March 13, 2000

Last week we went for a drive up to LaConner, Washington. Our mission was to look at boats, but after looking at some web prices in the area, we decided that the trip was mostly to see what people find interesting about LaConner. We stopped at the marina, and talked to a salesman at a local brokerage. After telling us he had nothing in his inventory that would interest us, he suggested we try Penmar Marine on Highway 20. We went to lunch in a little burger joint on the water, and looked in some of the little tourist shops there. Nice shops, but not worth the drive in my opinion. Still, we bought some trinkets, and headed up to Highway 20. When we arrived at Penmar, we looked around the yard, and didn't see anything that looked like it was either affordable, or that suited our needs. I was dead set against a wood hull boat, insisting that I do not have the time necessary to care for it properly. We looked at a few smaller boats with the help of Jack, the salesman. He was not at all pushy, and after a little looking, we decided to go home. We went inside the sales office to use the restroom, and my wife noticed a "Sabrecraft" listed on the white board who's price had recently been reduced. She mentioned it, and Jack told me that it was a wood hull. That instantly made me loose interest, but my son, Joey, decided he just had to see it. Not being in much of a hurry, I relented and climbed aboard to help him up and supervise him. Once aboard, I was amazed at the condition of this 1970 boat. I urged my wife, Tina, to come up and take a look. She agreed that this was a beautiful boat, but cautioned me about it's woodenness. I decided to buy her, and use her while I found her a better owner, more able to care for a wooden hull (and the price was so good I knew it to be a bargain.) I made the obligatory low-ball offer, and was amazed in a week when Jack called me to tell me that it had been accepted. We went up again and sea-trialed her. The ride was comfortable. That's the best word to describe it. I felt like that boat was made just for us. The motor started and purred while we idled out of the marina then I took the helm. I ran the little 250 Merc up to full throttle, and made 22 MPH. Not bad for this big boat with such a little engine. The little engine, however, didn't agree that it wasn't bad, and promptly overheated. We shut her down, and let her cool off a bit before motoring back to the marina. All in all I was quite pleased, and scheduled the survey.

Today the surveyor came out and inspected the vessel. Needless to say, he found some problems. There were a few soft spots in the hull, and some de-lamination of the fiberglass in a few places. Jack called some boat repair yards for me, and I got a couple of estimates for the repairs. It came just over my budgeted allotment for a boat. We called the owner, and asked to lower the price to cover the difference, and he agreed. I wrote my check with trepidation in my heart, and trailered her home.

Copyright © 2000 by Joe Julian. All rights reserved.
Revised: 04 Sep 2004 17:34:50 +0100 .