# I (finally) bought a Boat



## reduc (Sep 19, 2014)

So I posted my first intro back in September saying I was hoping to buy before say March...that didn't happen but I did finally find one.

While I have been sailing for ~15 years, I have not been on much (that could cruise) besides various Js, C&Cs, and Catalinas...My criteria was sail, 32-40ft, something I could do long cruises on and live aboard for at least a year or two.

I looked at a number of Catalinas at first, and thought maybe they would work, but was never really excited...Then I went to the boat show in Annapolis last year, and still didn't find anything to get excited about - BUT after the show I was trolling through some boatyards and a yard owner in Rock Hall showed me as CS36T which I had never heard of before...wow - I was impressed. Told him I needed to do some research on the make/model, and finally said - love it, but asking 65k was not close to reasonable given the others on the market.

Then went on to look at a bunch around Lake Ontario some nice boats - even made on offer on one, but it was winter and the broker refused to leave it 'sale pending' over the winter - they wanted me to accept a couple of year old survey (in french - and besides not surveyor I would use - as the survey was one of those bunch of check boxes with maybe 10 sentences of actual text by the surveyor) - or alternately have it surveyed in freezing temps. So that didn't work, and then in spring they never got back to me when I sent them an email with some questions (wtf is it with some brokers? Some are great, but others ask any questions and they ignore you...),

Anyway finally took a look at one in Rhode Island (I'm in Boston) which I liked but was to pricy (particularly seeing as the Canadian Dollar was weak) - but the broker suggested I make an offer anyway - so I said fine - so I made an offer in line with what I thought I could get in Canada but substantially less than asking. To which they responded with a counter a few K less than original asking. I told the broker, Nope, we are done, plenty of other boats out there. At which point the broker questioned where I was seeing these other boats - turned out he was searching 'CS Yachts' which turns up a tiny number of boats vs 'Canadian Sailcraft' - I think he was surprised at the new info. He went back to the owner after some research and said - you have someone looking hard at these boats (and you have had limited interest, and no offers) - gave the owner the average price, etc...long story short is they said can you come back with your absolute best offer - I came up 2K - saying that is it - Rhode Island is way more convenient to me but I would love to sail one out the St Lawrence Seaway - which is true. I told the broker if they didn't take that offer I might come back - but it would be after making a few offers on boats on Lake Ontario.

And they accepted. Now I have a boat - yikes. I've started scraping the bottom, not fun in ~90 degrees wearing tyvek and a respirator.

And just in case anyone is going to suggest it - shortly after looking at the first CS36T I found Mainesail's site and posts. He rocks. I may have to sail my boat up there and beg him to take my money to make my boat half as nice as his


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

Congratulations. Hope she serves you well for many years.

You might want to change your signature now that you're no longer looking for a boat. lol


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## reduc (Sep 19, 2014)

Good point 

Oddly I apparently have insufficient privileges to edit my profile. Hopefully just a glitch that will resolve itself.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

Really weird that you can't edit your signature.

Oh well. Since you're scraping the bottom, are you more of a DIY person? Other projects needed to get her ready to sail?


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## reduc (Sep 19, 2014)

Am I more of a DIY person? Well I am trying to be...or at least I would like to be, and hope I don't screw anything up too badly.

I think the main issues for getting the boat in the water are - no order - fair a small area of the back of the keel, scrape and paint bottom, fix above water where PO apparently hit a can - some minor gouges nothing more than maybe a milometer or 2. Some fairing just in front of the rudder. Tomorrow maybe I'll get some pictures. I'd like to polish and wax the sides, etc...but also need to get the boat in water for sea trial (money escrowed for that). Was hoping to get everything done so I could leave it in the water...but starts to feel overwhelming. So might have to seatrial and then pull it again to finish out of water stuff.

Short answer is I want to DIY but don't have much experience. So it is research/read/try it/back to read/get comfortable/...

No doubt I will post some pics and questions later.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

Project never end. Just do one at a time and make smaller goals out of them. They'll be "done" sooner or later. There's plenty of info out there to research and for the things you can't find answers to, there's always the forum.

I'm in the process of a refit myself. Many things the PO should have done but I'm happy to do it myself so I just KNOW when things were done. The project list is long, and the funds are short.

Best of luck to you.


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## chall03 (Oct 14, 2002)

DIY has never been easier thanks to google and youtube. 

The trick is to make sure you at least spend some time sailing rather than fixing  
We always have a list of about 50 things that need doing, I do 3-4 of them a week and then add another 5  

It sounds like a fantastic boat.


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## Markwesti (Jan 1, 2013)

Cool boat , congrats'. I hope everything works out , but I don't understand is the sale still pending ? (escrow , sea trial ) If it's a slam dunk your going to buy it , why rush the yard work ? Good luck !
CS 36 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com


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## gamayun (Aug 20, 2009)

Good choice and congratulations! I almost bought a CS in Seattle. They're really good looking boats. Have fun sailing and push aside those feelings about the projects. If you really love the boat, the projects never seem to end as there's always something you'll want to do to make her even nicer  

BTW, you should be able to polish and wax from the water. But take that advice for what it's worth because I hired someone to do it and using a power tool while sitting on a raft seemed a little crazy to me...even with a GFI.


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## reduc (Sep 19, 2014)

Thanks for all the kind words - The sail and survey are complete, but there is money in escrow for the sea-trial which is why I am trying to get it in the water quickly.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

I assume your new boat has the Westerbeke W30 - be sure to have a mechanic look it over including a compression check.


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## themerryonion (Apr 23, 2012)

Fun times! We made the mistake of concentrating too much on setup and fixing, rather than enjoying. It can be a bit disheartening if you never get the fun part!


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## reduc (Sep 19, 2014)

Yeah - I definitely want to get it in the water soon. Spent a few hours today sanding the bottom, got most of one side done before my arms and shoulders went on strike. I'm hoping I can negotiate a back to work agreement tomorrow. I'd like to be done sanding Sunday - not removing the barrier - just removing the paint build up and smoothing. But to many years sitting in front of a computer has made my arms and shoulders lazy.

Still need to decide if I need to polish/wax (and repair some minor scratches) to the sides before launch.


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## ralba1998 (Oct 17, 2013)

Looks like Nelson-Marek design. Very pretty boat and I too never heard of that maker before. I am not a boat owner yet but, have this fantasy about taking time off from work and life to sail the seas with my family.. Longest sail I have ever done is about 8 to 10 hours though. We finally got our kids into sailing - and have been putting in hours almost every weekend on our friend's boat. So much to learn.. Getting sails up, and steering is the easy part.... 

Keep us posted on what you do..


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