Anago

   After 12 years sailing Heaven Bound, it was time for a change. I never regretted buying the Macgregor 26, it just turned out to be too much boat for the little time I was able to get her out. The fact is, beginning with our tragic year 2009 up until the time I sold her, she only got wet on two back-to-back days. That was over a 3 year span with only two brief excursions. I decided to trade down to something that might be a bit easier and quicker to get into the water. 

Anago

     I really wanted a water-ballast Hunter 19. I saw a couple in the $4k range but I hadn't sold the Mac yet; and I really didn't want to get stuck with two boats (and my wife really didn't want to be stuck with two boats). After I sold the one, I began earnestly looking for a 19.

     Time marched on and everything was $6k and up. I wasn't going to spend that much. Then I came across a Hunter 18.5 for less than $3k. I decided to go for it. I negotiated the seller down to $2800 ($2700 if he didn't finish up some paper-work by the time we closed the deal) and drove down to Savannah, GA to pick her up. The work wasn't done so I got her for the lower price.

     The new-to-me boat sat in the yard for a year as I finished up my dinghy build, but during the next year I have sailed her 5 times including a 5-day/4-night vacation to Pensacola Bay. The boat launchs and retrieves easily and is fairly comfortable for over-nighting. Each time I have retrieved her she has gone back on the trailer first time. I did use the tongue extension while in Florida in an effort to keep my vehicle out of the salt water. 

     I took the better part of a week this summer to try to buff her out. She looks really nice now. The finish is not perfect (it does have some swirl marks in it), but I'm fairly satisfied. I think it will make keeping the boat clean a lot easier. I fashioned a couple mast stands so that I can drape a 20'x20' drop cloth over the boat and protect the improved finish from the sun. 

    Oh, yea, the name - Anago is Greek. It literally means "lead up". It is translated "sail" or "launch" several times in the New Testament as in Luke 8:22, "Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth." and Acts 20:13, "And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos..." Besides it's use as a sailing term, it is used twice in reference to Jesus' resurrection. Once in Romans 10:7, "Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)"; and then in Hebrews 13:20, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant." Both of these uses of the word, and especially the later, led me to choose it for the name of our "new" Hunter 18.5. And BTW - she didn't carry a name when I bought her. 

(Boatyard: to be continued)