# first boat, first post



## makeitlean (Mar 30, 2012)

Hey all,

I have been reading these forums for a long time absorbing as much information as possible before buying my first boat and that day has finally come. I still have a lot to learn and I'm sure I will be posting a bunch to pick everyones brains every so often when I run into different challenges along the way.

I was not looking for any particular model per say, but I knew I wanted something priced very low, turnkey ready to sail, well maintained, clean and with a recent survey. The ability to sleep comfortably a few times a month on the boat was key and the owner who last had the boat had to be someone that sailed all the time. I did not want to buy some derelict boat on craigslist that was owned by some guy who hasn't sailed her in 6 months and can no longer afford slip fees or maintenance. I feel like the the type of person you buy your boat from is a great indicator of what type of boat your going to get. I did not want a fixer upper simply because I am not experienced enough to fix a boat up! I want to learn how to fix things myself as they fail, not walk into a situation where everything is already broken and then I'm bombarded from the start by problems.

I've looked on numerous yacht sale sites, cragslist and around LA area marinas for the last year and half trying to get a good grasp on prices and models. I took lessons along the ways and picked the brain of anyone I could find who would talk to me. I got close to buying a few times and for whatever reason it never worked out. I was in Marina Del Rey this week and while searching on craigslist, I found a great listing for a 1969 26' Islander Excalibur by the name of Anduril. I did not find much information on this forum about that particular boat as it is somewhat rare I think. There was one thread and everyone who chimed in seemed to love the boat. The owner, a nice woman from NYC (my hometown) owned the boat for the last two years. There were two other owners besides her and the first owner sailed the Anduril to Hawaii back in 1975. Hard to fathom really but I guess they made it! The pictures in the listing seemed great and according to the owner, the boat was meticulously maintained and cared for, was turnkey ready to sail, had all necessary gear on board, was structurally sound and needed very little work. The owner just had a baby and was moving with her husband back to NYC. When I called we hit it off right away. She was reluctant to sell Anduril to just anybody and I liked that. She expressed over the phone how much she loved the boat and how she wanted to give it to someone who would love and care for it just as she did. She was not hung up on getting the most amount of $ for it. She has been boating with her father her entire life on the East Coast and Anduril has taken many fun trips to Catalina over the last couple of years while she lived out west. She had someone else interested in the boat but felt like that person wasn't right for Anduril for whatever reason. We made an appt. to meet and see the boat.

So I went to go see Anduril and I was in love at first sight. She was super clean from the outside. White with a little blue mixed in, nice teak toe rail wrapped the the topsides and transom. Brand new 6hp 4 stroke outboard was mounted on the transom. You can tell right away she has been cared for over the years. The well where the original motor went was now where the fuel tank is. The marina where she is slipped is in A basin Marina Del Rey and the slip was transferable. The marina itself is perfect. Clean facilities, close to fuel, small shop for drinks/snacks etc. use of the nearby condos pool and fitness center, free kayak and bike rentals.

Upon first climbing aboard I realized that the shrouds seemed a bit loose but that could be easily tuned up. The mast did not seem off balance at all. There were a few spots that could use a little love but for the most part, the deck was in great condition. The cockpit is large and is in great shape. The teak toe rail was well cared for and it shows. The teak hatch on the deck above the v-berth was also kept very nice and had some really interesting woodwork. There are new blue covers on everything. The companionway hatch boards are made of nice teak but did not have a cover and those did show some wear but they just need to be sanded/stained etc. again and will be fine. The sails were all of the original sails but were still in pretty damn good condition. Three jib sails and a spinnaker are included. All of the lines were in good condition or new. When those hatch boards came off and I got my first view of Anduril's cabin, I was amazed.

Everything was obviously rebuilt and redone. A nice teak step box inside the companionway hatch housed the battery etc. Forward of the step box and under the carpet is the bilge. The bilge was VERY deep, unusually so. Everyone was surprised how deep it was and no one was quite sure why it was made that deep. The thru hulls were all in good shape. All electrical ran to the port side to a small teak box on the counter which housed all my switches/electronics such as my bilge pump, cabin lights, masthead light, running lights etc. and also my VHF and cd player. On that counter is a small sink and under that, a small refrigerator. There is a small bench running parallel to the beam with a nice cushion to be able to sit at counter which is nice. To starboard is a long bench with nice cushions and pillows. Underneath both benches were storage areas. The stern where the quarter berths are on a lot of boats provided more storage. Towards the bow lies a nice large v-berth, with nice cushions and pillows. Under the v-berth is a large storage compartment and freshwater holding tank which runs to the sink. There are beautiful teak shelves and a cabinet where the Jib sails were kept (came with 3). Enclosed in its own teak box in the v-berth to port is a small porta potty head which according to the owner was never used. I don't plan on using it either. I don't **** where I sleep and I don't plan to! I opened up the box and upon inspection it did not stink at all and looked brand new.

The cabin in general was immaculately clean. No smell whatsoever and super cozy. I was thrilled. There was a survey done in 2009 that all reinforced what I thought of the boat. I did not feel the need to have another survey done for a boat in this price point, so I paid a USCG captain and former surveyor a small fee to basically go over the survey and make sure everything was the same or better than it was in 2009. We did not pull the boat out of the water but I was convinced the hull was sound. It was stated in the 2009 survey that the hull was structurally in perfect condition. The boat was recently painted in the last year or so and the bottom cleaned twice a month by the owner. If the boat was 100k boat, no doubt I would have gotten a proper survey done, but when buying in my price range I felt ok taking a well calculated risk. We did a see trial and sailed her for a bit in the marina and she sailed great. My USCG friend was surprised she sailed as well she did. Motor started on first pull and I took the helm to get us out of the slip. The tiller's teak was beautiful and had little wear. It was very exciting for me to take her out for the first time and I thoroughly enjoyed the hour or so we spent on the water. 

So after all of this I made the seller an offer. She accepted right away and now I own my first boat! The slip has been transferred and I got a pretty good insurance deal through my auto insurance carrier Geico because I am am to bundle the two. I slept the night in her and couldn't be happier. It was a bit cold and there was only 1 blanket on board but I still slept well. It was a bit surreal waking up in that v-berth. I almost had to slap myself to make sure it was real. Unfortunately I was not able to stay anymore as I had some business to attend to in Las Vegas. I am going back to Marina Del Rey on Monday to spend about 4 days on her. I plan to go through every inch of that boat while there, do some light cleaning and put together a list of things that need to be done. I'll probably take her out for a bit if I can to start to get comfortable sailing her. A mile or so North or South of the break water is probably all I'll do for now. I hope to get to Catalina by the end of the summer and still would like to take some more classes.

Well, thanks to everyone who made it through my first long winded post! My apologies for any wrong sailing nomenclature. Little low on salt in my blood. I hope to use this forum often as my skill level advances and for when I run into challenges. A big thanks already for all of the information everyone has put out there that I have learned from in the past year or so. I'll post again to let everyone know how it goes next week and maybe some more detailed pictures.

Hope all is well and if anyone at all has any information on 26' Islander Excalibur's please let me know. 

Make it lean!


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Welcome... pretty boat and looks in very nice shape. Hopefully no unpleasant surprises are hiding under that pretty veneer.

Congrats.


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## MtHopeBay (Jul 10, 2008)

Welcome and congratulations. Enjoy.
Mike


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## Richard61 (Mar 31, 2012)

congratulations, I just bought my first boat this week. Hope mine turns out to be as nice as yours, Richard


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## Kenn43 (Feb 3, 2012)

Congratulations. Well written and from the heart. Enjoy.


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Congrats and welcome aboard!


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## rbrasi (Mar 21, 2011)

Bump


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## itsaboat (Sep 28, 2011)

Beautiful old gal! Once again shows that these FRP boats will last just about forever with the right care. Looks like you did your homework and waited for the right one to come along. Kudos and enjoy!


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