Map Lines and Deadlines

Sorry I haven't been posting much in recent days.  When I haven't been working my day job, I've been trying to solve a problem I have.

According to my current insurance I need to be north of Cape Hatteras by the beginning of the dreaded "H" (hurricane) season.  This season runs from June 1 to November 1.  Originally, we didn't think this would be an issue since we wanted to see the U.S. East coast and this bigger restriction fit with our plans.  Of course getting the first house ready to sell took much more time than we anticipated and some other things have conspired to throw a wrench in the works.

The best option for moving the boat north would be to make a few overnight hops "on the outside" (going up the coast instead of the ICW).  Unfortunately, my wife is busy and can't come help so I'm by myself in Georgia and needing to move the boat pretty far up the coast in a month and a half.  Given my current level of experience, I don't think it would be wise for me to do an overnight passage alone.  This leaves me needing to find a deckhand to make the trip(s).

Right now I think I have a friend coming to help me move the boat from Brunswick to Charleston or so.  From there, I still need to figure out the best option for continuing the trek north.  I thought offering the chance to spend some time on a boat with room and board paid for in exchange for a minimum amount of help would entice some of my friends, but apparently not.  Maybe I'm not selling it right...how does "come spend a few days basking in the sun on catamaran instead of shoveling that snow back home" sound?

I also need to figure out my "final destination".  I'm thinking somewhere in the Chesapeake.  I'd like to find a place that is reasonably priced and near "services" so I can get some work done that I simply cannot handle (I'm somewhat sewing and welding challenged).  While Annapolis is probably an excellent location for everything sailboat repair, I think that location usually comes with a high price tag.

So, I have been spending a lot of time looking through Active Captain, checking for marinas and services and their prices and trying to come up with a loose plan for how to get north of our insurance line before the deadline.

On a semi-related note, part of the reason my wife cannot come down right now is good news in that she will be closing the sale on her father's house.  Apparently the housing market is pretty good in Denver right now, at least for smaller homes.  We had listed the house at what we thought was a fair price for the renewed condition and in less than a week we had numerous offers and were under contract for over asking price.  We really need to get our house on the market soon.

We Own A Boat!

We depart Denver as we have done numerous times before on this boat buying expedition, but this time it is decidedly different.

The view from my airplane seat.

Ok, so it wasn't snowing when we left before...but that's not it.  This time, by the time we return, we should be the owners of our future floating home.

Over the past week or two we have been mulling over our options for where to dock the boat short term, what repairs and upgrades we really want to do right away, where to get insurance, as well as all the things left to do at our current house and our recently inherited one.  It has been a bit crazy.  I can't be the first person to buy a boat with limited experience, but many of the insurance companies I contacted did seem to act that way (even though we did take all those classes).  I also thought it shouldn't be too hard to find a dock or slip since so many cruisers are heading south towards the islands right now, but finding a home for a 21+ foot beam boat isn't as easy as one for the average mono hull.

Our broker comes through yet again and has hooked us up with an insurance guy that works the east coast and found us what seems to be a decent policy at about 1% of the hull value. He has also hooked us up with a very nice and well protected marina in which to dock the boat while we do some refit (and at what seems to be a very good price for the area as well).  He also helped locate an instructor to help us get used to our new boat and help us get it moved to its temporary home. The only downside of this trip is that our broker has to work a boat show in St. Petersburg so we won't see him until after we close and move the boat.

We arrive and make our way to Daytona to take a look at the repairs that were part of our conditional acceptance of vessel (our broker had taken a peek at them the day before...but I wanted to do it myself...even if I didn't know a whole lot about the repairs. I do like to think I have some decent general mechanical aptitude). We meet the selling agent at the boat and verify the transmission is now shifting as it should and that the leaking transmission cooler is replaced.

Everything looks good so I send the closing company the authorization-to-close paperwork and they proceeded with the closing. We wired money into escrow and scanned in a signed authorization to close before we left, so within a couple hours of sending the authorization email, we owned a 1999 Leopard 38. No sitting down with the current owner and pouring over reams of paperwork to sign your life away as is done with a house. It is OURS! I think we needed some fireworks. Of course, by the time we closed it was dark and we had been traveling all day so the fresh baked cookies at the hotel will have to do.

Weather is a bit better in Daytona

I really need to write more about the process and all the people who helped us get to this point, but that will have to wait for another time as this will be a busy week.

How interesting.  I just noticed this is post 100.  Seems like a good milestone for a nice round number.