Remember last year, when we bought our new condo? Well, it came with a boat slip. We have kept the slip rented for over a year, but recently my tenant moved on, and I was left trying to rent the slip again.
My husband decided this would be a great time to go boat shopping, and he declared a race. I would continue trying to rent the slip, and he would look for a boat to buy. Whoever succeeded first would be declared the "winner".
I will confess to dragging my feet just a little toward the end, because he seemed so excited about having a boat -- after all, you only live once, right? If playing around on the water will give him joy and give him a chance to decompress from a high stress job, why would I get in the way of that?
My husband did tons of research and decided to buy an older "classic" Tollycraft. Tollycraft was a PNW boat maker, with a great reputation. Tollycraft is no longer in business, but the boats have a loyal following.
On the final weekend of our "race", I actually had several interested parties who wanted to see the boat slip. That same weekend my husband wanted me to go look at several boats with him. What's a girl to do?
He was just so excited about the boats he was going to look at, so I agreed to go with him.... and he declared himself the winner of our race... even though he had not actually bought a boat yet.
We looked at several different boats that weekend, and finally settled on a 30' Tollycraft Sedan. I liked it best, because it has a large comfortable salon. It rains a lot in the PNW, so it will be good to have a nice roomy cabin.
The boat even came with nautical themed plastic dishware, a roll of toilet paper, and three boxes of tissue.
The kitchenette is pretty roomy, and had a propane stove and oven, and a double sink.
The boat sleeps six.
It has a private berth, a marine head with a shower, a settee that slides out to become a double bed, and a dinette that drops down to become a bed.
It even has a little built-in fan.
My husband has suggested we redo the interior. It will be my first boat interior design job, and I really look forward to doing it, but for now I want to live with it just like it is, and see how well it works for us. The basic layout looks very functional, and I suspect only needs a bit of tweaking. I'd like to wait at least one season before making any decisions. What do you think?
Now, I just need to learn to pilot the new boat -- perhaps I should start with the little dinghy! Baby steps, right?
My husband decided this would be a great time to go boat shopping, and he declared a race. I would continue trying to rent the slip, and he would look for a boat to buy. Whoever succeeded first would be declared the "winner".
I will confess to dragging my feet just a little toward the end, because he seemed so excited about having a boat -- after all, you only live once, right? If playing around on the water will give him joy and give him a chance to decompress from a high stress job, why would I get in the way of that?
My husband did tons of research and decided to buy an older "classic" Tollycraft. Tollycraft was a PNW boat maker, with a great reputation. Tollycraft is no longer in business, but the boats have a loyal following.
On the final weekend of our "race", I actually had several interested parties who wanted to see the boat slip. That same weekend my husband wanted me to go look at several boats with him. What's a girl to do?
He was just so excited about the boats he was going to look at, so I agreed to go with him.... and he declared himself the winner of our race... even though he had not actually bought a boat yet.
We looked at several different boats that weekend, and finally settled on a 30' Tollycraft Sedan. I liked it best, because it has a large comfortable salon. It rains a lot in the PNW, so it will be good to have a nice roomy cabin.
The boat even came with nautical themed plastic dishware, a roll of toilet paper, and three boxes of tissue.
The kitchenette is pretty roomy, and had a propane stove and oven, and a double sink.
The boat sleeps six.
It has a private berth, a marine head with a shower, a settee that slides out to become a double bed, and a dinette that drops down to become a bed.
It even has a little built-in fan.
My husband has suggested we redo the interior. It will be my first boat interior design job, and I really look forward to doing it, but for now I want to live with it just like it is, and see how well it works for us. The basic layout looks very functional, and I suspect only needs a bit of tweaking. I'd like to wait at least one season before making any decisions. What do you think?
Now, I just need to learn to pilot the new boat -- perhaps I should start with the little dinghy! Baby steps, right?
