sailing casita

We were a bit unsure how it would go but we got through our first winter aboard without any real hardship. We went through a couple different tarp variations trying to keep the cockpit dry and we tried a few different electric space heaters before we found one we liked but overall it wasn’t too difficult. The winters here are milder than in Oregon and there is less rain so that definitely made a difference. In the spring we began planning a short summer cruise.

We considered going down the coast to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz but the weather was iffy and we wanted to relax so we decided on a trip up the Delta. As a part of our trip preparation we went over to the Dark Side and bought an inflatable dinghy and an outboard.

One thing we had learned over the previous summer was how limiting a rowing dinghy was and what a burden it was having a hard dinghy on deck. The idea of a rowing dinghy is very romantic and lots of people have them, but even in calm Neah Bay it didn’t take a lot of wind to make the trip back to the boat iffy and stressful. And going forward with the dinghy on deck meant either climbing over the tie-down straps (and risking falling overboard), or inching under them on your belly. Not to mention the risk of having the dinghy ripped off the deck if it caught a wave the right (wrong) way.

We found a great deal on a practically brand new 11 foot Avon on craigslist (never used due to health problems of the owner) and bought a new 6hp Tohatsu. Like so many things in boating (and life in general) there are tradeoffs and compromises. The Avon isn’t as durable as the Fatty Knees, doesn’t row well, the outboard means carrying gasoline and maintaining another engine, and we will no longer have a sailing dingy. On the other hand, we usually won’t need to row, the Avon stows better, and has a much greater cargo capacity. We were able to sell the Fatty Knees for a good price so it all worked out.