December 9, 2022

I like to think that the Universe supports me.

Throughout my lifetime, when I have chosen to manifest something, more often than not, it happens. I don't think that I was born with this ability, I learned it at about age 16. (More on that in another post!). Suffice to say, I knew deep down that we would get this boat. We discovered 'Nauti-Nauti' back in August when we had committed to selling our house in the Redwoods, along with almost everything we owned, so that we could return to the cruising life. We sent off a good-faith deposit and started communicating with the sellers almost daily. But life threw us a curveball and the sellers discovered that Nauti-Nauti's engines would need to be replaced. With the additional cost, we decided that it was just too much for our budget. Plus, our home value plummeted almost 200K in just two months as interest rates increased, which pushed us into a lower price range. We found an alternate boat, also in Ft. Lauderdale and decided, based on the listing, that we could make this other boat work.

Fast forward to November, and we set off for Florida (where all the cats are!), driving our truck and towing all of our stuff in a little Uhaul trailer. We took our time with stops in both Santa Fe and Dallas, so that I could give my sibs long overdue hugs. We made it to Ft Lauderdale and found a great Airbnb in Wilton Manors where we could go through our stuff, and try once again to lighten our load. (Note to non-boaters: Catamarans are the perfect cruising platform for those that aren't in a hurry and want the space and comfort that they provide. Though it comes with a cost... they need to be kept light. We brought way too much stuff and will be continuously lightening our load as we go. We're saving some of the "cruiser" stuff for a "treasures of the bilge" sale!

On Day 2, we got to step onboard the Manta 40 with the Broker and a least have a look. She looked pretty good, as our friend Terry had told us when he went to look at her in our stead, about a month back. We waited for the owner to arrive in town and talked about doing a sea trial (test drive) as soon as possible. To make a long and troublesome story short, each time the owner switched on anything- the engines, the inverters, etc., they failed to work. The seller was caught off guard and the broker just shook his head. The seller and Jann worked through each issue as they came up, Jann often diagnosing the them quickly, but it was taking days to fix them. We had to chase down parts and drive all over to get them. When the day finally came to take her off the dock, the DC power system had issues and when that was fixed, we were sitting on the bottom at low tide!

We went back to our apartment and had a serious "come-to-Jesus" talk. Should we walk away from this boat? Given all the problems, we might be able to get it for a lot less, but did we really want to worry about the next thing breaking? Well, the answer of course was a resounding "NO!"


How We Got Sweet Escape

I began this post with my statement that the Universe Supports Me, and it totally did. As it turned out, the sellers of 'Nauti-Nauti' were, unfortunately, being squeezed financially due to both personal health crises and the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Knowing that they now had their second interested party backing out, it seemed as though the planets were finally aligned... We would need to negotiate with them again. We called them the next morning and had that heart-to-heart talk. We told them of the horror story we found on the Manta and how much we still wanted 'Nauti-Nauti.' We told them again, how it was meant to be and they agreed. They really wanted us to have her and we agreed on the price. We both had to bend. Now it would take almost everything we have to get her, but we knew she was on the right boat. We had come to trust these guys, that they would be true to their word. They're from Wisconsin, after all! And after their 15-year circumnavigation, they knew every inch of the boat. Sure, every boat has its issues, it's the nature of the beast, and there's always something to fix. Like the anchor windlass. (More on that later!).

We made a verbal agreement and they agreed to drive down from Ocala to do the deal. Because it's an FSBO deal, we would need to handle all the paperwork, or pay someone to do the Coast Guard Documentation, which we did. But we wouldn't be paying the broker fee, and if we could get out of U.S. waters soon, we wouldn't be paying any Florida sales tax. Every little bit counts right now!

On Monday, November 28, they met us on board to go through the entire boat and do the deal. When we shook on the deal, as promised I did my happy dance! My Fourth Dream had now come true! Jann & I were now the owners of a beautiful Leopard 40 Catamaran.



Let the next chapter of our lives commence.

Next Up:

Moving aboard - Where to stow all our stuff?
A Tale of Many Bruises