Mono-hull after all?

After two open water trips on monohulls, we had pretty much decided a catamaran was the boat in our live-aboard future. Then we went to the Chicago boat show...all monohulls. And somehow, before the weekend was out, we were talking to a broker (Talking to a Broker!) about a 1982 Tartan 42 he had sitting in his yard. How did that happen?

Deb claims it is my fault, that the gleam in my eye made it clear I wanted a monohull, and I wanted one now. (Somehow she forgets that we already have a monohull that I like very much!) I think a lot of different currents are converging. (And it was Deb who jumped on the Internet Saturday night after seeing a new Tartan 4400, and found the Tartan 42 for sale.)

One is that Deb and I are both, kind of suddenly, thinking we are pretty close to pulling the trigger on this thing. We are blaming John K. and the week aboard Quetzal for that sudden shift. Deb really liked that boat and didn't get sick even with two bumpy Gulf Stream crossing. Even though I did feed the fish for a few hours, I was pretty happy with the boat as well. More importantly we came away from that trip feeling like we can do this, and that out on the ocean is where we want to be. The boat is not as important as the being.

Another is a Daughter and Family moving back to St. Louis and buying a house big enough for Deb and I to share with them. Perfect as an in-between home ownership and boat. In addition we can have the Tartan shipped to Carlyle. With a draft of 4'11" she doesn't draw as much as some, we can even still cove out at Coles Creek. We can learn the boat, live on it like we do Nomad, and finish any work we think required. I'm pretty comfortable with the idea of doing all that while staying in "home water." (Even though I think the lake is going to feel very, very small from the deck of a 42' boat, and I expect some pretty strange looks from people who don't know what we are doing.) We can also draw on the experience of the many friends we have made at the marina and enjoy a little more time in their company.

As always there is the matter of money. The Tartan lists for about twice what I paid for the Z-car. The least expensive Catamaran we have seen, that we think will do the job, was listed at nearly twice that of the monohull. That is nearly 3 years of cruising money. If can buy this boat with a second mortgage, when we sell the house the boat is paid for. With the boat in Carlyle, we can stay at our jobs as long as we want and/or need while getting the boat ready to go and stuffing the kitty.

I do have to admit that the Tartan was always one of the monohulls high on our list of possible boats. It is moderate to heavy in the displacement department, stable, with a modified fin keel that doesn't look like a fin, and skeg hung rudder. An older boat, it doesn't have the beam carried aft like modern boats - but I kind of like that. The cockpit isn't big - but I kind of like that as well. The companionway is different being just a hatch at the top of the ladder. Certainly nothing like modern boats, and nothing at all like the sliding glass door on a Cat. But on a bad day with big waves? My bet is I will not be missing the sliding glass door. This one is cutter rigged with a roller furling, several choices for head sails, a staysail, but no main. (A new sail being one of the things to take care of.) Truth to tell I really like the way the boat looks...at least in the pictures. Actually getting on the boat is next, and that should happen this weekend.

Should all this actualy come together we will finish up the year with The Boat at the lake and paid for, the house sold and the first, (and major) down size completed. At that point the "last things to do" list is reduced to 3 items; 1) Pick date, 2) Ship boat to the Ten-Tom and, 3) Head south.

How about them apples?