Third time lucky?
16 August 2007 | Still on St. Joseph Island
Well I'm off next Monday to Annapolis, hopefully to find "the one".
I was so disappointed about our second effort that I didn't even post it.
In July, I found an Islander Freeport 38C on the Great Lakes that showed well. Unfortuately, I was beaten to the table with an offer before I could even get down to see it. A week later, I received a call from the broker that the deal had gone sour and it was back on the market. Not about to miss out a second time I put in a matching offer that was accepted based on a personal inspection, survey and sea trials. Broker bought the current survey and forwarded it for review prior to my visit. While there wasn't a single deal breaker there was a number of "small" deficiencies that I reviewed with a local boat yard. What I saw as minor came with a $12,000 plus price tag to resolve the most serious shortcomings.
When I informed the broker that I was withdrawing my offer I received a curt email suggesting that I was making a big mistake and that the boat showed better than the survey suggested. Maybe . . . but that's not what his survey lead me to believe.
August found us still looking. The more I read the broader our search became. A couple of the new additions were 36 and 42 footers in the Pearson line. After taking a look at a neighbour's 42 footer (and deciding it was more boat than we needed or wanted at this point) we settled on Pearson 365 (ketch) and 367 (cutter). An internet search found a selection of interesting boats in the Annapolis area. After a couple of emails back and forth, we put in an offer on a 367 today and are hoping to have word tomorrow if it has been accepted. Whether it's a go or not go, I'm off to Annapolis armed with a US bank draft to check out what's available. With summer coming to an end, I'm starting to get anxious but I won't be stampeded into buying.