[Paddlewise] Just Bought my 1st Boat!

Hi all -

I was going to wait until next year to buy a boat.  I was going to demo and
take classes.  Just put one foot in front of the other getting ready to make
this purchase.  Well, I decided I better buy a rack for the car because
that's where it started.  That was Wednesday night.

Thursday at work I was having trouble with our accessing our internet site
(I published and update the pages for our department).  Anyway, I was able
to get to some sites and not others.  Somehow I got to Yahoo classifieds.
Pushed a couple of buttons - boat - kayak - Washington.  Three boats popped
up (one guy had two he was selling).   One of them was a Merlin XT (hmmm, I
liked that boat when I demoed it).  Sent him off an email and he still had
it for sale and the price was right - $900!

I called one of the fellas I met recently through the local sea kayaking
association (Jim) and asked him about it - what should I ask, etc.  Called
the guy back - he was selling it because he wants a boat he can take his
kids out so he's selling his singles for a double.  He got the boat from
someone who was going out of the country and got a really good deal so he
felt he could pass it on.  (Sounds good to me and he sounded like a nice
person.)

OK, back to the story.  My rack that I had gotten the night before was still
in pieces on the floor part-way put together.  I told the seller I didn't
have the rack on my car yet; asked if he'd received other calls - yes - but
no one was coming by until next week (partly because he was going to be gone
this weekend).  He said I could come over, give him a deposit if I wanted it
and come back for it later.  Mmmm, someone I didn't like that idea.  I was
going to do it but I wanted to just get it.

I called Jim back gave him some more info on the boat and he said, "Go get
it; if you don't want it I'll buy it off you."  Well, I couldn't get it
because my rack wasn't on yet.  He asked me where I lived (not far from him)
so he said if I could get right over (because he was going out at 6:30) he'd
help me put the rack on.  (Guys are so nice.  I would have been reading the
directions for hours but since he's done this before he more or less knew
the basics.  It still took a little while but he made it by 6:30.)

Then I had to shoot by REI pick up the foam blocks and some strapping and
off I went.  The boat looked really good.  He wouldn't take any less but he
would give me a deal on a paddle, spray skirt, and PFD.  The spray skirt
looked immaculate, the PFD had only been worn 6 times and it fit!  The
paddle was waaaaay too long for me.  So he said he'd sell me the spray skirt
and PFD for $100.  Sounded good to me because I was going to have to buy the
gear somewhere and it sounded like it probably was a good deal.

So, he helped me (or I helped him get the boat on the car) and then he comes
back out of his garage with a, "Here, would you like these?"  A sponge and a
cockpit cover!  Woohoo!  A cockpit cover is something I wanted but probably
would have been further down my list.  Yadda, yadda, yadda, tie down the
boat, write out the check then he scrambles around in the back of his garage
and comes out with, "Here would you like these?"  Pogies!  Wow!  By now I'm
grinning from ear to ear.

Needless to say- driving home I was one mighty grateful woman.

Now, I'm home.  I get it off my car successfully - by myself and thing about
trying to get it up my condo steps to my deck or in the front door or
something.  No way.  It ain't gonna happen.  So there it sits on the
sidewalk and I'm thinking what am I going to do.  The guys that live in this
small complex around me are all early birds (leave around 5 AM for work) so
I knew they were real close to being in bed.  Went to a neighbor lady where
I've seen a canoe in her fenced in back yard and she and I try to get it on
the deck.  Nada.  It's not going.  So she says I can keep it in her back
yard and not to worry about getting it out right away.  I can leave there as
long as I need to.

<sigh> I did think about this previously.  Storage is an issue.  One option
is that (if my mechanically minded coworker woudn't mind helping/doing it -
actually he's the one who mentioned it months ago when I first started
talking serious kayak business), we could rig some kind of pulley system off
the side of my deck and haul it up and over.  So that's an issue right now.

The other issue is:  The thing is heavy.  Oh, I can lift it but it's
cumbersome.  I remember reading either here or rbp about some carrier wheels
so I guess I'll do some checking on those.

But, hey, what a great couple of days.

And want to hear some stuff that goes right along with that?  Of course you
do.  :)

I've decided I don't want to mickey-mouse around with this rack on my '87
Honda.  Every since I got somewhat serious about kayaking I've been thinking
about getting another Subaru wagon.  And that's what I've decided.  I called
one of my coworkers who was home today (her husband buys cars, tinkers with
them, sells them, keeps some) and asked if her husband would keep an eye/ear
out for what I was looking for.  She said sure and, oh by the way, my
father-in-law is a mechanic and he specializes in Subarus!!!  Does anyone
besides me see the hand of God here - you don't have to answer that.

Then, the day isn't over yet.  One of the security guards from work comes up
to my office (I had talked with him about a month ago about cars and buying
and selling) and he asked me if I was still thinking about selling my Honda.
(I have gone back and forth since I talked with him but nowt it's a solid,
"yes, I've been thinking about it.")  Apparently, his neighbor is looking
for a car for his soon-to-be-licensed daughter and they want to spent around
$2,000-$3,000 for her first car.  Don't ya know the number I had in my head
was $3250.

Another coworker said she didn't want to go home yet because the day wasn't
over and what was going to happen next.  <hahahahah>

Janet



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