Quandary

[crazycarl]

I almost bought a Pacific Seacraft Orion back in 2015. I fell for it the 1st time I saw one back in '88. Instead I opted to purchase the lot our new house sits on now. Now that the house is finished, I'm looking for a boat that can fit under a 45' bridge, not have more than 3' draft, and be capable of handling heavy weather.

I'm once again looking at the Orion, but it draws 4'. That would mean docking it at the assc slips. About 3/4 a mile away and only $125/month. However, hurricane Florence took them out in '18 and although they have been replaced, only the water service is available dockside. The electric is still sitting in storage with no time frame as to when it will be installed.  We don;t have room for a 28' Orion & a 19' Compac at our dock, and when the wind is out of the south, which it is most all summer, the water can drop to 3'.

I also found An Island Packet 27 with a centerboard that draws 2.5'u/6'd. However there is the centerboard that always could develop problems, and our dock is not huge. Keeping the IP and the Compac at it could be done, but not without removing some overhanging trees. 

My other choice is a Flicka. Draws 3'3", trailerable to faraway destinations, standing headroom and private head for the wife, and an inboard diesel. With the trailer I could haul it to clean the bottom myself or to move it for storms. (i've been waiting for months to have the bottom cleaned on the 30'r) I would sell the Compac and only have 1 boat at the dock, but, I'm having a hard time locating one with the head and diesel at a fair price and within a reasonable distance. I found one, but he wants $33k firm. It does have a nice trailer, but it's on the west coast. Add at least another $3K for a flight/hotel out to view it, and another trip out to bring it home, or have it shipped and I can get a really nice Orion for the same cost.

My wife is pushing towards the Orion. It would be a great boat for the two of us exploring the outer banks and participating in the many multi-day sails the club plans. She also says she won't mind me solo sailing it to the Caribbean for a couple of months in the winter. (i'll get that in writing 1st)

So do I buy an Orion and sail it until I can find a Flicka to my liking? Or, do I just hold out until the right Flicka is available? (i'm not getting younger)

I have located 3 Orions for sale. All are 2-3 weeks away by sail.

What would you do?

[passagesfromtheheart]

Carl, I am delighted to learn that you're back to considering your next sailboat — I say go for the Orion. I think I might know which one you're looking at (if on the eastern seaboard) — because it caught my eye as I've been bigger boat searching myself. The Orion is on my list, too.

I love IPs, too, but despite our recent conversation regarding the IP chainplates being fiberglassed in, I still have worries about it, I admit. The above all said, I recently wrote a blog post on the quandary you pose — "Never Is Sooner Than You Think" — not to self-promote (but I guess in some ways, it is, sorry), read this blog post and see what you think afterwards about what to do re: the Orion. I'll repeat what you've already stated:

"I'm not getting any younger."

Ditto on that for me.

On that note, I'll have you know that I put in an offer on a Ta-Shing Tashiba 31, last week, up in Lake Superior. A fine vessel that makes my heart smile quite wide, I must say! I made two trips, this summer, to see the boat. I love everything about it, despite naysayers telling me to run away from all the teak (at least no teak deck, however), the full keel that's a disaster trying to back up, and the list goes on. The heart wants what the heart wants, is what I say.

Sadly, the deal fell apart. I look at it as a blessing because it only means the right boat is still waiting for me. And further on that note and how The Universe works:

I'm making a third trip up to Lake Superior this coming week. We're going sailing, but also — as a last ditch effort to locate additional sailboats for sale, I reluctantly reactivated my FB account so that I could use the "FB Marketplace."

Wouldn't you know it, but our very own CPYOA member, Rafici, on the FB Marketplace, has listed for sale his 2002 Com-Pac 25 (with inboard engine), which — as it turns out — was the boat I wanted in the first place (next logical step from a 23, but they're so hard to find, so I thought a 27 might be easier to locate).

Anyhooo...... yet furthermore on how The Universe works...Rafici's 25 is up on — you guessed it — Lake Superior, in the exact area I'll be visiting, so I will seeing the boat this coming week. I could not be more thrilled! How is that for serendipity!?! Of course, I shall not place the cart before the horse...but, still. I am pretty tickled over it all.

RE: CP 25s: I did look at a 25 up in the Lake Superior area earlier this summer, a 1999 — in lovely condition, but the dealbreaker for us was that the outboard engine's fuel tank is located under the starboard cockpit bench and is quite difficult to access — you'd need to be a contortionist to get back there, not to mention, breakdown/dissassemble the bulkhead which protects the cabin from the tank (as Gerry at Com-Pac explained to me, earlier this summer, that bulkhead is there to help keep gas fumes from entering the cabin). The fuel lines need replacing, so we weren't up for that project, given the location of the tank and what would be involved to remedy things.

After my epistle, here, I'll reiterate my point to go for the Orion — as my father, the Old Salt in my family, would say, "Time's a wastin'!" I just listened to a Nigel Calder podcast ('On The Wind Sailing' with Andy Schell) and Mr. Calder is selling his custom Malö 46 after 16 years of stewardship because the boat is just too much for both him and his wife to handle. He is 76. He is not happy about selling it, but recognizes he is no longer able to deal with the physical demands.

We are all, indeed, not getting any younger!

[brackish]

Two key points that you've already made.  You're not getting any younger so deciding what to do with some degree of haste is important.  Secondly, there are going to be compromises to any boat you decide on.  I would add a third, whatever you decide now, may be only right for a period of time that could be shorter than you think.

When I bought my 23 in 2010, the plan was to be an active trailer sailor, taking the boat to distant waters for new sailing experiences.  After about four years, a couple of BEER cruises in Pensacola, some trips to Mexico Beach, FL because we had a house there, I grew very weary of the prep/tow/launch/retrieve/tow/launch again at home port life.  From that point on it has lived at its home port, and each year sailed less frequently. And I should note that I did not have any really bad trips such as you described earlier this year.

With regard to the Caribbean I found it was much more cost effective and enjoyable to just charter a boat properly maintained and provisioned to do various sections in the Virgin Islands and Bahamas. We did this with good friends who where experienced sailors.

So know, pushing 78 I'm considering selling the 23, and building a Diannes Rose in order to stay on the water.  For Bay Springs Lake, it is perfect, standing headroom and private head (my wife's requirements for continued participation), and slow enough to mimic sailing.  And Charter when I get the urge to sail.