"Maybe" I Found Her?

Further searching on Google turned-up an interesting J/24 on Sailnet over the Thanksgiving holiday. I was patient but persistent looking for boats all across the country.

This J/24 was described as a 1984 #3801 with 2 mains, 2 genoas, 3 spinnakers, 1 jib, curved tiller, Triad trailer, faired keel, Baltoplate racing bottom paint, measurement certificate, with no engine, and a local race winner located in Noank, CT. This sounded more interesting than the other 44 inquired I had made thus far.

This was a relatively newer boat compared to Take Five. Plus most of the other J/24 owners didn't mention having a measurement certificate along with a faired racing bottom.

It was evident that she was in need of some major TLC on the deck judging by a few of the photos that the owners sent me. I could see the characteristic dark-stained balsa core from being wet.

My wife, Liz, agreed to go look at Maybe and I quickly started planning the trip to Connecticut. We decided to turn it into a vacation of sorts. It was already sub-zero in Minnesota. Winter had set in unusually early and we were both longing for more fall days.

Liz and I have stayed at bed and breakfasts on our past trips and loved meeting new people and getting local advice on sights to see in the areas we visit.

A handful of bed and breakfasts were in the Mystic, CT area. There was one offering an off-season special for a more lengthy stay. Roseledge Herb Farm sounded like the perfect place.

Within a short two week period, plans were set and Liz and I made preparations to head east in early December. The 15 day forecast for Mystic, CT looked relatively warm compared to Excelsior, MN.

Which J/24?

I spent the next two months combing the internet for "local" J/24 boats up for sale. There were three boats and all at Hooper Yachts.

Jazz, the '77 #15 hull, was the right price but needed plenty of bottomside work to make her blue antifouling fair plus the mast had to be upgraded with the spreader thru bar. It seemed like too much work at the time.

'79 hull #1400 had a much smoother bottom but was more than I wanted to spend. It too needed the spreader thru bar and the hatch and companionway upgrade to the new style. This older boat had the upgraded bilge area.

Finally there was an even more expensive '87 hull, Phatty Boom Batty. This boat was in nice shape all the way around and a fair price if you were looking to spend $10k.

The search continued...

The range of prices seemed to grow as did the conditions of the boats. I guess that's to be expected when boats are anywhere from 30 years old to brand new boats coming off the production line!

In all I inquired on 45 boats across the USA and Canada! It was fun and I had all winter.