Soooo, it's been awhile! We went through quite the whirlwind of activity the last couple of months, and I am finally settling back into a routine and making time to catch up on my posting!
Let's start with our trip to Florida! Bean and I had a GREAT time! We met the broker - who is wonderful - if you need a broker in the south Florida area I highly recommend Daryl Rester with Sunshine Yacht Brokers. He went above and beyond to help us and guide us through this process. He is a live aboard himself and understands the needs and lifestyle and had so many great resources for us.
We decided to stay in Marathon (where the boat is usually moored), and travel up to Key Largo for the survey itself. This let us be in the middle of the keys allowing us to see/do more while we were there.
The Dean 440 is a beautiful boat for anyone that is looking. The sweeping lines, the large cabins, the amazing saloon. We enjoyed our time on the boat, and we had fun doing the survey and test sail. It ended up taking two days to do the survey (which we kind of expected, even though the surveyor said only one...). The haul out was the most adrenaline packed part... the yard is VERY shallow, and the Dean was just going to fit, but you have to stay right in the middle of the channel on the way in, and it can only be done at high tide, so you only get a couple hours to get in, get the out of water part of the survey done, and get back out!
The first day, we tried to start with the haul out, but unfortunately, there was a low spot right before entering the actual haul out spot, and the boat got stuck on that for about 45 minutes. That ended up eating up too much of the available high tide time, so we decided to call it and try again the next day. Instead we met up at the marina where they were staying overnight and starting with the test sail.
The sailing was exhilarating! The clear waters, the rush of the wind, the feel of the boat. We were only out for about an hour, but it was a great sail. The boat handled well, the sails were in decent condition, Bean got to be at the helm for a little while while I learned/helped with getting the sails up. I definitely liked the way the catamaran sailed and look forward to many more catamaran adventures. Getting into and out of the resort marina was definitely a nail biter, but the owner couple worked very well together and communicated very well from the dual helms, allowing them to navigate the narrow channel and the blind curve very smoothly and efficiently. With a 24' beam, that was no easy feat, but they made it look effortless. Of course, I was so on edge I didn't get any footage of the nail biter parts, but below is a small snippet of the sea trial.
After that we settled into the nitty gritty part of the survey inside. We started looking at engines and electrical and all that fun stuff. We only made it about halfway through the boat before it suddenly after 5 pm and we had to call it a night.
Daryl recommended a great restaurant up in Key Largo, so Bean and I left a little early and grabbed some breakfast (highly recommend Doc's diner if you are ever up that way!) Then we got back down to business and wrapped up the survey - this time we actually made it in for the haul out - though it was a bit harrowing again! We got to see a little of the keel damage from getting stuck on the rocks the day before, but nothing major. The surveyor only had about an hour out of the water, so it was definitely a crazy ride. We wrapped up around 5 pm again and called it done.
There were several things the surveyor pointed out that we had to think about. The boat was definitely going to be a project, which we knew it would need some work, but it was a bit more than we had expected. Bean and I decided to discuss it with Michael, but wait until we got the final report before making any decisions.
After chatting with Michael, he told us to stay in Florida for a couple more days, relax and enjoy a short vacation after the craziness of the last couple days, and of course, we didn't argue! So we booked a hotel in Key West and stayed there for a few days.
I'll tell you more about that part of the trip next time! Until then, stay derpy friends!!
Comments