Two posts ago I said we’re going to be getting a new boat.  Well, the time is now to announce it. We’re going to be getting Astraea, a 1981 Cheoy Lee Offshore 41. Yup, that’s the same make and model as Miles of View, but located near Annapolis, MD. Well, how will you get it here, you ask? Easy, we’ll pack her up and put ‘er on a truck, just like we did with Airborne coming to San Diego!

Astraea’s previous owner is a retired Navy Commander who needed to sell. There was $200,000 worth of work put in to her during the previous 6 years, so overall she’s in very good condition. The big issues from the survey are: Rot at the bottom of the main mast foot, old teak decks that need replacement, and water damage around port lights. The best news is that the cost of the boat, plus the cost to ship her cross country is still less than the prior boat we were going to purchase!

He kept a blog detailing the refit at his webpage. It’s good to know the history of the boat. He also has a blog on blogspot about sailing the boat from San Francisco to San Diego.

The plan is to splash her in San Diego before or after Natalie and I fly to PA for Lizze’s Wedding on March 9. We’ll check the mizzen from top to bottom for rot, then put it up. Next, scrub her down and come up with a plan to clean up the wood around the port lights in the cabin from the water damage. Dad says that portions of the wood veneer need to be completely removed and replaced. We’ll see if we can remove them and then paint them white to help brighten up the interior of the boat. After the main mast is done getting repaired, we’ll go back up to the yard and put that on. We’ll call a local rigger to tune the rig and away we’ll sail.

I’m sure there will be some bumps in the road along the way, but that’s the plan for now, so stay tuned for more!