Survey Day, Take 2

Our trip to Rhode Island (the smallest of the 50 United States) was very productive! Ben and I flew into Providence and stayed in Narragansett- which, by the way, is the cutest little town and you should go check it out. This trip was booked solely for viewing the boat, but it turned out to be a mini-getaway as well, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

We stayed at The Shore House, which is a cute little cottage-style hotel (with probably only ~20 rooms) right at the sea wall. Even though we arrived at the hotel and didn’t fall asleep until after 1:00 AM (EST), we were up early and decided to venture around, thinking we’d be able to see the whole state before heading to the boat at noon. We ate breakfast at T’s. I had a Shrimp & Grits Benedict that is already on my list of things to eat when we return in June. Ben had The Big Rhody. Stop & Shop was in the same area, so we loaded up on snacks and bevvies and set out for a drive along the coast. Driving along Ocean Road, Ben’s route weaved us in and out of the coastal neighborhoods while I checked Zillow and announced what the houses go for- anywhere from $600K to over $1M, occasionally there'd be a tag for around $100K which always turned out to be a plot of land. Our route dead-ended at the Point Judith Lighthouse, which is actually a USCG station. We parked, got out, and walked around the park before hopping into the car to scout out Summercamp, the ‘02 Endeavour Trawler Cat 44 we had come all this way to see. 

Since we had our surveyor already lined up and ready for Friday, we spent Thursday on the boat with the owner. He and Ben went over everything from stern to bow- high, low, and in between. I spent my time sketching out the cabinets and writing down measurements (galley cabinets were pretty deep, but overall small compared to a regular house kitchen- with the exception being the boat galley is bigger than our Louisville townhouse kitchen), and taking inventory of what would be left for us, so that we could purchase necessities upon our return home. Summercamp, co-captained by the current owner and Ben, took us from Salt Pond to Safe Harbor New England Boatworks where we would have our survey, haul out, and sea trial the next day.

The current owners recommended we have dinner at The Coast Guard House on Thursday. Ben really wanted fish and chips, but they were out for the day, so we both wound up with the very tasty Lobster Mac & Cheese.

Friday was survey day! We didn’t have a leisurely start to our day like we did the day prior, but there was definitely a lot of energy and excitement, despite Ben’s lack of sleep. (I slept just fine, but he apparently had a lot on his mind after spending several hours aboard Summercamp, taking notes, learning the vessel, and cruising.) 

We picked up the current owner and drove to the marina. Bill, our surveyor, was already aboard, evaluating and noting the outside of the vessel. Our haul out was shortly after we arrived. I had seen this done for our previous “under-contract” vessel on a video, but to see it first-hand was pretty cool. The boat cruised onto giant fabric u-shaped lifts and we disembarked while the boat was lifted out of the water and suspended in the air for a full inspection of the hulls. While it was out for more than an hour, they pressure washed it, banged on it with a hammer, inspected the propellers, examined the paint, checked the thru hulls, you name it. With my phone, I walked around, observed, and took countless pictures and video. The boat was lowered, we climbed aboard at the bow, and watched as the lift lowered us to splash back into the water and head for our sea trial before returning to a different slip at the marina to continue the inspection. Both the current owners and Bill told us how the weather and water was the best it had been all year. I told them that's why we picked those days to come check it out.

I had NO IDEA that boat surveys took so long! The four of us (Ben, current owner, Bill, and I ) were at the marina for around 7 hours. I thought Ben went over everything the day before, but there was still so much to look at and check. I spent most of this day trying to stay out of the way, while still eavesdropping on things here and there, making a mental note to ask Ben about this or that later.

Near the end of the day, the boat in the slip next to us asked if we wanted any of the bedding they were taking off their boat, stating they were just going to take it to the trash. Ben and I grabbed everything they had, threw it in Bear’s cabin, and decided we’d analyze what we would keep and what we didn’t need when we came back in June. I had to giggle when Bill witnessed this and said, “I love mid-westerners. You aren’t snooty at all!”

Before we left the slip, we took a selfie with Summercamp in the background, knowing that this was our future summer home.