Quality Improvements Plus a Side-Trip

We found our dream boat! It, of course, had a few places where improvements could be made. I guess we wanted perfection. We went out looking for those items that could take Otter from “great” to “spectacular”. We had little time left before we would be traveling to Spain so here is what we desired for Otter or what we saw looking for those improvements.

We drove to Haarlem which is about an hour and a half drive from where we were staying in Heeg, Netherlands.  Haarlem was really a side trip from our main destination. Having never been to Haarlem before and driving close by we thought we’d drop by.

Just an interesting looking building in Haarlem

A Sewing Machine Shop

Which was of particular interest to me. 

Windmill in Haarlem.  

About a ten minute’s drive away from Haarlem was our actual destination of Spaarndam, Netherlands. This small, marine town had a shop that interested us with a type of boat heater called Heatpol dieseloliekachel in English an Heatpol diesel oil heater. Ken wanted to check to see if it might meet our boat heater needs.

This is Ken checking out the shop across the street. Not being peak tourist season, 

the shop keepers kind of decided on there own store hours. This shop was not open. 

Here are the Heatpol heaters. They appear to be like a stand alone heater.

You would not have to running ducting to carry the heat to different areas of the boat. 

Ducting, etc. For boat heaters. 

I am in front of the shop we were in. 

Once after spending the day on Otter we decided to stop in Drachten at the GAMMA, a hardware store. We do not have a sink in the bathroom. We thought we should look for one to install. Being Europe there were lots of home grade very small sinks that would work. I hardest part would be deciding where to install the sink in the mini sized boat bathroom. 

You can likely see the sinks are a decent price (remember, in Euros). 

We were also trying to measure for fit. 

Finding Otter

Finding Otter was easy. Simply drive from one end of the Netherlands to the others and across the IJsselmeer. Look at boats until to understand them and voila! We found Otter.

Otter with her previous owners

Inspecting Our New Boat

This day was was so exciting for us! We were finally able to ride in the boat that we had chosen and really liked. It was a dream realized at long last.

Ken had some time on his hands the previous month to think in advance about our boating needs. He used his time wisely and narrowed down a list of boat surveyors or boat inspectors. Their job is similar to a home inspectors job before you commit to buying a house.  They have a list of things to check for - both major and minor. Ken narrowed his list down to three surveyors then Ken picked who he felt was most competent. The fellow he picked was very thorough.

Ken coming in to start Otter for the first time. We are about

To go out for our first canal boat ride in our soon to be new boat. 

The boat inspector at the helm. One of the shipyard

workers sitting at the doorway. 

A shot of our boat’s motor from the front

engine compartment. This was open for the whole 

inspection journey -  a bit noisy but definitely 

not too bad considering.   

Leaving the boat’s mooring spot at Smelne. 

The date of our inspection was November 5, 2018. This was the day we were able to go for our first boat trip in our soon to be new boat.  The shipright was driving and the Surveyor inspecting. Generally the Surveyor found this small yacht to be in very good condition. He did pick up on a couple of mechanical things that needed to be replaced - the propellor shaft and the upper rudder bearing. He thought we should upgrade the refrigerator to a more efficient model plus a few more little detailed, minor items. This gave us a bit of a bargaining tool for lowering the price.

Driving passed the bank of the canal Across from Smelne.  

Otter in the water. 

Headed out of the protected marina to the bay. 

Here are some pictures of Otter being taken out of the water for a hull, etc inspection. If the boat becomes ours it would stay out of the water for the winter - winterstalling. At the end there is a short

video of the process.

Our boat being taken out of the water using a Shiplift. 

The ship right in the little box on the left side of the picture is very skilled at doing this. 

His small looking size gives you some perspective as to the size of the boat. 

Here she is up and out of the water. You can see the orangish 

Stain from the canal water. We’ll need to scrub that off. 

No one is allowed on board while the boat is being lifted or moved around. 

Back view of boat out of the canal. 

Once the boat is lifted out of the water it is pressure washed. 

Boat off of Shiplift and onto the trailer. It is going to be 

parked in on outside winterstalling area. 

Otter on the move.

Purchasing Our New Canal Cruiser - Finally

I remember the day very well, the day we actually committed to purchasing our small yacht. We drove from Heeg to Drachten. There was a rainbow in the sky which we took as meaning something positive in regards to buying our new boat.

The Salesman, Henk, at Smelne Yachting BV gave is free rein of the boat, having lent us the entryway keys. I am sure Henk did not want to accompany us for several reasons, foremost it was clear, crisp and cold outside and on the boat. He likely didn’t want our minds to be crowded with sales pitches and truly wanted us to throughly check out the boat, every little nook and cranny. He was not a pushy salesman, just gave us the facts and information we wanted.

The boat was built in 1974 and owned by the same person since that time. The boat was built nearby in the Otter Shipyard. That shipyard was closer to Jachthaven Drachten de Drait than Smelne. Supposedly the previous owner’s Doctor recommended he give up his boat for health reasons. Sad for him. He did not speak English so all communication between us went through Henk. Thankfully the boat was not stocked with dishes, pot and pans nor linens. Everyone has their own style so that suited us fine. The curtains were included and they were nicer than most we had seen. The upholstery was not new but was clean and tasteful. The walls and doors were made of mahogany as I stated before. We found out the previous owner and a carpenter friend of his had refreshed the boat’s interior. They haddone such a professional job. None of the windows nor skylights leaked. The carpet was fine, however, not to our taste. We checked out all the holds, drawers and cupboards. Ken opened up the engine compartment to check that out, too.

We had seen enough, pondered enough, thought enough of the pros and cons we were ready to commit. We loved the boat but tried to not let it show too much as we were now in the negotiating phase of the purchase. We were already at the second or third price cut of the season. The original owner put the boat up for sale at Smelne at the  beginning of April 2018. He loved her and felt he should get a really good price but to his chagrin a buyer did not materialize until we arrived. We sat with Henk in his office drinking tea trying to negotiate a fair price. Our initial price was not even taken to the owner as we thought it might not be. This day we wanted to be realistic. After all we did not want to lose the boat to a higher bidder. We had a fair price in mind and put in our offer. The offer was pending an inspection (inspection - next post). The previous owner was given time to decide if he would accept our offer.

We were a bit nervous about whether or not the offer would be accepted. We remained positive and would find out the result the next day.

Here are a few interior shots of the yacht we loved.

Ken near the steering station. 

Good shot of the lighter wood ceiling and the screened, big skylight. 

This is a shot from the galley up to the salon. 

 Note the lovely mahogany steps. 

Good shot of the upholstery. The steering gears are

inside that little cupboard door. 

The salon from the stairs going to the galley. Obviously 

the table folded up. Note the size of that window and the curtains. 

Back in the aft cabin, aka our bedroom. The skylight is obvious.  You can see

our closet and the patch of blue on the left is our bed. 

Another view of the aft cabin. Great idea

 to have a sink in the bedroom. 

This looks into the v-berth (lighting too poor to actually see in there) from the salon. 

Salon with table open. At least four people can dine here. 

The carpet looks rather new. It is a good colour to match the wood. 

We are just not keen on carpet. 

The head which is tiny, clean and very functional. 

This is a TV/monitor stand with lots of drawer and cupboard space. 

More outside pictures.

This is the back deck. You can see a small corner 

of the aft cabin skylight. Those white panels are made of  

a material called Trespa. They are washable. The wood trim 

above the Trespa matches the exterior wood doors and the wood mast. 

Back view of the boat showing the swim grid, flying the Friesland flag.

 You can, again, see the wooden deck railing 

with matching mast and wooden doors. 

This is the Friesland flag. Those are not hearts but water lilies. Picture taken from 

https://northerntimes.nl/how-do-frisians-feel-about-their-flag/