Getting Ready to go Sailing!

Christmas and New Years is almost over for the crew of SYL, the dates are now past but we have one more family gathering.  This weekend we will wrap up the holidays and begin our march toward Georgia….  to the boat.

Today we are still at the lakehouse, making lists and organizing some of the things that go back to the boat… filling boxes and putting them in the “to go” pile.  Preparing to leave not only includes packing but tieing up loose ends here in Texas.  Our most accute roadblock is getting our medicals squared away.

I’m having a thorough check up….  at this moment I’m drinking “the juice”……. you know.. the stuff that cleans you completely out for tomorrows “inspection”?  Yep, it’s the only thing men dread as much as the dentist.  The best part is… by Monday I will have made my appointed rounds and hopefully medically free to go by midweek.

I look forward to getting back to the boat.  SYL holds some great memories for us and I’m sure the excitement will crest when we see her sitting there with her ears laid back ready to throw off those dock lines and show us some blue water…..

By the end of the month I hope to get her buffed out and the bottom clean.  While professionals take care of  the finish, I’ll be cleaning and greasing everything including dissasembly and greasing of the winches.  I have a couple rope clutches to change out and a few upgrades like the composting head to install.  This years cruise SYL may be in the best shape she’s ever been in.

As we use our boat we find out what works best and are improving her every year.   The learning curve and desire for newer and better toys will never end but our boat is pretty darn cruiser friendly as she sits.  Starting with the awesome Seawind platform was a big leg up but we have some cool stuff on our boat.  I love the movie / TV projector and sound system.  Going over it in my head…. the generator / inverter system is a peach, the AC/Heater, watermaker, SSB and now the new head…. There are always things you could add… but I think I’m ahead of the curve…. lol.

When you buy a boat go ahead and start sending a couple hundred a month to your brand new West Marine account.  The account opening paperwork should come standard in the boats closing package.  If not… go to your broker and complain about non-disclosure because it’s gonna happen.  At first you spend all your money and time fixing the stuff you find wrong or break on your first real voyage.   Then after the “maiden” cruise… when you get “caught up” with maintenance… then you get to continue spending money like any good boat owner to stay up or add toys.

Yes, the age of your boat does matter. but not like you’ld think.  A brand new boat will cost you way more to get up to speed than a used boat.  After spending way too much on factory fresh, then you get to put $30 to $50K in the boat on radios, nav equipment and all the things a new boat doesn’t come with.  There are “packages” you can buy, but normally when you buy a new boat you get to add things like autopilots, and shore power systems that really add up.

More than the boats age…. how it’s been used and maintained determines how much or little you need to spend to make her right.  There are lots of low hour dock queens out there that are fine for local use, but to rig out a cruiser don’t underestimate what you’ll need or want on her to enjoy your boat.  The way to go is to buy a working cruiser with the things you want already on it…   Kaleo was one of those boats that was ready to go.  Matt & Christie had her refined and worked all the bugs out of a boat that previously hadn’t been “tested” in a long time.   The biggest challenge when you buy your dream boat is that you probably don’t know what you really want.  I know that sounds wierd, but it’s hard to know if you haven’t done it yet.  I dreamed and explored what’s available for so many years, I hit it pretty good right off.  The base boat I picked out was a no brainer, my choice was from experience after bareboating for years on different hulls.

Well, it’s getting late.  I look forward to getting into the sailing mode and living that life again.  Hopefully my post will fully reflect my joy.  This post is too long already.

Sea Yawl Later !!   Rusty