer. We are both now learning together and I bought solid 1975 Catalina 22 two days after sailing my Sea Snark 11 that I got at a thrift store for $65. Happy days you bet. I hope I do get more boats but for now I am one happy dude.

 

[Robby in WA]

I've been lurking here for the past month and I guess it's time I introduce myself; kind of feel like a jerk after reading this. My name is Robby and I'm buying Bob's boat. I've wanted a proper sailboat since high school ( 30 years!). I recently divorced, sold the house, paid off the ex, and had some $$ left over to fulfill my dream.

I wasn't planning on buying until this winter. Then I was helping my sister figure out her chart plotter (She brought me to the San Juans for the first time in her Catalina 22') and I saw Bob's boat w/the For Sale sign in the slip next to hers. It looked perfect; so I looked it up on Craigslist, like it said to on the sign. More good stuff, then I met Bob. I could tell he loved this boat and took great care of her. He even pulled it out of the water, buffed it, new zincs, and new bottom paint after it pretty much looked like we had a deal.

I've been chartering in the San Juans and Gulf Islands for the past 12 years, been to Desolation Sound, twice off New Zealand. I ran a boat back to Bellingham from Petersburg, Alaska a few summers ago too. It's time. I'm very excited. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions. This looks like a great place.

Bob, there is always chartering. It's nice to just walk away from the boat after you're done. I did the math for years and it didn't make sense to buy until now. My invitation is still open if you ever want to take her out too.

 

[dlewis812]

i haven't yet had time (since spring launch) to rig the 25. the 30 i've sailed only several times this season. with a toddler and now a newborn doesn't look as though that's going to change for quite awhile.

these aren't expensive boats however as most know it's the storage/slip which are (especially where i am). just listed both for sale (listed on here)

gets very frustrating on stellar days when i want to go out and can't. thinking will be less painful if there is no option. :cry:

 

[agprice22]

Hi. My name is Andrew. I own 4 sailboats. I am not ready to admit I have a problem. I am the one who says here on the forum that if you make your boat proud, she will be proud among the fleet, she will take good care of you, and she will make you proud. I love my boats.
There is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and pride when something you took from raw, incomplete form or decrepitude to beauty and function takes you places and lets you feel the power and authority or the playfulness and fun of her design. It gives me goosebumps to remember the times with my boats. I laugh remembering some of the crazy stuff we have done. I love the rigging and the functionality that connects me to the boat and the boat to the elements. I remember the feel and the lines, the shape of every one of my boats. Crazy, huh?

I think, for some, the boats are personal. They have brought us much joy, excitement, pride, challenge, and peace. Others cannot understand.

I know letting go of my past boats made me feel bad, like guilty and sad. I got over it, but the next boat immediately reminds me of how exciting they are for me.

As George C. Scott said about war in the movie Patton, I might say about a boat, "God help me but I love it so." I think he felt a sense of purpose as well as a sense of the inappropriateness. It is a boat, for God's sake! But it gives me goosebumps and makes me smile! It is all potential.

There is my confession. I do not need help. This is not a problem!

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[bffatcat]

Doing it on the cheap!

Im sure anyone who has read my posts know my p26w has no electronics no head no gadgets ect. Ive got the trailer she came with I haul it down to the yard in the spring and home to my driveway in the fall. I paint my own bottom and do most of my own repairs which are not much, because there isn`t much to fix. Outside of crane service spring and fall and ablative bottom paint, thats about it for expenses. Im 77 and I do not expect to sell her Sooner, hopefully later someone else will worry about that

 

[agprice22]

Im sure anyone who has read my posts know my p26w has no electronics no head no gadgets ect. Ive got the trailer she came with I haul it down to the yard in the spring and home to my driveway in the fall. I paint my own bottom and do most of my own repairs which are not much, because there isn`t much to fix. Outside of crane service spring and fall and ablative bottom paint, thats about it for expenses. Im 77 and I do not expect to sell her Sooner, hopefully later someone else will worry about that

Bravo! I lake sail, and I have opted for as much handheld electronics as possible. I dunk my depth sounder in the water before I drop anchor. I check the wind on my iPhone. My radio is handheld. I do my own work too, but I bow to you sir! 77 and still going strong! Bravo!

 

[dlandersson]

A couple of thoughts, no, selling your boat is never fun.
1) Sail with a friend.
2) Fractional ownership.
3) Consider downsizing to a trailer-sailor is you have a place to store it.