Our House - The Bargain Basement

This week has been taken over by packing, moving, and estate sale preparation! We moved everything we are keeping to our storage unit last Monday (except some of our clothing). The estate sale company we engaged has been pulling stuff out of closets, cabinets, drawers, toolshed, garage, attic, and nooks and crannies we didn't even know existed. They price it, then bring in display tables so people can shop easily during the two-day sale on Friday and Saturday.

The process is much like holding a giant garage sale! Our house looks like the old "bargain basement" of yore. Or like a high-end thrift store.

By Sunday, the house will be empty, and we will be several thousand dollars richer (we hope). Every nickel counts at this point.

It has been really interesting to ride the emotional roller-coaster associated with releasing so many of the material goods accumulated over our lifetimes (and those of forebears, as well). I told Susan we were lucky - that most people don't get to attend their own estate sale. Most of the time these things are done after one is dead!

I think we are beginning to feel lighter! Too bad we can't do the same thing with fat!

Everything Seems To Be On Track

There hasn't been much change in our plans in the past week. Well, that isn't quite accurate, since it's been on, then off, then on again. But our schedule remains the same in the end. We will be in Connecticut July 24th thru the 7th of August, conducting the survey and sea trials, then back to Arizona to tie up loose ends and get together with our friends here for "Bon Voyage" festivities.

Then comes the long trip across country with the "stuff" that we think we cannot live aboard without. It sure looks like a big pile in the garage. We might have to winnow it down some more...

My sister, Zayne MacFarlane, lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and has graciously offered to let us stay in her guest room until the boat is ready for us. (At least, there wasn't too much arm-twisting involved.) Ridgefield is about a 45-minute drive from Stratford, where the boat is currently located. That really will be convenient during the interim before we finalize our purchase. By the time we arrive in CT, the boat will most likely be moved to Norwalk for bottom-painting and commissioning.

I'm pooped, hungry, and ready to get to bed!

Almost Homeless

Whew! We have narrowly escaped being homeless! We think....

Our offer to purchase "Rigger", a 58' Hatteras Long Range Cruiser located in Stratford CT has been verbally accepted. We tendered a written offer, but the current owner is a bit casual about responding in writing. However, we and the broker representing us are confident he will do so on Monday. He seems to be a man of his word. We are counting on it!

Our current plan is to travel to Stratford on or about July 24th, to conduct the marine survey and sea trial, with closing scheduled for July 31. If all goes well, we will spend ten days to two weeks in the area, arranging for equipment upgrades, additions, and replacements of various components. We will also take detailed measurements of the various spaces aboard, and lots of photos, so we can figure out what we should take aboard with us, and what is either too big or redundant.

When we get back to Scottsdale, we will then wrap up business and personal details here, and plan our physical move aboard.

We have about three months to be ready to move south before the New England weather turns cold.

With any luck, we will winter in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean.

July 4th may be our lucky day

The negotiations for the 72' Angel were unsuccessful, so on to the next boat!

Therefore, I've just changed the photo of "Kingdom" to reflect our current boat choice. We made an initial offer today, and are awaiting response.

Wish us luck!

Halfway Packed & Half Baked

Sunday afternoon, and it's siesta time. The temperature outside is 113, and we've been working outside in the garage all morning. I would estimate that we are about halfway through the packing chores, with two weeks to move-out date, so I'm comfortable we are on track.

We are also anxiously awaiting a response from the seller to our "offer to purchase" his boat. The offer expires at end-of-day today. I think he may be playing "chicken" with us. Who knows?

I promised last week to write a bit about the selection criteria we are using to choose our boat. Some of the critical items are as follows:

• Dimensions - minimum 18' Beam, 58' length. To us, anything smaller is too cramped for long-term living and cruising. However many people say they are perfectly comfortable in much smaller boats.
• Full Displacement hull design - This is really a technical discussion, with which I won't bore you.
• Econonomical Diesel Engines - At cruising speed (8 to 10 knots per hour), we need to be able to achieve at least one nautical mile per gallon of fuel. This points us toward Detroit Diesel 4-cylinder or 6 cylinder engines, or the equivalent Caterpillar or Cummins engines, ideally producing 200 horsepower or less per engine.
• Large Fuel Capacity - A minimum of 2500 gallons of Diesel.
• Generators - Two Diesel-Powered generators, a primary and backup, generating sufficient electric power to keep the starting batteries charged, the "house" batteries charged, and provide power for the onboard systems that rely on electricity for operation.
• Watermaker - 300 - 600 Gallons per day, reverse osmosis seawater desalinisation system.
• Navigation Electronics suite - Includes Radar, Sonar, GPS, Loran, Chart-Plotter, Auto-pilot, weather-fax, wind speed indicator, etc. (redundancy required, with repeaters on flybridge)
• Communication Electronics suite - Three VHS radios, Single Sideband radiophone, INMARSAT satellite receiver, Cellular phones, broadband internet service, and satellite TV.
• Active stabilizers - These are effective at significantly reducing the rolling motion inherent in power boats.

Other desirable features:

• Cockpit - This is the stern (aft) deck that is most often seen on fishing boats. It is at a lower level than the main deck living areas. It is especially desirable to us for line-handling while docking, and for bringing aboard supplies and people from the tender while on the hook (riding at anchor). It can also be used for fishing.
• Closed pilothouse - While the main pilothouse may be on the same deck level as the salon and/or galley, it must not allow light from those areas to intrude while underway at night. The crewperson on watch during an overnight cruise must be able to maintain his/her night vision at all times for safety's sake.
• Full walkaround decks - Facilitates easy and rapid movement for crew from bow to stern. It is not convenient or desirable to have to enter the indoor spaces to move from one end of the boat to the other, especially while executing tight docking maneuvers.
• Portugese Bridge - An enclosed waist-high walkway athwartship directly ahead of the pilothouse, allowing crew members to walk outside the pilothouse in heavy seas, with less risk of being swept overboard by an oncoming wave.
• Modern, efficient galley - Microwave/convection oven, 3-burner stovetop, refrigerator, extra freezer capacity, icemaker(s), dishwasher, disposal, trash compactor, etc.
• Laundry - Washer/Dryer
• Air Conditioning - Zoned marine AC Units; capacity to control each of the staterooms separately, and turn off when not in use.

This is not intended as an exhaustive list, but should serve to give folks unfamiliar with cruising yachts a better feel for what we consider important.

Now, it's time for more packing!