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Buying a sailboat - some nice lessons learned.

Hi Dlandersson!

Again with the good video!
We can sort of relate to the couple in the video.

When we started looking for a boat we were sort of all over the place but just embraced that chaotic process.
Started looking for a small 12 ft to 16 ft runabout with seats for six adults to zip about sight seeing and occasional fishing.
Something to easily single handed launch/retrieve or manhandle as might be needed.

A JET BOAT! A SeaDoo Sportster with inboard twin engines, jet drive (no props to foul or cut feet, shallow draft for fishing and some zippity dodah for fun. Problem was one engine was needing attention and there were some paper issues that the then current owner needed to sort out to give clear title. Delay led to delay led to schedule conflicts and we gave up on it after a month or so. It was a cute boat, bit of a project, and really only a four place boat…

Next up was a bow rider outboard! As you that time we had seriously started considering doing the ICW this was a better choice. I had been contemplating building a 30 foot cruiser and the engine of a bow rider could be possible to transfer over. This went reasonably well until we found that many of the boats with the engines we wanted were more of a project than desired and we were going to be basically paying for an engine with an attached boat project. So before we could enjoy a boat we’d be rebuilding one and then get around to building one… Complicated

Then out of due diligence we looked into small cruisers. Sea Dory’s, Rangers, Bayliners, etc….
Half were inboard stern drives, a quarter were inboards and a quarter were outboards.
There were some nice ones but all were older, some had a lot of carpet and padding, many would require a much bigger tow vehicle than we had or a tow service to move it about. Many smelled musty with all the soft stuff padding which was going to be had to get rid of.

I refocused on the design our own and build it track. But having spent a professional life designing/building lots of neat aerospace and industrial equipment I knew that there was going to be a lot of project planning, logistics and hundreds(if not thousands) of manhours fabricating, assembling and finishing. Not quite the way I could physically handle it or desired to spend the next two or five years of life.

A thought occurred to us to look at small cabin sailboats. Something we could trailer, motor about in, camp in and just enjoy that was hard surfaced, easy to maintain, easy to clean and within a budget. Low and behold the Mac26X!!!

We really like Over Easy! It provides us with the most nearly perfect match to our desires, needs and capabilities!

The openness to a developing process helped us wander through the various options, explore them, experience them and finally find what we didn’t know we were looking for.

So like the young couple who eventually found what they wanted after a false start we also wouldn’t change the experience path that led us to OverEasy.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

I'm an IT consultant and I have taken my customers through a similar track many times. "What computer should I buy". That's the wrong question. The first question is how are you planning to use it.

I (surprisingly) followed my own advise when I was looking to move from a racing catamaran to something that was a little more forgiving to aging knees. Once I came up with a list of how I would realistically use it the only remaining question was or . Given the very shallow water in most of the places I sail the keel that would slide over a sand bar won over the one that would get stuck on one.

I've never regretted my decision.

Be Free wrote: ↑Sat Aug 14, 2021 8:18 am Given the very shallow water in most of the places I sail the keel that would slide over a sand bar won over the one that would get stuck on one.

There we were! Wind blowing nice, bright sun sparkling on the water, a warm summer day.
The little sunfish was shooting right along pulled in tight.
Middle of the lake and I have it all to my self.
Best day yet on the little Sunfish.

THEN WHAM!, BANG!, THUMP!, KERSLASH!! and I’m suddenly three feet in front of the boat!!!
WTF happened? ‍
The Sunfish is just sitting there bobbing on the water sail flapping?
It’s not a horse which can buck you off for no good reason?!?
WTF…?‍

Swimming back to the boat my foot finds something hard and kind of slimy.
Huh?
Round ? Smooth? Long? Branches….!?! A TREE !!! (A log actually.)

Yup a semi submerged log floating just below the surface.
Must have been about 24 inches in diameter and 20 feet long or more!
The dagger board hit it square on and stopped everything cold!

Clamoring back on board the Sunny I pulls the dagger board to inspect it and sure enough the leading edge had a sizable “bite” taken out of it about 2 feet down where it contacted the log.

Lacking anything else I tied a water bottle to the log ang limped my way back to shore.
Later with the help of a friend and a power boat we went back out and found to log, towed it to a overgrown section of the shore line and did our best to tie it to shore.
Local historian told us that ‘back in the day’ they used to raft cut logs across the lake to get them to a terminus so they could be hauled overland to a saw mill. Occasionally some sank and occasionally some floated back up (sort of). Especially when the lake warmed up.

Fortunately the only damage was to make a new dagger board as there wasn’t any fiberglass damage.

I’m really glade for a swing keel on our Mac26X.
I know it might get damaged if something similar where to happen but at the same time I wouldn’t want to contend with a dagger board.

Hit a log much like you did 9 years ago. Serious crack in the fiverglass - had to be repaired. And life goes on.