Dave is busy perusing the web to find the boat of his dreams. It is Mother's Day weekend and we've decided to make the 8+ hour trip to Traverse City, MI to view Annabelle, a 35 ft. Halberg Rassy Rasmus that we've both been intrigued by. The owner has it listed with a broker but also has a beautiful website devoted to this boat. It appears that he and his wife sailed for years but started a family and have no time for this boat. The original posting listed it at $60,000 (far over our budget). At this time, it is listed at $35,000, closer to our budget but still high. It's a beautiful boat, ketch rigged with a center cockpit and an aft cabin. It's very well built with a hard windscreen, beautiful lines and a lot of wood below decks. We could definitely make a home aboard this boat.
The drive to Traverse City was LONG but pleasant. We love road trips but prefer to stay a while when we make long ones like this one. Unfortunately, we had to be back on Sunday. We got to Traverse City at around 2:00 CST and quickly realized that it was 3:00 EST...had no idea we had passed into EST. Bill from the brokerage called us and said he'd meet us at the dry storage where the boat was on the hard. We found him easily and boarded Annabelle in her cradle tucked between two other boats. The hull looked nice and it was obvious that this boat had potential. Dave went over every system on the boat then asked to see the mast. We drove to the marina and Dave looked at the mast and hardware. Dave asked Bill how firm the owner was on price. Bill was very clear that the owner needed to sell, needed the money and was open to offers. This boat had been on the market for four years and hadn't been on the water in two years.
Dave was very excited about this boat. We talk price all the time, hypothetically and in regards to actual possible purchases. Dave felt the boat was worth $30,000 but decided to low-ball the owner. We spoke with friends and we talked through what we liked about the boat and what troubled us. Dave was worried that we did not see the mizzen mast. The boat had been sitting for 4 years and the bright work and wood accent needed attention. It appeared that the owner had started selling "boating" items off of the boat. It was definitely not the boat that was put on the market four years ago. Dave offered $20,000 with the plan to go as high as $25,000. Bill called us back a few days later and said the owner turned us down, then turned down an offer for $25,000 from another interested party. It turns out that maybe he was not so motivated to sell. We backed out of bidding on this boat.
Annabelle still pops up in our conversations as we search. It saddens us to view so many boats that were once beautiful vessels but are now being neglected and allowed to deteriorate by owners who can't afford to put them in the water or take care of them as they deserve to be cared for. Yet, they will not let them go to a new owner. We have learned that the market is saturated with older boats that folks can't maintain but refuse to let go of. Still, I remind Dave that we are in no hurry and we need to find the right boat for us. It will happen...
