Taking Ownership

Holy Smoke....I finally done it! Living out my fantasy and owning a yacht capable of carrying me and my family to far-flung exotic locations where the only sound is the lapping of the waves on coral beaches and the trade winds rustling the coconut tree fronds. That's the dream; getting there is the harsh reality.

Battered but beautiful, the 42ft Tayana built in 1979 was propped up in a yard in Texas where she was delivered after being thrashed by Hurricane Ike and declared a loss by the insurance underwriters. Surrounded by other victims of the hurricane all in a total state of loss – sunk, broken, holed, cut in half – it was hard to spot that this yacht had only suffered superficial damage. At top to bottom survey revealed that the solidly built yacht had unbelievably made it through a pounding at the moorings and when the mooring finally broke, was washed ashore and ended in car park lying on her side. Her beefy teak rubbing strake took a beating, there were gel-coat deep scratches on her top-sides, the keel’s leading and trailing edges had lost about 2 inches of filler and the rudder’s trailing edge had split open. The newly fitted guard rail and stanchions were bent and a bimini top was crushed. The interior was a complete mess with the contents of all the lockers strewn across the floor and one shelving unit dislodged.

No water ingress – this was my most important criteria – once a boat is water-filled or sunk it becomes a major refit and way beyond my own skills and budget to carry out.

This was the perfect yacht for me; all repairs within my own skill set to carryout, a hugely solid yacht that unlike some of the newer “fantastic plastics” could survive a grounding and big enough to live-on for a long time in comfort. The auction was a closed bid process and was coming to a close. I submitted my bid and waited….damn! I had been outbid. Oh well I’ll start the search again. Whaa…the leading bidder had not come up with the money and mine was the next highest bid. I had bought a $100,000 yacht for less than the price of a used car….unbelievable. I realized that a considerable amount would still have to be spent to get her back to seaworthiness, but it is a task I was ready to undertake and so the restoration begins.