The searching is over and the journey has begun. My wife and I have recently found the boat of our dreams and have taken the plunge. After falling in love with sailing, and the dream of a cruising lifestyle, aboard our 1970 Hughes 38' we have found our "forever" boat. She is a 1981 Lafitte 44' cutter named "SpellBound". (Actually at the time she was named "Mister Ed" but my wife and I have agreed to never speak of that awful name again!)

She was purchased through a broker here in California as the seller had moved back to the UK. As to be expected, the purchase was not without it's challenges. Upon coming to view her initially we found her berthed in the half empty San Leandro Marina. Immediately we noticed several cosmetic issues (or issues we hoped would only be cosmetic) but knew that in order to get the boat we desired in our price range this was to be expected. Her red hull was chalky, once beautiful teak decks required attention, her dodger would need new canvas, she needed a new mainsail cover and she needed a good all around cleaning. None of which was of concern as much as a structurally sound and seaworthy vessel.

Upon going below we found an absolute thing of beauty! From her cockpit the companionway leads you into a spacious aft stateroom. There is a large bed with custom mattress to port and settee to starboard. A large wet closet is immediately forward of the companionway stairs which provides ample room for wet clothing and is then warmed by the engine compartment. Under and aft of the stairs is a second closet and drawers abound. Moving forward we find a hallway to starboard which leads you through two doors. Behind these doors is the location of the aft head and when both doors are closed it creates a large shower area big enough for two to shower together if they so desire. Immediately we recognize this as the perfect arrangement for a cruising couple who will be sharing watches and want the bed and head located in the most comfortable sea kindly position within easy reach of the cockpit. Moving forward to port we find the most spacious kitchen ever seen on a sailboat with a large nav station to starboard. The kitchen is equipped with a double stainless sink, a Force 10 three burner stove, large freezer compartment and a huge refrigerator compartment. A second companionway leads you to the deck just forward of the dodger and I quickly realize that my wife's incessant desire to always be blocking the companionway may be a thing of the past! Moving forward down the stairs is a large dinette to port and settee to starboard. The entire boat is adorned in beautifully finished teak with white sunbrella upholstery. Through the next door we find the forward stateroom complete with it's own head (though this one disconnected at the moment), multiple closets and a high and spacious v-birth. Again massive amounts of storage both within the closets as well as under the v-birth. There are two large hatches, one amidship and one in the forward stateroom, and when combined with eight opening portlights and two clear companionway hatches the boat fills with light and ventilation. Despite this she is insulated beyond any boat we've ever been in and find that one must virtually scream from the cockpit in order to be heard at the dinette. Perfect for all those noisy sea lions and early rising salmon fisherman we've been surrounded by!

We did our best to survey her, taking care to peer into every nook and cranny. At a total displacement of 28,000 lbs (33,000as loaded)...she's a big girl in our book! Storage abounds and inside each cabinet you'll find more storage beneath a false bottom. Despite her unpolished initial appearance she seemed in excellent structural and mechanical condition. Standing rigging appeared near new, spars in good shape, sails either new or serviceable, decent running rigging, steering system looked good, hull appeared sound inside and out and the Perkins 4-108 appeared in good condition. In fact all systems checked out with the only major items being living amenities, such as a refrigerator compressor in need of service. Time to schedule a sea trial!

The following Saturday we were scheduled to take her out. In the week since our initial walkthrough we learned a great deal about the Lafitte 44 and were convinced that, if she passed all surveys to our satisfaction, she was definitely the boat for us. We also learned of our first challenge....the unfortunate future of the San Leandro Marina. Apparently quite a scandal is occurring in San Leandro and, despite having cheaper options with the Army Corps of Engineers, the city has decided to cease dredging the marina in favor of selling it out to a major developer. A shame as, for an urban marina, it's actually a beautiful place. As San Leandro is located in the shallow waters at the southern end of San Francisco Bay this leaves the two mile long channel with as little as two feet of water at mean low tide. As Spellbound has a draft of 6' 4" this means she can only depart the marina during high tide.

Our departure is scheduled for one hour before high tide, allowing us sufficient time to get a couple hours on the water before we find ourselves locked out by the receding tide, and we arrive to find 25 knot winds with gusts reaching as high as 40 knots. I myself couldn't have hoped for a better test run but my wife, and the broker for that matter, were less than thrilled. As the owner was in the UK a friend of his had met us to captain the boat. We put a double reef in the main and the Perkins fired up smoothly with just a press of the ignition. Immediately we were met with "Captain Ron" concerns when our, recently met, helmsman proceeded to perform a 360 in reverse and came frighteningly close to hitting a piling or two. Oh well, if anythings gonna happen it'll happen out there right? Once out of the slip the concern was the depth and any unknown shoaling which may have occurred. Of course the largest concern is in the marina itself or passing the jetty and at one point the depth sounder, which is calibrated to the keel, read 0.2 feet! Fortunately the bottom is nothing but silt, which our captain was certain explained his 360 maneuver, but we had no desire to get stuck in the first place. We successfully departed the harbor entrance and began the two mile trek out the channel directly into a steady 25 knot wind. Being within the San Francisco Bay we did not have the swell we're accustomed to on the Monterey Bay but the high winds provided ample wind waves to get a feel for her. Spellbounds 4' 10" freeboard at stern and 5'6" at bow make her a dry boat! Finally we depart the channel and raise the sails. With steady 25 knots, a double reefed main, and jib at about 90% we find ourselves doing an easy 6 knots close hauled. After clearing the shoaling areas we tack to the north and put her on a beam reach heading toward the Bay Bridge. Even with gusts reaching up to 40 knots my wife is comfortable sitting on the leeward cockpit combing or even standing against the aft rail as we cruise along at speeds ranging between 6-7 knots. Under the current sail configuration she is balanced perfectly and fingertip control is all that's necessary on her large wheel. One look from my wife and we both knew it was time to schedule a survey!

Challenge number two. The survey was scheduled for the following Friday and was to be conducted at Svendsen's Boat Yard, about a four hour sail away. Again the tides at San Leandro, as well as the need for a surrogate captain as the owner is out of country, required a great deal of effort to get all parties involved coordinated. We had scheduled the survey to be performed by a surveyor we had used in the past and very much respected. Unfortunately he was forced to cancel at the last minute do to unforeseen circumstances and we found ourselves using someone we were previously unfamiliar with in order to avoid rescheduling the whole mess. Allow me to say right here that getting a good surveyor is key as this was the beginning of a nightmare several weeks long. Initially I wasn't concerned as, for me, the point to the survey was for me to be able to go through the boat in detail and decide for myself as to it's condition. As we would not be financing this was to be a pre-purchase survey for the purpose of our making a buying decision. Now a surveyors job is of course to pick the boat apart and find it's every flaw however this gentleman was flat out combative in the way he spoke and, I believe, seemed to forget who was paying him. At the time I could have cared less as I am quite capable of handling this type of personality and was all too happy to have the opportunity to go through the boat with a fine tooth comb. Though the surveyor would spend twenty minutes talking about an item I knew would take me ten minutes to fix, we ultimately found the boat to be in excellent condition with the only issues being those my wife and I had already identified. She was in desperate need of a bottom paint but no blisters were found. The decks will require a laborious re-caulking and sanding but the deck core was found to be essentially moisture free. All major systems of concern checked out beyond our expectations and a great deal about the boat was learned. A few days later we received the written survey, which was beautifully formatted, and we found ourselves ready to schedule the engine survey. Now, this nightmare I speak of has yet to come but was already in the works at this point.

We scheduled our engine survey for the following weekend and found a truly excellent mechanical surveyor with over forty years experience that had worked on several vessels with which we were familiar. Upon his inspection he informed us that over the years he has found the Perkins 4-108 to be a bullet proof diesel and one of his favorites. He ranted and raved about what a great boat we had found, which meant a great deal as this man had seen more than his fare share. All and all the engine checked out with only minor servicing needs and we had oil samples sent to the lab which came back excellent three days later. It should be noted that this man took pride in being able to interpret lab results and felt strongly that, armed with this knowledge, having the oil tested is far more valuable than some will lead you to believe.

Challenge number three (combined with number two). After the engine survey my wife and I were convince she was to be ours and we would proceed to closing. Due to the owner being out of country the process took a bit longer but about ten days later she was ours! We had been speaking with our insurance broker since the beginning of this as we wanted to ensure that any items required by the insurance company were covered during the survey. Upon making our final purchase decision we contacted our broker. We were staunchly informed that the insurance company accepted the survey and our policy would be bound on the day we were scheduled to take delivery. This is the part where I tell you to make sure you get an insurance broker familiar with boats! Especially if it's a relatively large boat. On the day we are to take ownership we are informed that just one last form needs to signed and faxed over before he can bind the policy. This "one last form" turns out to be a survey compliance form agreeing that all suggested items on the survey have been corrected. As it were our surveyor had included a heading in the survey stating "I would recommend this vessel for financing and insurance after the following corrections are made". Under this heading he had listed twenty six items, the vast majority of which were either ridiculous or flat out incorrect. For example he had listed that the batteries were "not installed to ABYC code", what this meant was that they had wingnuts but rather than tell us that he placed it under this heading. He had listed improper installation of the inverter, however what this meant was a $5 bus board cover. The propane tanks were not installed to ABYC, which by his definition meant that they did not have gauges on the tank which we later learned were not required to begin with. He also listed numerous things under this heading that he had flat out not checked or was completely wrong about. For example that the boat had no emergency tiller (it does), that nav lights were found not to be working (he didn't know how to turn them on), inspect and replace anchor rode and chain (300' of nearly new 5/16 chain that he didn't check). The list goes on but the long and short is until all items listed were addressed and the boat was re-surveyed the insurance company would not insure us. We spent our first weekend on our new boat with the knowledge that we were completely uninsured and couldn't even go out for a quick evening sail.

So Monday rolls around and we call the insurance company directly as we are quite upset that our broker had told us the survey had been accepted days prior when in fact it had not. Unfortunately this leads to further issues as we immediately discover that, in addition to the survey issues, the insurance company has completely inaccurate information regarding the boats location. Initially they inform us that they will provide liability within three miles of Moss Landing Marina and while on the hard at the local boat yard. We explain to them that that's not going to do us much good as the boat is currently located in San Leandro and must be insured for the sail down at which time we are informed that the broker had made up a story about how the boat had been transported via truck (he even named the trucking company) and was already on the hard at Gravelle's Boat Yard in Moss Landing. Say what? It has since become apparent to us that our broker was doing anything he could to get us an insurance card and policy number to make us think all was well as we have no other explanation for this completely false statement of facts. Needless to say we have dropped this broker for all of our insurance needs and were finally able to convince the insurance company to insure us for San Leandro and the necessary trip to Svendsen's Boat Yard in Alameda.

Spellbound has now been in the yard for a week. We have had several through hulls and seacocks replaced as well as all associated hoses and she's receiving a fresh bottom paint. We hired an excellent surveyor who performed a new survey this past Friday. Not only was she given a clean bill of health by the new surveyor but he assessed her current market value at $37,000 more than what we paid for her. We anticipate her going back in the water in about a week, primarily due to the yard being so busy at this time of year, and plan to sail her down to Moss Landing at the soonest available weather window. While the buying process has been plagued with challenges...we couldn't be happier with our new boat! The sail up to the yard was amazing and we have nothing but great things to say about Svendsen's Boat Yard....but that's for the next blog entry.