I reckon you could say Critter has 'gifted' himself this year. He sold the Force 5 (aka, the bathtub with sails) a couple of weeks ago, for about twice what he originally paid for it, so not a bad deal - though if you calculate the amount of time he spent doing repairs, the numbers might look a little different. Still, he enjoyed working on it; how do you put a value on that?
Anyway, he had decided he wanted to get a 17 foot Hobie catamaran, and had been
drooling poring over ads on craigslist and sailing sites. Right after he sold the Force 5, he drove almost 8 hours to look at one that looked like it had been "rode hard and put up wet," repeatedly - apparently, the pics in the ad didn't really show how badly beat up this thing really was. He wouldn't have minded a few dings, but some of this was seriously structural, or so he said. Anyway, wasted time and gas - he didn't buy it.
On Sunday, he bit the bullet and made a more than 10-hour trip to look at a boat that he had been pondering ever since this particular phase of the adventure began. It turned out to be better than he imagined. Apparently, this boat was made in 1998 and only used for a few seasons, then tucked away in some trees behind a garage. Unfortunately, the sails were left on it, so they and the rigging will have to be replaced, The trees were nearly as good at protecting the hulls as a roof and walls would have been; most of the problems one encounters on these things apparently haven't occurred yet.
So yes, he's happy now -
ecstatic might even be a better word. I haven't seen him so happy since he bought the 49er (what was it that Mark Twain said about small boys and ways to kill themselves?) New sails will almost certainly cost more than the boat did, but even then, it's a good value . . . .
And if you think
I've been boring talking about all this, can you imagine how
he's been? He wants to get it on the water so bad he can taste it, but of course the weather is too cool and he hasn't got the sails, and this rainy weather has been keeping him from working and if I don't get a break waiting until the weather gets warm enough to sail it may not be an issue any more . . .