Happy day! ? !
Our offer on an E38-200 that I saw posted here (so the seller might still be here) has been accepted. Long post, I apologize.
About Us.
New to sailing. That is correct. New to sailing. ASA 101, 103, 104 this year, out of Blue Water Sailing School in Ft Lauderdale for both me and my wife. Courses were on a Dufour 43, which really got me thinking about skipping the "trailer sailor" phase. We felt fairly comfortable handling the 13.5' wide and 43' long Dufour in the marina and ICW after just a day or so. (And the ICW out of Miami and Ft L is BUSY!) We had an accepted offer on a Tartan 33 earlier this year. That deal fell apart after survey. I liked that boat, but I always "knew" the "walk-through wet head" lay-out would be a problematic for my family. That said, I had read a 32-34' fractional rig was a great "first" cruiser boat, and the boat was already kept at the sailing club we joined.
So why buy a masthead rig, 38' boat this early into things, not local? Well, the market seems right, if you are buying without needing to sell, and I just wasn't finding what I wanted in Ohio.
Ericson, Pearson, and Tartan have always been my shortlist manufacturers. An E-35-3 or 38-200 were my preferred boats. (Spouse, 2 of 4 kids still home, and we need something we can stay on when we go to the lake.) Assume occasional single-handing, often short-handing WITH 2-4 guests aboard, sometimes middle schoolers, sometimes my retired parents, or both.
We will be sailing in Lake Erie, which has a reputation for weather that can come on fast and hard, which is another reason I leaned away from starting out with a 22' boat. (Lake Erie is shallow, long east to west, the same direction the weather travels. Wave timing can be short. Storms can stir things up like a shallow bathtub with half an hour notice.) I went with the "buy the boat you want for the next decade, not the next couple of years" approach, and now I'm a little intimidated about the entire process and the steep early learning curve for owning a 16,000lb boat.
But.
I've have an accepted offer on what I believe is a good 38-200 for a good price.....but dang if it isn't 2 states away. I toyed with the idea of taking her into the famous New York (Erie) canal system. The idea of laying that mast down and then going through 28 locks, some of which drop a couple of stories in height, on a boat I don't know yet.....well, I am not ready for that adventure. Not now. Maybe not ever. I really did try to find what I wanted already on Lake Erie, I really did.....sigh.
So.
Long-time lurker, first time poster. I am absorbing as much information as I can.
What should I look out for in a sea trial and survey for a 38-200? Common issues that are specific to this model? The boat is "always freshwater," being moved to freshwater. She has always been a "short season" boat and will remain so. Engine hours are <1500. Sails and standing rigging might be original, which is actually a bit more common around here than I expected.
Any advice on finding, arranging, preparing for truck transport? (Ideally with cradle, since I hate to leave that behind.) In your opinion, leave her on the hard over winter where she is, and then move in the spring? Move her then place her on the hard closer to home this fall? Pay the yard to prepare for transport, or do it myself? Leave the mast off for the winter and remast in the spring? Options, options.....too many options.
I'm a hands-on guy, but there is 12 hours between me and this boat, which is making this more stressful than I assume is normal. Any help is appreciated. Happy to chat via private message for anyone that prefers.
