Is Malo Really the Right Boat?

We put an offer to purchase Malo with Sail California.  After some negotiations with the previous owners, a price was reached.  Next a boat survey needed to be done.  Dan researched this and found an incredibly competent and nice surveyor named Kent Parker from Napa, CA.  Dan and Kent hit it off well, as both were woodworkers as well as boat people.  Here is a picture of Kent doing one of his inspections.

We then got to take Malo out in the bay for a "Sea Trial".  Norm hoisted up the sail, which didn't really go up that smoothly.  He used a technique called "sweating the line".  (Later Dan fixed the problem - a screw in the sail track that blocked the slides).

This is Broker Norm "sweating the lines".

Captain Dan was very happy behind the helm!

Alameda Island is just outside of Oakland, California - which had the biggest shipping center that I've ever seen!  We motored Malo right by these huge ships that were getting unloaded.  

Trying to figure out it the navigation system even works!

I even got a chance to take the helm and she seemed very responsive.

Malo was sailing and she was happy to be moving effortlessly over the water of San Francisco Bay.

It was looking as if our sailing dream was moving forward....but wait, there was still a big issue.  The engine motor caused the entire boat to vibrate.  I could never have handled that noise, nor that vibration.  Something was not right.  Next step;  have the boat hauled out of the water to check the propeller.

Svensen's Marina was the place !

Norm made some calls, and the next day we motored the boat to this delightful boat yard called Svensen's Marina.  They lifted it on their travel lift, power washed the bottom, and we got to examine the underside, as well as the propeller. 

Perhaps the pitch was wrong for the size of engine.  Who knows??

Now it was back to the negotiations.  Sea trials, inspection and boat haul out were all completed.  Dan did some more figuring based on results, and our final offer made and accepted.  On March 31, 2016 we were the new owners of Malo.

Captain Dan and First Mate Bev

We decided to keep her name, as we are planning to cruise in Mexico and Malo means "bad" in Spanish.  Also Malo means "good job" in Somoan, as we later learned from Keith, our dock master, at the South Beach Marina in Newport, Oregon.   Thus the name of this blog is:  Malo, A Boat Named Bad  In addition,  my dear friends Diane and Emily refer to people as being "bad asses" when achievements requiring great determination and perseverance are made.  This is and will certainly be within that classification of being bad ....

Searching for our boat!  Fall 2015 and Spring 2016

Finding the right boat, at the right price and in a location that makes sense is a challenge for anyone. Daniel, being the more knowledgeable one on boats, did a lot of searching various boat web sites such as www.yachtworld.com and boats.com.

We mostly looked at racer/cruiser sail boats.  If we are going to be sailing, we wanted something that performed well in various wind conditions including light winds.  We also desired something that was spacious enough for two and then perhaps two additional guests from time to time. Since we live in the northwest USA, we started looking northward - Vancouver Island, Canada; Anacortes and Seattle WA; and Portland, OR.   Once we saw our first C&C 37 plus on Vancouver Island, we knew that was the type of boat for us.

Originally a Canadian made boat, they appeared to be more common in the north.  But they sold quickly and we ended up heading south to San Francisco Bay Area on Alameda Island where we met with Norm Davant from Sail California.  He was very helpful and showed us the boat we eventually bought in March 2017.  Thank you Sail California!

The Marina Village Marina was beautiful and there were many nice looking sail boats.  It was a beautiful spot to be able to live on our boat as we worked for 3 months intermittently on overhauling her for our passage north.  The 9 hour drive from Newport, Oregon to Alameda, California was something we had to time correctly, so as to avoid the traffic in the Bay area. We usually did the trip in two days, while sleeping in the back of our van at rest stops and trying to enter the city after or before any rush hour traffic.  But there was always traffic.

Here is Malo - our new boat!

Looking at the salon,  navigation station on port, galley on starboard and V Birth in bow.

.Galley and entrance to aft cabin.

Aft Cabin

And her proud owners Captain Daniel and First Mate Beverly!!!!!