Put the Cart Before the Horse Sometimes

 

  My first post on this blog was in 2011. A lot has happened in over ten years and since I've recently decided to start posting again, I might repeat some things I've written before. Let's face it, I frequently find myself reading books almost all the way through before I realize I've read it before. Same with movies.

  But this next subject might be a new one.

  Pictured above is Swing Set shortly after we bought her in 2003, snuggled into her slip up on the Mississippi River, in a "dockominium" at the Duck Club Yacht Club. We bought Swing Set (called Lady J at the time) from some folks who were renting the slip, but I was interested in buying the slip as much as I was in buying the boat.

  We joined the Facebook Group, Sea Ray Owners Club because we started considering selling Swing Set after 19 years of ownership. Inspired by other owners and the networking on the Owners Club, we've decided to go for at least 20 years, for now anyway.

  But back to why this post. When most people start thinking about getting a boat, they go to a dealer nearby (if they have deep pockets), or they start perusing online to see what is available. What I did when we bought our current boat was decide where we wanted to keep a boat and look for one that was already there. It turned out that the owners of the slip our boat was in was interested in selling the slip too, so we made two separate deals and closed within days of each other.

  In our travels, we've found that slips are hard to come by, and so is rack storage, especially in the really desirable locations. Price dockage in Key West sometime.

  So, you might try "putting the cart before the horse" and look into places to keep your boat that are in your area or price range, and go from there. You might not hit your target on the model of boat you most desire, but even with rack storage, or slip rental, most businesses don't care if you switch boats if you are a good customer.

  Our current slip at Clearwater Downtown Harbor has it's advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that we are on not at the beach, so we don't have to sit in traffic going over the causeway to the beach marina, but we still have restaurants within easy walking distance. The sunsets are good too, as we have a nice view of the Sand Key Bridge and Gulf beyond. We do get a pretty good current as the inlet is right there, but because of that, the water is not stagnant at any time. The floating dock is the best thing, though.

  Right now, the Clearwater waterfront is undergoing major construction. A project called "Imagine Clearwater" is transforming the whole area and it's really torn up. This means our easy parking is now blocks away, and the dirt from construction blows onto our boat on days when the wind is coming from the east. Luckily, the wind doesn't typically blow from the east, but we drive the 35 miles from our home to the marina once a week just to give Swing Set a scrubbing no matter what.

  Our 400 Sedan Bridge was not the first boat we looked at when we decided to begin our search, but it was the closest to what we thought we would like. A couple of items of importance were diesel engines, a flybridge with stairs for easy access, showers in the head that was separate from the toilet and sink. We didn't do too much to the boat until we made the decision to move onto it in 2011. You can read about that stuff in the earlier blogs.

  Since we aren't living aboard full time, or traveling, most of what I post will be experiences in basic maintenance and ownership, but like the Clint Eastwood character says in the movie, A Perfect World, 

"I don't know a damn thing."