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Monday, May 31, 2010

Talos IV - The Boat


Before we get ahead of ourselves, I should probably say something about the boat itself. Talos IV is a 1995 model year Pacific Seacraft 37. She is cutter rigged with a Scheel Keel, providing a relatively shallow draft. She is well equipped and was meticulously maintained. There were only 500 hours on the engine when we purchased her. Many upgrades had been made, making Talos IV ready to go on our planned future adventures. There was only a few exceptions to her readiness, such as an SSB, life raft, dinghy and outboard motor, and an assortment of other must have items. All of which we plan to complete before our first real adventure.

The pre-purchase Survey



Prior to the purchase to satisfy the only contingency as part of our offer, we flew to Seattle in early October to complete the pre-purchase inspection and sea trials. Several days prior to our arrival, Terry Cady from Yachtfitters, had already climbed the mast and inspected the rigging. With the exception of some minor, mostly cosmetic issues all checked out. After arriving at Seacraft, we motored up to the yard a mile or so down the ship canal, where Talos IV was hauled and inspected. John Sanford from Risner, McEwen and Edwards Marine Surveyors, completed the out of water inspection and found virtually nothing of significance.

We now only had to complete the sea trial, but as luck would have it there was virtually no wind. We went through the motions and raised the sails, motored and gave it a good all around evaluation. Noting only a small leak at the rudder post, all checked out to our satisfaction.

The Journey Begins


We purchased Talos IV in late October 2009, but the journey really began in August of that year when we travelled to Seattle to attend a good friends wedding. After getting off the plane at SEA/TAC, we drove down to Lake Union to look at boats before meeting up with friends for a pre-wedding dinner gathering. We literally stumbled on Talos IV laying at the docks at Seacraft Yacht Sales and I think Janet and I both knew that this was the boat we would someday own. After much discussion over the next several months, we made the decision to extend an offer to purchase Talos IV. In the end, we accepted a counter offer extended by the then owner of Talos IV, Bob Ford.