BUYING THE NEW BOAT
November, 2002 - January, 2003
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

     After running the Carver 440 for 6 years, we wanted a pilothouse boat, mainly to get out of the heat on the flybridge.  I also wanted a larger boat with more range and capabilities.  Angela did not want to loose any of the good qualities of the Carver 440, which proved hard to do.  We wanted more, not less, refrigerator, closet space, cabinet space, etc.  These attributes were strong on the Carver, and many pilothouse boats had less, not more, of those characteristics.  We looked at Queenship, Symbol, Tollycraft, Navigator, Compass, Offshore, Carver, Ocean Alexander, and others in the 55 - 60-foot size range; and we finally decided on Grand Harbour.  It had the largest refrigerator of any boat we saw, and it had more closet space, too.  It had less cabinet space in the galley, and Angela had to give up the garbage disposal and full-size dishwasher we had in the Carver 440.

     In November, 2002 we flew to Ft. Lauderdale, FL to see the Grand Harbour 57 Pilothouse and take a test ride.  We decided we liked the boat and signed a contract to buy it.  We returned to FL between Christmas and New Year's Day to survey the boat and do the sea trial with the marine surveyor.  The sale was closed January 16, 2003; and we spent January 17 - 20 getting familiar with our new boat.  We loaded our tools, china, silverware, sheets, pillows, towels, etc. aboard and slept on the boat 4 nights.  We read some of the manuals and learned about some of the boat's systems - electrical, plumbing, heating, etc.

     We flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday, Dec. 26.  The following day we met with Ted Banning, Concord Marine Electronics, to discuss changes we wanted to make in the boat's electronics.  We also met with Glenn Hall with Essex Credit, who was to provide our financing.  We went to a mall and looked at some flat-screen televisions, and we talked with a carpenter about some possible bookcases and shelving changes.  We met with Richard Gundal and discussed the work he could do for us, and we went to his home and checked out the vacant slip next door to his house.  We went to West Marine and checked out the sale they were having, and we made lists of all the things we thought we would need for the boat.

     Dick and Carolyn Stewart came to see us twice during the process, and we enjoyed their companionship and help in checking out the new boat.  On the day before the survey we had to move the boat to the yard; the canal was too shallow for the boat except at high tide.  We met Dick and Carolyn at an Italian restaurant on the Las Olas Riverfront, where we had a great view of the New River and the boats going up and down the river.  For December 29 it was a lovely day, and the sun was as bright as the sky was blue.

     After lunch we dropped Dick's car at Associated Marine on the Dania Cut-Off Canal, just south of Port Everglades.  That's where the haulout and survey were to be conducted the following day.  Then we all went in our rental car to the dock where the Grand Harbour was tied up.  The dock was behind a very nice home on Las Olas Blvd. on a canal there.  There were several nice condo buildings and private homes in the area, and lots of boats.

   

     Our canal had a couple of shallow spots in it, even at high tide, which was 5:30pm on that day.  Capt. Scott Palmer was familiar with the canal, and he expertly moved us away from the dock and down the canal.  Angela and Carolyn sat on the settee on the aft deck as we idled along the canal.  Soon we entered the ICW between Bahia Mar Marina and Pier 66.  We proceeded south on the ICW and under the 17th Street drawbridge into the Port Everglades area.

   

     Cruise ships load and unload at Port Everglades; we had disembarked there ourselves October 22, 2002 after our cruise through the Panama Canal.  It was getting dark as we turned into the Dania Canal.  We passed some large boatyards (one of them was the plant where BROWARDs are built) and some large boats and boatyards. 

      


     It seemed ours was at the end of the canal - Associated Marine.  We were expected, and the Security guard helped us tie up and plug in.  Dick drove us back to our rental car and Scott's car; and then we found an early dinner spot for the four of us.  Dick and Carolyn drove back to their home in Stuart, FL.

      


     The following day, Monday, December 30, we arrived at the boat about 8:30am.  The surveyor, Dave, was already there, as was Capt. Scott Palmer.  We checked out various systems while the boat was in the water, and then the yard hauled us out about 10am.  We had lunch with our broker, Gary Slatkow, about 2pm.  We returned the boat to its slip at 5pm, and we drove Scott back to Dania to pick up his car.
      

     As a result of the haul-out and survey, and our requests, the manufacturer agreed to make some changes and repairs.  These included; add air conditioning ductwork to bring a/c air to the two heads; change out the fuel lines from hydraulic hose to USCG-approved fuel lines; repair some fiberglass tabbing under the bunk stateroom where the supports for the floor were attached to the starboard hull; repair some wiring at the generator and at the batteries; adjust or repair some seacock handles; replace some cracked hoses; secure the waste holding tank with additional strap and screws; repair the water pumps; replace the wiper blades and arms as necessary to make the wipers work; etc.  We could not determine the horsepower rating of the bow thruster, which was made in The Netherlands.  We found technical data, manufacturers literature, and test results for various other pieces of equipment on board.

     After we returned the boat to its slip off Los Olas Blvd, Angela and I resumed our shopping.  We bought a coffee pot and some towels and rugs for the boat and placed them on board before we went to the airport on Tuesday, Dec. 31 to return to Houston.

     We returned on January 16, 2003, the day of the closing; and we stayed on the boat in a slip at Pier 66.  Gary Slatkow had moved it there for us so we could meet a delivery truck on Friday.  When we bought the Carver, the owners left the essentials on board for us.  This was a new boat, so we needed many things, such as tools, cooking and kitchen items, personal items, etc.  We packed for several weeks, and we shipped a pallet via motor freight to arrive and be delivered to us on Friday.  Everything worked out well. and we spent the day unloading the pallet and unboxing the stuff we had shipped from Houston.  We also went to the grocery store and West Marine, a couple of times.

     Gary paid for our first night at Pier 66, and we decided to stay another night.  When we checked out I found out what "in season" meant; the slip rental was $2.50 per foot plus $12 per night for electricity.  When we stayed there before in 1999 the rate was $1.10 per foot, but that was in September, which is out of season.  We moved out of the marina on Saturday about 11am, and my heart was in my throat when I tried to maneuver that big boat out of the marina and into the ICW.  In fact, I drifted for a few minutes after clearing the fuel dock, and due to a strong outgoing tide we almost got into trouble with a parked boat at the fuel dock before I realized how fast we were drifting.  That was the largest boat I had ever tried to operate, and it was really my first time to do it, especially in close quarters.

     We went up the New River to its North Fork and our berth behind the home of Trem and Brenda, next door to Richard and Donna Gundal.  We ran out of water before we got close to the dock, and the bow thruster helped get us close enough to tie up to the dock.  The bottom was soft in the river, and it was shallow at low tide.  Richard took us back to Pier 66 to get our car, and we went shopping again.  Then we went to the Ft. Lauderdale Orchid Show.  Angela shopped for orchids, and she bought some that she carefully packed in a carry-on bag and took back home on the plane.  We met Brenda and Trem, and they were both very hospitable to us.  Trem was growing orchids in a greenhouse in his back yard, so Angela enjoyed talking to him about orchids.

    On Sunday, January 19, Richard and Carolyn arrived from Stuart.  We moved the boat away from the dock and down the river.  That New River is always exciting to see and navigate, and it was even more so with the larger boat.  We went north on the ICW to a restaurant named Shooter's Waterfront Cafe, tied up at the dock, and had a great brunch at an outside table in very nice weather.

     After brunch, we moved the boat back up the river to our dock, parked it, and went with Dick and Carolyn to West Marine.  The following day we flew to Houston.