By the beginning of 2011 I was determined to upgrade the dreams into positive action.
Building our own boat, something I had and still have a hankering to do, was and remains out of the question financially. At best, our budget for 2011 would be perhaps £3000 which would barely buy the basic hull materials for a self-build project. Also considered was that we would rather get sailing and find out if coastal sailing or even beyond was really for us before embarking on a costly and ambitious build project that might turn out to be a white elephant.
We came up with a plan to buy a small, cheap, trailer sailer which we would keep on a mooring at either Grafham or Rutland and trail to the coast for long weekends and longer cruises as and when we had the time and money. A slight niggle was that we had purchased a brand new car in late 2009 on a three year deal which was too small to tow a decent sized boat. However, we could always hire or perhaps even borrow a suitable vehicle when needed. It was a good plan but things moved on ...
By January 2011 I reckoned we could scrape together the money to go ahead. We couldn't really afford it but we were determined to manage it if we could - to some extent I took the view that if we waited until we could truly afford to buy a boat we would never get there whereas if we took the plunge we'd manage the finances somehow. Perhaps not the most sensible approach but I have never been a patient person!
Andy Seedhouse Boat Sales, in Woodbridge, Suffolk, had two Vivacity 20's for sale at an affordable price so taking my brother along as an independent advisor I went down to have a look. The cheaper boat was a non-starter from several feet away - it was grubby and smelt badly of damp. No doubt it had potential but I knew Jane would veto it without hesitation. The slightly more expensive example was tempting and above decks looked good but the cabin was woefully small and cramped. I could not envisage Jane and I spending a long weekend aboard let alone a week or two. Add to that one or two suspicions about the rig and structure and that too was a definite no from me and I hadn't even shown the dear lady wife a boat yet!
Glen and I took a turn down the rest of the sales yard and coming back our eye was drawn to a tidy looking blue hulled boat called "Anne of Arne". I'd glanced at the sales page for the boat but hadn't really looked closely as the asking price was twice our budget. We decided to have a proper look at her, more for the sake of information for future reference than anything. To my annoyance, given that we could not possibly afford her, she was pretty well ideal.
My criteria for an ideal small boat ...
A decent sized self draining cockpit (check)
An outboard well in the stern (check)
Good sized cockpit lockers (check)
Usable side decks for access forwards (check)
Twin keels (check)
Nice lines (check)
A chart table (check)
A usable galley (check)
Four berths (check)
Seperate heads compartment (check)
Plenty of stowage around the cabin (check)
The potential to have reasonable performance (check)
Likewise seaworthiness and comfort (check)
"Anne of Arne", a Russell Marine Islander 23 of circa 1970 vintage, pretty much hit the spot on all fronts.
She had clearly been well loved and maintained although she was equally looking a bit tired and jaded. She came with a good set of sails and all the essentials but had very little equipment aboard. That suited me well enough as I'd prefer to equip her to our requirements and specifications.
However, the price was a complete stumbling block. At £2995 she was without doubt a bargain but equally inescapable was that this was the entire amount of money I had decided we could afford including the first year cost of moorings, fitting out etc.
Clearly, it was not "do-able" and resigning myself to that fact we headed back home. I was not too downhearted. I felt sure that the right boat at the right price would turn up eventually but to have to pass up on a very nearly ideal boat at such a good price was a little annoying.
I was bemoaning this to my friend Rik, who is our sound engineer at the festivals and who, like me, had sailed in his youth and been on a charter holiday and who, also like us, had a hankering to get back into sail.
Rik, completely out of the blue and much to my surprise, made a tentative offer to help out financially with the purchase of "Anne of Arne". After some discussion, we agreed a shared ownership setup with a rolling buy out that would finance the intial purchase and kitting out but would not tie Rik in for too many years - his long term plans being to pass his RYA Dayskipper and then charter in warmer climes.
The next step was to drag Jane down to Woodbridge as soon as possible for a look at the boat. She was happy and the deal was done there and then. Andy Seedhouse offers a comprehensive service and she could stay in his yard as long as necessary for a modest monthly payment.
So now we owned a boat, what to do with her? ....
