Cruising MoonShine
Why a boat?
Without getting so deep into philosophy that you don’t read the rest of this blog, here is a quick answer to the question, “why?” Why do this boating thing (again)? It entails a lot and is a big commitment. Money, time, effort, stress, discomfort, uncertainty, more money, and a boat to clean that is almost as long as my house. And yes, this one is a powerboat, not a sailboat, so not quite as romantic, but the feeling of watching the wake disappear behind you as you head towards new unexplored places is very much the same.
So. Here’s my attempt to explain why people like us do things like this.
Let me start with a quote: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Anais Nin
I learned that lesson years ago. That sentiment is what allowed me to walk away from one career and start another. More than once. It has brought scary, uncertain, even bleak moments into my life, but every – single – time it has brought even more reward.
I remember leaning on my big red toolbox when I was around 24, back at New Holland Farm Equipment in Dodge City Kansas, and even though at that point in life I couldn’t formulate the thought, I felt it. I wanted more than just a paycheck and a comfortable life. Well, I wanted that, AND something more. I wanted to live my life, not just experience it as it passed by. Various experiments in that direction provided some great (mis)adventures, but the first time I stepped on a large sailboat, I was hooked. I was lucky enough to enjoy several years of the sailing life, but when that ended it felt premature. I knew I wouldn’t want to sail around forever, but I have always felt like I was pushed out of it early. That story, should you wish to revisit the past, is summed up here:
https://requiemenimlucidity.blogspot.com/
So here I am, about to do it again. The past is relevant and not to be ignored, but I learned long ago to live now, not in some useless state of regret about what might have been or worse, fear of what might be. So, onward. I’m excited in a way I haven’t been in years, which is an invigorating way to start my seventh year of retirement and my sixty-eighth year. Some nay-sayers will tell you “boat” stands for “break out another thousand.” Yeah? So what? “If I don’t find time to live my life well the first time, when am I going to find the time to go back and live it over?
Point taken, Mr. Feynman.
(PS. If you like quotes, The Xanwar Manifesto is back in print.)
About the boat
She’s a 1997 Bayliner 3788, one of about 1000 made over almost a decade. Apparently it was a popular design. Powered by two Cummins diesels with a diesel generator.
This particular boat was previously owned by someone much like me, meticulous when it comes to maintenance. The list of things he’d repaired or replaced is pages long which is great; I did not want to re-fit a boat again. Once was enough!
From the factory brochure:
“The Bayliner 3788 Motor Yacht is an updated version of the original with a fresh appearance and a new two-stateroom interior. Built on a conventional modified-V hull with a relatively flat 10 degrees of transom deadrise, the 3788 is a good-looking boat with more than a hint of European styling. Large cabin windows make the salon seem open and spacious, and the dinette (or optional lower helm station) is elevated to provide headroom for the mid-stateroom beneath. The galley is up, and the master stateroom has a walkaround center berth. Hatches in the salon sole provide access to the engine compartment. Topside, the flybridge accommodates five adults, and a long overhang shades the cockpit. Additional features include a swim platform, transom door, opening side windows, foredeck sun pad, and a tub/shower in the head. Standard 310hp MerCruiser gas inboards cruise at 17–18 knots. Optional 330hp Cummins diesels cruise the 3788 at 20 knots and reach a top speed of around 25 knots. Note that a revised version of this boat was introduced in 2003 as the Meridian 381 Sedan.”
Bayliners, according to the perpetually negative, are somehow “low quality” boats. That’s yet another urban myth uttered by people who don’t really know what they’re talking about. It is not a high-end boat, true, but Bayliner was/is (as Meridian) the largest manufacturer of recreational boats in the world with over 400 dealers world-wide. They didn’t get there with low quality boats. That myth came about because for a while in the 90’s Bayliner had quality issues with their smaller boats. That’s it. Bayliners are solid, affordable boats, something many other manufacturers have left behind. The company headquarters, as the Brunswick Boat Group, are for some reason located here in Knoxville, but the boats are manufactured in Washington and Florida. At one point maybe twenty years ago a yacht builder started to set up a manufacturing plant near Knoxville on the Tennessee river but that fell through. The giant building still sits empty today. I wonder if that was Brunswick?