S/V Perspective

Our search lasted approximately 8 months and consisted of countless hours spent viewing listings on yachtworld.com aka boat porn.  Countless hours spent on sailboatdata.com comparing and contrasting performance and design.   Last but not least, countless hours emailing brokers to make arrangements for viewings.  So what can we quantify from our search?  We traveled to 2 countries, 3 states and 11 cities looking for our girl.  USA, Mexico, California, Washington, Texas, Long Beach, Marina Del Rey, Newport Beach, Emeryville, Alameda, San Rafael, San Diego, Seattle, Kemah, Coronado & La Paz.

In order for all of our searching to be productive, we had to figure out what we wanted.  Here’s a broad list that helped keep us on track to find our girl.

1. A reliable, well-built cruising boat within our budget.
2. A boat that had recently been overhauled (current rigging, electronics, decks, etc)
3. A boat size ranging between 40-45 feet
4. Cutter or Ketch rigged
5. A long fin keel and skeg hung rudder
6. Ample fuel and water tankage

In the midst of our search, Brad made and maintained many wonderful contacts in the broker field.  We were able to go on numerous boat showings, sometimes even multiple showings for the same boat.  Sometimes our viewings would clear the mind, and others would leave us a little more confused.   We quickly realized there was no such thing as a “perfect” boat in our price range and used that realization to start a list of items we were willing to bend on.  Did we really need a center cockpit with a large aft stateroom or would a Pullman be just as comfortable?  Did we really need a swim step for ourselves and the pups or could we make do without?  Was a separate stall shower really necessary?  And what about the cockpit, did it really need to be large enough to fit 6 people comfortably?  Not to mention other things like the condition of the engine, rigging, sails, hull type, storage, boat length, and the condition of the decks.

Here are some of the boats we were able to look at in person:  Norseman 447 (aft and center cockpit versions), Norseman 400 (2 and 3 cabin layouts), Nordic 40, Tayana 47, 52 & 55, Island Packet 350, 380, 40 &420, Valiant 39 & 42, Pearson 424, Kaufman 47, Passport 40 & 41, Caliber 40, Mason 44, Swan 43MS & 47, and finally the Kelly Peterson 46.  We found ourselves in lust with the Norseman 447’s but realized the boats on the market were not for us.  After some soul searching we decided not to make any offers on these lustful vessels.

Here are videos of some of the boats we viewed.  Most are interior tours, so guess who the cameraperson is:

Kelly Peterson 46 and haul-out, Norseman 447 (center cockpit exterior, center cockpit interior, aft cockpit), Passport 40, Tayana 47, Kaufman 47, Norseman 400(2 cabin, 3 cabin), Pearson 424, Valiant 42, Mason 44

Once we stepped on the KP46 we were bombarded with things we loved about it.  Who doesn’t love a large cockpit and wide deck space?  Who doesn’t love a workshop on board or pristine interior?  Must I mention the king size bed in the aft cabin, the queen sized v-berth and 2 heads?!  She also checked all of Brad’s boxes:  Seaworthy, cutter rigged,  lots of tankage, watermaker and a good bluewater hull design.  Needless to say we fell in love with this boat.

Love is great and all, but we needed to figure out what we were getting ourselves into.  Here’s what we knew, we knew the rigging needed to be replaced, electronics needed to be replaced, the engine was questionable, and the price was near the top of our budget.   We gathered our thoughts, made an offer and waited for a response.

A couple of offers were exchanged and we settled on a price.  We were finally making some progress in our boat shopping experience but could not let ourselves get too excited.  We continued on to the next step in the process- the survey and sea trial.  There were some big ticket items brought up in the survey, some of which we knew about, others we weren’t aware of.  Based on our discoveries during the survey we decided to take our chances and asked for a price reduction.  Let’s hope our offer is accepted!

Here’s what we learned during the search process.  You must be patient!  You must keep looking.  You must do plenty of research.  You must stick to your budget.  You must allow yourself to look past imperfections to see the bigger picture and know that it will all work out for the best.  Get excited about what you’re doing- give yourself a pat on the back for following your dreams!  We thoroughly enjoyed our search and hope that you will have the same experience!

On June 8th, which is coincidentally World Ocean Day, we purchased a Kelly Peterson 46.  She’s currently named “Doctor’s Orders” and will soon be renamed “Perspective”!

Doctor’s Orders met all of our requirements.   She has a powerful cutter rig that’s great for San Diego and Light winds.   The boat has an excellent reputation for seaworthiness and a cult following.  Her center cockpit is spacious and the deck space is amazing.  The interior looks like it just came out of the factory.  We did discover a couple of items during the survey that were large, but we decided to move forward regardless.

We bought her knowing the engine needed to be replaced and probably the bolt-on mast furling system.   While these are big ticket items, we accounted for these during the purchase.  Besides, who doesn’t want a new motor in their 30 year old sailboat?

Our thanks to the previous owner, who we will refer to as the Doctor, who took excellent care of our new KP46.

We spent Sunday on the boat tightening the squeaky alternator belt and getting better acquainted with her systems. The second leg of our trip began early morning on Monday, June 13^th, 2016. Our alarm beeped us awake at 3:45am and our plan was to be under way at 4am.  The journey is 82 nautical miles and takes between 12-14 hours.

Surprisingly the whole crew was up and ready to go at 4am and once again we were navigating the mooring field in the dark. The setup was the same; Jesper & Sean at the bow, Brad at the helm, and I was the translator between the 2 positions. This time we had much better luck and managed to get out without too many close calls. After coming around parallel to the island, we set the autopilot and relaxed while we cruised along at a steady 5-6 knot pace.

While the others were awake, I took full advantage of sneaking down for a nap on our port side settee. The settee is spacious as is, but pulls out a few more inches for additional comfort. A few hours later we were right along side Avalon, the main attraction in Catalina. At this point the engine was holding up great, no squeaky belts or signs of any other trouble. That is all we could ask for.

Brad was gracious enough to cook breakfast for the crew and we all sat in the cockpit enjoying every last morsel. After stuffing our faces, the crew alternated between resting, reading and being on watch. The water was calm and the wind was absent so we had no choice but to motor along.

It was around noon when things started to get really exciting. We spotted what seemed like hundreds of dolphins jumping out of the water. We were completely spoiled by a few dolphins that swam up to our bow and said hello. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life! We could actually hear them and they were SOOOO close! This same scenario repeated several times throughout the day and each time was as exciting as the first! Nature delighted our senses even further with a couple of whale spouts and tails, what a treat!

It wasn’t until we were about an hour or so off of Point Loma that the wind picked up. It was on our beam and we took full advantage. We pulled out all of the sails and practically squealed with excitement as we shut the motor off. The wind was around 15 knots and boy did our boat like it! She dug right in and gave us quite the ride! As we rounded the point and came in to the harbor we were making 8-9 knots (the incoming tide obviously helped us out). I have to admit, it was at this point that I realized that I should start some heavy-duty weight lifting. The boys handled all of the sails while I helmed or hung on for dear life in the cockpit. There is an enormous amount of pressure on each sail and that will definitely take some getting used to.

Now it was back to reality. We furled the sails and began motoring to our slip. Did I mention that this slip was brand new for us, and we hadn’t seen it in person yet? Luckily Brad had a diagram of the slips and we were able to find ours in time to start planning. We were told that the slip was an upwind slip but found it to be the opposite. We learned a few things while trying to connect to a mooring ball in Catalina and one of those things is that our boat doesn’t turn like our old Beneteau 34 did.  The wind was still blowing a steady 10-15 knots. You could say the mood was a little tense as we made our first pass in to dock. Brad as at the helm while Sean, Jesper and I were all positioned around the boat with lines in hand. It took 2 tries but once we got her in, she fit like a glove and once again we all took a big sigh of relief. Our girl was home!

Photos from the voyage