So recently I was looking at two different boats. The first boats is a 1981 Hunter 27. It is a sister ship to my last boat, though in better shape and ready to sail. It is a little over 8 hours from here. The boat is in a slip that is only $100 a month on the Chesapeake Bay. From a practical stand point the boat is nearly perfect for me. After we sold the last one I was a little apprehensive, because the things that made the boat unacceptable at the time no longer mattered.
So this boat is lovely, and needs little work. I’d need to add solar panels, probably more batteries and an auto pilot and I can head south. Eventually I’d need to add a stern grill, and I’d like to add an oven, but I don’t know where I’d put one. And if I were to keep it I would add a canvas cockpit enclosure to expand the space and allow the animals a bit more freedom to move around.
The second boat is a 1942 40’ custom build wooden cutter. It is gorgeous. It has lots of space, a pilot house and is in the middle of a renovation. It is also in San Diego, CA. Truthfully if this boat was on the east coast I would buy it in a heartbeat. But it would involve moving to California. I am not sure that I want to live in California. Plus if I am on the pacific, I can cruise the Sea of Cortez, the San Juan Islands and Hawaii. That is it, unless I want to take off across the Pacific. Or head through the Panama Canal. But it is a wonderful, once in a lifetime boat. Possible worth the change of plans and strange adventure of moving to the west coast.
So what to do? I am not sure.
