So, I just bought a
!Funny, but it was sort of a something I have been wanting to do for about 20 years now, but life gets a hold of you.
I remember the first time I saw it at a Fishing and Boating show in New Orleans in 1996. I knew I was going to own one. But at the time, I owned a used ProCraft Bass boat my dad gave me as a high school graduation gift in 92'. Went to college and was on the LSU sailing team....Then after college, more school, then more school, then I got a 25' SeaRay Cabin/cruiser. I restored the boat and made it very nice but did it love to eat gas. Back when gas was almost $4 a gallon I was looking at around $250 for the day in just fuel!
I got rid of it and got a 22' Starwind sailboat. I kept it on the trailer and would sail occasionally. But in all honesty, it was a pain to rig and derig each time I sailed. So, I ended up NOT using it more than I used it. So, I sold it.
More life happened and I had some classic car restoration projects that I did (1929 Ford Model A, 1976 Triumph TR6, and a 1971 Mustang Mach 1).
About 8 months ago the sailing bug bit me again. But this time I was going to keep it in a slip in a marina. We have a really cool little town about 1 hour away from me on Lake Pontchartrain called Mandeville. I spend a lot of weekends there anyway, so why not keep the boat there? And it is right across the lake from New Orleans with quick access to the Mississippi sound and sailing to barrier islands. So, I had my eye on a Catalina 30. Great boat, price was ok but not great. Survey was worse. While the inside was immaculate and so was the outside....the underside wasn't. With the things it needed, I was going to have to drop another 5k-8k into it, which I did not want to do. Plus here was something else I kept hearing....people often felt stuck in their slip fees. Sure, there are no contracts but where are you going to put your boat? You are stuck paying the fees each month until you sell it! Maybe I should get something I could pull out of the water and keep at my house if need be for a hurricane or something else that would prevent use of it for a while.
That's when the
came back into my mind. I wanted to sail, my 13 year old daughter wants to tube. So, I compromised and bought a nice little 1997 boat. She has been kept up nicely, had a lot of mods done, Suzuki 50HP 4 stroke engine was just rebuilt, led lights put in, electric water system, rolling furler, covers for sails, bimini, trailer was just redone, electronics galore, sails brand new, and she came with an inflatible dinghy and 2.5HP 4 stroke suzuki outboard for it.Price was right so I sea trialed her and brought her home. Now she is in my driveway as I do some more mods, like the AC box in the companionway and a compost toilet. My friend is sewing all new cushion covers for the inside and will also be making cockpit cushions for it as well.
So, if anyone is in the Mandeville area and has a Mac, let me know. I'd like to meet you.
Cheers and Happy Sailing!
David
Will holler if We ever get that way. Ron.