new boat

To sum up, I have moved back to Wisconsin.  Being in the state adjacent to the only of the Great Lakes all the way within the borders of the U.S. of A means that I can't survive for long without a boat.  The reason for my relocation was to start up my own little boat rental operation on the beach in Sheboygan.  I spent all of my money procuring licenses, insurance, kayaks, a sail boat, a jet ski, a tent, a table, and all that jazz.  Things were looking up.  I was to spend my summer living on the beach, growing out my facial hair, and perfecting my tan.  I got started as soon as I could, which ended up being my downfall.  For those of you not familiar with Wisconsin in May, it's much like everywhere else...in March.  We have our good years and our bad years.  This turned out to be a little chilly.  I had a hard time getting people to go out on "the big lake" while I was huddled up under my awning in a parka.  Some days were sunny and lovely, others were just too plain cold to sit out there.  I enjoyed being a beach bum though.  I had hours on end to sit and read books.  I was able to chill shirtless at work, and randomly do push-ups whenever I wanted.  One of the downsides was that I was usually alone, and whenever I had to run to the bathroom I left all of my gear out in the open.  The Sheboygan beachfront is pretty harmless though.
After about two months, and only five rentals, I was negative enough in my account to realize it was best to put the horse out of its misery.
I started work again selling cars and was able to dig out of that financial hole for the most part, and as I always do, I began perusing Craigslist in search of a new boat.  I am always looking for something that can convey me to far off horizons in relative comfort and safety.  There are any number of small trailer/sailors that would be nice to haul to remote lakes and have fun with for a day or so, but I want an ocean crosser.  Every so often I find a deal that's too good to be true.  Growing up I often would find ads in the newspaper for a Free Boat.  What I didn't understand at the time was that if a boat is literally being given away, there probably isn't much it's good for other than killing a spot of grass on your lawn.
As I was searching, I came across an ad for a boat I had never heard of before, a Glander Cay.  It was $1,700 (which is about what I paid for my last boat) and it had a lot of things included that I had to add to the Bristol 24.  Things like sails, a mast already stepped, proof that it floated, a mooring, and engine, proper rigging.  In fact, this one seemed to be built every bit as solidly as my Bristol.  In the pictures I could see that it had a full keel, and a rudder hung on the transom.  This is an advantage over my last boat because it meant that I would be able to easily inspect, repair, or replace the rudder if damaged.  Also it means that there are no holes running through the hull that could leak.  The outboard motor looked nice (and proved invaluable later).  I kept an eye on the ad.  I couldn't see much from the pictures of the interior, but I could only assume it was in rough shape.
The value seemed too good to be true, and so I waited.  In a couple weeks the price dropped from $1,700 to $700.  That was it, I had to have it.  There was no way I couldn't come out ahead.  I mean, I would have to pay for insurance, and storage, and inevitable repairs, but I was starting out way ahead of my last vessel.  I called the guy and set up a time to go see it.  He said I was first in line, but it was too dang hot to show the boat, so I'd have to wait for the next week.  I get impatient once I've got it in my head to do something, but in this situation it turned out to be a good thing that I had to wait.  In the week I waited, the price dropped from $700 to $500.  Yes I was suspicious, I'm not an idiot, and I know if a boat that looks like it should be $3,000 is being sold for $500 it's probably in the process of sinking.
I drove down to the marina and met a nice man with a ponytail named Jeff.  He had the Glander pulled up to the boat ramp.  She looked great...from about 50 feet away.  There was a gleaming bright varnished bow sprit, and a wooden mast ladder running up the shrouds (she looked like a pirate ship to me).  As I got closer, I noticed that the paint job had a certain 'unprofessional' appearance to it.  The white base coat was showing through the dark green contrasting layer.  That would need to be addressed.  The main hatch was a curved piece of transparent lexan with wooden braces.  Cool.
As I went below I saw where the real grunt work was required.  You see, some boats are completely finished from the factory, others are left "open to interpretation" by the manufacturer.  Glander was a father and son boat building company in Florida building boats that would do well around the Florida Keys and the Bahamas.  It has a very shallow draft (doesn't stick down too far in the water) but is very heavy so it's stable, won't tip over, and can take a beating.  This boat had been left with an unfinished interior.  Jeff, the second owner, had done a few things here and there to get it to his liking, but had never really finished it.  The original square windows had been replaced with round opening ports.  They looked great from the outside, but on the inside it was a mishmash of plywood and planks.  There was no head (toilet) and the stove (which was on a gimbal so that soup doesn't spill as you're pounding over waves) was mounted right over where a seat or berth (bed) should be.  The one nice thing is that all the cushions were there, and there was plenty of storage.  The wiring hadn't been run yet, and there was no modern conveniences on board.  My Bristol really had nothing wired either, so it seemed with both boats I was working with what they would have in the 1800's.  Hull, rudder, sails.  I loved it.
After an hour sea trial I closed the deal.  To be honest it was listed for $499, and Jeff gave me back a dollar for good luck.  He told me that he had had the boat since 1998 and had sailed it up from the Florida keys, through the St. Lawrence seaway, and down to Milwaukee.  This was just the kind of news I wanted to hear to know that this boat had some serious cruising chops to back up her awkward and bulky appearance.
She's about 2 feet longer in the hull than my Bristol, and almost 2 feet wider.  She's another 1,000 pounds heavier, and is 6" shallower in the draft.  I think she'll be just the thing to finally take me over to England.  Click here to learn more and help out.
I've already taken her on some adventures and cruises.  More on that later.

Vacation Time

My boat is back in the water and ready for action.  I have gone from having a mooring in Milwaukee to a mooring in Oconto.  It is a little over an hour north of me, but it's still close enough that I can get out for a good sail if I have the day off.
I was planning on selling the boat because...well, that's what I do.  Posting it online was all too easy.  Adding pictures to the ebay listing, or the ad on craigslist made me nitpick and see all of the imperfections that I realized would make her difficult to sell.  One day I decided to head up and make sure nothing had been damaged over the winter months.  I hadn't been on my boat since October, and here I was well into June before making my first visit.  As soon as I saw my Glander Cay, I began to have reservations about selling her.  Instantly upon stepping aboard I realized that I didn't want anyone else to have her.  I had gotten such a good deal on a boat that not many would appreciate, and up to that point in the year, all I could think of was dollar signs.  Once I saw the potential again first hand, I pretty much decided that I'd hang onto her until I was offered six times what I paid for her, or until she was not longer fit to sail.  A good solid hull that is as well traveled as this one is not usually cheap.  Anyway.
The mooring was fairly inexpensive, and it meant that I could get out on the Bay much quicker because I wouldn't have to motor down the river all the way from Hi-Seas Marina.  It also meant that I had to find a way to get out to my boat without a dock.  Previously it had been warm, and I was accustomed to placing my clothes in a drybag, and swimming out to my boat.  The first time I had done this was the night I tied her to the new mooring.  I had motored the mile or so from the marina to the mooring, tied off, and tidied up a bit.  To get to shore I swam, fought through the reeds and lily pads, then changed back into my clothes in a nearby restroom.  The bright green drybag I had picked up with my Cabela's gift card did wonderfully.  My clothes were still bone dry.  I began my hike back in the rain down the dark county road.  I made it most of the way there before getting picked up by a kind man in a Ford Ranger.  The interior of his truck suggested that he was a chain smoker.  He explained to me that he was just doing his second good deed for the day.
Fast forward to now.  I found out that I get a week's paid vacation because I have been at my current job for over a year.  Time off being like money in my pocket burning to be used up, I took the first available week in September to do a cruise.  I wanted to take advantage of what little "warm" weather we have left.  Wisconsin has been insufferably cold and wet this summer, and I had a feeling that sailing in October again would not be nearly as pleasant as last year.
The plan is to leave on Monday, sail up through the Green Bay, and stop at islands along the way.  Chamber's island is about 6 hours away from Oconto.  Washington Island is another 6 north of that.  After sleeping on one of these little beauties, I will get to go up and explore Rock Island, St. Martins Island, Plum Island, Poverty Island, and many others.  The area is known as Death's Door, or Porte Des Morts by the French.  After studying the cruising charts I can begin to see why there are over 250 shipwrecks in such a small area.  The Niagara Escarpment (the rock the giant falls are carved out of) extends past the tip of the peninsula and occasionally juts up into an island.  There are multitudes of rocky shoals near the islands.  The depth quickly goes from 100' to 3' in some areas.  I'm sure I'll be glad to have such a shallow draft boat designed for island hopping.