Finally its time to take 11 days off and go to the San Juans. Its about time!
Splashing the boat for its first time on the west coast!
Luckness at YachtFitters
Stepping the mast
Sailing!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Things get busy. Working on the boat.
Finally its time to take 11 days off and go to the San Juans. Its about time!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Ballad/Luckness arrives in Seattle
Ballad/Luckness, the boat with the name Ballad on her sides but known officially as Luckness arrives in Seattle from Annapolis. There were a few moments where I needed to satisfy myself that this boat I just plunked down a chunk of money for was really the one I wanted - had I spent enough time in Annapolis looking her over? Had I missed anything major? Did I really want a Pacific Seacraft 37?
The more I spend time on this boat, the more I like her.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Purchase of Ballad
I found Ballad on www.yachtworld.com. This site is full of boats for sale, across the world. Big boats, small, motor boats and of course sail boats. The site is known as Boat Porn by those who spend too many of their waking hours pouring over the listings, trying to find their ideal boat.
Ballad was listed in Annapolis. This would mean a long and expensive trip across the country for her, Annapolis to Seattle. I had already visited a boat in California and passed on it. Ballad looked good on paper. An offer was accepted on May 9th and then my broker Ray Neglay and I traveled out to Annapolis for the inspection. Ballad was in great shape. She needed some work, but it appeared nothing major. The deal was on. Long story short, Ballad became mine on June 3rd and was renamed on paper to Luckness. Luckness/Ballad arrived on June 22nd in Seattle.
The day the boat arrived was my last free day for a long while. Every day I would be involved in either a boat project or preparing for one. I took three days off from mid June to my vacation at the end of August. The work has paid off, the boat is getting into better and better shape. The work seems to be never ending, but the satisfaction is high. There is an awesome boat in my slip. Its mine! That still seems a little surreal to me.
The day the boat arrived was my last free day for a long while. Every day I would be involved in either a boat project or preparing for one. I took three days off from mid June to my vacation at the end of August. The work has paid off, the boat is getting into better and better shape. The work seems to be never ending, but the satisfaction is high. There is an awesome boat in my slip. Its mine! That still seems a little surreal to me.
The boat lacks many of the features needed by the cruiser: auto pilot, wind vane, wind generator, water maker, dinghy, solar panels, and the long list of other essentials (*). But it does have a deep heritage and enormous potential for adventure. Its not large inside, but its quality through and through.
The first time I sailed this boat was in Seattle: light winds, 10 apparent on the beam. We hit hull speed of just over 7 knots and things were sweet. This was on the first sail from YachtFitters on the ship canal, through the locks to Shilshole. There was a short excursion out onto the Sound as that's the most logical way to get from the locks to my slip when the winds are good.
Many thanks to Ray Neglay and the folks at Seacraft Yacht Sales, as well as Terry and Justin at Yacht Fitters who have helped in many ways. More on those folks later.
More pictures of Ballad in Annapolis are here.
(*) re: essentials. People sail around the world safely with seaworthy sailboats setup with the most basic equipment. In that context, Luckness is almost ready to go, some form of self steering is needed (autopilot or windvane.) I will likely be single handing my boat which is made easier with some additions to what I have now. I'm also a bit of a gadget freak, the things you can outfit a cruising sailboat with is awesome. As is the amount of money that can be spent on doing this...
(*) re: essentials. People sail around the world safely with seaworthy sailboats setup with the most basic equipment. In that context, Luckness is almost ready to go, some form of self steering is needed (autopilot or windvane.) I will likely be single handing my boat which is made easier with some additions to what I have now. I'm also a bit of a gadget freak, the things you can outfit a cruising sailboat with is awesome. As is the amount of money that can be spent on doing this...
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The back story - how I got here
I was born and raised far from the ocean. Short holidays to the ocean always seemed cool - being around the water and hearing the waves crash onto a beach is awesome, which is a feeling shared by many.
I had never thought about going sailing until I read a series of books by Patrick O'Brian, starting with Master and Commander. Its a great series, I recommend it highly. Sailing seemed to be full of adventure. I was getting hooked on the romance of the idea.
I moved from Toronto to Seattle in 1996. After a while, I started hiking, skiing and enjoying the area, which is spectacular in so many ways. I though of sailing, but always considered that it was something I would do when I retired. Idiot. I started kayaking in 1999 and eventually messed up my back, leading to a little reevaluation of what I was doing. Carrying a kayak was no longer a real possibility for me.
I live close to Shilshole Marina, and would walk by it frequently. One day I wondered if I should finally look further into sailing. I start things by reading all about them, so I started buying books on sailing. There was much more to the activity that I thought. It seemed very deep, with lots to learn. I joined Windworks sailing club in 2007 and learned how to sail. It was fun and demanding, also very social. Along the way I abandoned my idea of waiting to get involved with sailing until after I retired.
In 2008 I decided that I wanted my own boat. I started getting more serious toward the end of the year when I put my name down for what is normally a long waiting list for a slip at Shilshole Marina. I got a phone call in January 2009 that a slip was available if I wanted it. Time to decide... I took the slip and started looking for a boat.
I wanted a boat that would be able to take me anywhere in the world. I preferred a boat that erred on the side of being rugged and safe, while also sailing well. I wanted a boat I would be able to single hand. Every boat is a compromise - faster, slower, larger, smaller, heavier, lighter, wider, narrower and so many other design points.
Plagiarizing from Nigel Calder, modifying slightly, the list I was looking for in a boat is something like:
Sailing in Puget sound, the wind seems to be always from the North or South, and you tend to be traveling North or South. So you are either going upwind or downwind - there isn't that much beam reaching around Seattle. I wanted the boat I bought to be suitable for oceans out there, and to be adequate for puget sound. This is not a boat optimized for local sailing.
I discovered Pacific Seacraft early in my search and read everything I could find on them. I visited Seacraft Yacht Sales in Seattle early in 2009 and met Ray Neglay. At the time, they had two PSC 37's at their dock, and they showed very well. They were both pricey and very complete - there was not much work to do on either of them. At the time there were 17 or so PSC 37's available across America. I kept on looking and looking...
I had never thought about going sailing until I read a series of books by Patrick O'Brian, starting with Master and Commander. Its a great series, I recommend it highly. Sailing seemed to be full of adventure. I was getting hooked on the romance of the idea.
I moved from Toronto to Seattle in 1996. After a while, I started hiking, skiing and enjoying the area, which is spectacular in so many ways. I though of sailing, but always considered that it was something I would do when I retired. Idiot. I started kayaking in 1999 and eventually messed up my back, leading to a little reevaluation of what I was doing. Carrying a kayak was no longer a real possibility for me.
I live close to Shilshole Marina, and would walk by it frequently. One day I wondered if I should finally look further into sailing. I start things by reading all about them, so I started buying books on sailing. There was much more to the activity that I thought. It seemed very deep, with lots to learn. I joined Windworks sailing club in 2007 and learned how to sail. It was fun and demanding, also very social. Along the way I abandoned my idea of waiting to get involved with sailing until after I retired.
In 2008 I decided that I wanted my own boat. I started getting more serious toward the end of the year when I put my name down for what is normally a long waiting list for a slip at Shilshole Marina. I got a phone call in January 2009 that a slip was available if I wanted it. Time to decide... I took the slip and started looking for a boat.
I wanted a boat that would be able to take me anywhere in the world. I preferred a boat that erred on the side of being rugged and safe, while also sailing well. I wanted a boat I would be able to single hand. Every boat is a compromise - faster, slower, larger, smaller, heavier, lighter, wider, narrower and so many other design points.
Plagiarizing from Nigel Calder, modifying slightly, the list I was looking for in a boat is something like:
- proven blue water construction
- the ability to take severe groundings with no more than cosmetic damage
- reasonable upwind performance
- a reasonably balanced helm
- seakindly motion
- directional stability
- a design that can be single handed
- room for a small number of people, not a large crowd
- a safe and comfortable cockpit
- an interior that is functional at sea and comfortable on the hook
- a boat built by people who care about quality, and express that care in their product
Sailing in Puget sound, the wind seems to be always from the North or South, and you tend to be traveling North or South. So you are either going upwind or downwind - there isn't that much beam reaching around Seattle. I wanted the boat I bought to be suitable for oceans out there, and to be adequate for puget sound. This is not a boat optimized for local sailing.
I discovered Pacific Seacraft early in my search and read everything I could find on them. I visited Seacraft Yacht Sales in Seattle early in 2009 and met Ray Neglay. At the time, they had two PSC 37's at their dock, and they showed very well. They were both pricey and very complete - there was not much work to do on either of them. At the time there were 17 or so PSC 37's available across America. I kept on looking and looking...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)