Craigslist is the devil

I had been cruising craigslist for sailboats, how could it possibly hurt to look? (big mistake, we all know craigslist is the devil) I saw tons of sailboats for sale,  most of them in pretty sorry shape or way expensive. Or both.

Michelle and I even went and looked at one, a 26 foot Chrysler, who knew they made boats? It smelled funny and was decidedly much worse for wear.  I figured it must have been neglected for 20 years or 6 months in sailboat time.  Amazing how fast something on the water goes downhill.

Months later I stumbled across a craigslist search engine that searched all over the country for whatever you wanted. Not good. Like throwing gasoline on a fire. I spent many long winter evenings sipping high gravity beer surfing for whatever popped up with the word "sailboat" in the title. 

One of these cozy nights I stumbled across this ad....  http://www.strictlysailing.com/classifieds/20930a

Ok, so this ad isn't craigslist,  but those things expire.

AD# 20930A	Westerly 25 For Sale! General Boat Specs: Length Overall (LOA): 25' Beam: 7' Draft (Maximum): 30" General Description: Classic sailboat for sale - 25' sloop. Restored 3 years ago Westerly W25 in good condition. Twin cast iron keels, only draws 30", good outboard with retract system. Sails in fair condition. Roller boom furling or slab furling main, large genoa. Lav & galley; sleeps three. Very stable and dry. Pesently docked at Sunrise Cove Marina on Lake Lanier. Slip probably transferrable. We have a 24' trailer to move to your location or we can sell trailer with boat. $3750 for boat or $6200 with trailer. Interior Details: Sleep three. Stowable galley. New unused chemical toilet included. Cozy interior. Deck/Hardware Details: Three winches. Tiller Steering. Sail Inventory: Decent main and genoa included. Engine Details: Good running Evinrude. Location: Lake Lanier, GA Asking $3,750.00/$6,200.00 w/trailer

It caught my eye right away. Here was a boat already lovingly restored, within what I thought was a reasonable range to go get (we'll talk about Mounteagle mountain later) and seemed to fit my shallow water requirements at my dock(also another story).

The price seemed reasonable at 4500 initially so I bookmarked the ad and started doing research on the westerly boats. That's when I really got fascinated...