Email This Page to a FriendPreview: SAGA — A Pacific Seacraft 25’s Transformation

– In the early summer, I like to stock my boat with plenty of food and water, so that as soon as I have time, I can jump aboard. I work at the hospital in Belfast. I get off at 4:30. I drive down to the dock, I jump in my nutshell, I row out to my boat and I can be in my cockpit by five o’clock. And I usually motor out of the mooring field and if the wind is right, I can reach all the way over to Holbrook Island in two hours. Nice way to end the work day. I knew that I wanted to be able to get on the water whenever I could. I didn’t want to just have to wait to go sailing with my friend. I also wanted to experience all of the things that you get when you have your own boat. I want to decide where things go, how things will be fixed, where I’m bound, how I anchor. I wanna make all my own systems and so forth. You know, after being with someone else and doing it their way, I wanted to figure it out for myself and that was a priority. I had to be able to sail by myself, because I didn’t want to have to wait for someone to come with me. I thought, I’d better get a boat. I came across this boat, bought her and I said, you know, I really need that feeling that I get of a wooden boat when I’m down in the cabin. I almost can’t describe it, but it’s this warm cozy feeling. Light behaves in a certain way and it’s just cozy to be in there. So I decided to do what I could to make this boat as much like that as I could. I bought this boat and when I looked inside, I was depressed. It felt sort of like a cave and it was kinda heavy and dark. And when I’d wake up in the morning, I just wanted to get out of the cabin as soon as I could. All the time I was intimidated by the work. You’re doing this piece of work, like I was unscrewing the handrails and all the screws but one, came out and I cried, because I couldn’t get the stupid screw out. I cried and I threw wrenches and it was awful. But then, when you come up against something like that and you finally solve the problem, you get so high! You know, you’re like, I did it! And then you come against another problem, and you’re like, well, I solved that other problem, I can probably take care of this one. So things start to get easier once you accomplish small things, you can accomplish more and more and more and that’s how it works. And that’s why I keep doing this, because it feels so good when you get it right. So I knew I wanted to make improvements on my boat and I knew I didn’t have all the skills that I needed, but I had the ideas in my head and I wanted them to be realized. So, Dan Miller in Belfast owns Belmont Boatworks, took my boat out to his yard and we started to work on her together. He came aboard. I told him my ideas. He told me how he could make them happen. How I could participate, things that they thought they should do. He let me into the yard, you know, nights and weekends so I could get things done and I was able to utilize their skills and expertise, as well as sometimes even their tools, if they were around. And that’s how I got to make this boat what I wanted it to be. Now, you know, I lie in my berth in the morning and I just look up and it’s beautiful and it’s a sweet place to be. She’s got quite a bit of space. This is the V berth, which comfortably sleeps two people. And there is a head here. There’s a full galley, with an alcohol stove. The boat has 1/4 berth, which is a snug berth for anybody, adults or children. And also, when you’re not sleeping in it, it makes awesome storage. And so having my own boat, allowed me to just say, you know, I’m leaving this morning and I’m going to Holbrook and I’m just gonna stay there as long as I want to and take a friend with me, or not. I can single hand my boat. So I got the boat that I could afford and I turned it into what I wanted. I constantly amazed myself at my ability, to do things you know. And then whatever I could do, I would just ask for help and people were really willing to help me, which… It’s so fun. I love it. I’ve met so many people. And everyone’s very welcoming and helpful This is a great place to be. Good time. Well you know, when you do something from the heart, it feels really good and that’s what this is for me.