For the last several months Carol and I have been boat shopping. We were looking for a 2000 or newer sailboat, by a European designer, in the 33' to 36' range. We couldn't find anything in our price range in the Puget Sound, so we had to expand our search to the entire west coast. We looked at boats in San Diego, Long Beach, and all over the San Francisco Bay. After several weekend trips, we found a great boat in Richmond, CA on San Francisco Bay that met our criteria - a 2002 Beneteau 331.
On to the adventure - On Monday afternoon I flew down to Oakland, CA for the survey on Tuesday. This was our second attempt at a survey. The previous week we had to cancel because of small craft advisories on the bay. Unfortunately, this Tuesday was not any better. It rained all day and winds gusted up to 32 knots.
The surveyor, the broker and I got started early. It was a wet and bouncy ride, and visibility was pretty poor. I was happy to have radar. When the fog started to lift you could just make out San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Getting into the lift for the hull inspection was no problem, and the bottom looked good.
Overall the survey went well, with only a few minor issues to address. The boat is in great shape and we are looking forward to moving her up to the Puget Sound.
