My New (to me) Boat!

Don’t worry I’m not going to bore you with a prequel on what inspired me to buy a boat, and live on it. “Officially” I don’t live on it. However I am there most days working on it late into the night, and early in the morning. The staff at the marina fancy the fact that I’m giving this boat some TLC since the previous owner wasn’t, and didn’t know much about how to take care of a boat.

Alright, I’ll tell you about the boat, and my experience buying it. It’s a 1979 Lancer 30 III, and is in pretty good shape. It was in even better shape when I bought it, but we’ll get into that later. The engine ran rough, but it ran. The chain plates, and standing rigging were in excellent shape. I swear it looks new. The shrouds passed the cotton ball test. The deck was solid, everything worked! I knew it needed a bottom job desperately, but I bought it anyways. I knew very little about boats when I bought it, but have experience fixing things. I bought it for $4.9k, and that’s a steal. I was very lucky the lake I bought her on was disappearing and it was a buyer’s market to say the least.

This marked the beginning of the rest of my life! The hardest part about moving to the boat was throwing away all the sentimental shit I’ve held onto for years. I haven’t used any of this stuff in years, but god damnit it was special to me. It’s amazing how much of a grasp silly shit has on you. I literally didn’t have room for it in my life anymore, and had to do away with it. Only the essentials could come. To be honest a lot of stuff lives in my car now, mostly clothes, and photography equipment. I dream about having a big van, or truck, but my attention is going to the boat because I can’t afford anything else.

The boat came with everything I needed to start sailing right away. Which I had no experience doing what so ever. I had been reading, and researching about it for a few years online. I knew the basic theories behind sailing, and basic maneuvering. I took special note on heaving to, and how not to accidentally gybe. (I did anyways, and that’s how I lost my radio) As it turns out, learning to sail is easy. Learning to sail well, is hard. I’m very fortunate to have made some amazing friends out on the lake who are willing to lend a hand, or teach me a thing or two about sailing when we meet.

There’s a tide line in the boat which is probably going to be the most annoying thing to fix. The batteries died from neglect, and the bilge pump couldn’t do it’s job. All this boat needs is a little TLC, and some additional equipment and we’ll be ready for the coast! I’ve got 5 years to do it, so I should be okay…right?