You ever heard the saying that the best days of owning a boat are the day you buy one and the day you sell it? Well, I can tell you that myself. One day, I was cruising the waves and having the time of my life, and the next, I was replacing a blown up engine. Welcome to the wonderful nightmare of boat ownership.

Just to be clear, I think boats are AWESOME! I’m a licensed captain and a scuba divemaster. That’s why I’m call myself Tidewater Teddy. So, for me, owning a boat was a lifestyle choice, not a status symbol. In fact, I bought my boat to live on it as a cheap alternative to a house. Back in 2015, I saw all those liveaboard YouTubers cruising the world while living on their sailboats, and I craved a piece of the action.

I looked at boats online and realized I wasn’t in the same tax galaxy, so I went on Craiglist instead. I wanted a “bluewater boat”, a boat that could handle rough seas and sail the world. Maybe I could even find the One Piece!

After a couple weeks, I set my sights on a beautiful 30 foot 1969 Dufour Arpege. Made in France, she was red, white, and blue, the colors of the French flag. The description advertised her as a bluewater boat, but she didn’t have any working electricity or plumbing. She did have a working engine, though, and it was a diesel inboard, which is safer than the highly explosive gas engines found in many sailboats.

The price tag was steep. $6000. But, for a 30 foot bluewater sailboat, that was a steal. Or so I thought. I had never bought a boat, so I didn’t know what was a good price or a good boat. I asked a few sailing friends about it, and they said it looked good, so I went to check it out.

At the marina, the boat looked great, even though she had been built nearly 50 years ago. I climbed aboard, and the deck crunched and bowed beneath my feet. I thought nothing of it and went to check out the engine. The engine was running and sounded pretty good. In fact, the engine was already running when I got there. Had I known more about buying boats, I would’ve immediately been suspicious.

Lots of boating forums had warned boat buyers to hire a professional marine surveyor to inspect boats before buying them. But I figured I didn’t need to pay $300 for one. That’s boat money there. Why pay someone when you already work on boats and “know a thing or two”? Why, indeed?

There was a part of me that knew buying this boat was a bad idea, and I hesitated. ‘Is this worth six thousand dollars,’ I thought. That’s when the owner slashed $500 off the price tag and told me he had two people waiting to buy it. He said I could even sleep on it a few nights, if I wanted to try it out. Man, that guy was a good salesman because I basically bought that boat on the spot.

Mind you, I bought this boat in January 2016, so I didn’t even try sailing it until spring. And, as soon as spring sprung, I made an unpleasant discovery: the engine wouldn’t start. The previous owner had told me to call him, if I had any problems, so I did. He came by and attached a battery charger to the batteries and sprayed starter fluid inside the engine’s air intake. Boom! She came to life. Easy fix, right? Not quite.

There are two problems with this. First off, you should NEVER spray starter fluid into a diesel engine because it can damage the internal parts. Secondly, when an engine only starts when the batteries are hooked up to a battery charger, that means the batteries are weak or dead and need to be replaced.

Eventually, I got the boat into decent enough condition to sail, so one afternoon, I started the engine and united the boat. Back then, I had worked on many boats, but I had little experience actually piloting them, so backing out of the slip was a daunting task.

The boat had a single propeller that folded together when not in use, so it was super awkward trying to control it in reverse. I kinda just drifted out of the slip and ended up exiting the marina in reverse because I was too scared to try turning the boat around in the cramped marina.

Once I made it out into the Elizabeth River, things were a bit better. The water was so smooth and calm, and the sky was so clear and blue. It wasn’t great weather for sailing, but I had zero plans of messing with those white flappy things anyways. I just enjoyed running a boat on my own for the first time.

Cut to a few months later. I’d taken my boat out some more, and I was getting more confident with my boat handling. Then, on one fateful trip, it happened. My engine sputtered to a halt, and I lost power.

I hopped down into the cabin and flung open the engine compartment. Thick black oil oozed out of the engine. A blown a head gasket. How the heck was I going to dock this thing without power? Luckily, I was already just outside the marina, so I calmed myself and grabbed the tiller.

There was barely any wind or current, so I just steered using the leftover momentum and reached an empty part of the pier, where I was able to grab the pilings. By chance, one of my neighbors at the marina was outside, and he was able to help me walk my boat back into the slip. I’m thankful to God that everything turned out okay.

Surprisingly, the engine wasn’t my worst problem. I soon found out that my boat was sinking. You see, some boats have this thing called a shaft sleeve that surrounds the propeller shaft and prevents water from entering the boat. Mine was torn and rotted, so every time I ran the boat, water would trickle into the boat and start filling the bilge.

Sometimes, the water would get so high, it would rise above the bilge, and I found myself stepping into a few inches of water on the floor. Because I also lived on my boat, I was able to monitor the water levels and the bilge pumps. But, if I didn’t fix it soon, I might end up with a sunken boat.

By now, my dream of sailing the world was on its deathbed. I didn’t know what to do. On one hand, I could get rid of the boat and cut my losses. On the other, I could keep it and fix her up like I intended.

Against my better judgement, I decided to fix my boat, and it was going to be expensive. Overall, it was going to cost over $5000 because I had a rare engine that was difficult to find, and I had to haul my boat out to replace the shaft sleeve. I basically had to buy my boat all over again.

Even after the repairs, there were so many other issues with my boat. She had soft spots on the deck, no lifelines, and the mainsail was missing. And that goes without mentioning the lack of electricity and plumbing. Two problems I knew about from the get go. I never fixed those problems because I got tired of sinking money into it.

Instead, I just paid my slip fees and focused on sailing in the Chesapeake Bay, and it was wonderful. I spent many beautiful days sailing with just the headsail and listening to the calming sounds of the wind and the sea. I had so much fun cruising around Thimble Shoals and watching the dolphins follow me. Those memories were priceless, and I’m glad I eventually got to share them with my wife.

But all good (and bad) things eventually come to an end. In 2021, I was finally ready to part ways with my boat, so I donated it to Boat Angel. While I do have some regrets, I don’t regret buying that boat. In fact, I would buy another one, but it would be something small that could fit on a trailer. (You know, bigger boats, bigger problems.)

If you’re looking for a boat, don’t be discouraged! Owning a boat can definitely be rewarding! But, before you buy, I encourage you to think about how much you’re going to use it vs how much it’s going to sit at a dock or in your yard. There’s another saying among boaters: the best boat is someone else’s. Why else do you think I became a captain?

Anyways, that ends this tale, but this is far from my only sea story. If you liked this article, give a like, leave a comment down below, and follow Tidewater Teddy. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!