Charleston Update

If you've been following along, you know we went to Charleston yesterday to check out a Beneteau 445.  She was a little rough, but the space on board is amazing.  We both loved the layout and roominess.  Absolutely a space we could both imagine living in.  This is the biggest boat we've looked at thus far.

We met up with a broker we'd not met before.  We've been through a few. One guy in St. Augustine we really like, but the rest - let's just say they are really lacking in skill with "newbie" sailors.  One local broker guy even told us the boat we wanted to look at one day was "too much boat" for us and to "come back and see him in a couple of years when we have more experience".  Hmmpf.  I don't take very well to condescension.  We are buying a boat.  If that man does not want our money, then so be it.   The guy in Charleston, however, was amazing.  I think we learned more about sailing (without even going out on the water) than we've learned in all of our research so far.  Sure, the repetition of hearing/reading the same info over and over is making things soak in faster, but he was also very skilled at sharing information.  And he was not the typical slimy salesman broker that we've been running into for the past couple of years.

We ended up looking at approx 10 boats yesterday at 2 different marinas.  I don't know if we found "our" boat yet, but we definitely made some headway.  We learned a few things that we don't want to compromise on (I DO NOT want a V-berth as my Master, I want a queen.  And we NEED a swim platform/sugar scoop for diving), some brands that we love and a brand or two that we want to avoid like the plague (I, in particular, do not love the lack of attention to detail on the Hunters).  I absolutely loved the layout of an Endeavor center cockpit (42'?) that we saw.  I'd be all over that boat if the price wasn't higher than we want to pay for a monohull.  It was gorgeous and roomy and would be ready to sail.  We both like the Island Packets, but also disliked their price tags.  They are gorgeous boats with amazing craftsmanship - in relation to the other boats we've seen, but we found some middle of the road boats as well that would allow us to set sail sooner.  The less money we spend on the boat, the faster we can be ready to take her out.  Sure, we could pay 50% more, but how much longer would we have to stay on land to pay for that?  Not worth the sacrifice.

That leads us to Catalina's.  Nice craftsmanship.  Really good layout.  Plenty of space on even the 35' model.  We'd pretty much ruled out anything under a 38' monohull and were looking at 40'ers.  Now we see how much difference a good layout can make.  I think we'll still shoot for a 38' or bigger, but if we find a good deal on a 350, we certainly will snatch it off the market!

We also picked up some good ideas on upgrades/modifications that other people have done to their boats.  Those will come in handy if we find a boat that needs some cosmetic work/layout adjustment etc.

Mark made a great point yesterday, as we kept looking at boats in higher and higher $ ranges:  we always look for a bargain in real estate.  We find a house with good bones and bad skin.  We fix it.  We make it pretty, save money on the purchase, then make money on the rental.  Why not apply that to our boat?  We have access to amazing craftsmen here in Savannah.  Why not buy sturdy but rough and make her shine?

So much to think about.  And I didn't take a single picture.  I was too engrossed in all the information coming from the broker.  And now the boats are all running together in my brain.  We've found a couple of other boats to check out in Charleston, so we'll need to plan another road trip.  One is an older, less sparkly version of the wonderful Endeavor center cockpit we looked at yesterday.  And I think we'll revisit that 44' *Beneteau that was our original draw to Charleston.

Surely it goes without saying that we hung out in Charleston for some delicious lunch, people watching and gelato before heading back to Savannah.  It's such a gorgeous city.  Looking forward to visiting from the boat one day in the near future!


*Beneteau:  they've all seemed a bit rough around the edges.  Can't decide if the ones we're checking out in our price range just happen to be from people that don't care for their boats, or if poor workmanship is leading to the early/common destruction of the gel coat.  Any thoughts here?

Charleston calls...

Just made arrangements to head to Charleston to check out a Beneteau 445 this weekend.  That's 44' of sailboat - for 2 people who've never sailed!  But after this past weekend's exploration of 34-40'ers, I'd say it's a safe bet that we could easily live on a 44' boat.  Now to see if we can sail one home...  (that's what engines and sailor friends are for, right!?)

Who know's if we'll buy it, but it does seem to have one of the major criteria we need on a monohull - an actual swim deck.  As divers, one of the serious obstacles in the majority of monohull designs has been the lack of a swim deck.  Cat's have 2 gorgeous, entirely practical sugar scoops on the back end.  They would allow us to swim up, remove our dive gear and exit the water in relative safety.  But what about those monohulls?  Most we've seen have had tiny little ladders and a daunting vertical climb just to re-board - and that's without pounds and pounds of gear on your back.  But not this Beneteau.  She looks to be a perfect compromise of single hull and dive-ability.   And if  you've been reading, you know the price is a lot less painful on the wallet than a catamaran.

One day we'll find our boat.  She's close.  I'll let you know if this is her!

One Step Closer...

While it may not seem like a huge step, it is a significant (potentially life saving) step for us.

We headed up to Chattanooga for the weekend - he went camping/mtn biking with the boys and I stayed with a friend and her husband and got my craft on.  It was a great weekend all around.  On the way home we decided we'd stop in Macon to check out Divers Supply.

Diver's Supply is a  giant  SCUBA supply store - boasting that it's the biggest in the area.  (They laughingly admitted they were the ONLY scuba store in the area when we called 'em on it.)  We really just planned to poke around and see if there were any good deals going on.  We've been diving for 19 years on gear picked up (very used) at a pawn shop.  Since we've had it for 2 decades, and it was broken in when we got it - I have no idea how old it actually is.  Most of it is still in great working condition - and as our lives depend on it when we're diving, that's a good thing.  Unfortunately, last summer my BC sprung a leak.  A BC is a buoyancy compensator - and is basically the vest that you see divers wearing.  The air tank attaches to the back, and the regulator (that crucial hose that sends air to your mouth) is tied in as well.  The BC is inflatable and helps you maintain neutral buoyancy while under water.  Needless to say, when your BC has a leak, there's a problem.

This little beauty is mine.

Just so happens Diver's Supply is a ScubaPro dealer - and we've had our eyes on some ScubaPro gear for quite some time.  And after this weekend's little shopping spree, I can now lay my eyes on that gear anytime I want.  Yes - we grabbed 2 complete sets of new gear, and we're thrilled!  I can't wait to use it - I may even put it all on and go jump in the pool just to try it out.  Our next big dive trip is not scheduled until December and I really don't think I'll be waiting that long to test it all out.  The only thing we're missing is dive computers.  We'll add those soon - but we needed to put in some more research on that subject.

So glad to have the new gear - and I can only hope that this gear holds up as well as the pawn shop sets did.  Because it's ScubaPro - I'm pretty sure we'll easily get decades of use!

Secret Diving

A lot of people don't realize you can actually SCUBA dive out of Savannah.  I know - there's a giant shelf out there.  It keeps the water shallow  (and just happens to protect us from hurricanes).  We also have a few rivers feeding into the ocean, creating healthy estuaries along the shore.  This water is chock full of all kinds of things - and if you go out just far enough, you can see it!
I had an event to go to yesterday, but that didn't keep Honey Pie from going out.  Not only do we have diving off shore - we have wreck diving!  So the gang settled in for the 2 hour ride to the wrecks.  They headed out in what were reported to be 1' seas.

Too bad the weather forecast was completely off.  Somehow the weather man missed the giant band of storms heading in from the SE.  Seas were closer to 4' to 6'.  Some of the gang is already prone to sea sickness, so you can imagine a 25' boat in 5' chop for 2 hours was not what they were hoping for.

The first stop was a bust - but they rallied and headed to the next wreck.  The good thing about diving in chop is that as soon as you descend it calms down.  Bye bye seasickness, hello freaky sea creatures!   Thankfully H.P. is a camera fiend underwater and we've got several to share.

I think it's time to buy one of those fish identifying books!