A young couple in love that want to travel the world by boat!
Pretty simple, right? But how we got here isn't.
So far everyone reading this blog is either friends or family, neighbors, co-workers, or local bartenders. So here is just a brief description for those who may not know the both of us.
Matt
Matt is a handsome 25 year old dreamer. If you know him, surely, he's told you about some crazy money making scheme or you've talked business or investments. It seems like he can't sit still and is always on the move, and I guess that's because he has been since he was born! With a Canadian father and a Mexican-American mother, he keeps a nice tan, eh? His father worked in the oil industry and the family was always on the move. He was born in Japan, spent a few toddler years in South Africa, and most of his childhood in Holland. It was at age 11 that his family picked up everything and sailed their 36' Northshore Vancouver from Holland, through Europe and Ireland, and down to the Caribbean in about a year and a half's time. Matt learned to sail and developed a passion for travelling. His family settled in Southwest Florida so he and his brother Jonathan could attend a regular high school. After high school, Matt attended Maine Maritime Academy, but (surprise) he hated the cold weather and opted to transfer to the University of New Orleans, graduating with a degree in Business Management. He's worked in the maritime industry since graduation, as a marine surveyor, barge maintenance superintendent, and shipyard project manager for various gulf-coast shipping companies centered in New Orleans.
Laura
I feel odd writing about myself, but as Matt is currently putting back together a turbocharger, here it goes. My name is Laura, and I'm also 25, younger than Matt by only a month. I was born in Philadelphia to hard working Americans of mostly German descent. I have a younger brother, Timmy (17), and a large and loving network of family and friends. I attended Catholic schooling through high school and then went on to college at the US Merchant Marine Academy. It was there that I learned to sail dinghys and developed a passion for travelling and the sea. I graduated with a degree in Logistics and Intermodal Transportation and a USCG Unlimited Third Mate's license, which I used to work as a 3rd Mate on mostly tankerships in the Gulf of Mexico.
How we came together
It was in the awesome crescent city that Matt and I first met circa 2007. I was sailing aboard a tankership as a cadet that went between New Orleans and Tampa, and Matt was attending the University of New Orleans. Shout out to my college sailing skipper Chris who recommended I give his high school sailing friend Matt a call for a free tour around the city. I did, and a few times Matt picked my up from the dock we did very touristy things, like drive around the lower 9th ward checking out all the hurricane damage, and more common Cafe Du Monde visits, all very platonic. And that was it for several years. I finished my cadet time and went back to school in New York and Matt continued doing his thing in New Orleans. After I graduated and returned as a mate to the same ship and run, circa 2009, Matt and I reconnected (on facebook, as much as I hate to admit) and it seemed like we were seeing each other in a totally different light. Then we started dating, drinking red wine and watching Captain Ron, and I vaguely remember thinking 'how nice would that be!'
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Fun while boat shopping
So that last blog was a lot of pissing and moaning about buying a boat, and the one before that was about fixing a boat. Your thinking what a spoiled bunch these are, all they do is bitch about things we cant even dream about. Well thats not totally true, we do have fun at times. Like when we go to the beach for a nice sunset (it almost rained):
Go kayaking in Key West (it was a bit too hot):
Go sea trial a boat (the boat was slow and had problems):
Catch our own scallops (I cant even think of a negative comment to add here):
Stay tuned for more
About Boat Shopping
Buying a boat is something most people will never experience. Some days I wish I could be one of those people. While it may sound like the coolest thing ever, I found the boat shopping experience frustrating, and at many times angering. Some of this may be a result of my own expectations, but most of the frustration comes from misrepresentation and lack of assistance from the sellers (boat brokers). If one were to pick a price range and look at boats within that price range on Yachtworld.com they would likely find several boats that fit the bill, and looked exciting. Chances are if one goes to look at those boats in person about half of them will still be exciting. However, to find out what the boat is really about, IE: turn on any system, you must place and offer and 10% deposit. Then you have to hire a marine surveyor at prices around $18 per foot, and go look at the boat. In our price range you just spent $500-1000 just to even see if the engine turns on. And this is where boat shopping becomes a joke. So your dream boat has some deck leaks, it has $10,000 worth of navigation electronics which dont work, and sails that are worn out. The owner is already frustrated with the low offer he just accepted, and as a buyer I expect to jew him down another $10,000 to make the deal work...obviously it doesnt work and I just wasted a week of my time and a bunch of money looking at a half shiny pile of junk. The part that sucks is that unless dealing with a seller directly, no broker, you wont get a real inspection of the boat until that survey.
Also when you hire a marine surveyor you are paying a pile of money for a glorified boat bum who does little more than write down some numbers and tell you a pile of BS...I worked with (3) different yacht and small craft surveyors in this ordeal and only one was half useful. I feel awful typing this because I tried to be a marine surveyor. But finding a person, anyone, who will really represent you when making a boat deal seems truly impossible. They all seem to serve themselves or are trying to cover their butts from someone else, but help you will not get at any cost.
The following are some examples of our not fun boat buying experience:
The first boat we made an offer on was a big catamaran that my dad was helping us pay for. The boat was bank owned (repo'd) and had basically been gutted. Therefore we were trying to buy it for a steal, we were going to have to spend a ton to get it back to working condition. We agreed upon a price that was higher than I wanted. At that point we hired a surveyor for a brief in the water survey. I crawled around the boat for about 6hrs and finally found what I didnt want to find. A crack in the glass below the waterline. It wasnt leaking, and had some red stuff gobbed around it. I mentioned my finding to the broker who at first told me I was silly because my surveyor didnt find it. Then he sent some pictures and an explanation that a few years back a local boat yard had repaired that boat, and that it was done right. Make a long story short the boat had been smashed aground, and instead of repairing it with fiberglass they used BONDO. See pic:
That only wasted a few hundred bucks and 2 weeks worth of negotiations. So we looked at a bunch of other boats, made more offers, wasted more time and money and we were getting a bit desperate and frustrated. This wasnt what we had in mind. Laura accused me of being too picky, I was pissed at all the brokers because the last thing I wanted was to spend every cent I had on something inferior...not at all fun times. So I lowered my standards to increase the odds and ended up looking at a Beneteau....
yeah I stooped way low. However I was excited, the boat had everything we needed for our plans, was cosmetically in acceptable shape, and I negotiated an agreeable price...then we did the survey (where I fork out a bunch of money to an old geezer who tells me the boats fire extinguisher is expired). Nothing on this boat that was powered by electricity worked properly. I assumed the sails were somewhat tired, but the sails were honestly the worst boat sails I had ever seen, and I have seen some pretty sorry sails; a new set of sails for a boat like this cost a least $6000. I was angry and sad at the same time. Angry I wasted my money, and sad we didn't have a damn boat. Laura who was away busting her butt at work was outraged when I told her we wouldn't be buying this boat.
And tha'ts how we ended up with a project boat...now I need to quit blogging and get back to work. Please excuse the grammar and spelling.
Also when you hire a marine surveyor you are paying a pile of money for a glorified boat bum who does little more than write down some numbers and tell you a pile of BS...I worked with (3) different yacht and small craft surveyors in this ordeal and only one was half useful. I feel awful typing this because I tried to be a marine surveyor. But finding a person, anyone, who will really represent you when making a boat deal seems truly impossible. They all seem to serve themselves or are trying to cover their butts from someone else, but help you will not get at any cost.
The following are some examples of our not fun boat buying experience:
The first boat we made an offer on was a big catamaran that my dad was helping us pay for. The boat was bank owned (repo'd) and had basically been gutted. Therefore we were trying to buy it for a steal, we were going to have to spend a ton to get it back to working condition. We agreed upon a price that was higher than I wanted. At that point we hired a surveyor for a brief in the water survey. I crawled around the boat for about 6hrs and finally found what I didnt want to find. A crack in the glass below the waterline. It wasnt leaking, and had some red stuff gobbed around it. I mentioned my finding to the broker who at first told me I was silly because my surveyor didnt find it. Then he sent some pictures and an explanation that a few years back a local boat yard had repaired that boat, and that it was done right. Make a long story short the boat had been smashed aground, and instead of repairing it with fiberglass they used BONDO. See pic:
That only wasted a few hundred bucks and 2 weeks worth of negotiations. So we looked at a bunch of other boats, made more offers, wasted more time and money and we were getting a bit desperate and frustrated. This wasnt what we had in mind. Laura accused me of being too picky, I was pissed at all the brokers because the last thing I wanted was to spend every cent I had on something inferior...not at all fun times. So I lowered my standards to increase the odds and ended up looking at a Beneteau....
And tha'ts how we ended up with a project boat...now I need to quit blogging and get back to work. Please excuse the grammar and spelling.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
ABOUT
Hey there, my name is Matt. This blog is all about life and the pursuit of sailing, fishing, boats, money and chasing the dream. Read along as myself and my girlfriend Laura take off from regular life as working stiffs and chase dreams.
I grew up sailing with my family at a early age. With my parents and brother I have done a variety of cruising, racing and fishing. I went to school at the University of New Orleans, and after graduation attempted a very short career in the maritime industry of the US Gulf Coast. However all along my wish was always to be around yachts and sailboats.
July of 2011 I quit my perfectly good job (well almost perfect). Laura and I packed what little we had into our 2 compact cars and drove from New Orleans (actually Covington) to FL to start our search for a boat to take us to new destinations.
I grew up sailing with my family at a early age. With my parents and brother I have done a variety of cruising, racing and fishing. I went to school at the University of New Orleans, and after graduation attempted a very short career in the maritime industry of the US Gulf Coast. However all along my wish was always to be around yachts and sailboats.
July of 2011 I quit my perfectly good job (well almost perfect). Laura and I packed what little we had into our 2 compact cars and drove from New Orleans (actually Covington) to FL to start our search for a boat to take us to new destinations.
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