4th try's a charm

I've only known Steve as having a boat.

Well, let me clarify...it's always been Steve's parents that had a boat. But, they have always been very generous with their boat and have let him/us use it without hesitation.

Steve and I have shared some wonderful memories on the boat. And when kids came into the picture, we wanted them to love boating, too. The kids have grown up around a boat. I even remember being at the boat when Cici was 6-weeks old. I remember it because I was finally able to fit into my shorts again!

My father-in-law sold his boat earlier this summer. The torch was passed to us to be the boat owners in the family.

years ago, on my in-laws boat





A post shared by Joanna (@comebackdaddy) on


Even Niko likes boating. He jumps off the boat like a champ, swims like a champ, and loves playing in the water.

Niko's black hair really blends into the water, so the life jacket is necessary for him to be scene

We hope Dudley takes to the water with as much love. He is lab and poodle...what better a combination to love the water! We plan on taking him out in a couple weeks, once he gets more settled with us.
testing Dudley's new life vest. 

We never thought buying a boat would have been so difficult. We had 4 offers of 4 different boats this summer. Buying our house seemed easier! Here's the story of the offers...

About two years ago, Steve and I started talking about getting our own boat. Last summer we started looking, and found a boat we really liked. This spring we put on offer on that boat, only to have it go ignored. Well, the full story is that the owner wanted to sell us the boat, but also wanted to share the boat with us this summer. We didn't want that, so our offer expired. Essentially, the owner really wasn't ready to sell.

So, onto boat #2...we found one in Wisconsin. We submitted an offer, and it was accepted within a day. We were getting a boat!

...only to have the boat sold out from underneath us. No joke.

So be it. I never want to have bad karma around a boat of all things! So, we let things be. We weren't out any money, and we simply moved on.

Couple good things came from that, though. We found our financing company through this broker, as well as our insurance company. So, things really do happen for a reason. Not to mention, it saved us about $5-$7k to not have to get the boat shipped. 

Boat #3. A little bigger than boats #1 and #2. It had a separate cabin for the kids, which would be cool for them. And it had two heads. A bit unnecessary, but would be nice as the kids got older. We decided to put an offer...only to have to price raised $10K as we were signing our offer.

Honest to goodness, Steve and I were signing our names and initials, when our brokers phone rang. He hung up and jokingly told us that we were "cursed." So, now our initial offer of $4K below ask, was now $14K below ask. Our offer was ignored, and we didn't want to raise by $10K. It wasn't meant to be.

Couple good things came from that, however. The first is the fact that I was hit with big magic...apparently the owner needed to have a boat. He needed a way to escape. What is he escaping from? Why did he need to get away from? And when he was at the lake, what was his life like? Is he the "hey, baby, come back to my boat" kind of guy? I think he was considering the decals he had on the boat...think a woman's body silhouette like you could see on a semi-truck mud flap. I'm sure a black light would reveal a many a thing. *shutter* His story will be my book #3.

And while we were at the marina looking at #3, I saw this really nice boat with a 'for sale' sign in the window. I certainly took note.

And wouldn't you know it, that nice boat with the 'for sale' sign came up on Craigslist about a week later. As the story turns out, the boat was posted and I emailed about 1 minute later. Talk about perfect timing. I looked on Craiglist every couple days for a boat, and I happened to look at the right time. The boat owner took it as a sign that it was really time for him to sell.

Folks, that boat #4 is now ours.
our maiden voyage to get the boat to our marina

This whole 'buy a boat thing' started in April with our first offer. I was in Philadelphia for a work trip. All the sudden there were multiple offers on that boat #1, so we had to act fast. Steve told me he "felt rushed." I told him he needed to get over it...we had been talking about that boat for about 8 months.

My father may call me impulsive. I'm actually not...I just make quick decisions. There's a difference in that my decisions are well thought out. I make the decision, and don't look back. I regret very few things in life. I've been complimented on my ability to make quick decisions. Indecisive, I am not.

We wanted a boat...we wanted that boat...make the offer! Shit or get off the pot. 

Steve, on the other hand, is very slow to make decisions on big things. Not to mention, he's a pilot...pilots are cheap, right? Aside from our house, this has been our biggest purchase. I understand it takes a minute to really settle in with the purchase. But, settle in and act. Done.

Offer #1 took some time to actually act. Offer #2 was much easier. Offer #3 was really fast. By this time, we were growing a bit frustrated and things were almost comical.

We looked at 4 boats the day we saw ours...her appointment was our last for the day. When we saw her, we knew we liked her. It was a private sale, and the vibe with the sellers were great. And they liked our vibe. It was all good from the first time we met to the time I hugged them goodbye.

So, we are now the proud owners of...to be named. We are throwing around a couple names, and here are our top choices:
- Aqua Doodles (but Steve would NEVER go for that)
- CAVU
- Altitude Adjustment (Steve doesn't like it)
- Sweet Thing (after the Van Morrison song. On a total side note regarding this song, the best song lyrics EVER, and totally connected to being a pilot wife:

And you shall take me strongly
In your arms again


And I will not remember
That I even felt the pain


- Come Fly With Me (Steve's #1, but I don't care for it. I take it too literal.)
- Big Magic
- Lucky Man

In all actuality, Sweet Thing and Big Magic are the two names in the running. I'm sure that the name will come to us, when the time is right. No rush.

I know Steve is taking pride in this new addition to our family. I know our family will have fun on this boat. When we were saying 'thank you' and 'good bye' to the previous owners, they were expressing how much they will miss the boat. She was in tears, and he was saying he had sellers remorse. Isn't the second best day in a boaters life, the day you sell your boat?! This just shows us that the boat was great for them, and we hope the same karma/ju ju comes to us.

Our son turned 10 last summer. His age hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized that his time with us was on the down-slope. The time we have left with him is less than the time we have had with him. He will be class of 2026...that's eight short years. This boat is a way for us to create the memories of his childhood...the kids childhood...our life memories.

We are never getting this time back.

Steve could be a captain now. He could fly a wide-body. But, if he did he would sacrifice his weekends. He would have to commute. Perhaps he would be on reserve. No thank you. Not now. Sure, there is more money involved, but life isn't just about your paycheck. We are choosing family. I joke that this boat is, "forced family time, damnit!" When we are at the lake, we are disconnected. We are relaxed. We are spending time together. It is peaceful there. It is like a get-away every time we are there.

Steve has already felt the pressure of the little time he has at home with the addition of this boat. He feels overwhelmed. This will be my next blog post, for sure. But, we will get everything ironed out. Right now there is a lot to do with the boat to get settled. We'll get there. Steve will find the balance. As will I. And now that my anxiety is under control, I am doing more and more around the house.


In the upcoming weeks/months I'm sure my social media will be filled with lots of pictures at the lake, so be prepared.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Comments

  1. I just curious, does Steve ever take your kids flying on anything other than an airliner?

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    Replies
    1. no. Steve may be different from a lot of pilots, but he is glad to leave flying at work. As much as he can't imagine doing anything else, he isn't the type of pilot that can't get enough of flying. I actually blogged about this exact same thing a couple months ago...it's a but buried in the details of a recent cruise, but you may find it interesting: http://comebackdaddy.blogspot.com/2017/11/cruising.html

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