To sell or not to sell... please help me!
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 7:48 pm
Greetings all,
It's been a while since I've posted here! I am currently in a state of near mental incapacitation regarding what to do with our 26X, and I could use some help with sorting things out in my mind.
First, a little background. We'd wanted a MacGregor since first seeing and learning about the boat in 1999. Finally, about two and a half years ago, the dream became a reality when we bought a used 26X. We had a nice first year with it, learning to sail on Lake Pontchartrain and doing countless mods to the boat. That summer, we took a wonderful trip along the MS Gulf Coast, and it was just plain heavenly.
But this past summer was truly unforgettable... I'd have to say that it was the happiest time of my life. Up until then, we had stored the boat in a slip on a bayou off Lake Pontchartrain. It was a pleasant and scenic marina, and slip fees were very inexpensive. But we made a decision to move to a marina on the MS Gulf Coast so that we could make better use of the boat. Being able to get out to Cat Island in just an hour or two vs. a grueling eight hour trip from our old marina was so wonderful, and we went nearly every weekend.
Our five day summer trip, last July, was just paradise. I remember our last night out at anchor, at West Ship Island. I sat up on the cabin top with my wife and kids, looking at the stars and enjoying the light breeze, thinking that life could not possibly get any better than this. Though I wouldn't call it a "premonition", I remember thinking to myself that this was all simply too good to last.
One month later, I was pulling the boat out of the water with Hurricane Katrina bearing down on the region.
Now, nearly eight months after Katrina brought unprecedented destruction over an unimaginably wide area, I'm extremely thankful that, for the most part, things are just about back to normal for my family. Repairs to our house are about 98% complete, and we're about to buy another house, one that, although practically right around the corner from our current house, has never flooded (this house had flooded once before we bought it, and twice since then). As for work, we moved back into our New Orleans office in January and made some tough decisions, getting rid of some obsolete equipment and investing in a new color proofing system that we hoped would be more in demand. Although we initially remained pretty slow, it has since picked up to the point of almost being BUSY. In the meantime, I've booked a decent number of weddings (I'm a photographer on the side), which has helped bridge the income gap.
That brings me to today. The boat, undamaged from the storm, is resting comfortably next to the driveway. With the Gulf Coast wiped out and marinas destroyed, there's not much we can do with her right now. On top of that, the Honda's lower unit, which apparently suffered from a prop shaft seal leak on that last trip, is shot, and the hull needs a new coat of bottom paint. With all of these factors, even if we felt that we could afford slip fees, we simply can't use the boat anytime soon. I'm thinking maybe it will be two or three years before we're back on the water.
Every day when I come home and see the boat, I say to myself that we should probably sell it. But I didn't have time to think about it much, and preferred to take the "procrastinate indefinitely" approach to this unbelievably difficult decision.
Unfortunately, our new house has no place to store the boat long-term. So, I'm forced into facing this issue now.
A week or so ago, I came to the realization that, yes, we should sell the boat... it's the only logical thing to do. We have no place to keep it, unless we want to pay storage fees, and besides, it's a good boat that deserves to be enjoyed, and to not just sit and rot indefinitely. That night I probably only slept two hours, tossing and turning and not being able to stop thinking about it. Last night, with my wife and kids away visiting relatives in Memphis, I sat up late looking through the pictures from our trips. I climbed under the tarp and sat in the cockpit, then in the cabin for a while, remembering the precious times we had on board. Plus, we've invested so much money and effort into outfitting her perfectly for our needs. How can I possibly sell this boat?
If we do sell it, it will almost certainly be replaced by a 26M in the next couple of years. Though we weren't fond of the original 26M layout, the new one is ok, and although I'm still partial to the X, my wife likes the larger rear berth of the M, and is excited about the prospect of upgrading to a new boat. But we're talking about A LOT more money to get set up with a new 26M vs. getting our current 26X fixed and back in the water. Just as money was a substantial hurdle that took years to overcome before we finally bought this boat, it could be longer than expected before we're able to buy a new one, and that worries me.
One thing that has heavily influenced both me and my wife into feeling, well, just not very enthusiastic about boating anymore is the fact that the coast was wiped out. An overnight stop in Gulfport in the middle of our trips, though initially conceived as a necessity for charging the batteries and fueling up, developed into a little tradition of ours. After a couple of days anchored out, a shower was such a luxury. And, though beef stew, chips, sandwiches, etc. all taste quite good while out at sea, a hearty meal at the nearby El Magueys mexican restaurant was always a much anticipated part of our trip. At night, we'd fall asleep to the "aarnk aarnk aarnk" of the sea lions at the Marine Life Oceanarium adjacent to the marina. D.J., the super-nice harbormaster, would do thoughtful things like leave treats and toys in the cockpit the next morning for the girls. But all of that is gone. The simple truth, as my wife put it soon after the hurricane, is that we'll never have trips like that again. Even our favorite daytrip spot, Smugglers Cove at Cat Island, is gone.
So, it's hard to get motivated to get back on the water. However, I just can't stop thinking about our girls, now 6 and 8. We all have had such a wonderful time with this boat, and I am acutely aware of how fast they are growing up. Yes, they are still very young, but the reality is that there aren't all that many summers between now and them heading off to college. As I'm writing this, I'm feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency to do whatever it takes to get us back on the water by next year. Sure, it won't be the same as before, but it sure beats looking back 10 years from now, wondering why we sat around moping about it instead of going out there and making the best of it.
Now, my neighbor has offered to let me keep the boat on some land he owns in Mississippi, about 30 minutes away. I initially was not thrilled with this idea, since we no longer have the boat insured and it would presumably be more vulnerable to theft out there in the middle of nowhere, though he says it would be safe, since he has numerous relatives living nearby. So, I do have an option, though not a perfect one.
The problem is, as you might have gathered from this lengthy post, I don't think I'm thinking straight right now... am I letting emotion overpower logic? I could really use some help from my friends here in sorting all this out.
--Mike
It's been a while since I've posted here! I am currently in a state of near mental incapacitation regarding what to do with our 26X, and I could use some help with sorting things out in my mind.
First, a little background. We'd wanted a MacGregor since first seeing and learning about the boat in 1999. Finally, about two and a half years ago, the dream became a reality when we bought a used 26X. We had a nice first year with it, learning to sail on Lake Pontchartrain and doing countless mods to the boat. That summer, we took a wonderful trip along the MS Gulf Coast, and it was just plain heavenly.
But this past summer was truly unforgettable... I'd have to say that it was the happiest time of my life. Up until then, we had stored the boat in a slip on a bayou off Lake Pontchartrain. It was a pleasant and scenic marina, and slip fees were very inexpensive. But we made a decision to move to a marina on the MS Gulf Coast so that we could make better use of the boat. Being able to get out to Cat Island in just an hour or two vs. a grueling eight hour trip from our old marina was so wonderful, and we went nearly every weekend.
Our five day summer trip, last July, was just paradise. I remember our last night out at anchor, at West Ship Island. I sat up on the cabin top with my wife and kids, looking at the stars and enjoying the light breeze, thinking that life could not possibly get any better than this. Though I wouldn't call it a "premonition", I remember thinking to myself that this was all simply too good to last.
One month later, I was pulling the boat out of the water with Hurricane Katrina bearing down on the region.
Now, nearly eight months after Katrina brought unprecedented destruction over an unimaginably wide area, I'm extremely thankful that, for the most part, things are just about back to normal for my family. Repairs to our house are about 98% complete, and we're about to buy another house, one that, although practically right around the corner from our current house, has never flooded (this house had flooded once before we bought it, and twice since then). As for work, we moved back into our New Orleans office in January and made some tough decisions, getting rid of some obsolete equipment and investing in a new color proofing system that we hoped would be more in demand. Although we initially remained pretty slow, it has since picked up to the point of almost being BUSY. In the meantime, I've booked a decent number of weddings (I'm a photographer on the side), which has helped bridge the income gap.
That brings me to today. The boat, undamaged from the storm, is resting comfortably next to the driveway. With the Gulf Coast wiped out and marinas destroyed, there's not much we can do with her right now. On top of that, the Honda's lower unit, which apparently suffered from a prop shaft seal leak on that last trip, is shot, and the hull needs a new coat of bottom paint. With all of these factors, even if we felt that we could afford slip fees, we simply can't use the boat anytime soon. I'm thinking maybe it will be two or three years before we're back on the water.
Every day when I come home and see the boat, I say to myself that we should probably sell it. But I didn't have time to think about it much, and preferred to take the "procrastinate indefinitely" approach to this unbelievably difficult decision.
Unfortunately, our new house has no place to store the boat long-term. So, I'm forced into facing this issue now.
A week or so ago, I came to the realization that, yes, we should sell the boat... it's the only logical thing to do. We have no place to keep it, unless we want to pay storage fees, and besides, it's a good boat that deserves to be enjoyed, and to not just sit and rot indefinitely. That night I probably only slept two hours, tossing and turning and not being able to stop thinking about it. Last night, with my wife and kids away visiting relatives in Memphis, I sat up late looking through the pictures from our trips. I climbed under the tarp and sat in the cockpit, then in the cabin for a while, remembering the precious times we had on board. Plus, we've invested so much money and effort into outfitting her perfectly for our needs. How can I possibly sell this boat?
If we do sell it, it will almost certainly be replaced by a 26M in the next couple of years. Though we weren't fond of the original 26M layout, the new one is ok, and although I'm still partial to the X, my wife likes the larger rear berth of the M, and is excited about the prospect of upgrading to a new boat. But we're talking about A LOT more money to get set up with a new 26M vs. getting our current 26X fixed and back in the water. Just as money was a substantial hurdle that took years to overcome before we finally bought this boat, it could be longer than expected before we're able to buy a new one, and that worries me.
One thing that has heavily influenced both me and my wife into feeling, well, just not very enthusiastic about boating anymore is the fact that the coast was wiped out. An overnight stop in Gulfport in the middle of our trips, though initially conceived as a necessity for charging the batteries and fueling up, developed into a little tradition of ours. After a couple of days anchored out, a shower was such a luxury. And, though beef stew, chips, sandwiches, etc. all taste quite good while out at sea, a hearty meal at the nearby El Magueys mexican restaurant was always a much anticipated part of our trip. At night, we'd fall asleep to the "aarnk aarnk aarnk" of the sea lions at the Marine Life Oceanarium adjacent to the marina. D.J., the super-nice harbormaster, would do thoughtful things like leave treats and toys in the cockpit the next morning for the girls. But all of that is gone. The simple truth, as my wife put it soon after the hurricane, is that we'll never have trips like that again. Even our favorite daytrip spot, Smugglers Cove at Cat Island, is gone.
So, it's hard to get motivated to get back on the water. However, I just can't stop thinking about our girls, now 6 and 8. We all have had such a wonderful time with this boat, and I am acutely aware of how fast they are growing up. Yes, they are still very young, but the reality is that there aren't all that many summers between now and them heading off to college. As I'm writing this, I'm feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency to do whatever it takes to get us back on the water by next year. Sure, it won't be the same as before, but it sure beats looking back 10 years from now, wondering why we sat around moping about it instead of going out there and making the best of it.
Now, my neighbor has offered to let me keep the boat on some land he owns in Mississippi, about 30 minutes away. I initially was not thrilled with this idea, since we no longer have the boat insured and it would presumably be more vulnerable to theft out there in the middle of nowhere, though he says it would be safe, since he has numerous relatives living nearby. So, I do have an option, though not a perfect one.
The problem is, as you might have gathered from this lengthy post, I don't think I'm thinking straight right now... am I letting emotion overpower logic? I could really use some help from my friends here in sorting all this out.
--Mike
)I could go out on Thursday p.m. pick wife and kids up on Friday, come back on Saturday. We did that a lot, but it gets to be difficult and costly when you are looking at a 90 mile trip one way to the launch site.
in a few years. You also dont really suffer much more depreciation on your 
in storage since its on the 'low slope' part of the depreciation curve. If you can score the 'store it at a friends house' by all means get insurance and do that....
In fact, enlarge a couple of the really happy pictures and hang one at home and one at the office.