Divemaster1
Well-known member
Having a read through the various posts over the last weeks, I thought that I should post an update on where I am in my search for a floating, bottomless money drain.
I am trying to stem my enthusiasm and jumping into a purchase too soon by keeping busy in other ways. I am currently trying to put the prospects that we have looked at into the right perspective, and trying to prepare myself for boat ownership by the following:
1) Attempting to complete all the outstanding tasks in the home (as defined by SWMBO)
2) I have now completed winterisation of my motorbike (Ducati).
3) I have removed the interior of my car (Mid 80’s V12 Jaguar) and have started a restoration process, which should keep me busy for quite some time and should become a tail-chasing prospect along the line of boat ownership.
I have also for some considerable time kept ropes lying around in the home for the family to practice the various knots and made sure that we have frequent MOB manoeuvres on the settee with scramble net recovery over the back. I did try to rig up a lifting boom from one of the first floor windows to get some more distance between the MOB victim (in the garden) to increase the difficulty of MOB recovery, but SWMBO put her foot down there….
Perhaps the best thing I have done, was during a recent spell of wet weather, I tested the fire alarm at 2AM to got every one out of the house and I kept them busy out there checking the condition of the house and proximity to the garden shed. Keeping them out there until truly soaked to the skin. This of course was to simulate boating and mooring up during a typical British summer (inspired by recent article in MBY). My Mother-In-Law (MIL), who was visiting at the time, was not amused about these procedures at all. Her image of us owning a boat is simply for her to visit on selected weekends, and being served G&T’s on the aft deck in beautiful sunshine. The MIL actually alleged the following morning that I was trying to deter her from coming along with us, in case an actual purchase took place. I of course had to point out to her that no such thing was in my mind, and that I only do these exercises for safety and to ensure that all the crew and visitors are prepared for the eventualities that boating may present to us (anchoring in poor weather, gas & anchoring alarms etc.).
That will have to be enough about my & the family’s preparation for boat ownership and I should go on to tell you about my search for the perfect vessel. However, I want to point out that now truly believe that the family and myself are getting pretty close to being prepared for boat ownership.
The prospects we have looked at include twin-engine fibreglass 38 – 46 footers to 21 metres, mid ’70’s, wooden boats. I have to admit that the latter ones are very tempting indeed, but good ones are far between, but do offer a rather large potential, so have dismissed the fibreglass ones for now.
We have now suspended our search, as we believe that we may very well have found what we are looking for, but want to “chill out” a bit and evaluate what this entails, before making an offer, subject to survey. Of course we run the risk of the vessel being sold by the time we make up our mind, but then I have to be philosophical and think that we were not meant to be her new owners, and I’ll go back to my garage and continue working on my car dreaming…
I will try to post two of my broker experiences tomorrow with a summary of how two of the vessels were presented to us, but need to compile that tonight, or first thing tomorrow, as I have some documents to review now.
<hr width=100% size=1>Alf
I am trying to stem my enthusiasm and jumping into a purchase too soon by keeping busy in other ways. I am currently trying to put the prospects that we have looked at into the right perspective, and trying to prepare myself for boat ownership by the following:
1) Attempting to complete all the outstanding tasks in the home (as defined by SWMBO)
2) I have now completed winterisation of my motorbike (Ducati).
3) I have removed the interior of my car (Mid 80’s V12 Jaguar) and have started a restoration process, which should keep me busy for quite some time and should become a tail-chasing prospect along the line of boat ownership.
I have also for some considerable time kept ropes lying around in the home for the family to practice the various knots and made sure that we have frequent MOB manoeuvres on the settee with scramble net recovery over the back. I did try to rig up a lifting boom from one of the first floor windows to get some more distance between the MOB victim (in the garden) to increase the difficulty of MOB recovery, but SWMBO put her foot down there….
Perhaps the best thing I have done, was during a recent spell of wet weather, I tested the fire alarm at 2AM to got every one out of the house and I kept them busy out there checking the condition of the house and proximity to the garden shed. Keeping them out there until truly soaked to the skin. This of course was to simulate boating and mooring up during a typical British summer (inspired by recent article in MBY). My Mother-In-Law (MIL), who was visiting at the time, was not amused about these procedures at all. Her image of us owning a boat is simply for her to visit on selected weekends, and being served G&T’s on the aft deck in beautiful sunshine. The MIL actually alleged the following morning that I was trying to deter her from coming along with us, in case an actual purchase took place. I of course had to point out to her that no such thing was in my mind, and that I only do these exercises for safety and to ensure that all the crew and visitors are prepared for the eventualities that boating may present to us (anchoring in poor weather, gas & anchoring alarms etc.).
That will have to be enough about my & the family’s preparation for boat ownership and I should go on to tell you about my search for the perfect vessel. However, I want to point out that now truly believe that the family and myself are getting pretty close to being prepared for boat ownership.
The prospects we have looked at include twin-engine fibreglass 38 – 46 footers to 21 metres, mid ’70’s, wooden boats. I have to admit that the latter ones are very tempting indeed, but good ones are far between, but do offer a rather large potential, so have dismissed the fibreglass ones for now.
We have now suspended our search, as we believe that we may very well have found what we are looking for, but want to “chill out” a bit and evaluate what this entails, before making an offer, subject to survey. Of course we run the risk of the vessel being sold by the time we make up our mind, but then I have to be philosophical and think that we were not meant to be her new owners, and I’ll go back to my garage and continue working on my car dreaming…
I will try to post two of my broker experiences tomorrow with a summary of how two of the vessels were presented to us, but need to compile that tonight, or first thing tomorrow, as I have some documents to review now.
<hr width=100% size=1>Alf
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