Different Priorities for Annapolis Boat Show

We have enjoyed several years of the Boston and Newport Boat Shows, spending most of our time stepping on board every new boat and dreaming. Not so for the United Sailboat Show in Annapolis this past weekend.

We are still dreaming, but our dreaming is much closer to becoming reality now. We are no longer interested in spending time checking out the new boats, we won't be getting one of those. Our boat will be about 30 years old and will need a bit of work. We're good with that and have been enjoying the search.

This boat show we found ourselves interested in everything but the boats themselves. In the very near future we will have a need for boat financing and insurance, so picked up info from all vendors in the field. We also checked out and picked up info on various rigging, solar panels, anchors, fuel pumps, auto pilots, whisker poles and more.

It was our first trip not only to this show but to Annapolis itself. What a great little city. We only visited the waterfront area but definitely liked what we saw. We agreed to check out the climate (both weather and political) a little more closely to see if we should consider for our home port.

Annapolis Here We Come!

Packing up to head to the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis. Can't wait to seriously check out cruising gear for our much anticipated boat!

Sailboat Shopping in New Bern

We just returned from an afternoon checking out boats with Mike of Neptune Yachts in New Bern. Mike is a very experienced sailor and therefore a wealth of useful information for virgin blue water sailors like us. We checked out a 37' Pacific Seacraft, a 38' Island Packet, and a 37' Tartan.

 

The Seacraft has a NEW engine, which is huge plus. It also has a Harken Battcar Batten Traveler System. This system utilizes ball bearings to allow the mast to slide up and down easily without having to head into the wind. Ramon and I had never seen this before, but we are now planning on installing it on whichever boat we buy.

The Packet has the original 1987 engine. We are not sure of the hours on it or the maintenance schedule, both of which will be a big factor in our decision. The Packet has much of the offshore equipment needed that the Seacraft does not have as well as a larger cockpit and cabin. The Packet has a rack and pinion steering, also something we had not seen before but really liked.

We learned that the 1979 Tartan is probably too old to get financing but was not one we ended up being interested in anyway. We are planning on looking at more boats next weekend in Virginia and Maryland as we head to the Annapolis Boat Show. We have also started the process for pre-approval on financing,  checking out requirements and costs of insurance, and availability and cost of slips in Oriental and New Bern. 

Ready to buy The Boat!

I can't believe two years have passed since I last updated Ready to Set Sail! These past two years have been full. Our youngest, Aleck, graduated high school and went off to college in NY August 2013, we lost my dad in January 3rd of this year and I had major surgery a few weeks after, we sold our house in June 2013 only to have it fall through a week before the closing, we sold the house...again... May of 2014 - this time for real, we then moved twice, the second move from Boston to North Carolina.

Moored in Gloucester, MA August 2013

We did enjoy a three month sailing season August - October, 2013, including a week sailing between Boston and Newburyport with stops in Gloucester and Rockport along the way. We, unfortunately, have not yet sailed in 2014, but all is not lost...
 

Moored in Rockport, MA August 2013

Despite the lack of time on the water, we have made great advancements towards our goal of sailing into the wild blue yonder. First accomplishment was our move down south, where we could purchase the boat and sail locally almost year round while outfitting the boat for cruising. This move was originally planned for 2015, but our daughter, Becca, was accepted into East Carolina University in Greenville, NC and was making the move from Florida to ECU in August and we thought, why not go now? So, we did!

Landing in North Carolina on August 9th, Ramon has been able to secure full-time remote work while I continue to search for remote employment opportunities. Securing full-time work that we can do from any port is essential and we are well on our way to checking that to do off of our list.

Now the excitement begins! Shopping for The Boat!! We have begun the search with a focus primarily in Oriental, NC. Working with Mike at Deaton Yacht Sales has been great. We are planning on attending the Annapolis Boat Show next weekend and will schedule time with some brokers to view their previously owned inventory. Will keep you posted.