This morning I spent an hour or so on Morning Bird. Ran the engine in reverse for 15 minutes, it is a strong little donk. It was too windy to go out on my own. Sponged out a dribble of rain water in the bilge. Resealed the forard hatch handles, the main source of rain water leakage.

She is clean inside and out, no bad smells. Everything works as it should.

She needs some very minor mainly cosmetic work. Maybe $1,000 to get someone to do it all for me as I don't have the time right now.

I'm not using her but maybe that is a temporary situation.

Do I really want to sell her? Decisions decisions.

Do others have these moments about their yachts?

Hi Morningbird

I am constantly looking for something around the mid 30 foot range with a permanent bed, a shower and a fridge but I don't want to end up with two boats at the same time

I am still working at the moment with limited time to use the boat and I wonder whether just too hold on to this one until I retire hopefully in about 5 years and then sell it and buy one more suitable to spending extended periods aboard

The other thing is I like the one I have now and it only owes me around $30,000 so I don't feel to guilty about not using it a lot but if I spent a fair bit more money buying what I would like I would hate to see it sitting out on the mooring and not being used all that often

Realistically it doesn't make a lot of sense owning a boat and not using it very often but on the days you do use it you wouldn't want to be doing anything else

Regards Don

Your boat is a known quantity. Anything you buy in the future will probably need a fair bit of expenditure to get it how you want it. Look at the potential costs of holding her, and if reasonable, why not keep her?

Don the way I look at it also, how much do you need the $30K if you sold it? and what would you do instead?

I think there's a lot of value in having the boat in terms of keeping people active, physically and especially mentally.
Ive seen people who retire, miss the stimulation and interaction with others, and their health goes downhill.

I don't feel guilty anymore for not using the boat as much as it should be.
Its not being neglected and is ready to go whenever the stars align with everything else, and each year im doing what needs to be done so I can go sailing more.
Agree with Yara, you know what your boat is.

MB, each time I've sold a boat, its been 100% because I wanted to, usually to buy the next.
If your less than that, decide after your had your next great days sailing:)

If more people had a yacht the world would be a better place .

Hang on, I don't get it, MB. Are you saying you could live without a boat to sail?

Wow. I did know that there were some people who didn't own something they sailed on, but I just assumed they either crewed for someone else, or were of some different species that just happened to look like real people. :-)

Living without a boat.....living without a boat.....living without a boat. Nope, I can write the words, but I just can't comprehend the concept.

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crustysailor said..
Don the way I look at it also, how much do you need the $30K if you sold it? and what would you do instead?

I think there's a lot of value in having the boat in terms of keeping people active, physically and especially mentally.
Ive seen people who retire, miss the stimulation and interaction with others, and their health goes downhill.

I don't feel guilty anymore for not using the boat as much as it should be.
Its not being neglected and is ready to go whenever the stars align with everything else, and each year im doing what needs to be done so I can go sailing more.
Agree with Yara, you know what your boat is.

MB, each time I've sold a boat, its been 100% because I wanted to, usually to buy the next.
If your less than that, decide after your had your next great days sailing:)

Hi Crusty

She cost us 30k a few years ago but looking at what else is available we would probably only get low 20's now so that is another reason not to sell her at the moment unless we find something we fall in love with

Regards Don

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MorningBird said..

Do I really want to sell her? Decisions decisions.

Do others have these moments about their yachts?

I can relate.

Currenty have my boat for sale so I can save up for something more modern (and since I can't afford a big cat it looks like a mono is next) But selling is a pain. Buyers want everything done so it looks like I have to finish everything to a reasonable standard before it will sell. So be it. I'm in no rush. I will charter monos while I finish the cosmetic work on the cat and once it sells I can save up for a nice mono.

One side note, the last 9 months I have been sharing my pocket cat with another family and it has been more enjoyable sharing the vessel with another like minded person. I think 2 families to 1 boat is about right. So if anyone wants to go halves in a 38-40 foot fat French mono around $90k total (45k each) next year then drop me a line! I can provide the mooring in McCarrs creek :)

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SandS said..
If more people had a yacht the world would be a better place .

For the rms yeah.

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MorningBird said..
This morning I spent an hour or so on Morning Bird. Ran the engine in reverse for 15 minutes, it is a strong little donk. It was too windy to go out on my own. Sponged out a dribble of rain water in the bilge. Resealed the forard hatch handles, the main source of rain water leakage.

She is clean inside and out, no bad smells. Everything works as it should.

She needs some very minor mainly cosmetic work. Maybe $1,000 to get someone to do it all for me as I don't have the time right now.

I'm not using her but maybe that is a temporary situation.

Do I really want to sell her? Decisions decisions.

Do others have these moments about their yachts?

Its hard to let go something you love.

I'm in the same predicament. Ive sailed my boat to Tangalooma 4 day trip this year and hardly used it last year. But still dreaming about the next big adventure. Im flat out at work and recently bought a house which needs lots of renovations so im going to be busier then ever. In two minds whether i sell it or hang on to it. I know i will miss it.
Thought about doing a share syndicate. But not sure about it. I'd be a bit worried about someone inexperienced with my pride and joy. On the other hand i wont feel so bad not using it for so long as other people are using it and helping out with maintenance.

The answer is go twilight racing every week
you have to go out and sail people are counting on you and it's great just to be out on the water

It's a hard decision. I drove 900 km to do some work on mine this weekend , found a minor diesel leak and did what I had to do . Had the sign made up " free boat take now " but after sitting in the cockpit with a coffee for an hour ,there's no way I could part with her . So it's back to 1800 km round trip working weekends to get her ready to come home. Keep her for another year and decide then is my two cents , lord howe island will still be there and maybe you might need crew