Finding the right boat

Our friends and family had listened to us daydream for years about finding a boat that would take us around the Great Loop - a circumnavigation of the eastern half of the U.S.   We spent evenings on the internet, read books, listened to boat people - and designed a spreadsheet that outlined our most important criteria.  Then we went out visiting boats.  After 5 or 10 we had refined the criteria and expanded the spreadsheet - and reviewed the budget in great detail.   We narrowed it down to a 36'-40'
single engine diesel trawler with a sundeck, a walk around bed, a reasonable galley and room for a comfy chair in the evenings.

Dennis had a long list of electronics and refinements - most of which he could install or repair if we found something close to our specifications.   By spring of 2011 we visited boats in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, and New York.  Then Dennis found a boat that fit the bill in Charleston, South Carolina. It was time to take a leap - or stop talking about it.

We named the new boat "Reunion" and started getting acquainted.  Dennis spent a month in Charleston fixing, cleaning, changing, installing and learning to dock a 40' boat.   Docking lessons lasted 1/2 hour and from then on it was learning by doing.   I flew out to meet her and spend a week with Dennis around 4th of July.  Then I came home again while Dennis continued banging the air-conditioning into shape, changing a head and putting in an auto-pilot along with hundreds of other tiny details.  The boat was almost ready for the trip to Wisconsin.  Next step was finding a crew and heading out - 1600 miles to bring her home.