DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT

After getting it all wrong taking Isabella to Wanchese, we managed to do a little better bringing her back home.

We thought we'd make it a third of the way but instead brought her all the way home this morning, tucking in just ahead of a three-day blow.

Everything was with us: the weather, the wind, the current, we even got a sunrise start this time. With a slick new bottom and a clean propeller, she flew, slip to slip in three hours.

It was clear, calm and beautiful and so was Isabella.

Just goes to show, good sailing yarns are not spun from perfect weather and seamless passages. THE END

FINDING FOCUS

 Have you ever played that game Concentration where all the cards are face down and you turn them over two at a time, trying to find a match? That's what our second bedroom has been like for the last three months.

All the stuff we're keeping -- taking on the boat with us -- has been in three extra large bins. Every time I needed something, I would open one of the bins and pilfer around inside it, hoping to unearth a hidden treasure.

In fact, four times since we moved here in July I have scrounged through those huge bins looking for a waterproof bag for my camera. Four times I came out without the bag but not empty handed: a set of prayer flags, a stuffed rabbit, a pair of sailing gloves and a tea strainer. But no waterproof bag.
Last night we disgorged the contents of the bins into the middle of the floor sorting it into somewhat sensible piles: first aid, knives (we seem to have a lot of them), flashlights, bags, kitchen stuff, etc. We then stored those piles together in bags and boxes in hopes of happier hunting.

Then we dumped out all six boxes of books. On Round One, we picked out the books that were NOT optional: Sailmaker's Apprentice, Sailing Alone Around the World, Knots. Round Two, we chose the books we really, really wanted: To Kill a Mockingbird, Kon-Tiki, Treasure Island. In Round Three, we heartlessly cast aside the books that hadn't made the team, some of which are now on our bedside tables (crates) waiting to be read: American Lion, Iraq War Report, Leaves of Grass.

Can we get rid of any more stuff? Never say never.

Oh, and I found that waterproof bag.

SCHEMING

We might be waiting, but we never rest. We're always scheming -- on several fronts right now.

SCHEME #1: Set a firm launch date. Haven't sold the business? Who cares! We're sailing away anyway. Actually it has a little more forethought than that. If the business has not sold by February, we'll take it off the market and hire a manager to run it while we're floating around in the ocean. This is not our ideal outcome, but it allows us to go sailing, which IS our ideal outcome. We've asked the universe to send us either a buyer or a good manager.

SCHEME #2: Move again. I know, we just moved into Camp III, our last stop before the boat, right? Well, I had a brainstorm last week: why don't we move into an oceanfront beach house for the winter -- for only a little more $$ than the apartment? We can ditch the last of the furniture and all of our kitchen stuff since beach houses come fully equipped. It means we could live in lush comfort on the waterfront (when will that ever happen again?) with a fireplace PLUS we'll have a washer and dryer!!! No more laundromat!! The hunt for the perfect house has begun.

SCHEME #3: Buy a boat -- NOW. Yes, that strange situation where we own two boats and no house just might happen. Our thought is that we can buy now and have a few months to outfit and get to know the boat in our own backyard (so to speak), have work done by people we know and trust. It just makes sense. As a bonus, we can start paying off a boat while we still have income.

SCHEME #4: Sell the business. Okay, that's the original scheme, and it's still very much in the mix. We've had a lot of positive noise going on, including that letter of intent that was promised in August plus a new prospect.

THE ISLAND PACKETS

These drawings are not to a consistent scale, but they give a good side-by-side comparison of the layouts.

The 35
Built from 1988-94

[LOA: 38]  [LWL: 30] [Beam: 12] [Mast: 48]

[Water: 90] [Fuel: 48] [Holding: 15] [SArea: 640] [Headroom: 6'4"]

The 37
Built from 1994-98

[LOA: 38.5] [LWL: 31] [Beam: 12'2"] [Mast: 49'6"]

[Water: 90] [Fuel: 40] [Holding: 18] [SArea: 800] [Headroom: 6'4"]

The 380
Built from 1998-03

[LOA: 39'7"] [LWL: 32] [Beam: 13'2"] [Mast: 54'3"]

[Water: 170] [Fuel: 85] [Holding: 40] [SArea: 885] [Headroom: 6'5"]

The 40
Built from 1993-00

[LOA: 41'6"] [LWL: 34] [Beam: 12'11"] [Mast: 53'8"]

[Water: 170] [Fuel: 90] [Holding: 30] [SArea: 907] [Headroom: 6'5"]

RECAP:
All these boats are awesome. We could cruise safely and comfortably in any of them. Our plan is to buy the newest model we can afford when we're ready to buy one. Soon. Please.

THE ISLAND PACKET 380

At a glance these boat layouts look identical. We know.

On paper they have some definite pros and cons with waterline, sail area, tankage, etc. These notes are for our own reference. Read at your own risk.

Island Packet 380 is the boat we would buy if we had the money.  It has more waterline, a foot more in the beam, almost twice as much water storage, three times more holding tank capacity and 30% more sail area than the 35. Unfortunately it's almost twice the cost.

The v-berth has a lovely bed that can be entered from either side. Getting out doesn't require a reverse sommersault. It has a very strange sink in the after berth, which could be removed. Just happens to be the same size as our new sewing machine...

It has stainless steel handrails instead of teak and a swim platform on the stern. They used the extra foot in the beam to good effect for storage.

The only thing we could find to sort of not like about the living space it is that the salon seems slightly smaller, and we're not fans of the L-shaped settee, which juts out into the dance floor.

380 recap:
PROS
--The newest of the ones we've looked at
--Stainless handrails
--More LWL
--More beam
--Twice as much water storage
--Almost twice as much fuel tankage
--30% more sail area
CONS
--Price

INCHES AND FEET

I fully acknowledge how strange and tedious it is for us to be debating inches of waterline and feet of sail area. I'd rather be sailing, just as I'm sure you'd rather be reading about sailing. Unfortunately, this blog is about the minutia of our plod to the water, which happens to be measured in inches and feet right now instead of leaps and bounds. Bear with us.

We've been studying the IP37 on paper (electronic paper, that is) for a long time. We just never had an opportunity to see one until this week.

Even though it's called 37, it's only inches different from the 35. These numbers are for 35/37:
Length overall: 38'/38' 6"
Length at waterline: 30'/31'
Beam: 12'/12' 2"

The 37 has a taller mast and a lot more sail area, but perhaps the biggest argument in its favor is that 37s are newer boats. The 35 was made from 1988-94, the 37 from 1994-98. That's also the biggest argument against it, because the newer the IP, the more expensive.

However, we wanted to see it in 3-D, to get a feel for the difference. The one we saw was in the yard having work done, so it was not easy to pick through the mess. There's a slight change in the v-berth. Nothing huge. They put a bend in the salon settee that juts into what we call the "dance floor." It's amazing how every inch here or there makes a difference in such a small space.

Our overall feeling about the 37 is that it's a great boat (they all are) but we don't feel it justifies spending 50% more. Would we buy one if it cost the same as a 35? Hmmm. Probably. That would depend on the condition and what toys it came with.

37 RECAP:
Pros
--Newer and therefore theoretically in better condition
--An extra foot on the waterline
--More sail area
Cons
--More expensive
--Smaller feel in the salon

THE BACK FORTY

After the Annapolis Sailboat Show, we took a side trip to Rock Hall, Maryland, to look at boats (just like we did last year). We plan to buy an Island Packet, but since we don't have a cool $300K, our pocketbook (packetbook?) limits us to used ones.

Island Packet has seven boats between 35 and 40 feet (not counting the new Estero). The differences between the various models gets tedious and just plain confusing. Chip has made charts to help us track the differences. Our goal was to narrow down our choices by seeing some of them side-by-side. We wanted to answer a few questions:
1. Are we sure we don't want a bigger boat, maybe a 40? Do the features outweigh the cost?
2. Should we spend 50-75% more for a 380?
3. Is the 37 different enough from the 35 to warrant spending 30-50% more?
4. Do we still like the 35 best for the money?

My next few posts will capture our thoughts and answers so we won't subsequently forget them (!). Since the 35 (not to be confused with the 350) is our front runner for now, I'll compare each boat to the 35. Today, question number one.

Island Packet 40:

The IP website has more info if you want to check out IP40s.  The one we looked at is a 1996 and is listed for $179,500 as compared to IP35s starting below $100K.

The layouts amongst the 35, 37, 38, 380 and 40 are very similar, but the extra feet on the 40 are used to add another bathroom in the bow. The unexpected consequence is that the salon is compressed. The settee angles out into the salon floor adding to that closed-in feeling. We didn't take a tape measure to it, but the salon feels smaller on the 40 than on the 35, and isn't it really about the feel?

Having that extra bath by the companionway would be awesome for use as a wet locker, but is it really worth an extra $70-80K? Besides, you trade one large bath for two small ones. The additional four feet of waterline adds comfort, but again, $70-80K worth?

It's more expensive to operate, maintain and even travel in a larger boat. The tradeoff would need to be substantial to make it worthwhile. The 40 didn't win us over.