Cul-de-sac

The sellers backed out of sale. We went through a few weeks of great frustration trying to get the owners to send us the necessary documents. After weeks of trying, they had yet to even send us the title or anything else, other than e-mail and scanned documents. We are now relieved because the problems on Ohana are substantial and the sellers gave us much grief.

So what's next? We're excited to be making plans for sailing, free of problems with this boat, and looking to take a ride on other boats. We will still be leaving the first week of April. We will visit our friends Ute in Honduras, or Belize or wherever they may be and then look for a boat to crew on traveling in the South Pacific. We will work our way west toward Australia, and plan to work our way on to some boats, or buy a different one, still making our way across the Pacific from Central America, to Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji or on the Australian coast.

All of this will bring us so much less stress. We will let you all know when we create our new site and our firmer itinerary.

Decision Made

We decided to buy the boat! After taking hard look at all the problems, we decided that the up side was worth it. The boat has two private cabins, making it more comfortable. It has been strengthened for offshore sailing, and this part of the work is in good condition, so Ohana will keep us safe. The rest is just a bunch of work and added costs. So we decided to go for it.

There are many steps left, but we choose to accept the boat with all its flaws, and are now committed to find all needed solutions.

The Big Decision

Sorry about the delay in the update. Craig went down to Tahiti last week and found the boat in much worse shape than we thought (and what were told by the sellers). We now estimate that these new problems represent about five thousand dollars worth of repairs that need to be taken care of before we leave the dock. So we tried to negotiate a new deal with the owners. Unfortunately, they are not willing to lower the price. Now we are deciding if we want to take the boat or not at the original price. We have set ourselves a deadline of tomorrow to make a final decision.

Here are some pictures of the trouble:






The lines for the sails were left out in the sun and need to be replaced. The wiring needs attention. The bilge is filthy and has a bizarre set-up that needs to be fixed. The bottom paint is completely worn off. The steering system needs modifications to work well. All of this adds up to thousands of dollars and weeks of work. However, this is work that Craig knows how to do, and all boats do need work.

Our decision is also influenced by the fact that there are not many boats in our price range in the South Pacific. None in Tahiti. So, if we choose not to take this boat we will be giving up this adventure. Instead we will probably buy plane tickets to Brisbane to find a boat for a few months of coastal cruising. If we do that we may head as far north as Papua New Guinea, if we have time. Boats are more expensive generally in Australia, but there are more to choose from and it should be cheaper to make repairs and buy parts.

So we are faced with a tough decision. We will let you all know our decision when we figure it out.

Introducing Ohana

We found a boat! Ohana is an O'Day 37 located in Tahiti. Craig is heading down to Tahiti on Sunday to test sail, inspect her out of the water, complete a detailed inventory, and start getting her ready for the big trip. See the links below for a diagram of her layout, pictures, and detailed description.

O’Day 37 layout


Ohana yachtworld post


Our plan is to head to Tahiti in early April. We will eventually travel from Tahiti to the Cook Islands, on to Tonga, Fiji and to New Caledonia ending up in Brisbane, AU before October (when we plan on returning home). Here's a map...