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Trying to buy back my childhood
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| Jeff |
Posted on 07/12/09 - 5:39 PM
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Joined: 04/02/05
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Last night I finally got home from our vacation and started back on my back (bad) habits of searching for Whaler deals. I was searching jaxed when I came across a listing for a 15 supersport. The listed had the boat only 15 minutes away from where I was vacationing and I just had to click on it to see what I missed. The images on the craigslist ad struck me right away. It was my first Whaler. My father and I traveled 18 hours round trip to go buy it and pick it up from it's original owner in Evansville Indiana in March of 1993. I could tell it was our old Whaler first by the oversized Holscaw tandem axle trailer, then by the 75 hp Merc, side plate lifting rings and the reg numbers. My heart sank and I was speechless. I always said I would repurchase that boat if I ever came back across it and here it was. The thing was, the asking price of $3500 would have surely had people jumping all over it and I was betting it would have been sold long ago. I called and emailed anyway. Sure enough the boat has sold.
We bought the boat in 1993 and sold it in 1994 to buy a 17' Montauk and now 15 years later....how I would love to be able to get my first whaler back and restore it for my family. So, if you bought this boat or, know the person who, did I want to talk to you. Please.
Here is the ad.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...1247444701
Here is an image of my brother and I taking it for our first ride in 1993.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...1247444724
Edited by Jeff on 07/12/09 - 5:46 PM
1993 23' Walkaround Whaler Drive |
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| ossnap |
Posted on 07/12/09 - 5:56 PM
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Nice looking boat! It would have been sweet if you could have grabbed it again. That's crazy that you even came across it. Don't get too down though. I've learned that things usually happen for a reason, and maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
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| MW |
Posted on 07/13/09 - 2:47 AM
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Ossnap is right Jeff, Thing's happen for a reason, the 1st few "Whaler-like" (love that one) boat's that I looked at fell through on the deal. I figured that I would just give up and become a "Hermit". 1 week later I had a Whaler. It is cool though that you got to see her again, Try and view it this way Jeff: "Some little kid is safe right now with his Dad in your old boat". It's still "ON DUTY" doin it's job. !
Matt |
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| whalersal |
Posted on 07/13/09 - 4:57 AM
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I think swapping boats as often as you do does not make sense.
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| bottomfish |
Posted on 07/13/09 - 8:28 AM
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Good luck trying to get her back. I hope you can. I did buy back my first whaler but it was a bit easier for me since it never left the family. 1964 13'. Sold it to my father then after he stopped using it I watched it sit for a few years before I handed over a check and took it back. Now it sits in my yard while I restore my 17'. We will start on the 13' this winter. Gonna be kind of cool to put the pics of me as a kid on the whaler next the pics of my kids that same age on that same boat. Good times.
P.S. swapping boats often does make sense. It is a sickness. It's the thrill of the hunt then the purchase, the fixup, then the fun. A few years later as needs change do it again. Some of us are just a little different and enjoy the work.
Edited by bottomfish on 07/13/09 - 8:31 AM |
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| whalersal |
Posted on 07/13/09 - 8:45 AM
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bottomfish,
It is a sickness. I am afflicted, and have been foolish for years. My post was sarcastic.
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| kamie |
Posted on 07/13/09 - 9:46 AM
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Jeff,
when the time is right she will come back into your life.
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| bottomfish |
Posted on 07/13/09 - 10:43 AM
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whalersal, I got the sarcasm. I was simply justifying the sickness. I guess there is no need to on this site cuz if you are participating you are affected to some degree. Nice to hear you have a bad case yourself. I am on boat #7 and loving every minute of it.
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/13/09 - 2:54 PM
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I think that it is all good.
Not only did you got wind of the sale but also;
A time from the past has been brought forward into the present.
And an interesting point has been shown to all of us;
That it is not always about profit;
But importantly;
A sentimental value in time and objects has been revealed.
The location of the Whaler is now known to the interested party;
And it's ownership can be negotiated..in good time.
Dont lie
Dont Cheat
And dont give up.. |
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| bigfish114 |
Posted on 07/13/09 - 8:02 PM
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Jeff
Think of it like an old girlfriend you run across, or see a picture of. It brings back good memories, gives you a moment to pause and think of what could have been. But, when you really think of it, your in a much better place now, and the picture gives you a smile only you and the other 14,088 people here could hope to understand. Amazing though to run across an old love like that, pretty cool.
Cheers
Bigfish114
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| Jeff |
Posted on 07/14/09 - 7:35 AM
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Well I found the buyer of the boat. Turns out he his a friend of another Whaler owner I know and the boat is back in SE Michigan. I hope to be able to see the boat again this summer and possibly go for a ride. I am glad I at least know where she is at and hopefully be able to get her back when Ben is looking to move on. I just think there is something special about being able to have our first Whaler back. For me it is not like seeing an old girlfriend and thinking what if but, more like being able to have your old trusty dog back that has pasted on. That Whaler never caused me stress, never cheated on me, it never complained about being bored, never was self centered nor opinionated on what it thought I "should" be doing. It was always there like a trusty friend welcoming the time to be spent together having fun.
Yah I had some pain in the ... girlfriends. Glad I found my wife...she actually told me I should buy the 15 if I could.
1993 23' Walkaround Whaler Drive |
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| whalersal |
Posted on 07/14/09 - 7:39 AM
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Great wife amigo...
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| themclos |
Posted on 07/14/09 - 8:10 AM
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Amen to that, Sal. A wife that encourages a 3 boat household is a keeper in my book.
Dan
1986 22 Outrage Cuddy, 2002 225HP Optimax |
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| Jeff |
Posted on 07/14/09 - 8:13 AM
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Ha...Dan buying the 15 would mean the 13 would have to go. I am not that lucky.
1993 23' Walkaround Whaler Drive |
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| CES |
Posted on 07/14/09 - 8:15 AM
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LOL, there's always a string attached to any deal!
Cliff
1966 13' Sport with a 1993 40hp Yamaha 2 Smoker |
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| Eri |
Posted on 07/14/09 - 4:28 PM
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Jeff,
Feel the same way. The first whaler I bought (72 13 Sourpuss) a few years ago was the exact make model that I went on my first boat ride in as a kid in Ipswitch, MA. My uncle took us out of the bay onto the ocean touting the unsinkable quality and its ability to pull up two water skiiers with its Johnson 40. The 18 I bought last year was one my father always wanted. I remember the brochures on the table. My friends all own go fast boats and they couldn't understand why I insisted I get one instead of a go-fast. After the restoration they all want to take it out and show it off at all the marina's. My next one is gonna have to have a cuddy so I can sleep out on the water.
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| bigfish114 |
Posted on 07/14/09 - 8:43 PM
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Jeff
Great perspective, and an even better wife it sounds like.
Cheers
Bigfish
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