Alden 44 Pilgrim

 Nothing is happening on the boat purchase because nothing is happening on the business sale, but I'm still looking at what's for sale. This Alden 44 is very nice and already fitted out with lots of gear.

 The arrangement below is nice for two people to live aboard (read not just a lot of bunks for racers).

The forward cabin has a double bed which seems nice, but then one person has to crawl over the other to get in and out of bed.

 The galley is nicely fitted out, just below the companionway to starboard. It has a freezer and a frige. The frige is accessible from the top and the front.

 And it has a shower stall in the head. The head is to starboard just forward of the saloon.

 And it has a guest cabin at the foot of the companionway which could be used as a safe and comfortable berth on passages.

Here are the plans of the two Alden 44s that are presently on the market. I drew these, so don't bet your life on the details, but I think that Pilgrim is more livable than Exile because of its openess, the stall shower, the enclosed aft cabin, and the U-shaped settee.

Get Me Away From This!

I am so tired of all the regulations here in California. Perhaps it's because we own a business, but we are constantly bombarded by more rules, regulations, taxes, fees, and paperwork. And constantly scrutinized and made to feel that we are doing something wrong! Just last week I went to the City of San Jose for a building permit. I won't go into ALL the details, but it had to be one of my most miserable experiences in my 57 years. Not only did they give me wrong information and a big run around, but they must have asked me three times if I was the contractor and did I have worker's compensation insurance. Hello, all you have to do is check our license with the CSLB and you will see that I have been doing this (with worker's comp) for over 20 years, and "Yes, Thank You Very Much, I Am The Contractor!"

Anyway, I am officially sick of all these acronyms and their associated organizations and their ridiculous forms, regulations, and fees:
IRS
FTB
SJVAPCB
ADA
CSLB
FAFSA
COS
SPD
SFD
UL
OSHA
DMV
DOT

Is it any wonder that businesses are running away from California as fast as they can? Is it any wonder that I want to fun away from California as fast as I can? The only acronym I'm liking right now is my 401k.

the Aldens

 We looked at this Alden 44 in Sausalito too. The Aldens have beautiful classic looks, but a modern underbody and great sailing and handling. This one even had a bow thruster.

 They are very nicely fitted out down below with thoughtful storage everywhere.

 The Alden 44 has the galley in the starboard passageway between the aft cabin and the main cabin and a traditional settee and table arrangement midship.

 This Alden 44 had a rather odd arrangement though. You enter the aft cabin from the cockpit and right at the foot of the companionway ladder is the nav station. To port and starboard were quarter berths under the cockpit. Going forward were two doors; the port door went through the head and the starboard door went through the galley to the saloon. So your guests would either have to walk through the bathroom or the kitchen to get to the dining area.

 Here's one of the quarter berths in the aft cabin.

 This Alden 46 is on our radar, but it is in Annapolis, Maryland.

Again the traditional midship settees and dining table. There is also a V berth up forward. We've never tried to sleep in a V berth - I wonder if it will be comfortable.

There is also a small aft cabin tucked under the starboard side of the cockpit, and a small head right across from the galley.

The galley on this boat is at the foot of the companionway ladder with the sink on the centerline of the boat. You can see the nav station tucked under the cockpit there just aft of the galley on the port side. 

 The best thing about this boat is the shower stall in the forward head! We had a walk through head on our other boat and you showered right there in the middle of it all, splashing water all over everything. We had a shower curtain, but it was still messy. This would be SO much better.

So now all we have to do is sell something and get on a plane to Maryland.....

The Swans

 Here is one of the boats that we were interested in. It's a Swan 44.

 The salon has beautiful white upholstery and the whole boat seemed well cared for.

 But we just weren't thrilled with the accomodations so we also checked out a Swan 46.

 The Swan 46 had nicer accomodations, but the decks were in terrible condition and most of the systems on the boat were older. Replacing the teak decks could cost $25,000.00, and non-skid would be nicer (and cheaper), but even that would cost $15,000.00.

 And it seemed awfully dark down below. Maybe it was the burgundy upholstery, but I think it was the low cabin sides which don't allow for large portlights.

 And the aft cabin had a ladder in the bunk!



Floundering

Lately we have been wondering if our life here is all we hoped for. We have invested 30 years of blood, sweat and tears in this community; paying our taxes, playing by the rules, giving back to the community, planning for our retirement. And now, through no fault of our own, our business and house are suddenly worth very little and the economy is flatlining. Add to that our aging parents, rampant crime, and a feeling that our lives are stagnant. You may call it a midlife crisis...I call it a wake-up call. We gotta get out of this place!

Back in the 1980s, when we were in our 20s, we sold it all and bought a sailboat. We had no set plans, but managed to spend several months in Mexico cruising in the Sea of Cortez. We also skippered some boats back and forth from the San Joaquin Delta to Baja. But we made the fatal mistake of holding a loan on our house and the buyers didn't make the payments, so we had to come back and settle that issue. That put an end to our cruising so we sold our heavy displacement, fiberglass cruising boat and tried to regroup.

Then we bought the old beauty you see on the header. Tilly Whim. A Laurent Giles sloop built in 1947. She needed a lot of work, but we thought we could fix her up and continue the dream. She was beautiful and a joy to sail. We even raced in the Master Mariner's on San Francisco Bay with only the two of us for crew. But we could never cure the garboard leak, so we reluctantly decided to swallow the anchor, get back to "reality", and be responsible members of society.

So we did that for 30 years, built up a business, remodeled two houses, had two daughters, and tried to be happy with the American Dream. But somehow it didn't seem to fit. Well maybe now is the time to dust off that old plan. Sell the business. Sell the house. Sell the car. Liquidate everything and buy a boat. Wander. Marvel. Explore. Live.

Fortunes Afloat.
How does that sound?