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George Burns, Betty White and Joan Rivers
have given all of us hope that old is good. Subconsciously, maybe we were inspired
by them when we decided to purchase and renovate a 1983 Grand Banks 49
Classic. My wife, Susan, and I often make decisions by asking ourselves, “In 10
years, what will we wish we had done?”
A decade from now, we might have had great regrets had we not moved aboard
a boat full time. So while many looked at us as both adventurous and a little crazy,
we made the jump. We decided to find a boat, sell our home and our Monk 36
trawler and go for it. The great thing about yachtsmen is that we all admit we are
nuts for owning a boat.
When it comes to renovations, this becomes even more obvious. I quickly came
to realize there is often little correlation between an estimate, a quote and an
invoice. I also learned that if I plan on a month, I need to adjust it to three, and if
I expect to pay a thousand, I might as well settle on three from the beginning and
avoid the sticker shock.
What makes it all worth it is that, as I sit in our saloon and write this, I am so
pleased and satisfied with all I see. Yes, our renovations did have us in Dania Beach,
Florida, for four months doing work that I foolishly thought would be done in six
weeks, and our budget looks like what you hear about in Washington, D.C. But
Mud Puddle Rose is gorgeous, and she is a spectacular full-time cruising yacht.
The great thing about renovating a Grand Banks is that she is a Grand Banks, in
our opinion the grande dame of trawlers. Her construction and “bones” meet some
