So here's what we've done, and what we're doing. We're putting Trio up for sale. She is a big strong beautiful ocean-going SAILING boat, and she should be out on the ocean, with her sails up. We put her in the water in early April, and we have not done this yet. We have lots of excuses, but I'm not going to bore you with them. Bottom line: we are not sailors.
We do, however, like living on the water. So we've bought another boat! Of course! She's a trawler, built on the model of a fishing boat. A little shorter than Trio at 40 feet, and a good bit wider. I have been knowing, for several years now, that a trawler is what we should have bought in the first place, so I've been paying attention. And this one has the kind of layout that I like. Lots of windows, lots of light, a nice (relatively) big galley area, room for a love seat even and a chair! There are two berths and two heads, each with separate showers. The master head even has a tub. Not a sit-up tub, either. A lie-down tub! There are two Perkins 6-cyl. diesel engines, only 160 hp each, so fuel consumption should be not too bad. There is a flybridge, so that the boat can be driven from up above, or, in bad weather, from inside the living area. There's plenty of outdoor flat space for table, chairs, a hammock, fun. Plenty of room for storage as well, and in none of it do we have to put those troublesome sails!
This boat is a “project.” Of course. But we got her for very little money, as boats go, and if we can fix her up for not too much more, and sell Trio for what she's worth, that will be good. Especially since the marina where we have lived lo these many years and where we plan to be working on the new boat is under new management and Bob has been forbidden to do any more work here until he gets Workman's Comp. We're not sure why Workman's Comp, when he has no employees, but that's the statement. Whatever. We'll concentrate on getting the heck out of here. On this boat we can safely mosey down the waterway to South Carolina, Florida, the Keys, the Bahamas, and we can do it long after we can actually see the channel markers. Just kidding. If we go blind, we'll park her and stay in one place. A pretty place of course.
The work the boat needs is (oh, God I hope) mostly cosmetic---- okay, deep cosmetic, as in replacement of windows, interior wall coverings, etc. There is nothing beautiful, right now, about the inside of this boat. So we can rip and tear and replace in great swaths. No fussy working in and around stanchions, chainplates, nice teak, etc. Very different than Trio, and I hope much quicker.
This is what I want you to know: I am excited about making this boat our home. I have no regrets about selling Trio. I think Bob feels the same way, though he's not thrilled with this moment-- the one where we own two boats, with all the attendant expenses and worries. But “at's otay!” We'll be fine.
Know anyone who wants to buy a 44' Kelly-Peterson sailboat? She's beautiful, and she's ready to go! Now here's "Serendipity." (It's the name she came with-- we're still pondering it. On the one hand I think boats, once named, should stay named. On the other, well, this name makes me think of old Disney movies-- zippity doo-dah, bibbity bobbity boo. That sort of thing. It could be worse.
I was going to put more pictures in, but honestly, I scared myself just going through them. We have work to do!!
