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We’ve Taken The Ship

New Boat, New Boat! It’s completely official- the deal is done on the Morgan 323. All the paperwork, insurance, survey’s, etc. - even going to the DMV twice because they just have a thing about wasting everybody’s time. The boat is resting comfortably in our slip in Gulfport. Now the fun begins. We’ve already had the cushions Stanley Steemer’ed, steemed cleaned and sanitized ($400), which seemed pricey, but they are two sided and were in dire need of a scrubbin’. Cannonball and I have gone through about every storage compartment and sorted the junk from the good stuff. In the process a few things were found that need to be fixed or changed immediately - quite a few others that can wait. The repairs will be posted in the weeks to come.  A unique experience, I’d like to thank the cast of supporting characters:

Boat Broker: Rick Hoving, Edwards Yacht Sales: 727-725-1600
Very nice fellow that is laid back, low key and knowledgeable. Also met the owner of Edwards who was a great guy.

Survey: Rich Parrey, Coral Marine Services: 727-527-6653
Reasonalby priced ($6/foot less than others), did a thorough job and provided the survey in a day.

Title Search: Debbie Rich, Creative Yacht Solutions: 813-677-6885
Perfored the title search, checking for past leans, etc. She can also handle the closing, but since it was a small transaction, I went to the DMV (twice) and took care of it. Debbie was a pleasure to work with.

Financing: Chartway Federal Credit Union, Heidi Milanowski: 1-800-678-8765 ext. 41258
Same company that I financed my vehicle through. VERY easy to work with. While searching for different boats and preparing offers, Heidi would get back with me on financing options via email (my favorite method of communication) within an hour.

Underwater Bottom Inspection: Matt Miller, Bottom Scratchers: 727-446-8898
Since neither the financing or insurance company required a haulout, I decided to take a slight risk by paying for a scuba inspection. If they found anything suspious then I would cough up for the haulout. The boat had been hauled and surveyed in 2003 so I wasn’t really worried about blisters forming in the last 5 years. While they were down they gave her a good cleaning too. Friendly guys, good service.

Overall, I really had a good experience with everyone involved (Other than the “removed teak pedestal cup-holder incident after the sea trial” by the owner. There, I said it and will never speak of it again) and though stressful, it was a positive experience. Looking forward to really digging into the boat and learning the systems.

© 2008 PyratSail - The Tampa Bay Sailing Blog.