Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure

[Nik]

@Giles That is a great read

[Giles]

Oh sorry, I only partially answered the question. Many owners pay to get all this shit done, but then many owners struggle to put 50 hours a year on the hull (Paula and I are at 610 in 21 months), and treat them as floating cottages/gin palaces.......Not that I am meaning to be judgmental. But, it is important to me that I understand as much as possible about how the boat works and what to do when it breaks. Every time we do something like this I know that I know the boat better, and I think that makes me a better sailor, certainly a better owner.

We have found a number of issues with the boat (all warranty stuff) that probably exist on every one of these made. But we are pushing the boat probably more than any other owner, so we are finding stuff that no one else has found, changes have been made to the production line as a result.

[ARNC]

@Giles so it might be worthwhile for the boat people to send you new models to play with (like IH do with samples)?

[Giles]

I did tell them they should be paying me for all the trouble-shooting I was doing.......

[Tago Mago]

I'm sure you'll get a nice discount on your next boat

[Giles]

The next boat I want is not the same brand. And about 3 times more expensive, so it wont be happening

[jordanscollected]

@Giles That was a fantastic read. The folks at the Marina must see you as a model boat owner. I had this elevated view of your marina being full of active and engaged sailors I failed to see what's in front of my face. someone in my family has a boat in the marina on the river here in town and the shape of fellow boats and actions of fellow sailors sounds very similar. There's plenty of rotting boats, boats that never get launched in the first place when the ice is out, and many boats that are used as a weekend getaway but never leave port. So many people come down to the dock just to hang out and drink visit with other boat owners. Gas is so damn expensive a 3 hour cruise up and down the river can cost $300 in gas. plenty of people can't swallow that every weekend for reasons you stated. They inherited the boat, or bought it cheapish only to realize that boat ownership cost doesn't end at the purchase. It begins there.

[Giles]

Yep. Before Paula and I decided that we wanted to do this, we put together a very padded budget and projection of costs for the next 10 years. It was doing that which made us realise we could actually do this crazy thing, but also not fret too much about spending money on fuel, marina fee's, maintenance etc. Because we padded the costs, I know we have wiggle room and as long as we come in under what the spreadsheet predicts per month, I don't care how much we spend. That way we can enjoy ourselves with no sorries about costs.

[Aetas]

@Giles said in Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure:

… But we are pushing the boat probably more than any other owner, so we are finding stuff that no one else has found, changes have been made to the production line as a result.

Exactly this doesn’t sound like retirement.
More like ‘shift and changes’ as a life motto.
Wasn’t there a plan of the Menorcan builders to sell in the UK based on your boat @Giles ?

[Giles]

There is a UK agent, and has been for a few years. But, we are still the only Brits to have bought one so far

[Giles]

We are currently fitting a new awning. It is amazing......

[Giles]

@jordanscollected Case in point…..

[jordanscollected]

Looks like a floating flop house! And it also looks like that solar panel has the day off today. Re: the condition of the boat, Give it a once over with a paper towel and she's sea ready.

[goosehd]

@Giles does that ever look good!! Great choice you two

[Giles]

Thank you. The "doors" to the side decks are quite complicated, so had to be templated. So that has been done and it's all been taken down and back to the workshop to be completed...But we are more than happy, I think it will allow us to use the boat even more in the winter.

[Giles]

And complete and fitted. We are rather over the moon....

[jordanscollected]

@Giles I'm guessing indigo blue wasn't an option?

[Giles]

May have been, but every fucker and his dog in the marina has dark blue....

[ROman]

@Giles looks great. Nicely done.

[Giles]

As is widely known, I am not allowed to fish off SAKURA. I have been trying to work out a way to fix that, and I have a solution.

A few weeks ago, a boat that I had admired for ages in our Marina came up for sale. I had even specced a new one exactly the same about a year ago, but could not swing it financially (that is, get Paula to agree )

I made an offer and it was accepted and I picked her up last night.

I am renaming her UKIYO: In Japanese, "UKIYO" (浮世) translates to "floating world" or "transient world". It describes the urban, pleasure-seeking lifestyle of Edo-period Japan. Essentially, "ukiyo" embodies a sense of living in the moment, appreciating fleeting pleasures, and being detached from the burdens of life.

One of the key deciders was that I can fit her onto our current pontoon, so whilst the bastards are still making me pay for the privilege, it is at a ridiculously low price. Insurance is very reasonable and she will cruise twice as fast as SAKURA and use half the fuel, so when we want a quick dash somewhere (especially somewhere that does not have berths big enough for SAKURA), we now have the means.

And she will be a brilliant platform for fishing in The Solent and neighbouring waters.

Problem solved.

Decals.

New home

From a webcam installed on SAKURA, so I can monitor her remotely.