saltbox
Ericson 34 Owner
My summer cottage (the story behind the Cruising World article 08/11)
James and I met on Match.com. His screen name was 'Dances with Boats'. I was 'Outdoorsy Girl'.
James was a powerboat guy with a sailing passion. He owned an 18' trimaran and a 29' 1967 Bristol with NO amenities (and a couple of 20' Wellcrafts, too).
We met and sailed together for the summer. I'd sailed my entire life; teaching sailing as a teen, working on schooners through college, owning a couple of small sailboats, sailing on OPB's starting with my grandparents, and lucking out with good friends with good boats.
Once James and I met, i realized that i didn't want to put the elbow grease in to his old Bristol and we started searching for 'our' boat.
James wanted a boat he could sail to the Antarctic. I wanted a summer cottage with a 360 degree water view. As James likes to say, "So we compromised and bought the summer cottage."
When we bought Island Girl, our E-34, in Florida back in 2008, the adventure began sailing her up to Maine and with so many systems, (solar power, autopilot, refrigeration, diesel, chart plotter, A/C and heat pump, even dvd and tv), James was driven to enroll at Maine Maritime Academy to train for a new career in Marine Systems. In the next 3 years (James as an older student was on the fast track to finish),with my guy gone most of the time, I made this boat my own.(maintenance included) I was so nervous to take her out without James unless i had one of my sisters aboard.
Rob, I have a couple of things i did when i was trying to learn my boat. As i was trying to get comfortable single handing, I took friends out that had no clue about sailing. They'd keep an eye out for lobster buoys and I'd do the rest. Then, I docked the boat alone, leading the bowline aft just outside the lifelines along the gunwale, the sternline, forward, too and the spring line was in my hand in a gentle breeze but under power as i lightly stepped onto the dock with NO ONE LOOKING. I find I'm SO MUCH MORE comfortable being in charge if there's no one around to see. Another HUGE deal is the fact that we have an unusual rig that is an after-mast roller furling main. All lines lead to the cockpit and, with auto-pilot (who we call Rachel) I can handle all the lines and the helm.
When I first started reading your thread, you spoke of your boat as 'it' but now i'm seeing more of a 'her' and that you've found her soul. I have 2 grown children who i love but I'm so attached to my boat.
Hey, we all need a hobby. How many of your friends have a second home? Why not have one that you can enjoy in more than 1 location? They pay property taxes and maintenance. You pay for mooring fees and maintenance. I love spending the night on the mooring or taking an overnight up or down the coast. James and I are shopping for our next step up and I'm sure that she'll be a challenge, too...
IMHO
James and I met on Match.com. His screen name was 'Dances with Boats'. I was 'Outdoorsy Girl'.
James was a powerboat guy with a sailing passion. He owned an 18' trimaran and a 29' 1967 Bristol with NO amenities (and a couple of 20' Wellcrafts, too).
We met and sailed together for the summer. I'd sailed my entire life; teaching sailing as a teen, working on schooners through college, owning a couple of small sailboats, sailing on OPB's starting with my grandparents, and lucking out with good friends with good boats.
Once James and I met, i realized that i didn't want to put the elbow grease in to his old Bristol and we started searching for 'our' boat.
James wanted a boat he could sail to the Antarctic. I wanted a summer cottage with a 360 degree water view. As James likes to say, "So we compromised and bought the summer cottage."
When we bought Island Girl, our E-34, in Florida back in 2008, the adventure began sailing her up to Maine and with so many systems, (solar power, autopilot, refrigeration, diesel, chart plotter, A/C and heat pump, even dvd and tv), James was driven to enroll at Maine Maritime Academy to train for a new career in Marine Systems. In the next 3 years (James as an older student was on the fast track to finish),with my guy gone most of the time, I made this boat my own.(maintenance included) I was so nervous to take her out without James unless i had one of my sisters aboard.
Rob, I have a couple of things i did when i was trying to learn my boat. As i was trying to get comfortable single handing, I took friends out that had no clue about sailing. They'd keep an eye out for lobster buoys and I'd do the rest. Then, I docked the boat alone, leading the bowline aft just outside the lifelines along the gunwale, the sternline, forward, too and the spring line was in my hand in a gentle breeze but under power as i lightly stepped onto the dock with NO ONE LOOKING. I find I'm SO MUCH MORE comfortable being in charge if there's no one around to see. Another HUGE deal is the fact that we have an unusual rig that is an after-mast roller furling main. All lines lead to the cockpit and, with auto-pilot (who we call Rachel) I can handle all the lines and the helm.
When I first started reading your thread, you spoke of your boat as 'it' but now i'm seeing more of a 'her' and that you've found her soul. I have 2 grown children who i love but I'm so attached to my boat.
Hey, we all need a hobby. How many of your friends have a second home? Why not have one that you can enjoy in more than 1 location? They pay property taxes and maintenance. You pay for mooring fees and maintenance. I love spending the night on the mooring or taking an overnight up or down the coast. James and I are shopping for our next step up and I'm sure that she'll be a challenge, too...
IMHO