The Search

After the sale of Mer Soleil we were have been looking for a new boat to replace her.  we wanted a boat that we could live aboard full time. It is so disappointing when dealing with brokers that they lie about the condition of the vessel. It is so disappointing when we actually see the vessel.  Do they think we wont realize the shape when we see it. Many were one bilge pump away from an artificial reef.  We made an offer on several boats but they didn't work out. Mostly due to owners not having a realistic idea of what the vessel was worth in the condition it was in. One vessel had about 2,000 blisters on the hell.

Sometimes things work out for a reason.  We reassessed what we were looking for and decided that the we would get another Gulfstar. Our previous boat was great and we really appreciated excellent design. During the Christmas holiday we traveled around Florida and looked at many boats. We were very interested in the Gulfstar 49 Motor yacht. We had two we were looking at when we looked at a Gulfstar 44. The same layout just two staterooms instead of  three. I don't think we want that much company. We also talked about    the added costs of the larger vessels as well as finding slips.  Like we said things work out for a reason.

We had looked at a Gulfstar 44 in Sarasota Florida called Sundollar.  At first we turned off by her condition, she had been neglected for many years due to her owners illness. None of the electronics were working the generator would not work and a whole list of items. Looking closer we realized the vessel and engines were solid and had many of the upgrades that made her stand out from the other Gulfstar 44's.


After a several weeks of negotiating and dealing with the broker and an unrealistic owner our offer was accepted.

The boat is located at Marina Jack's in Sarasota, Fl.

The survey went as expected with only a few unexpected items that came up. We had a punch list of what we had to get done.