Hi friends. I’d like to introduce to you a boat I picked up from a good kiwi guy named Jason. This boat is a 7-meter or 23 foot long Alan Wright Variant sailboat named “Puddle Jumper”.
This little boat was offered for sale at a good price, and I was fortunate enough to be able to rent the mooring which has given me time to prepare myself and gather supplies before I head off.
Like me, Puddle Jumper has been around the clock a number of times, and definitely needs a bit of care and attention in various places. I figure I should have enough free time once aboard to bring her around good as new. Good enough for the girls we date anyway, right boys?? *cough*
Anyhoo, as the saying goes, there’s nothing as expensive as a cheap boat, so I’ve been gathering whatever I think this old gal needs to keep her and me comfy and safe for the forseeable future. New electrical gear, vhf radio, solar panels, deep cycle battery, outboard motors, water filters, etc… the list goes on. As we all know, or soon will know, the word BOAT stands for “Break Out Another Thousand”.
So yeah, this will be my home base beginning around 10th of July. I’m really itching to get onboard and start cleaning it up. From rowing around it I could see some nice furry stuff growing on the hull – that should be fun to scrape off. On the inside, it is definitely liveable. There’s a two-burner gimble stove that can swing side to side so your food doesn’t fall out when the boat rocks. Seems a bit over the top for my level of cooking ability but all good.
Puddle Jumper is a fully working sailboat: just add water and a competent crew! Well, it has water already… as for the crew.. hmmm. We shall see!! Full disclosure, I did a bit of sailing in my early teens when my folks had a cool little Kestrel trailer sailer. I remember how we thrashed gently cruised around in that sweet lil thang with sometimes 5 or 6 people onboard. Dad was so keen to go sailing the day he bought it he took us kids out in 30+ knot winds for a screaming ride up the Tamaki River. Fun times!! Keep in mind he was a fair bit younger then than I am now *timeshift* so I’m planning on taking things a bit more sedately in the early goings. That’s the plan anyway..
I think there are four sails onboard in total. One mainsail, a jib, genoa and a storm jib, which already sounds like a lot more than I’ll ever need. Can you hear the fear LOL?? Jason, the guy I bought the boat off was sailing it a few months ago, and made a couple of quick videos which I know he won’t mind me sharing here. I present, Puddle Jumper in action at the hands of Jason:
All that deep blue ocean around him, that’s my new back yard! I loved seeing this video by Jason. It gave me a sense of wellbeing to see the boat actually moving under wind power. The boat floats, and goes. We’re two from two.
I took a roadtrip up to see Puddle Jumper (sometimes kindly shortened to PJ) in the flesh for the first time. I’d bought an inflatable dinghy which I used to cart a pile of gear aboard, and stayed the night to enjoy the gentle rolling motion; the freshness of the sea air; the sight and sound of ocean birds. It was a glorious time and the true beginning of my relationship with this fantastic little craft.
At the time I bought PJ I had been looking around at lots of boats. I had a mental picture of my ideal boat: a 25 to 30 foot bilge keeler with an inboard diesel engine and an electric winch or “windlass” to lower and raise the anchor, and various other niceties. Puddle Jumper has none of these, which is probably a blessing and a curse at the same time. One thing is for certain: the larger a boat is, the more it costs to run and maintain. Primarily for that reason, I’m glad I picked up something a little more “compact”.
So PJ didn’t quite fit my wishlist on paper. That’s fine. I can compromise on a few things. The bilge keel would have been awesome for parking on beaches but hey, I enjoy rowing. The other things, meh. The thing that really sold me on buying Puddle Jumper was what it could do for me. And one of Jason’s other videos summed it up perfectly. Check it out…
This to me is paradise. Snuggle into a sheltered bay somewhere and enjoy the quiet life far from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Just a few weeks now. I can hardly wait!
