Sad! Every time I get on here and tell myself I'm going to write more... I don't! I'm sure I've said it before (and I bet there's a post here to prove it), but this year I'm going to write more. The best thing I could think of to write about was my boat. So, I looked at this blog and the last thing I posted was a boat story, almost one year ago!
Well, that boat is gone. It was a Catalina 22 I purchased in the Summer of 2015 and sailed throughout the 2016 season. I kept it in a marina off the Chesapeake Bay in Middle River. I got quite a lot of use out of it and spent up to a solid week at one time staying on the boat. Spending a solid week on a 22' boat makes you realize some things. First thing being, you need a bigger boat.
The P28-2 has a different layout that uses a more open v-berth, separated by curtains from the saloon, and the head is in the starboard aft quarter of the boat. This leaves the port aft area as a quarter berth that is fully enclosed from the saloon with a door. It seemed to give the shorter boat more space below but still with enough separation to provide some privacy.
And thus it happened. The plan was to buy a "bigger boat," something in the 30' range. I pulled the C22 out of the water in November 2016 and put it on the trailer. I planned to start seriously looking in Spring 2017. But since I had the time, I figured I'd check out a nearby boat dealer that specialized in used boats in the 30' range and within my budget.
First trip to the dealer in November, I came across a very good condition, 1986 Pearson 28-2 at an OK price. It was slightly more expensive than I wanted but worth every penny and the perfect boat for what I needed. I couldn't wait until the spring so I went ahead and bought it right then.
This P28-2 had newer sails, solid fiberglass all around, well-maintained engine, and all systems in great condition. At 28', it was slightly smaller than I wanted but the cabin layout more than made up for the length. It has a non-traditional v-berth/head layout. Boats of this size usually have the v-berth as a compartment at the fore part of the boat, separated from the main cabin or saloon area by the head and hanging locker.
Buying the P28-2 left me the owner of two boats at the same time. I quickly threw the C22 up on Craigslist and after a couple of bites, a nice couple from Pennsylvania came down to buy her.
The P28-2 is now on the hard at the marina where I purchased her. I plan to launch her in late February/early March and sail her up to my marina in Middle River where I am still maintaining a slip. The boat is in sail-away condition but there a few things I want to do before launch. My wife wants to change the name. I bought a small chartplotter that I need to mount. I want to do some maintenance things like greasing the seacocks and changing the prop shaft zinc, and as anyone who has ever owned a boat knows, the list goes on.
I am really excited to have the new boat and can't wait until it's warm enough to get it in the water. As I always say, but rarely do, I'll be back here for frequent updates!
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