My first happiest day....

P-Dogg · Post by **P-Dogg** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:28 pm

Well, I did it. We were at the beach last June when my wife said the words that every man wants to hear. You know the ones -- "Why don't we get a boat?" After basically 9 months of window shopping and getting our finances in order, and 3 months of serious shopping, I bought a boat.

When I first started thinking about a boat a couple of years ago, I kept ending up looking at tricabs. Not being a serious fisherman, i.e., not requiring a cockpit to land fish, they just seemed to have everything I needed -- two heads, two staterooms, a decent galley, no ladder to a flybridge (wife's knees), and wide flat side decks without any interruptions (like the Carver aft cabins) -- and they just look so dang nice. An added benefit is that whenever anyone leaves the cabin to come up on deck, they have to go by the skipper. On many flybridge models, guests come and go behind and below you, and if someone leaves the flybridge, you're not sure if they fell off or went inside -- a tad unnerving when they are young kids.

I don't know how many boats the average boat shopper looks at, but I looked at 11 in person. From Maryland, I flew to Tennessee (to find out that the PO (O?) was a chain cigar smoker), to Ohio (to find out that the boat was damaged (see the thread "broken tabbing, cracks in hull, what's normal?" around May 16 -- I tried to find the thread, is it possible it has been deleted?, or am I forum-challenged?), drove to Philly and NJ to look at boats that needed $45K work of work to make them worth $25K, a Craigslist Tricab in Baltimore that was the same price as the other boats, that oh by the way, still had their generator!, and on, and on, and on.

And then I found the one. After a disappointing trip the previous weekend, my wife (gotta love her), emailed me a link on Tuesday to one that was just across the Chesapeake bay and said "What about this one?" I'm like -- what the crap, where did this come from? Well it turns out it was just listed. I drove over on Saturday to look at it. Do to a miscue with the broker, the owner didn't know I was coming and was out on a cruise. They came back to the dock and I got to look at the boat, but the result wasn't pretty. Suffice to say that things were polite but not congenial. My offer was met with a "We're not even going to counter" (I was within 17% of asking, and with an email to the broker saying that I wouldn't come back after the survey and nit-pick -- structural issues only). It's funny --turns-out this is pretty close to where we ended-up. I was not trolling or low-balling. I looked the boat over when I was there ( a 5 hr. round trip in a car will cause you to determine then and there if you needed to come back ever), and there were a few things that needed attention, but nothing terribly serious -- just the kind of things that show-up on a used boat that an owner might not notice because they were not looking really hard, unlike someone who was about to enter into a completely optional and potentiallly expensive endeavor would be.

While the boat was obviously for sale, it turns out that owners just were not ready for someone to come along the very first week and buy their boat. I had looked at 10 boats that were not nearly as nice and was ready to buy this one -- right now. They (rightfully so) thought that it might take a year to sell (many boats I looked at when I started window shopping last summer were still for sale this year). We eventually agreed on a price and the owner was there for the survey, so I got to show him some of the stuff that I found. I can say that things were far better this time -- we really hit it off, and I can say that the owner is a genuinely nice guy who didn't just have his second happiest day, but rather closed a chapter in his life as it moved on.

I will post pics as soon as I get a chance. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who provided advice and shared their experiences for the last year. Oh, and to brag that I have THE NICEST 1981 - 1985 TRICABIN OUT THERE! This was absolutely the best boat of this type available east of the Mississippi, and I am truly fortunate to have her. I look forward not so much as being the new owner of this fine vessel, but rather look forward to years of being its steward.

I guess the next order of business is to change that signature! Then the questions will REALLY begin. Thanks, Perry

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:53 pm

Congrats on the new toy . May it serve you well

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:27 pm

As a very happy tri-cabin owner myself, I know the feelings you are experiencing. Congrats on the purchase & I'm looking forward to your pics.

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:38 am

MAZEL TOV perry!! i'm glad you included me in for most of the adventure. i loved being your 'sounding board', and i cannot wait to see her. chemo and the like be damned, i hope you will still include me in things.
tri cabin aaron, baltimore, md.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:15 am

Glad you finally landed your trophy. Its worth looking and waiting.

Welcome aboard - look forward to some pictures.

EM63 · Post by **EM63** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:36 am

Hello Perry - and a very welcome aboard.

--
Greetings from Germany - Heiner

lawyerdave71 · Post by **lawyerdave71** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:42 am

Congrats - I hope you have many happy years with her.

You were so right about that flybridge - I had that happen to me this past weekend. Guests can be quite stupid sometimes!

aweimer · Post by **aweimer** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:30 pm

Congratulations! Cannot wait to see pictures.

alexander38 · Post by **alexander38** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:27 pm

great to hear you found what you wanted...

But disagree on the fly Bridge thing...

I love mine, and as far as guest they come and go once without letting know where they are...

what's her old name ? And new one ?

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:16 pm

Pick a marina yet ?

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:24 pm

prowlersfish wrote:Pick a marina yet ?

++1

RWS · Post by **RWS** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:43 pm

congrats and welcome to ownership

Now it's time to do the MOST important thing...

start making some memories !

RWS

P-Dogg · Post by **P-Dogg** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:10 pm

I don't have a marina yet. I had a slip in Sir Aaron's marina lined-up, but then someone who actually HAD a boat already went and signed a contract and paid their money -- the nerve of some people! I didn't want to pay for a slip until I had a boat, so now I am looking again. I did sign a one month deal with Ferry Point on the Magothy until I decide on a permanent place for at least this year. I had a slip in Atlantic Marine Resorts on the Patapsco for about 45 minutes, but the boat wouldn't fit in the only slip available -- had the port bow on the piling and about 8" between the finger pier and the hull on the starboard side. The funnest part was answering everyone's questions about how it got there -- I said it grew there. I am glad it didn't work out actually, because while it looked good on the website and from Google Earth, the first thing that I noticed was how much all of the boats were moving in their slip -- a lot of traffic in and out of the boat rack, plus a good fetch facing directly into the short channel into the marina.

One issue that I want to clarify. This is the best of the tricabs out there that were FOR SALE. No insult intended for any of our esteemed forum members who have a nice tricab that is not for sale.

Her current name "Old Flame," formerly owned by our friend Jim Irons who uses the handle, well, "Old Flame." I didn't know that when I went to look at the boat, but a couple of days after I made an offer, my wife googled the boat name and got a forum hit. All things considered, I think everyone got a good deal all around. I got a great boat that everyone who has seen it loves, and Jim got his boat sold quickly in a crappy market. I told the broker that the best business deals are those that happen where everyone is friends afterwards, and I think that is where we are at.

We're not set on changing the name. If we do, some candidates are:

Cat's Away (most likely)
I Land Girl (say it fast)
Trojan Worrier (play on trojan soldier warrior and that latex product not working -- a boat name I always liked when I was much younger)

jefflaw35 · Post by **jefflaw35** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:22 pm

P-Dogg wrote:
Trojan Worrier (play on trojan soldier warrior and that latex product not working -- a boat name I always liked when I was much younger)

And they say my "Rubber Guppy" is wrong

Congrats on the new boat!!!

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 5:52 am

RATS!!! i was really hoping that you would be at parkside, but, there is always next season. i LOVE the name trojan warrior.
stay tuned for the next installment of 'medical update'. the ball is rolling and it's getting faster and faster.