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.