It was quite the journey but finally I can say I am back on the waterways again. Its been 4 years and 5 days since I last owned a boat. When the last boat departed I thought I was done with boating. But, alas, that was not in the cards. Last August the boat bug bit me again and I started searching for a new to me boat. I took my time and at least here in Michigan it is still a buyers market. I initially wanted to spend no more than 10K. From August to May that was my plan.

In February I found a nice looking 1987 Chris Craft 291 Catalina. I made an offer and it was accepted. I had to wait until spring for the survey and sea trial. In May I drove up with the wife to take another look at the boat. I noticed a chunk of the hull amidships on the port side had dropped off. It was a rather large chunk of fiberglass so I pulled my offer. I did not want to take any chances that were was some sort of unseen and undiagnosed hull damage. While there my wife saw on the wall where they had their listings a 1981 Carver 3007 Aft Cabin model boat so she said we should go take a look at it.

On June 6th we drove to where the boat was located. Within a couple of minutes my wife said to me, buy it. I made an offer and the broker took it and called the seller. She countered and then we recountered and our offer was accepted. Step one was completed. Now it was on to the survey and sea trial.

On June 18th I showed up and the broker and surveyor were there. The surveyor spent about 2 hours going over the boat peeking into every opening he could find. Then we took the boat out into Lake Erie for its sea trial. We ran into a problem. The port engine would only make 2200 RPM. The starboard engine made 3700 RPM. The surveyor stated prior to going out he expected the engines to make at least 4200 RPM each. They both did not max out so I decided not to have the boat pulled for the hull survey since at that time I was not sure if I was going to go through with the purchase.

The broker called the seller with the bad news. The seller stated that the issues with the engines would be taken care of. It took a couple of weeks before the issues were corrected. The mechanic said he found both fuel filters were gunked up, his words. He then took the boat out again and while it performed better they still did not perform as they should have. So it was back to the mechanic. He then checked both engines for compression and both engines were well within spec. Next he tuned both engines and he took it out again to sea trial it. That time both engines passed his muster.

I scheduled a followup sea trial for August 5th. The broker, surveyor and myself boarded once again. We headed out into Lake Erie once again to sea trial the boat. This time both engines reached 4200 RPM's. They are 270 Crusaders. The surveyor was happy with the RPM's but not with the top end speed. We only managed 23 MPH and the surveyor said this boat should hit at least 30 MPH. We headed back to the marina to have the boat pulled for the hull survey. When the boat was pulled from the water we saw the reason for the low top end. The bottom of the whole hull was coated with at least 3" of zebra mussels. That would certainly slow a boat down. I had the marina powerwash the hull to remove the mussels. We did not have time to go out into the lake again to check the top speed but I am certain it will perform better the next time I take her out into the lake.

Fast forward to Friday, August 14th. At 2 PM I drove to the brokers to hand over a check for payment of the purchase. I was a happy camper once again. This is what I ended up buying:

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Friday evening I drove to where the boat is docked. I am spending my first weekend aboard. Since the boat has been setting pretty much all season there is quite the population of spiders aboard. Last night I zapped 27 of the little buggers and tonight I found another 4 more. I wanted to kill as many of them as possible so I did not get bitten while sleeping. All of them have been in the main salon area. I have not found any in the aft cabin where I sleep or the head or forward cabin. I think that getting 31 of them I have eliminated most of the inside population. My fingers are crossed. I will be going home later today but I plan to be back onboard on Wednesday. We'll see if there are any more to be zapped. I will keep an eye out for any babies.

When I sea trialed the boat I found that the pump that supplies the freshwater from the onboard tanks is bad. The seller chose not to put any more money into the boat after getting the engines fixed and I can certainly understand her feelings. I talked it over with a couple of mechanics and they both said don't let a failed pump keep you from buying a decent and nice looking boat. I did decide to go ahead with the purchase knowing I will be replacing the pump. I will be ordering it later today so it will be here when I arrive back to the boat on Wednesday. Its going to be a pain in the behind fixing it. It looks like there are 4 screws holding the pump to the mounting and there are several hoses and wires that will have to be reckoned with. I am debating whether to have someone make the installation or do it myself.

Anyway, having spent my first weekend aboard I am looking forward to starting some new boating adventures. Its good to be back on the waters once again.
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