I've been looking for an affordable Oday Widgeon for many years. Three weeks ago I found one on Craigslist. The asking price for boat, sails, and trailer was $500. To top it off, it was less than an hour away. My wife was in Chicago at a speaking engagement and we have an agreement not to spend $500 or more without consulting the other. Being somewhat devious, I thought if I bought it for $450, technically I'm safe from prosecution. I hesitated and disappeared from the site 2 days later. I mentioned it upon her return and replied with, "If you bought it for $450, I wouldn't havecan argument".
Do I need another sailboat? Not really, but our daughter lives 1/2 mile from Flathead Lake in Montana and it would be nice to have a little boat that is easy to tow across the mountains. The Widgeon is a great size for teaching the grandsons sailing.
I'd been shopping for a Hunter 19. Drove 1500 miles to look at one. Didn't buy it. Came home and a few weeks later one turned up 90 minutes from me for a steal of a price. I thought, if I want it, I better call right now and hit the road. By lunchtime it was gone.
The catch: my wife and I agreed to postpone getting another boat for a year. This was for her benefit mainly (long story. Truth is we have a lot going on in our lives right now). So I let it go. I've seen a West Wight Potter 19 and a Sanibel 18 for sale also in the interim. Both for a good price and close. We'll just have to wait and see what next year brings.
PS: since I let those go, we've had my gallblader surgery 3 weeks ago today; and a week ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her health and mental state are primary right now.
Sorry to hear of your wifes health. I almost lost my wife to stage 4 Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when she was 29. The doctors gave her a zero chance of surviving and advised us to make funeral plans as they didnt expect her to live 48 hours. That was 35 years ago and she's still here. NEVER give up hope and if your a religious man, the power of prayer can be amazing.
Quote from: Wolverine on Oct 07, 2025, 04:03 PMSorry to hear of your wifes health. I almost lost my wife to stage 4 Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when she was 29. The doctors gave her a zero chance of surviving and advised us to make funeral plans as they didnt expect her to live 48 hours. That was 35 years ago and she's still here. NEVER give up hope and if your a religious man, the power of prayer can be amazing.
What a testimony! And I certainly believe in prayer. My wife's cancer is "grade 1" and the doctor said it will not shorten her life. It's still concerning. Appointment 10/21 to see where we go from here. My sister survived stage 4 cancer in her 30's. She's now 58. Both of my daughters have had preemptive double mastectomies because they carry the cancer gene. The younger one was having issues and just yesterday said it's such a relief to be done with it. It was worth that very extensive surgery.
All in all, our lives are in the hands of the LORD!
Hate when that happens... a bunch of years ago I was searching for a sailboat, and I found a snapdragon (21 footer I think) bilge keel. It didn't have a trailer, and it was about 10 hours away. I had the truck, I worked at Sunbelt Rentals so I could get an 18' flatbed trailer, and the ex-wife said no. It had just had a ton of work on it, all of the wood had been lovingly refinished, the engine just rebuilt, newish sails, deal of the century at $1500. Still hurts thinking about. I jumped on the next boat which was a 17' siren, spent a whole year restoring it, enjoyed that boat but still think if I'd bought the snapdragon, I might still have it. As my dad says, everyone has 20/20 hindsight.
Dale, I'm sorry to hear of the new diagnosis, but glad they found it early.