There are things money can’t buy
Issue 56 : Sept/Oct 2007
Haabet, a Pearson Ariel, was listed in Soundings for several months. The owner was asking $12,000 initially and after three months had come down to $10,500. I looked at pictures of the boat that were posted on the Internet. She looked good. She was in my price range. I was interested. I drove from Philadelphia to Three-Mile River in Rowayton, Connecticut.
Haabet had been in the same family since she was built in 1963. In 1999, the son began a restoration project. He had her professionally Awl-gripped at a local yard. He added Schaefer roller furling and replaced the polycarbonate in the cabin portlights. He installed an autopilot and bought a new North mainsail. He added a new head and plumbing. He upgraded the electrical panel and did it simply and well.
He installed a bow roller and a solar vent for the anchor locker. He had all the old chrome fittings replated and he added over- sized cleats, bow and stern. He bought a new dodger. A former shop-teacher, he built a new rudder to original specs. He was also into brightwork and kept all Haabet’s mahogany and teak in pristine condition. He had rebedded the fittings as they needed it over the years, so there were no spongy decks, no delamination, and no blistering. The hull and decks were sound and dry.
Her engine was a 1993 Mercury 9.9 with electric start and an alternator. The previous owner had records showing that he had the engine professionally winterized each year. He also kept records on all maintenance. The engine worked reliably.
Love did it
The obvious question is: “Why did he sell her?” The answer is very common: love. He married a woman with a teenaged daughter, and Haabet was not big enough for them to cruise in as a family. They couldn’t justify the time and expense necessary to keep two boats. They bought a brand-new Sabre 38 and put the Ariel up for sale. I was excited about the boat, but I didn’t like having an outboard engine in the well. I had diesel on the brain, and that was holding me back. Then the vibe factor kicked in.
The summer before, I had been given the opportunity to sail from Denmark up the coast of Norway for five weeks with three excellent and very experienced sailors who were also great shipmates. I got to sail past 70 degrees north and see a beautiful country, learning all the time. to me, being invited to make that trip was like an offer to sail with the Beatles. It was as if John or Paul had asked, “Hey kid, do you want to tour with the band for five weeks?”
I said “Yes” before I gave it a moment of thought. The boat was Brendan’s Isle.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will always remember.
When we were in Bergen I bought a canvas cap with a Norwegian flag on it. Eight months later, when I drove to Connecticut to see Haabet for the first time and to meet her owner, I was wearing that cap. After the test sail I asked the owner what Haabet meant. He explained that when his father bought the boat in 1963 he named her for his Norwegian bride. Haabet, he explained, “is a common Norwegian name. It means ‘hope.’ ” He then added, “I have been meaning to ask you why you are wearing a hat with a Norwegian flag on it.”
Lots of advice
I had spent four years searching for a boat. Searching, dreaming, and saving. During that time, I had advice from many quarters. Some of that advice is worth sharing. Ben Gray, who was one of the crew from the Norwegian trip, said, “Buy a boat for what you do four-fifths of the time. Don’t buy a Westsail 32 if you’re going to cruise the Chesapeake.”
Regarding photos of boats on the Internet, John Griffiths, a boat surveyor and owner of Kestrel, Ariel hull #1, said, “You haven’t seen it until you’ve seen it.”
Mike Arms, the owner of Brendan’s Isle noted, “You don’t buy the boat, you buy the owner.”
These pieces of advice stood me in good stead. To them I’d add, “Don’t discount the vibe factor.”
I bought the boat.
Later, my wife and I decided that we would not change Haabet’s name. As with so many things, with understanding comes affection. I thought her previous owner would want to know of this decision, so I wrote him a letter. A couple of weeks later, he wrote back to say that when he told his 91-year- old father that Haabet would keep her name, he wept.
The vibe factor. There are things you can’t buy.
Since childhood, Philadelphian Bill Alberts has spent summers on the upper eastern shore of Maryland. A musician, teacher, and writer, he has had the good fortune to be able to earn a living doing what he loves. He and his wife, Ann, sail their boat, Haabet, out of their home port of Hack’s Point on the Bohemia River.
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