You know the saying: The two best days for a boat owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it.
Well I bought a boat a few years ago and it was the best day. So I thought I’d share with you the process I went through to get there and hopefully help you in your own search for a boat.
The first thing you need to do is decide that you want a boat.
I grew up in Mattapoisett, MA which is a small town on the water near Cape Cod. To know where Mattapoisett is imagine looking down on Cape Cod from the air—Mattapoisett is the armpit. It’s a real pretty town right on Buzzard’s Bay.
We owned (still own) a 30-foot sailboat, an O’Day Intrepid 9 meter, named Sunset.
My family would cruise Buzzard’s Bay and spend weekends in different ports. It was fun bringing friends and exploring with the dinghy—getting a taste of what freedom felt like.
As I write this for you, I can’t help but think about some of the funny stories we had from those trips. Here’s one I’m laughing about:
One weekend I brought a friend with me and we were all in the little 9 foot Boston Whaler. I think we decided to stop and have lunch so my dad asked my friend to throw the anchor over. And so he did. We were still drifting so my dad asked him to tie it off. My friend said “Sure, with what?” Turns out he threw the anchor and the line overboard. Thankfully the water wasn’t too deep and we were able to get in the water and bring it up.
So the first piece of advice is to make sure you’re ready to own a boat. I’ll have more for you soon.
