NautaBytes

So.... It's Saturday afternoon... a gorgeous day here in the Pacific Northwest, in fact the best day we had had so far this year, so I took my motorcycle on a little road trip to the Gig Harbor Marina to look at a Catalina 30 that I had been eying for quite some time on the internet.  Why had I been eying it?  I don't know, just a feeling.  Nice Dock appeal... yes?  Nice, Clean Decks with good texture When I got to the boat, my first impression was that this one was pretty clean. It looked pretty well taken care of, for the most part. The deck was very clean, and all the portholes look really good.  There was a nice solar powered ventilation fan over the V-berth which is really great for keeping the air moving even when you're not on the boat.  Having stagnant air on the boat is not a good thing.  Now although this boat does look pretty clean, it isn't perfect.  Virtually all of the bright work needs some very serious attention.    Furler

And so now the great search for my perfect boat begins.  On Friday, after work, I hurried over to see Sue Schaeffer, my Yacht Broker (that sounds so wierd... Oh yes.. I have a Yacht broker... Stanley, pour me another cup of Tea...)  Now Sue is Good People... she was VERY patient with me when I wanted to take about 45 Minutes per boat to evaluate it.  She is VERY knowledgable in the area of Boats and Sailboats, and answered a lot of the Noob questions that I posed to her.  On the schedule were the Tours of 3 different boats.    We started off looking at a Tartan 33.  Now I am not considering a boat quite that large, but it would be good to look for experience and comparison's sake.  My First Impression of the boat was that it needed work.  the running rigging needed to be replaced, and so did the Jib, which was up on a furler... it was cracking and flaking. The Brightwork (the wood on deck, usually Teak) needed some serious refinishing.  The inside was OK, and I was very surprise

OK... so I know that these are uncertain financial times, I know that with the advent of the Sequestering caused by a dysfunctional congress it is likely that I, being a government civilian employee, I will more than likely be furloughed one day a week, reducing my disposable income by 20%, and so on.  So, how, with all of that going on, can I even be THINKING of buying a Sailboat?   My Uncle used to say that a boat is a hole in the water you throw your money into...  It isn't LOGICAL or PRACTICAL, but yet, I am pretty sure I am going to do it...  Is that what being a sailor is all about? I am a bit new to this.  The only boat I ever owned thus far was a 14 foot Hobie Cat.... on a trailer... that I kept in my driveway.  This whole thing about Marina's, slips, engines, winches, hauling out, bottom coating, heads, galleys, berths, dinghys, radios, radar,mooring balls, and so on and so on is totally new to me...  I mean, some days I feel a bit overwhelmed.  Oh, and now I have st