After my girlfriend and I decided to explore a little sand spit in Everett Washington we found a poor abandoned sailboat grounded. There was still a lot of stuff in this boat. What caught my eye the most was a Coleman camping stove. It was basically the same model we use for camping. That really showed me that it didn't have to be supper complicated or supper fancy to go out on a sailboat.
It really got my curiosity going. My mind started churning about what it would be like to be out on the water. To be out on a sailboat.
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| Poor little boat. |
So I went to Google and started searching around. Started reading some sailboat blogs. Then I started watching YouTube videos. I also searched what my library had that I could learn about sailing.
In my mind it was something that really took a lot of knowledge and experience to do. I thought it was a lot like alcohol funny cars or dragsters. You really had to get some specialized knowledge and a whole lot of money to get into it.
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| You shouldn't be here. |
After some reading and watching it really seemed to me that it was a lot more like riding a motorcycle. Yes there was some specialized things you needed to know. You needed to understand what the boat can do. How to make it go. How to make it turn. You needed to respect that you have to do some things to be safe and ready.
All of this seemed like basic and straight forward knowledge. I seemed to have found several places to get the information and knowledge that I needed to be able to start on this adventure of trying out sailing!
My understanding of sailboats was that they were super, super expensive. Needed $100,000 or more just to get a fixer upper. I just figured it was like buying a small airplane. figured that on an EMT budget, I would never be able to know what it was like to be sailing out on the water on my own boat.
Then one day I was looking on Craigslist for something. I didn't find what I was looking for. So I decided to search for a sailboat. After a little bit of seeing prices like $60,000 and more I started to see these smaller sailboats for $5000 and less! I could not believe my eyes. I figured they must have been junk.
Reading the ads, I was seeing comes with outboard motor, trailer, and 2 sets of sails. Ready to sail today! Looking at the pictures they looked pretty good to me.
I saw this one ad for a trailer sailor. No need to pay for mooring. Can drive it to different bodies of water. Built to travel 60+ MPH. Tough, simple, and inexpensive. I have never heard of a trailer sailor before, so this was something totally new. Seems like it would fit the bill perfectly.
So I started looking into the 20 foot trailer sailor pocket cruiser. I found several that were $3000 or less. Now that is something I could save for and work toward.
So not long after that I was looking on Craigslist again. Looking at all these boats. Just helping to inspire me to work on saving my money. When I found an ad that I could not believe. A 22 foot Reinell sailboat for sale for $800! It came with the trailer, the outboard motor, gas can, sails, anchor, life vests, and a few other odds and ends.
I had just been thinking about this. Figured it would take me awhile to find something I could afford. I also figured it would take me about a year to learn a portion of what I needed to know. Oh yea, it would also give me an opportunity to talk with my girlfriend to see if she would want to do this.
I just couldn't let this opportunity pass me by. So talking with Tina to see what she thought about the idea of getting a sailboat. She thought it was an interesting idea. She was curious where this idea came from. So I shared with her about the sailboat and what I have been up to.
Luckily the guy that was selling the sailboat is a very nice guy. I told him we where looking for our very first sailboat. That we had no experience and had absolutely no clue what to do with a sailboat. He said that he would be willing to drive the boat down to Lake Washington and take us on a few trips to show us how to sail this thing. So we set a time for us to go check out the boat.
I quickly started reading everything I could find on buying a used sailboat. Trying to educate myself to make the best decision I could. Trying not to be a sucker and getting taken advantage of.
So we went out and looked at the boat. I looked it over carefully trying to find any problems with it. There was some little cracks in the fiberglass in the cockpit at a radius. What I read said that was pretty common and ok. I ran my hand over the hull, looking for any blisters, swollen areas, or sunken areas. Looking and the standing rigging and the halyards. Looking for any broken, twisted or separating lines. Didn't find anything wrong so far.
We went inside. I was able to stand up inside it. Looked pretty decent for a boat built in the early 70's. It totally looked like it was built in the 70's too! Orange curtains on the wall and 2 large orange curtains to separate the portable head area and V-berth from the rest of the boat. There was what looked like 70's carpet on the walls.
Basically the only thing wrong I could find with the boat was some cracked bases for the stanchions. Some soft wood and what looked like some moss growing in one of the corners of the big plexiglass window. The big plexiglass windows each had a crack in them. That there was no cushions for the boat.
Plus he was willing to take us out and teach us how to sail this thing! After seeing the boat and being in it Tina really thought that it looked interesting and she thought it would be fun being on a sailboat. We decided right then and there to get the boat!
So now I am going to try to catch up and post what we have been up to with out new boat!
