Subject: The anatomy for decision making for a boat
I'm close to deciding on my 4th boat and it has caused me to think back some 10 years on how my decision making was influenced and arrived at for each boat selection.
I'm sure most people over time will not be able to predict their futures and this aspect will affect what choices are made in purchasing a boat.
In summary this is how it went for me....
R-21EC (nixed) > R-25 Classic (purchased) > R-27 Classic (nixed) > R-25 Classic (sold) > R-21EC (purchased and later traded) > R-27/OB (maybe to be traded) > R-29 S (possibly my next boat).
Back in 2008/2009 I came across the R-21EC on a trailer at my local gas station. It was on its way to be delivered to its new owner by Jeff Messmer. I viewed the boat up and down with awe and saw it as a suitable boat for the PNW waters. I chatted with Jeff and later decided my 1st Mate and I would travel down to the Kent factory to get a closer look at the R-21EC. We both were excited about this. Upon arriving at the Kent factory we were introduced to the R-21EC and I personally liked it and it was well within my boat budget. However, 1st Mate was not that thrilled and found it too small to be comfortable. Now this sense 1st mate had was strongly being influenced by the fact that a R-25 Classic was on a trailer adjacent to the R-21EC and I could see 1st Mate kept looking over to it as I was viewing the R-21EC. So.... we eventually got onboard the R-25 Classic which was on the face of it at or a bit above my budget, but nonetheless I also was interested to see what the R-25 Classic had to offer compared to the R-21EC. In short, 1st Mate declared that if we were to buy a boat it simply had to be the R-25 Classic. The attraction to the R-25 Classic was its vastly superior cabin facilities and sleeping accommodations. To me also, was the fact that the R-25 Classic was more of a boat than the skinny sparse creature comforts offered on the R-21EC. 1st Mate and I quickly came to an agreement on the R-25 Classic purchase and some months later we took ownership of one. The point about the decision made here was that even though I was enthusiastic about the R-21EC and it being easily within my budget, my 1st Mate's idea of what she considered to be a boat she could live with quickly trump my thoughts about buying the R-21EC. When boating is for two people and married as we were, It is obviously and rightfully so, that it takes two to buy a boat in a case such as ours. Each has a right to have their opinions taking into account.
We enjoyed our R-25 Classic for some 6-7 years and put quite a few cruising hours on the boat. I made substantial mods to make the boat more to our taste over these years. Sadly, 1st Mate's health started to wane and we found less and less time to enjoy boating. At one point I considered the R-27 Classic as an upgrade thinking this might make things better for 1st Mate's comfort. This did not materialize as the upgrade cost was not be acceptable and improved comfort for 1st Mate of the R-27 Classic over what the R-25 Classic had simply wasn't sufficient enough.
We ended up selling the R-25 Classic thinking our boating adventures had come to an end.
1st Mate's health continued to wane.
However, around 2016 we both decided (and I was still lusting on boating) we could continue boating on a day-trip basis using the R-21EC on a nearby lake primarily. The R-21EC was trailerable using our current auto. We moved forward with this and bought ourselves the R-21EC (my original choice for a boat). We spent some 18 months running about the lake for day trips and made the odd trailering up to ports closer to the PNW San Juan islands to cruise about the islands. All went well for awhile, but I got bored with the lake trips and moved the boat to the Puget Sound open waters and to a Marina close to home (just 5 minutes away) hoping we could boat to places around the local PNW destinations. However, I quickly realized the R-21EC running at some 6 to 7 kts would take ages to get to places, and 1st Mate's declining health was requiring cruise times to be minimal.... what was I to do ?
Well, along came the 2017 R-23/OB and the 2018 R-27/OB between 2016-2017 timeframe. I sped over to Bremerton boat show in May 2017 to get a look at the R-23/OB and R-27/OB. At first the R-23/OB seemed to be the sensible choice but with the R-27/OB being docked next to the R-23/OB I found that from a cost perspective when adding the options I wanted for the R-23/OB the final price tag of the R-23/OB started to approach what one would pay for the R-27/OB that had all the options I wanted to begin with. I ended up plonking my deposit down on the table in front of Andrew for the new 2018 R-27/OB. Come Aug 2017 we had traded our R-21EC in for the R-27/OB.
The maiden voyage for our R-27/OB was to Port Townsend WA (some 31 miles north) via a stop at Marrowstone Island WA from Edmonds WA. The waters were calm and the R-27/OB took us to our destinations in around 60 minutes. 1st Mate was very pleased. Our stay at Port Townsend was for 2 days before returning to our home port of Edmonds. 1st Mate although very pleased with the speed of the R-27/OB was not so enthusiastic about the sleeping comfort of the R-27/OB as it was still the difficult to crawl into the closed in V-berth arrangement. The head being adjacent to the V-berth was a huge positive though as no struggling to the aft section of the cabin as in our earlier R-25 Classic boat.
We continued to cruise the R-27/OB for around a year from Aug 2017. 1st Mate's health took a dramatic turn and we cruised less and less together and she suddendly passed away in early Aug 2018.
Now that I'm widowed my desire to continue boating has not changed but the kind of boat I need isn't necessarily what the R-27/OB offers. The need for speed as required by my 1st Mate is no longer needed, although I do like speed at times. I'm likely to now spend time anchored for a number of nights, want the company of family and grandkids with me on cruises and possible take extended cruises all about the PNW and up into the Canadian waters and even "North to Alaska". The R-27/OB is a fine boat but does not offer the same ride qualities of a larger boat for a range of sea conditions we have in the PNW year round. I like to boat year round in calm and not so calm seas and the R-27/OB is limiting in this regards as it cannot achieve its best speeds and fuel economies at all times with this requirement.
So I'm now looking seriously at the R-29 S boat.
All of the above simply points to the fact that continued boating and with what type of boat largely depends on personal circumstances that unfold with time and cannot be predicted. One has to adapt and choose a boat accordingly as best one can.
Of course this is my story I share and yours may be different.
I'm close to deciding on my 4th boat and it has caused me to think back some 10 years on how my decision making was influenced and arrived at for each boat selection.
I'm sure most people over time will not be able to predict their futures and this aspect will affect what choices are made in purchasing a boat.
In summary this is how it went for me....
R-21EC (nixed) > R-25 Classic (purchased) > R-27 Classic (nixed) > R-25 Classic (sold) > R-21EC (purchased and later traded) > R-27/OB (maybe to be traded) > R-29 S (possibly my next boat).
Back in 2008/2009 I came across the R-21EC on a trailer at my local gas station. It was on its way to be delivered to its new owner by Jeff Messmer. I viewed the boat up and down with awe and saw it as a suitable boat for the PNW waters. I chatted with Jeff and later decided my 1st Mate and I would travel down to the Kent factory to get a closer look at the R-21EC. We both were excited about this. Upon arriving at the Kent factory we were introduced to the R-21EC and I personally liked it and it was well within my boat budget. However, 1st Mate was not that thrilled and found it too small to be comfortable. Now this sense 1st mate had was strongly being influenced by the fact that a R-25 Classic was on a trailer adjacent to the R-21EC and I could see 1st Mate kept looking over to it as I was viewing the R-21EC. So.... we eventually got onboard the R-25 Classic which was on the face of it at or a bit above my budget, but nonetheless I also was interested to see what the R-25 Classic had to offer compared to the R-21EC. In short, 1st Mate declared that if we were to buy a boat it simply had to be the R-25 Classic. The attraction to the R-25 Classic was its vastly superior cabin facilities and sleeping accommodations. To me also, was the fact that the R-25 Classic was more of a boat than the skinny sparse creature comforts offered on the R-21EC. 1st Mate and I quickly came to an agreement on the R-25 Classic purchase and some months later we took ownership of one. The point about the decision made here was that even though I was enthusiastic about the R-21EC and it being easily within my budget, my 1st Mate's idea of what she considered to be a boat she could live with quickly trump my thoughts about buying the R-21EC. When boating is for two people and married as we were, It is obviously and rightfully so, that it takes two to buy a boat in a case such as ours. Each has a right to have their opinions taking into account.
We enjoyed our R-25 Classic for some 6-7 years and put quite a few cruising hours on the boat. I made substantial mods to make the boat more to our taste over these years. Sadly, 1st Mate's health started to wane and we found less and less time to enjoy boating. At one point I considered the R-27 Classic as an upgrade thinking this might make things better for 1st Mate's comfort. This did not materialize as the upgrade cost was not be acceptable and improved comfort for 1st Mate of the R-27 Classic over what the R-25 Classic had simply wasn't sufficient enough.
We ended up selling the R-25 Classic thinking our boating adventures had come to an end.
1st Mate's health continued to wane.
However, around 2016 we both decided (and I was still lusting on boating) we could continue boating on a day-trip basis using the R-21EC on a nearby lake primarily. The R-21EC was trailerable using our current auto. We moved forward with this and bought ourselves the R-21EC (my original choice for a boat). We spent some 18 months running about the lake for day trips and made the odd trailering up to ports closer to the PNW San Juan islands to cruise about the islands. All went well for awhile, but I got bored with the lake trips and moved the boat to the Puget Sound open waters and to a Marina close to home (just 5 minutes away) hoping we could boat to places around the local PNW destinations. However, I quickly realized the R-21EC running at some 6 to 7 kts would take ages to get to places, and 1st Mate's declining health was requiring cruise times to be minimal.... what was I to do ?
Well, along came the 2017 R-23/OB and the 2018 R-27/OB between 2016-2017 timeframe. I sped over to Bremerton boat show in May 2017 to get a look at the R-23/OB and R-27/OB. At first the R-23/OB seemed to be the sensible choice but with the R-27/OB being docked next to the R-23/OB I found that from a cost perspective when adding the options I wanted for the R-23/OB the final price tag of the R-23/OB started to approach what one would pay for the R-27/OB that had all the options I wanted to begin with. I ended up plonking my deposit down on the table in front of Andrew for the new 2018 R-27/OB. Come Aug 2017 we had traded our R-21EC in for the R-27/OB.
The maiden voyage for our R-27/OB was to Port Townsend WA (some 31 miles north) via a stop at Marrowstone Island WA from Edmonds WA. The waters were calm and the R-27/OB took us to our destinations in around 60 minutes. 1st Mate was very pleased. Our stay at Port Townsend was for 2 days before returning to our home port of Edmonds. 1st Mate although very pleased with the speed of the R-27/OB was not so enthusiastic about the sleeping comfort of the R-27/OB as it was still the difficult to crawl into the closed in V-berth arrangement. The head being adjacent to the V-berth was a huge positive though as no struggling to the aft section of the cabin as in our earlier R-25 Classic boat.
We continued to cruise the R-27/OB for around a year from Aug 2017. 1st Mate's health took a dramatic turn and we cruised less and less together and she suddendly passed away in early Aug 2018.
Now that I'm widowed my desire to continue boating has not changed but the kind of boat I need isn't necessarily what the R-27/OB offers. The need for speed as required by my 1st Mate is no longer needed, although I do like speed at times. I'm likely to now spend time anchored for a number of nights, want the company of family and grandkids with me on cruises and possible take extended cruises all about the PNW and up into the Canadian waters and even "North to Alaska". The R-27/OB is a fine boat but does not offer the same ride qualities of a larger boat for a range of sea conditions we have in the PNW year round. I like to boat year round in calm and not so calm seas and the R-27/OB is limiting in this regards as it cannot achieve its best speeds and fuel economies at all times with this requirement.
So I'm now looking seriously at the R-29 S boat.
All of the above simply points to the fact that continued boating and with what type of boat largely depends on personal circumstances that unfold with time and cannot be predicted. One has to adapt and choose a boat accordingly as best one can.
Of course this is my story I share and yours may be different.
