Offer Withdrawn

Inspection of the Catalina 34

We finally got to examine the interior of the Catalina 34 sailboat and what we discovered was not particularly good. Some of our findings include:

• The diesel motor was low on oil and when started, the exhaust smoke was blue (and continued to be blue for the time we ran the motor)
• No cooling water being pumped to the diesel motor or pumped out the stern
• Mold and mildew in some places, including two places where wood had mold from long-term water leaks
• When the macerator pump was removed, one of the lines was simply tacked to a vertical member and covered with duct tape
• Standing water found underneath some cushions
• Front hatch had previously leaked, and a previous owner had simply sealed it, cut a hole in it, and installed a smaller hatch that also leaked

In summary, the boat was not in sailaway condition. It proved to be more of a project boat than I can afford. I’m still working full time! I suppose that if I was retired, it could be repaired and updated, but at this point in my life I just don’t have time to invest in bringing it up to good condition. And so, with apologies to the seller, we withdrew our offer. This has impacts for the seller as she had given the marina 30 days notice for the moorage slip. It has impacts for me, too, because I had already paid for insurance on the Catalina and secured moorage for that length of vessel.

Offer Made and Accepted

Spur of the moment trip to Port Townhend

The experienced sailor friend who helped me look at the Catalina was aware that I had also been interested in a unique boat for sale in Port Townsend: a Nonsuch 26. He suggested we make the hour drive north to Port Townsend and find the boat. I reached out to the broker handling the Nonsuch and he said he could not meet with me that day. I let him know we were going to head up and walk the docks. Once we got there, we started looking at boats in one of the marinas. The first set of docks did not have the boat. When we were partway down the ramp to the second set of docks I spied the distinctive wishbone boom of the Nonsuch and said “there she is!”

A surprise awaited us at the Nonsuch

When we got to the Nonsuch, I saw that the cockpit hatch was open. I called out, “ahoy the boat!” and a lady stuck her head out of the cabin. It turns out she is the granddaughter of the deceased owner. We introduced ourselves and she invited us aboard. My friend and I crawled around the boat and found most everything very satisfactory. I have to say that even with reading about inspecting old boats and crawling through several myself, having an experienced boater along with you is a tremendous help. That person’s observations can be much more detailed and objective than mine, plus they don’t have the “buy the boat” buzz clouding their judgment. My friend’s offer to look at the boats was incredibly valuable.

Offer

Standing on the dock with the granddaughter, we told her how much we loved the boat. She called the broker who called my phone. I learned some of the issues that the marine survey had revealed and told him I would make an offer in a certain dollar range. Once we got home, I sent him an email with that offer. Later that evening, he sent the purchase and sale agreement via DocuSign. I completed it the next morning, and learned later that day that the seller had verbally accepted the offer. That evening, the purchase and sale agreement was executed by the seller. We are “locked in” on the boat!

Next

Immediately

We have some things to do to unwind the Catalina negotiation and to complete the purchase of the Nonsuch, including:

• [x] Cancel the cashiers check that had been made out to the seller
• [x] Cancel the marine survey of the Catalina
• [ ] Cancel the haulout of the Catalina with the boatyard
• [ ] Cancel the insurance on the Catalina and arrange insurance on the Nonsuch
• [x] Purchase the existing marine survey of the Nonsuch from the broker
• [ ] Secure moorage for the smaller Nonsuch at our preferred marina
• [ ] Once our preferred moorage is secured, cancel the larger slip we secured at a different marina

Triage

Safety and seaworthiness

• [ ] Arrange for fiberglass repairs at a quality boatyard (keel and rudder tube)
• [ ] Inspect and test the inflatable dinghy, repair or replace as needed
• [ ] Confirm that tablet mount fits my tablet with Navionics charts installed
• [ ] Test radar
• [ ] Determine what to do about MMSI on existing VHF radio
• [ ] Replace old fire extinguishers with new
• [ ] Inspect/replace anchor chain as needed

Comfort and convenience

• [ ] Diagnose and repair marine head
• [ ] Diagnose and repair diesel cabin heater
• [ ] Diagnose and repair the instant hot water heater

Wish list (not critical)

• [ ] Clean a few spots on interior cushions
• [ ] Consider a fishfinder or chartplotter with bottom mapping