Shopping for a yacht

I can’t believe it. We are packing to go down to Richards Bay early tomorrow morning to have a look at the 1st of 2 Fairweather catamarans we have booked to look at. We will be making an offer on one of these over the next few weeks…I am so looking forward to that. Finally having the yacht of our dreams and starting the serious work of leaving on our great adventure!

We decided to take the 3 boys with us, this will give us a sense of the actual space on the yacht with all of us on board, considering the amount of time we will spend on the yacht we find this imperative. We can also get everyone’s opinion and everyone’s preferences with regards to the yacht. We will be able to discuss what we each like and don’t like about the yacht. What we would change if we made the offer, what we would keep, who would have which bedroom and how the bathroom usage would work. We feel it is very important to involve all the boys in these decisions as the change in lifestyle affects us all.

Before we leave, Barry and I will sit down and make a few lists, lists of what to look for in a mechanical, technical and cosmetic line with regards to the yacht. We will be noting the sails, rigging, plumbing, wiring, batteries, spares, electrics, mast, tender, motors and layout. We will split each section into finer details and have a list of questions and specific items to take careful view and note of.

Our Section headings are:

• General boat information
• Hull
• Deck
• Cockpit Area
• Rigging (standard and running)
• Sails, Mast, winches and other sailing parts
• Hull interior
• Interior layout and design (includes size)
• Tanks
• Plumbing
• Electricals
• Electronics
• Safety Equipment
• Engine
• Ground tackle
• Inventory
• Other equipment

This list comes in part from the Handbook of Offshore Cruising and in part from information gained from the extensive research we have done over the past months.

We are also spending Monday night at my sister’s place, I am looking forward to that as we don’t get to see each other very often considering she lives 600 odd km’s away. So that will make for a fun and enjoyable evening.

Wish us luck as we head out into the great blue yonder!