As some of you are aware, my husband is a wooden boat builder. (It’s never been his profession yet given the quality of his work, it certainly could be.) As you may have read here, he is mid-way through yet another boat, one we think of as our retirement vessel. “She” will be large enough (27’) to be quite comfortable for extended cruises yet small enough to trailer wherever we might want to go.
The construction of the new boat means that this is our last summer on our beautiful Descant. Yes, she is for sale. It makes absolutely NO sense to keep her. For starters, there’s no room for storage. More importantly, the money from the sale will defray much of the expense of the next boat, now one year from launching.
While I grew up doing some sailing in San Diego, my husband didn’t begin his boating adventures until after he had built his first watercraft, a 14’ sailboat. (I made the sails … and they were awful!) But with each boat, we honed our skills and perfected our teamwork. Descant has been our very best teacher. Oh, the situations we’ve managed in that sweet vessel! (Boaters – I highly recommend the U.S. Coastguard’s “Safe Boating Course!”)
For the last five years we have cruised distant waters on Descant. I can’t count how many isolated nooks and crannies we’ve explored in the waters off of British Columbia. From waking up in pristine, calm waters, to enjoying yet another gorgeous day on the water and finally dropping anchor in a protected harbor, Descant has been our faithful, floating home.
Consequently, we put Descant on the market with mixed feelings but reality trumps sentimentality. My hope is that she goes to ‘live’ with boaters who will throw themselves into the absolute joy that is this very special boat.