I have personally always wanted to own a sailboat but was not actively pursuing one, other than looking on craigslist everyday and thinking "these are all soo expensive." Then one day in the midst of winter I found a posting on craigslist for a sailboat dealer in Freeport who looked for sailboats that people were neglecting. He would take them off their hands, sometimes for only the price of hauling these unused gems away. He would then store them on his land while trying to sell them to people who, like me, can't afford a boat but would really love to have one.
I have personally always wanted to own a sailboat but was not actively pursuing one, other than looking on craigslist everyday and thinking "these are all soo expensive." Then one day in the midst of winter I found a posting on craigslist for a sailboat dealer in Freeport who looked for sailboats that people were neglecting. He would take them off their hands, sometimes for only the price of hauling these unused gems away. He would then store them on his land while trying to sell them to people who, like me, can't afford a boat but would really love to have one.
I set out to a dentist appointment one cold snowy morning, and after, I sprung the idea of looking at a sailboat on Sophi. She was all about it and off we went to find Spinnaker Lane. It wasn't hard to miss due to the large amount of boats in the yard. We pulled in and were greeted by a sweetheart of a dog, Remy. He was bounding out to say hi followed shortly by his owner. As Michael was approaching I was thinking "none of these boats look like anything I want," as they all seemed quite small, even out of the water. But then in the way far corner of the lot was a massive hulk of a boat, Jonie, a Catalina 27 that needed paint top and bottom. She was a sight alright. It didn't help that her deck was covered in snow. "Lets have a look inside," I said, mostly asking. Inside was a little nice and a lot snowy but as we sat in the galley trading stories and thinking of places to go, the snow melted and it wasn't really cold anymore. OK it was still really cold but it was truly love at first sight. With Sophi by my side I was encouraged to ask how much he was asking for this monster in the yard. When I heard the price tag I was thinking right away, "I could buy this boat." She came with almost everything you would need to sail off into the sunset. All the cushions where in good shape... that was about all I knew of the subject, luckily for me Sophi seemed to know what to ask and with each question Jonie performed admirably. She was a must have. It was getting cold and I didn't want to seem desperate, so we called it a day and drove home dreaming of warm ports and happy seas.
It was less then a week later when we told North East Sailboat Rescue we wanted to own that Cat 27. Two weeks later I paid Michael and the waiting began. We had to wait five long months before May 8th finally came... the day we could finally put our hands on her... I spent a lot of time hoping that I made a good buy and wondering how I was going to be able to afford to maintain her. It is only now, after a month of happy sailing, that I can look back and tell myself, "you did a good job, mister." I would also like to thank all those who helped me by steering me in the right direction and getting things that a boat really needs. Once she was delivered we had a job on our hands, we had to clean all the mold, leaves and pine cones out of all the creases. We had to paint the hull and on top of that, every time I touched something, it broke. At times during the first week I almost felt like hyperventilating, but realistically, things were going great. It only took two weekends of work to get her sail-able.
If anyone is thinking of buying a sailboat in the less-than-30-foot range in the Southern Maine area, I suggest talking to Michael at Northeast Sailboat Rescue. He will treat you well and truly is passionate about sailboats.
I have personally always wanted to own a sailboat but was not actively pursuing one, other than looking on craigslist everyday and thinking "these are all soo expensive." Then one day in the midst of winter I found a posting on craigslist for a sailboat dealer in Freeport who looked for sailboats that people were neglecting. He would take them off their hands, sometimes for only the price of hauling these unused gems away. He would then store them on his land while trying to sell them to people who, like me, can't afford a boat but would really love to have one.
I set out to a dentist appointment one cold snowy morning, and after, I sprung the idea of looking at a sailboat on Sophi. She was all about it and off we went to find Spinnaker Lane. It wasn't hard to miss due to the large amount of boats in the yard. We pulled in and were greeted by a sweetheart of a dog, Remy. He was bounding out to say hi followed shortly by his owner. As Michael was approaching I was thinking "none of these boats look like anything I want," as they all seemed quite small, even out of the water. But then in the way far corner of the lot was a massive hulk of a boat, Jonie, a Catalina 27 that needed paint top and bottom. She was a sight alright. It didn't help that her deck was covered in snow. "Lets have a look inside," I said, mostly asking. Inside was a little nice and a lot snowy but as we sat in the galley trading stories and thinking of places to go, the snow melted and it wasn't really cold anymore. OK it was still really cold but it was truly love at first sight. With Sophi by my side I was encouraged to ask how much he was asking for this monster in the yard. When I heard the price tag I was thinking right away, "I could buy this boat." She came with almost everything you would need to sail off into the sunset. All the cushions where in good shape... that was about all I knew of the subject, luckily for me Sophi seemed to know what to ask and with each question Jonie performed admirably. She was a must have. It was getting cold and I didn't want to seem desperate, so we called it a day and drove home dreaming of warm ports and happy seas.
It was less then a week later when we told North East Sailboat Rescue we wanted to own that Cat 27. Two weeks later I paid Michael and the waiting began. We had to wait five long months before May 8th finally came... the day we could finally put our hands on her... I spent a lot of time hoping that I made a good buy and wondering how I was going to be able to afford to maintain her. It is only now, after a month of happy sailing, that I can look back and tell myself, "you did a good job, mister." I would also like to thank all those who helped me by steering me in the right direction and getting things that a boat really needs. Once she was delivered we had a job on our hands, we had to clean all the mold, leaves and pine cones out of all the creases. We had to paint the hull and on top of that, every time I touched something, it broke. At times during the first week I almost felt like hyperventilating, but realistically, things were going great. It only took two weekends of work to get her sail-able.
If anyone is thinking of buying a sailboat in the less-than-30-foot range in the Southern Maine area, I suggest talking to Michael at Northeast Sailboat Rescue. He will treat you well and truly is passionate about sailboats.
Hey Trav,
ReplyDeleteThe bottom picture on this blog doesn't come up from jen's computer! maybe it's because i'm not logged in to your e-mail and that's where the picture is saved? Not sure.. but we can fix it tonight. love you!
Sophi