The hunt continues

    

     When we first started searching for our big boat, I don't think I had any idea just how difficult it was going to be to find one that would work. Rather naive, I suppose, or maybe I just didn't let myself think about all the difficulties we would come across in our search.
This one is has all the cruising gear already, but doesn't have enough bunk space; this one has enough bunk space, but it's at the top of our price range and doesn't have a watermaker or solar panels and its water tanks aren't big enough. This one could work for us, but it's in Florida! 

      We did find one we liked a lot, in California. It had the bunk space we needed, an unusual layout that would fit our family of five nicely, was in our price range... We had a preliminary survey done and most of the problems the surveyor came back with weren't surprises or dealbreakers, except for the corrosion on the chain plates. Joe and I talked about what could be done to get the boat to us. We aren't savvy enough sailors yet to be comfortable taking a new-to-us boat up the west coast from California to Puget Sound! So the thinking was have the boat pulled from the water and loaded on a big truck for land transport up to Seattle. Then we could get to know her on a trip back up here from Seattle--much shorter and more managable. We even made an offer on the boat, sent papers to the broker to send to the owner.

        But it was odd. The papers been signed, scanned and e-mailed to the broker and something just didn't sit right. Joe and I were out that evening while the big kids were at Awana and we both admited we had misgivings. Joe said, "I'm actually hoping the owner won't even counteroffer and then we can say we tried and move on." I told him I felt the same way and if that was the case, should we even keep the offer on the table? I don't know exactly what it was, but even though we really liked what we had seen and heard about this sailboat, something about it wasn't right for us. So, Joe e-mailed the broker and told him we were rescinding the offer. And you know something? After he did that, we both felt a lot better. It was a little disappointing, but it was definitely the right decision.

        So we are now confining our search to the Seattle and Vancouver areas, although if we get lucky enough to find something up here already, that would be excellent! Some other intriguing boats are coming on the market that we've seen, so we certainly haven't lost heart. Kyrie is out there, just waiting for the right time for us all to come together!