A trip up Lake Huron never materialized this year. I worked hard to get the boat ready but in the end we called it off. The water up there is really cold and the weather patterns are odd for late July. I watched the weather and estimated where we would have been. We would have been stuck twice! I figure at least a 2 or 3 day stint in either Tawa or Lexington harbors due to high winds from both northerly and the South easterly directions and above 20 knots. Waves were 2 meters...not fun. We took off on a road trip to see some more sailboats. First a 36 Nauticat in Niagara on the lake. I had forgotten what a circus this is. The boat was in terrible condition with 'upgrades' that included a cheap fridge from Home Depot attached to a 3000 watt inverter attached to a single deep cell battery. The teak deck had been sanded with a disk grinder which left deep gouges, then finished with deck stain from- you guessed it...Home Depot. We ran away.
The next stop was very disappointing for me, I have always been a fan of Whitby 42's. We drove to Port Credit near Toronto to see a real beauty.
I am 6'1" and my wife is 5' 10". We didn't fit in the boat! The alley that takes you to the aft cabin was so small we had to sort of bunch up and push through and then reverse to get out. I couldn't believe how small the beds were. It was built for shorter people than us, BUMMER!
Next stop was a Reliance 44 in Whitby Ontario. This boat was a surprise. It needed a lot of work but the price was right. Very roomy with big beds. I just don't think I am up to such a big project at this point in my life, also she had a full keel with a deep draft that won't work in the Bahamas.
On to Midland Ontario to see a Bristol 43.3. The boat was sold 10 seconds after we boarded her. God! What a nice vessel. We climbed off after an hour to meet the Broker who was busy with someone else. Before we shouted "SOLD! " He let us know that she had come off her mooring in a storm on Georgian bay and pounded on the rocks for days. The hull was badly damaged along with the skeg. The survey showed the repairs were not done correctly. BUMMER!
Then we saw the best boat I ever had the privilege to board. A Cartwright 43. The owner had ordered it as an empty hull in '89 and built it his way. This man was a Tool and Die maker. His workmanship was outstanding. The table was made from a slab of Birdseye maple. The Engine was cleverly hidden under the sink unit which tilted back like something out of a Bond movie. The boat is flawless.....but- the owner is 5' 5" and his wife was 5' tall. The beds were to small, the table to low. The dodger was level with my neck when I stood at the wheel. It would be a gigantic task to change all of this and a crime to destroy the workmanship in this vessel. I learned a lot and will keep looking while enjoying my O'Day .
A trip up to Harsons Island in the St.Clair river. The wind was blowing twenty knots all night!
The big keel on the BIG Reliance 44.
