3 years ago today...

[Baker]

This memory just popped up on my Facebook. For those considering a Mainship Pilot 30, here is a very brief synopsis of mine:


The view as I walked away for the last time. They say the the "2 happiest days of a boat owner's life is the day you buy it and the day you sell it". I happen to disagree. While I will be moving on ref boats, I am somewhat sad to see it go. It was nothing but a great boat!!
"Guilt" might be too strong of a word and for lack of a better one, but sometimes I may feel that way to be fortunate enough to be able to have such a "toy". But my whole purpose for owning a boat is to allow a great place for friends and family to gather....and what great gatherings this boat has seen. So for those of you that have come aboard, thanks for coming along. It was TRULY my pleasure. And for those of you that missed this boat, I am sure there will be another one and look forward to our "future gatherings" and fellowship.
Fair winds, "FLYIN' LOW". May you continue the wonderful spirit and bestow it upon your new owners!!!

 

[Panhandler]

Love it. Thanks for sharing.
I've never understood folks that say the two best days are buying and selling. We have had so many incredible days on our center console and are looking forward to even more with friends and family on our trawler.

 

[dkasprzak]

The two happiest days in a boaters life......

If you stop and consider for a moment, almost everyone who makes that statement does not and possibly has never owned a boat. I showed my Hatteras to an acquaintance (non-boat owner) for the first time last week and he made the exact statement.

I recently sold a center console I've owned for 18 years, ALWAYS stored inside and while it didn't look "new" from five feet, it did from fifteen. I know why I sold it and it really was the right thing to do but....I have been second guessing myself for weeks. So no, it's not always the happiest day.....

 

[dhays]

I do "get" the old refrain. When I finally sold my Catalina 36, I was very happy. I also felt very nostalgic but I had already purchased my current boat, and so still had the joy of boat ownership. For me, owning 1 boat is a joy, owning two is a trial.

When I sell my sailboat, even if I own a trawler, I am certain that I will feel a sense of loss and guilt that I think only former sailors can understand. OTOH, selling a boat is a chore and I will be happy it is over.

 

[BandB]

Those who say that are not boaters. They are temporary boat owners. They don't have the love for being on the water, the love for boats some of us have. They bought a boat because they felt it would be nice to own one. Many reasons. Perhaps they observed others enjoying ownership. Perhaps the kids pressured them. Perhaps it was keeping up with the Jones'. It, however, was their one boat, their first and last. Having owned many boats in my life, I've never once felt that way, because each has brought me tremendous pleasure. In fact, it's each outgoing boat that has made me want the incoming.

13 years old, 1983, my first boat, a 17' Sea Ray. Traded in 1988 for a 22' Sea Ray. I was so excited over the new one but it's all the pleasure from the old one that made we want it. Other than losing a loved one, the saddest day of my life will be the day I sell my last boat because I just can't go boating anymore. I may well be like an older couple I know who held on to a 199' yacht even though they'd only used it once in the previous two years. Finally the decided to put it on the market, but when it was driven away from their dock, their was an emptiness inside them, a void. It was far more than a boat leaving. It was a time in their lives, a part of them, an activity they did, it was all the passing of things they enjoyed and were no longer able to do. At one time their social life had centered around that boat and parties on it. Now, they were just old and lonely.

When we visit them, they love to hear our stories about where we've been. They've traveled far more in life than we have. Occasionally it's somewhere they've been though and memories come back and we compare our experiences there, even if 30 or more years apart in time.

 

[CaptTom]

Those who say that are not boaters.

Yeah. What BandB said.

I was going to quote just the key points. But I can't find a single word that doesn't exactly reflect what I would have written, had I the skill.

The saddest day in my life will be when I sell my last boat. Even after over two years on the market, and almost three years into owning the "new" boat, it was painful to sell our last boat.

 

[FlyWright]

Well said, B. For some folks, boating is an activity. For others, it's a lifestyle. It'll be a very sad day for me when I sell my last boat.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: I second what hubby said. I wasn't a boater until he corrupted me. But from the moment I lost my boating virginity, I loved it. We lived on the lake. When we got on the water it didn't matter how rough the day or week had been. It was expunged from our minds. It balanced our lives. Before I experienced it, I loved how much he loved it and that would have been wonderful enough, but then to find out I felt what he felt, I could and did love it the same way. I was worried I'd have to pretend or fake it, but no way. Boating is orgasmic.

 

[RNL]

This says a lot about it I think. I know all here know this quote and it remains true.


The cabin of a small yacht is truly a wonderful thing; not only will it shelter you from a tempest, but from the other troubles in life, it is a safe retreat.

Lewis_Francis_Herreshoff

 

[hmason]

We owned our GB 36 for 15 years before she went on the market. We sold her after we bought our new boat. A wonderful couple bought her and we are still in touch. As she left the dock on her new adventure my wife and I had to dry our eyes--we miss the old girl to this day. Now the new owners sold her and we are in touch with the current owners as well. We are also friends with the original owners. 4 families tied together by one fine boat.

 

[djones44]

When boating it's not the foot or two of "boat" between you and the water. It's the rest.

 

[Bob Cofer]

Well said!

 

[Wayfarer]

When my family had to sell our boat when I was a teenager, it was awful. We cried all the way home from the marina. It was like a death in the family. I really wish I knew what happened to that boat.