Tall Ship Adventures - 2. TSA Chapter 2

“What is the real value of this trimaran yacht that we are talking about Eric, because we haven’t even seen it yet?’ Dad asked his good friend. “Well let me say this, when she is ready to be sailed, I wouldn’t unsure her for anything less than $6,” Eric replied.

“What? Did you just say $6,000? That is a heck of a lot of money, why is this Mack being so generous?” Mum asked, “No not $ 6k, I mean $600,000 because dear lady, he is an old man, who has sailed most of the seas and oceans of the world, and he wants to see his yacht continue sailing for many years to come, and the only way that is going to happen is that he gives it to a young man just starting his sailing career,” Eric replied.

“If it is going to be worth that much, I think we need to see this yacht. Can we have a look at it please Eric? Can you arrange for us to view it?” Dad asked, “Sure, how about we meet at the yacht club at 8 am tomorrow, and have a look then, as I have the keys and permission from Mack,” Eric replied.

After Christmas lunch, the family rested for the rest of the day, and the following morning, the whole family joined me at the yacht club to inspect this trimaran yacht that I was so keen on buying. After dinner last night, I went online and printed out the information about the 21-metre Neel Trimaran, including its standard layout, which I brought with me.

“Good morning, Julian, Beth, Zac and Alistair, did you all have a nice day yesterday?” Eric said as we all approached the main gate leading into the dry storage area, “Yes thanks mate, nice to be able to just relax and do absolutely nothing for a change,” Dad replied.

Eric led us into the secure dry storage yard, and for the first time, I would be getting a very close-up look at the trimaran yacht that I have been looking at for as long as I can remember.

“I have had a long chat with Mack, and he has informed me that it has had a new complete repaint, the decking has been replaced, plus all the cabinetry and plumbing have been completed, but what you will find missing, are all internal doors and windows, also missing are all of the appliances, all technical navigation and communication equipment, although all the wiring is already is in place for it to be installed.

There is also no furniture at all in most areas either, so it is fairly bare inside, with one exception, that being the skipper's cabin, located in the centre hull forward,” Eric informed us. “Wow, I can hardly wait to see her, can we go inside to look around?” I asked.

“Yes, you can do that, just remember, there is still a lot of work to be done to her on the inside, as well as all of the rigging on the outside too,” Eric replied, “How big is this yacht exactly?” Dad asked me, as we started walking down a row of yachts on dry stands.

“Have a look for yourself,” Eric replied smiling, as we rounded the corner and there she was. “Wow, she is beautiful, much more up close,” I said happily, “Err, are you sure this is the one? It looks awfully big for one person to sail,” Dad said.

“It’s not designed to be sailed by one person, three sailors are needed to sail her properly, but you can get by with just two,” Eric replied.

I carefully began to climb the ladder that was secured to the aft of the yacht, and for the first time I stepped onto the yacht, I smiled, as a tingling feeling went all over my body. “Awesome, I am in heaven,” I said quietly to myself, as I took the four steps up onto the aft deck and looked around.

“She is a 21 metre Neel Trimaran, with a draft of just 1.4 metres and is 17 metres wide with three decks, on the main deck it has a master cabin, and below deck, there are three queen guest cabins and one double and two single crew cabins,” I explained to the family.

“Looks like someone has done their research,” Eric commented, which made me blush a little, as I stepped forward to open the door into the main saloon, and stepped in. Just ahead of me was the dining area, with bare bench seats and a table, with the galley located just to the right of it.

To the left, beyond the stairs leading downwards, where there would usually be a wall for the master cabin was another open area with a comfortable lounge area, plus some book shelving, and a doorway that I saw lead into the day head.

Further forward on the right or starboard side, there is another lounge area, and on the left or portside is the main bridge station, with a door and stairs in the centre leading downwards to the forward section of the centre hull, which is where I headed, to check out the forward cabin, which I was pleased to see was fully completed.

Returning to the main deck, I found Eric and my family looking around, as I headed starboard and down the side steps leading to the starboard hull, where there is a door on either side, heading aft, the door leads into a guest cabin with a queen size bed base and a good amount of storage shelving and cupboard.

Going through the forward door, I entered the bathroom with a toilet and sink plus some cabinets, and just forward of that was a good-sized shower, but there was no tapware on any of the bathroom items. Returning to the main deck once more, I had a quick look at the port side hull which was identical, and as I returned my family was coming up the stairs near the main door, which leads to the last of the guest cabins, which is located in the centre of the main hull.

As I made my way down that way, I was surprised to see that there had been some changes to the layout, with the bedroom area pushed further forward, with twin beds instead of a double, sitting perfectly between the main mast support pole, and the bathroom just inside the door on the left, instead of across the hall.

Exiting the cabin, I opened the door into what used to be the bathroom, and I was surprised to see that it led into a storage area, with another door leading into a small but compact engine room, which appeared to be clean and the generator looked to be in working order, but the engine was not.

Heading back outside, I moved over to the port side and bending down, I pulled on the hidden latch, and with the help of the hydraulics, the hatch opened easily upwards, and I expected to see what an open storage area for small boats or kayaks.

Instead saw a much smaller space with shelving on both sides, and a door in the forward wall, so I climbed into the low roof area, shuffled forward and opened the door, which opened up to be a twin crew cabin, with a compact crew bathroom, which looked completed, as all the tapware was in place.

I checked out the starboard side and found an identical storage space and twin crew cabin and bathroom at the front, I now headed upstairs to the upper deck, where I found everyone seated on the hard benches.

“This will be a very nice area, once the seating and everything is finished,” Mum commented as I arrived. “So, what do you think of here Zac?” Eric asked me, “She is perfect, and I love the changes that have been made to the original layout, gives more space for the crew living area as well as having the Twin cabin for guests,” I replied.

“I didn’t take much notice, but how many crew and guests can this carry when it is finished?” Mum asked me, “Well with the improved layout, she can now have five or six crew in three cabins, and six guests in two queen and one twin cabins, or the four crew in two cabins and eight guests in four cabins, depending on what is needed,” I replied.

“Wow, that is impressive. I like that you have the fixability to change the living space to what’s needed,” Eric commented, and I nodded my head in agreement. “I still can’t see how Zac can buy a yacht like this, which is worth millions of dollars for just a few thousand dollars,” Dad said to Eric.

“Well, he won’t exactly have outright ownership. I did a deal with Mack, I will be a part owner also, as I am investing three times the amount, a total of $12,000, and Mack will remain a part owner as well, so Zac will be a 1/8^th owner of her, I will own a ½ of her, and Mack will have the last 1/8^th ownership,” Eric announced, and on hearing this, my hopes died instantly.

I knew that it was too good to be true, that ownership of a beautiful yacht like this was not reachable for an average teenager like me, as I headed downstairs and off the yacht, and I headed down to the beach for a long walk to think how awesome it would be to own a beautiful trimaran yacht like that, but for now, that is not possible.

I was in no mood to do anything for the next few days, and that included going to work on the fishing boat, my hopes and dreams of owning a beautiful yacht like the one at the dry dockyard had gone down the drain in an instant when I learnt that I would only have a small part of the ownership of the yacht, and with that no say at all in how things are run.

After missing two days of work, I heard Eric’s voice at the door, when Mum answered it, and with my bedroom door slightly open, I could hear most of what had been said. Eric was very disappointed in me for not coming to work, and as a result of this, he has had to find a replacement to work on the fishing boat.