Son back from the Dark Side! . . . . .

[Charles Brennan]

My son, Chris, was literally raised on Urchin so I assumed sailboats would always be a natural part of his life and was a little dismayed when he got a 17' Carolina Skiff.
But afterwards, he sold it and bought a year-long refurbishment project, a Siren 17.
Took it to a few BEER cruises; here's a pic from 2007.
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Nice boat, nice paint job, good brightwork and boat colors on his Siren.
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Wonder what could have inspired that?
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Urchin, perhaps?   

Then he got rid of the Siren and got a 24' Sportsfisherman, until he tired of the maintenance and the fuel costs and then he got rid of that, boat too.
He contented himself with kayaking, but unbeknownst to me until yesterday, that long ago BEER cruise had made an impression on him.
It was on one of the Calm Days.
On a BEER Cruise, you get a calm day, a rainy day, a hot day, a rough weather day and a gorgeous day, all on the same cruise. 
Sometimes, even all on the same day! 
It was so flat and windless, that Chris became bored and decided to sit on the deck of his Siren and fish for whatever might inhabit the Santa Rosa Sound.
As he was languidly drifting, a boat passed him by.  He asked if they were using a motor.
They replied, no they were just sailing.
As they ghosted past him, their Sea Pearl 21 made a deep impression on him: Barely any wind and those boats still know how to MOVE!

He's been looking to buy one for over 2 or 3 years, now.
And finally lucked onto one, in Tampa.
He is currently truck-less (though I suspect that will change soon) so Ole Dad got drafted to go down to Tampa and help him bring back a 1989 Sea Pearl.
I mean, what's a Sailboat Enabler, er, I mean, a Father! to do?!?   
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And not just any Sea Pearl; this is none other than Black Pearl once owned by Ron Johnson, one of the owners of Marine-Concepts that built the Sea Pearls.

A peek inside, showing some Shaw & Tenney spoon blade oars
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All that algae on the goal posts was a warning, that this boat hasn't really been out and about, for maybe three years.
Still had Good Bones, though.
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Nice cleats on the backing block that reinforces the leeboards.
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Ever see a boat that cried out: "Take me home with you!" as much as this one?
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Chris, probably wondering: "What have I gotten myself into?"   
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Ready for the long trip home!  Hey! Even the lights worked!!   
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Spare tire from my kayak trailer added to the trailer to improve the tongue weight, which I was not too happy with. We also moved everything in the boat as far forward as we could.
Probably a good move, because it rode like it was on rails all the way to Chris' house.

And now for the strangest part of a Brennan Sailboat Story:  No Side-of-the-Road-Trailer-Disasters!
Nope.
We had checked the tires and pumped them up from 20 psi to 40 psi with my RIB air compressor and battery pack.
We greased the nearly empty Bearing Buddies with the grease gun kept in the back of the truck at all times.
Even got out the hydraulic jack and jacked  up the wheels and spun them and listened to the bearings and wiggled them to check for excessive play.
Checked the DOT date codes (2020)  on the tires and figured they were probably OK.
Which is not to say that we didn't stop periodically and check that the hubs were only around 10º above ambient temps and the tires around 20º above ambient temps.
But no problems!!   
Yeah!
It was WEIRD!! 

We had toyed with the idea of taking it to Cedar Key and splashing it, before bringing it home and to that end, I had grabbed all required USCG safety gear from Urchin and shoved it in the back of the truck.
However, a little de-lamination in the lee boards, quickly disabused us of that notion.
Nothing that can't be fixed, with a little penetrating epoxy.
Chris decided he also wanted a little "driveway sailing" for familiarity's sake before launching it, showing far more judgement and restraint, than I ever had.   
Picked up Urchin last day of the Boat Show and immediately drove it to Crandon Marina and launched it in the dark and took her out sailing.

Back at Chris' house we sorted things out and got the boat stowed next to his shed that houses all his tools and kayaks and whatnot.
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That cover is getting a little "crispy' but it's good enough for now, to keep the Hickory nuts out of the bilge.
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Chris' wife peeking from behind the truck, Dubious, but Game.
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Proud owner with new (to him) boat.
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Although I have to confess, I'm not sure what I think about having the guy I've always thought of as "my little boy" with so much gray in his beard.  How old does that make ME?!?   
More adventures to come. 

Charles Brennan

[Tim West Coast]

Great! I had the wonderful week long trip sailing in the Bahamas on one, hard to find.

[Norm L.]

I always liked Marine-Concepts boats.
I'm thinking in my cloudy mind that there was once some connection between them and Nimble, both sharpie type builders in Tampa.

[Riley Smith]

Nice boat! I'd own a Pearl....

[Captain Kidd]

Congrats to Chris and his proud pappa. I've always admired the Sea Pearls and owners seem to love them.

[CapnK]

My brother has one, long neglected now, painfully so... But -

Back In The Day, wow, what a great sailing and all-around boat! Easy to get moving, liked it, and easy to manage, especially the split rig. He'll never regret the decision to get his own.

Have fun.

[Ed]

Charles, your son made a great choice!  Plenty of "expert" advice on Sea Pearl sailing on the SP Board: https://groups.io/g/seapearl  Sea Pearls are great boats!