Twelve years or so ago, I first encountered Arcturus. I was looking to move up from my Hobie 16 to a Real Boat. Something I could sail overnight and take the dogs along. Maybe even go for a few cruises. Nothing too fancy - I fully expected to make a lot of mistakes and maybe cause a little damage. Stuff to get out of my system before trying to charter someone else's boat for example. Arcturus was more or less perfect for this purpose. A practically disposable boat. I could cut into it, modify things, ruin a couple of things, and it would be no big deal. Then when I was ready, I could think about moving up to the "forever boat."
But over the next few years, I got to know Arcturus. Like a stray dog crawling into bed at night. I started buying things for it. More and more ridiculous things, though thanks to the magic of Craigslist, nothing really expensive. Mostly. The thought experiment began... "What if this 30-foot boat is enough?" Could I sail away and live on it? Could I really turn this cast-away day-sailer into a cruiser? Arcturus became Plan B. If my business failed, mortgage foreclosed, life in general went down the tubes, Arcturus would carry me away from it all. Not just a sailboat - it became my "prepper" hobby. And then it started more and more to become "Plan A."
Well, now the time has come. Disaster never really happened, but I've officially retired. Sold my demesnes for enough to live comfortably, if carefully, indefinitely (Thanks, Housing Bubble!) Although I haven't even had time for a sail in weeks, I'm frantically whittling my possessions down to a small pile of things that will fit "on the boat." OK, a little more whittling is needed. Maybe even an amputation or two. It's really happening! There are a dozen projects left to do on the boat, but maybe they can be done Along The Way. Although a feature of retirement is to have no strict plans, the plan, such as it is, is to cruise Arcturus for a year. If things then seem cool, then Cool! Carry on! If Arcturus turns out to be just too cramped/slow/old, start looking for a bigger boat in the 38-42 foot range. Or start eyeballing Plan C.
Whoosh! At the garage sale (1.0) a neighbor
button-holed me and said, "You know... you should think about buying my J-42!" Twice as big as Arcturus, twice as fast. It has zoomed past us out on the river more than once. Although it doesn't look quite like the classic cruising boat I had imagined... fast. He hit me up again at garage sale 2.0. Made sure I had his number. No obvious place to store dinghy, scuba stuff, kayak - but probably more options than Arcturus has. And it has sort of a weird little galley for such a big boat. Aren't two full heads kind of a waste? (1.5 more than Arcturus has... and a real wet locker.) He called me up and we made a date for a sail (1.0). And it's about 50% more than I was thinking of spending. And it would change a lot of budget assumptions. But. It. Could. Be. Possible. And it could happen in the next few weeks. Or it could very well not. Wait... weren't we supposed to cruise for a year before having these thoughts? (Temptation... ) SO confusing.
After all this, could the Arcturus Project come to an abrupt end? Would I even be able to find the right person to re-home it? After studying the J-42 drawings, when I flip back to the E29, at the same scale, it looks like an over-stuffed little guppy. (Fast... fewer days on passage = more days sipping Mai Tais at the Luau...). Well, Arcturus does have a few features that the bigger boat does not, so there! And it's relatively cheap and easy to maintain. (Free... no opportunity costs.) Well maybe the J will not turn out to be The One. A survey could turn up a deal-breaker, like core delamination or keel wobble. (New... 30 years less wear and tear and obsolescence.) I could come to my senses and just decide to stick with The Plan.
But one way or another, big changes are coming faster than I can believe.
But over the next few years, I got to know Arcturus. Like a stray dog crawling into bed at night. I started buying things for it. More and more ridiculous things, though thanks to the magic of Craigslist, nothing really expensive. Mostly. The thought experiment began... "What if this 30-foot boat is enough?" Could I sail away and live on it? Could I really turn this cast-away day-sailer into a cruiser? Arcturus became Plan B. If my business failed, mortgage foreclosed, life in general went down the tubes, Arcturus would carry me away from it all. Not just a sailboat - it became my "prepper" hobby. And then it started more and more to become "Plan A."
Well, now the time has come. Disaster never really happened, but I've officially retired. Sold my demesnes for enough to live comfortably, if carefully, indefinitely (Thanks, Housing Bubble!) Although I haven't even had time for a sail in weeks, I'm frantically whittling my possessions down to a small pile of things that will fit "on the boat." OK, a little more whittling is needed. Maybe even an amputation or two. It's really happening! There are a dozen projects left to do on the boat, but maybe they can be done Along The Way. Although a feature of retirement is to have no strict plans, the plan, such as it is, is to cruise Arcturus for a year. If things then seem cool, then Cool! Carry on! If Arcturus turns out to be just too cramped/slow/old, start looking for a bigger boat in the 38-42 foot range. Or start eyeballing Plan C.
Whoosh! At the garage sale (1.0) a neighbor
button-holed me and said, "You know... you should think about buying my J-42!" Twice as big as Arcturus, twice as fast. It has zoomed past us out on the river more than once. Although it doesn't look quite like the classic cruising boat I had imagined... fast. He hit me up again at garage sale 2.0. Made sure I had his number. No obvious place to store dinghy, scuba stuff, kayak - but probably more options than Arcturus has. And it has sort of a weird little galley for such a big boat. Aren't two full heads kind of a waste? (1.5 more than Arcturus has... and a real wet locker.) He called me up and we made a date for a sail (1.0). And it's about 50% more than I was thinking of spending. And it would change a lot of budget assumptions. But. It. Could. Be. Possible. And it could happen in the next few weeks. Or it could very well not. Wait... weren't we supposed to cruise for a year before having these thoughts? (Temptation... ) SO confusing.After all this, could the Arcturus Project come to an abrupt end? Would I even be able to find the right person to re-home it? After studying the J-42 drawings, when I flip back to the E29, at the same scale, it looks like an over-stuffed little guppy. (Fast... fewer days on passage = more days sipping Mai Tais at the Luau...). Well, Arcturus does have a few features that the bigger boat does not, so there! And it's relatively cheap and easy to maintain. (Free... no opportunity costs.) Well maybe the J will not turn out to be The One. A survey could turn up a deal-breaker, like core delamination or keel wobble. (New... 30 years less wear and tear and obsolescence.) I could come to my senses and just decide to stick with The Plan.
But one way or another, big changes are coming faster than I can believe.
