When we sold Ananda last fall I was not sure what our future held for us – with respect to boating. I had contemplated spending a year or two without owning a boat and trying some more vacation charters instead.

It’s been a long winter so I spent some time on the internet looking at boats for sale – just in case I found something interesting.  I was not planning to buy anything, I just wanted to see what was out there and to learn more about the type of boat that I might buy sometime in the future ;). I was most interested in a single engine, double cabin trawler that had no (or very little) exterior teak.

Well, the future was a lot closer than I thought! Here’s a photo of the newest member of our “boating family”

This boat is a 1993 Marine Trader Aft Cabin Trawler (“the Trader”). She’s 34 feet long and has a single 6-cylinder diesel engine.  She is currently named “Scott Free V”. Apparently the original owner’s last name is Scott & he wanted to associate the boat with his surname.

To make a long story short, I found the Trader on Yachtworld. She was berthed in Jacksonville, FL. I called the listing broker and had a good long discussion with him about the boat. With that information in hand, I had a long conversation with Catherine (read: me pleading) and we agreed that I should go and take a look at the boat.

I went to Jacksonville this past Sunday, had a close look at the boat on Monday and made a conditional offer – based on a satisfactory survey. The survey was conducted the same day & did not reveal anything that caused me to lose interest in the boat so the purchase transaction continued and it finally closed yesterday.

What Happens Next?

Even before we found the Trader we had a lot planned for April, May and June. Now I will have to find a way to squeeze in a little trip home for it :).  I have always wanted to travel to Florida via the Erie Barge Canal, Hudson River and the Inter Coastal Waterway and am quite happy to have the opportunity to do the trip in reverse!

We are storing the Trader in Jacksonville for April and May and then I will begin the trek home in June. That gives me lots of time to plan the trip and equip the boat with the stuff we will need on the journey. Stay tuned for future updates!

Cheers everyone!