Days 1, 2 and 3 of Used Boat Ownership

They say the happiest times in a boaters life are when they buy a boat and when they sell a boat.  Well we bought the Carol-Marie this weekend.  She is a Hans Christian 38 MKII built in 1980.  We are her third owners, and she has not been in salt water for more than 3 weeks.  She has been in the Columbia River most of her life, sitting idle, waiting to be used.  To paraphrase the old saying, 'The saddest sight in the world is a boat rotting in harbor.'  But that's what she was.....

We spent the first three days cleaning out the boat.  12 half filled jugs of motor oil all expired, expired flares, expired fire extinguishers, etc.....  Seaweed hanging from the port-lights, old socks, old shorts, old toothbrushes, and bunion pads....  Three pick up trucks full of junk, thrown away or place in a pile to sell at the swap meet in two weeks.  The boat raised out of the water an additional 2 inches. We clean out the cabin area, washed the cushions, put them back into the boat, so now she is clean inside.  Thanks to Charing and Cheryl for helping out (actually doing most of the interior cleaning.)  I promised I wouldn't post their pictures here.

S/V Carol-Marie on Survey Day

She needs to be cleaned, brightwork done, new decks, new hatch cover, new running rigging, new sails, the list goes on and on and on....  But we are two years away from sailing her to Hawaii, which has been our plan all along.  Stay tuned more pictures to come.