It's all a blur, but O'Sea D is now mine

Survey

Purchasing a bigger boat while traveling for work is a horrendous combination. I was travelling for work and had to get the boat surveyed, which I wanted to be a part of, but I had to get this moving as I already put a deposit on her. I found a local surveyor and his initial findings on O'Sea D were:

• Seacocks are frozen up from sitting on land for the past few years. They'll need to be greased and worked.
• Batteries are also dead, so the engine cannot be started. Owner assures me all work has been done at the marina and I can talk to them about the boat's condition.
• Sails look like they're in good shape
• Electrical work looks great
• Hot water exchange tubing looks very dried out and should be replaced

Sea trial

I tried getting the owner to take me out for a sea trial, but she was very hesitant and wanted me to contact my sailing instructor for assistance. Does she not know how to sail? What's the issue? Part of my offer to her was having the boat launched. They put it in the water and brought her over to a slip. Another work trip has me away again and I'm trying to coordinate the trial with my surveyor, but cannot get a date set.

Delivery time

I just couldn't get a sea trial done in the 2 days she has now been in the water. The owner calls me panicking that the marina is threatening to pull the boat back out because it's in someone's slip who will be arriving soon. If that happens, I'm going to have to pay hundreds to get her back in the water just to do the sea trial again, then they'll pull her until I'm ready to take delivery. Somehow I let the owner talk me into purchasing O'Sea D and she gets an agreement set that she'll pay for any engine repairs if they are needed since I have not seen it started or heard her run.

How do you start this thing?

I make plans to meet the surveyor and he's going to help me motor the boat to my slip. He calls me as I arrive at the dock and tells me he is going to be late. At this point, I need to get the boat to my slip. I don't even know how to start her! All I've had was a gas outboard and now I'm dealing with a diesel inboard that hasn't been started in a few years. I don't know which is the throttle or gear shift, but some Google searches later and I think I might know. I go to start her. Dead batteries, shit! The owner told me they were fine and she was going to charge them and I'd be good. They shore power was unplugged, so I figured someone knocked it loose. I plugged it back in and set the batteries to charge overnight. I rig the sails and call it a night.

She's ready to go, but the batteries are dead

Early morning

I get to O'Sea D at 6am. She still won't start. The previous owner won't return my emails or texts at this point. Well, now I own her so it's my problem. 

New batteries

I stop by West Marine and my wallet is now lighter by $700 for 2 new marine batteries. I  know boating is expensive, but I haven't even left the dock yet! I walk the heavy batteries all the way to the end of the slip where my boat is currently residing and get them installed. I press the ignition button expecting nothing to happen. She fires right up! I couldn't get in touch with the surveyor and have to get the boat out of the slip. I have never been on a sailboat this big, so I undo the lines and throw her in reverse. I'm able to back out without drama and head off to my slip.

She's home!

I am able to get her into my slip with no issues. I have had a stress headache all week dealing with this and I'm wondering if I have lost my mind. This boat is SO much more complex than the previous.

Reel Fun has been in the water for 3 weeks and she's already sold!

I'm in Denver, CO for a trade show. I decide to list Reel Fun on Craigslist assuming it might take some time to get her sold. Within two hours of the listing, I have someone who seems legit very interested. I give him the address to Thayer's Landing and he goes down to check the outside to make sure it matches the description from the ad.

He makes an offer for the asking price and tells me he can leave a deposit with a neighbor. I email him a purchase agreement and it's settled. 

My flight is delayed leaving Colorado and I get home at 1am. I'm up at 4:30am to get the boat over to the boat ramp and get it ready for transport. It all goes fine without much drama. I wanted to show the buyer how to use the winch I have made to lower the mast, but he's running late. He arrives and there's been an issue getting a license plate for the trailer. He gives me the cash for the boat and I end up bringing Real Fun back home so he can get the plate for the trailer. I park it in my driveway and he comes back the next day while I'm at the office and she's gone!

First sails of 2015 on Reel Fun

Here are a couple of pics from the first couple of times out on the water in 2015 on the Precision.

Took my brother out on Memorial Day

Mainsail raised

First trip to look at a bigger boat and an offer is made

I knew buying a bigger boat would be a pain, but this was very painful. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.

First trip to see the Hunter 28.5

I scheduled time to do an initial check of the 1986 Hunter 28.5 that I saw on Craigslist. It's in my price range, looks like it's in nice shape, and is very close to me. Other boats I've seen have been far away, which will make inspection and delivery tougher. 

I met the owner at the marina and the kids were VERY eager to check out the boat. They had fun running all around and checking out all the storage areas.I'm not a religious person, but I'm not about to anger the ocean gods. There's a whole ritual about renaming a boat that I just don't want to undertake, so I need to find a boat with a name I can live with. This boat's name is O'Sea D, which is fine as I've been told I have a touch of that by several people! Later on I would come to find that she had been named "Naughty Muffin". Wow, what a horrendous name. Sounds like a bad porn name and I would have passed if she still had that name.

The boat looks like it needs a good cleaning. It has been on stands for the past 2 years. The owner had lived in New Hampshire and would spend weekends on board while she visited her daughters, who live locally. Eventually she purchased a house on a river and wanted a powerboat because the river was too shallow for the Hunter (she draws 5'2"). All the electrical work was redone (at the tune of $7,000!), there's a nice chartplotter and the interior looks good. 

I was hoping the owner would have been able to get the sails on already and the cushions out, but no luck. If you're going to sell a boat, I would advise having everything ready before you list it.

That night I decide to make an offer, contingent upon a good survey.

I have lost my mind.

Buying a bigger boat...

I haven't even had the boat in the water for a week and the kids just don't like my Precision 18 sailboat and want something bigger. My original plan was to sail this boat for a few years and then move on to something in the 30 foot range, possibly a Catalina or Hunter 29.5.

I was browsing Craigslist and I saw a boat listed that is very close to me. It is a Hunter 28.5 and saw it on the hard last year while I was riding my bike by Tern Harbor Marina. It's in my price range and sounds like it has had a lot of work done and is ready to go. Here are some pics from the ad.

Thoughts running through my head:

• Am I crazy to upgrade to a bigger boat so quickly?
• Can I afford it? I can trailer my Precision to my backyard for the winter.
• Is there a bigger slip available at Thayer's Landing?

I talked to Jeff and he said he has one available and I could pay the difference to have it. He might rent out the slip any day though, so I decide to go for it and pay him the difference. For the bigger slips, there's a minimum boat length of 32", so I pay the difference between my 18' Precision to 32'.

Game on!

Early morning at the boat ramp

It's May 15th already and I don't have the boat in the water yet!

I'm super nervous around the boat ramp, so I got up this morning at 4:30 and got to the boat ramp 20 minutes later. Raised the mast, rigged the sails and motored over to my slip by 7am.

There was one part where I panicked. I was in the channel off of Wessagusset and the motor died on me and there was zero wind. I didn't open the vent on fuel tank, which starved the motor for fuel. I realized this quickly and was up and running in no time.

The folding bike comes in handy to get back to my car at the boat ramp. It's about 4 miles from my marina.

Nice and calm at 6:15am

One of the first ones to the marina for the year.

Came back at night to do some cleanup work. This photo looks like a watercolor.

I better get moving, it's almost splash time!

After one of the worst winters in history in the Boston area, and the south shore area hit especially hard with over 10 feet of snow, I'm a bit behind with remaining tasks to get Reel Fun ready for the water. I'm doing the bottom paint while she's on the trailer. I don't know when the centerboard has last been painted, but perhaps I'll do that in the fall if I can get her on a lift for a short bit.

The bottom needs to be scraped and repainted. Boot stripe needs to be replaced

After years of rubbing against dock fenders, the graphics have peeled

Stripes removed with a 3M magic eraser wheel on an electric drill. HIGHLY recommended method!

New stripes and graphics applied

To get under the bunks, I lowered the tongue of the trailer to the ground, lifting the transom in the air. I took an outboard motor storage frame I build, which just fit under the transom, then raised the tongue of the trailer with a car jack and the boat lifted right off the bunks.

Hard to see, but the hull is no longer resting on the bunks. I used 2x4s to push the hull to one side giving me even more clearance to paint on the other side.

Looks like new and is ready for the water!