We're looking for the trash fence...

Today I signed all the paperwork and we officially own Deep Playa!!

Dawn and I are VERY excited to say the least. Now all the projects can begin. ;-)

Tuesday the selling broker broker brought the boat down to Bellingham so we could do the haul-out and complete the survey. The haul out was pretty amazing, my broker and I rode in boat while they lifted us about 30 feet above the water. I expected to hear a lot creaking and moaning but heard absolutely none. The survey went well and didn't yield any major surprises. After the haul out my Broker and I took the boat back to Blaine. We had an ebb the entire time but we were still pushing her pretty hard in order to beat the sunset. The engine ran solid the entire time, no overheating (yeah!) and I managed to figure out the autopilot as well which will be very handy.

Given that the survey went well, we're moving forward with the title search work and the rest of the documentation including USCG and WA State Registration and as part of that we'll be renaming her to Deep Playa. I've not written "the check" yet so we don't officially own the boat yet. I'm guessing by next week everything will be sorted out and we'll be proud owners of Deep Playa a 1981 Pearson 424 Hull # 152.

And so a new chapter in life begins....

I still owe you my detailed notes and thoughts on this process and I'm holding those back for now, but I wanted to let you know what is up with our offer and the boat. Wednesday Dawn, My Broker, My Surveyor and I were in Blaine and taking the boat to Pt. Roberts to be hauled-out. The Surveyor and I were down below going through the v-berth area when the over-heat alarm started to go off. So we shut her down, sailed back to Blaine and the selling broker started to look at the engine while my Surveyor completed the part of the survey that could be done without the haulout.

The selling broker checked the water impeller and it looked good to him. He then started to look at the heat exchanger and to run a coat hanger through the slots to clean it out. There were broken zincs and impeller bits in their and he decided to pull of the heat exchanger completely and have it boiled and pressure tested. Something that is typically done annually but clearly had not been done so recently on this boat.

So the game plan moving forward is to complete the survey in Bellingham (Blaine can't lift a Ketch and Pt. Roberts was not available) and then to sail her back to Blaine afterwards.

I view all of this as somewhat of a set back but I'm still waiting for the complete survey before making any final decisions. I obviously now have questions about the integrity of the engine overall. If you have any thoughts on this please do drop me a note.

More info when I have more info...

We're scheduled to do a Survey on 30 April in Blaine. Its a little complicated because Blaine can't haul out a ketch rig of this size, so we will have to take the boat to Pt. Roberts to be hauled out.

I changed Surveyors mid stream and fortune smiled on my because the new Surveyor owns a Pearson 424! I was a little worried about making a surveyor change but now I know, when things don't feel right they are not, move on and it will all work out.

I'll post more information on the Test Sail and the buying process after things are done one way or another.

Stay tuned... the excitement is building!!

Tomorrow Dawn and I are going to Blaine to test sail the Pearson 424 we're currently evaluating for purchase. My hope is everything goes well and the whole thing is uneventful. It would be a nice change to have some good news this week.

Assuming it does go well just the Survey remains.

Wish us luck!

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Dawn and I currently have a pending offer on a Pearson 424 Ketch (see pics) which we plan to name Deep Playa. We still have to go through the sea trial and survey and if all goes well she'll be ours in early may.

She is currently moored in Blaine, WA. We have negotiated sublet moorage through October 2008 so we have plenty of time to find her a new home closer to Seattle. Blaine is a very affordable, nice new and clean marina so its not a bad to keep here. Its also very close to the Gulf Islands (north of the San Juan Islands) and it would be nice to explorer there this spring or summer.

We'll let you know more as the process moves along. Lots of paper work and hoops to jump through before we can start fixing her up a bit and getting her out on the water.