Issue 150: May/June 2023
It wasn’t two-foot-itis, but bluewater-itis, that sent us on a search for a new boat more than a decade ago. The desire for a seaworthy cruiser launched a quest that would take us across state and international borders, lead to hope and frustration, fuel a grand adventure, and stretch out for several years before we found the right boat.
When this all started, we had an Islander Freeport 38C that my husband, Marty, had been living on for several years when we met. It was a well-designed and pretty coastal cruiser, but we wanted a slightly larger sailboat that was built to take us to the places we dreamed of going. So we put our boat on the market, and it sold almost immediately. The search was on.
The author’s previous boat, Camelot, an Islander Freeport 38C.
Not long after, we found a Tayana Vancouver 42 for sale at our marina in Seattle. It was a well-built offshore cruiser and we liked its center cockpit, roomy main stateroom, and ample storage. The initial survey went well, but when the boat was hauled out for the out-of-water survey, we were horrified to see that it was covered in large blisters below the waterline — not dozens, but hundreds of them. The boatyard gave us an estimate of $20,000 to fix them. We bailed on the deal.
We spent the next weeks and months scouring boat listings. By then it was summer. The weather was glorious and the spectacular cruising grounds of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands beckoned. But we were, miserably, boatless in Seattle.
We went to San Francisco twice to look at boats for sale, then to Michigan. All three boats needed considerable work and were more worn out than they looked in online photos. Discouraged, we agreed to take a break from the search and just accept that it was going to take us a while to find the right boat.
In the meantime, we’d … do what? Go on more hikes, maybe, or on a few road trips. We tried to focus on other activities besides sailing, but both of us longed to get back on the water in our own boat.
Not long into the boat-shopping hiatus, I was visiting my parents in British Columbia when Marty called, excited. He’d found what he thought might be our boat, an Island Packet 38. He’d talked with the owner, and it sounded like the boat was in great shape and had been meticulously cared for. It was also a great price.
“There’s just one issue,” Marty said. “It’s in Mexico.”
“NO,” I said.
Rounder at anchor off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
But before long we were in San Carlos for the boat survey and sea trial. All went well, and we flew back a few months later to decommission the boat and prepare for it to be trucked to Seattle. Those weeks in Mexico, an entire saga for another time, were exhilarating, stressful, illuminating, and among our most memorable boating experiences so far.
We renamed the boat Three Sheets, sailed it for a couple of years, and then sadly, reluctantly, came to the realization that it wasn’t the right boat for us. She was a lovely boat; we just didn’t love her. The layout didn’t work for us, at least not enough for us to invest the time and money needed to outfit her the way we would have wanted to.
Around the same time, we became friends with a couple who lived on their Passport 40 across the fairway at our marina. As soon as we stepped aboard their boat, there was something about it that spoke to us. We loved the spacious galley and the inviting saloon, the sleek lines and sturdy construction. We knew it was the boat for us.
We bought our own Passport 40 in 2012 and are now nearing the end of an extensive refit. There is of course no perfect boat — every boat is a compromise — but Rounder is perfect for us. Among the features I love most in Good Old Boat are the boat reviews and accompanying comments from owners about why they love the boats we feature. That perspective might have helped steer us away from boats that wouldn’t work for us and toward the one that ultimately did.
But I can’t say I regret anything about our boat-search odyssey. Like most worthwhile pursuits in life, the path to the right boat isn’t always a linear one. Like finding the love of your life, it can take some time. And that’s perfectly fine.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
