Introducing... S/V Wanderlust!

Weighing in at whopping 17 thousand pounds of displacement... boasting a 5 foot keel and a dinghy...

It’s…. S/V WANDERLUST!

…. Applause… Roooaaar…. Applause….

Well, you may not be cheering, but that’s how Ben, Ruca and I feel on the inside :) . We’re thrilled to introduce S/V Wanderlust, a 1979 Morgan 382 sailboat. After weeks of searching and a lengthy closing process, she’s finally ours, and she’s pretty perfect! Let me tell you about her.

First of all, her current name isn’t S/V Wanderlust. Right now, her name is a play-on-words from the previous owner’s name. So, we knew we had to change it, although we were nervous about the old superstition that changing a boat’s name is bad luck. As we were brainstorming names we had a list of several we liked (Wanderlust was one of them) but couldn’t make a decision. We happened to come across the original owner’s manual. Inside the manual, we found an old picture of our boat with the name Wanderlust! The definition of Wanderlust is “a strong desire to travel” so we couldn’t think of a more perfect name for our boat! It described our journey perfectly! We decided no name change would be needed and instead we would revert the name back to her original. Problem solved, bad luck averted!

S/V Wanderlust has got a few years on her (36 to be exact), but this boat is in excellent condition and we got a great deal. Not to mention, she’s almost completely cruise ready! The boat is stocked with all of the gear we need for Caribbean cruising, like:

430 watts of Solar

Fresh water maker

Dingy with a 15 horsepower outboard

GPS navigation systems/chartplotter

Autopilot

Too much more to list!!!

The gear alone was worth the price we paid for the boat, so you can imagine how delighted we are with this deal!

The interior of S/V Wanderlust has a full v-berth bed towards the bow, and a quarter berth near the rear of the cabin. Apparently, it can sleep 6 although I haven’t quite figured out how yet, unless everyone is a really good snuggler… The galley is totes adorbs, with a small refrigerator, stainless steel sink, and two burner propane stove/oven on a swivel (gimbaled) to accommodate rough waves. The head is small and efficient, and was kept very clean. There’s a navigation station, two seating areas with a fold out dining table, and a flat screen TV (oh em geee). Every nook and cranny is filled with clever storage compartments, and the floors and walls are made from a beautiful wood. She’s in great condition for her age, and is everything that two people and one pup could ever need!

Pardon the messiness in the pictures below, we haven't quite moved in yet!

Although she’s in good condition, there is work to be done before she’s ready to hit the waves, so we’ve got her pulled out into a boat yard. A boat on stilts in the yard is apparently “on the hard” according to real deal sailors. I’m taking notes on sailor lingo so we can act the part, while Ben’s beard is helping us look the part (it hasn’t been trimmed since he gave his 2-week-notice at work. Don't worry, I'll get a pic posted soon...).

The great thing about this boat yard is that it is a DIY facility. They’ll rent us the tools we need, and sell us the materials and space to work on our boat. In the long run, it saves us 50% versus hiring someone, plus we can stay on the boat. The not-so-great thing about this place is the ambiance. Think constant construction noise, paint chips, shirtless old Cuban beer bellied fisherman, and the fattest, slowest resident (guard dog?) pit bull ever, named Jake. As for Ruca, we've put her with a temporary dog sitter, because we couldn't figure out how in the heck to get her lifted into this boat. Although we did brainstorm several pup-lifts and other mechanisms, nothing seemed realistic....So if anyone has created an actual pup lift, please email us!

Hopefully our time on the hard will be short as Ben is super excited to get to work and I'm excited to get out of the yard. We’ve pulled the boat out of the water to accomplish a few important things, which are:

1. Sand and paint the bottom

2. Fix the steering cables

3. Clean like crazy

After we accomplish these items we’ll say farewell to Jake the cow-dog and adios to the shirtless Cuban fisherman, and drop her back into the water. In the water (off the hard?) we’ll have a few more items to accomplish, which are:

1. Get the head sail repaired

2. Re-string the halyard line

3. Re-upholster the cushions in the cabin

4. Load everything, organize and move in!

We'll keep you posted on the rewards and challenges of these projects! Being first timers, I'm sure the challenges will be many, but it is all part of the adventure and we'll gain valuable knowledge along the way!

Thanks for reading,

Ben, Quinn and Ruca

#boat #svwanderlust