Since our Memorial Day trip to Oriental, both Ray & I gave our notices to retire after June 30. (Very exciting, but a little scary.)
God's timing for my retirement was perfect. Most of my June and July were spent with family in South Carolina as my mother's health declined. After 5 weeks in the hospital/hospice, Mama passed away July 25.
While I was away in June & July, Ray was busy moving essentials to the boat, taking non-essentials to Goodwill, and cleaning the house in preparation to sell it. (I was happy to fit all my clothes into my new closet & drawers!)
He also completed several boat projects - new holding tank vent, electronic macerating toilet, and fiberglass/Corian top cockpit grill. He organized the lazarette, adding a step and dividers to protect the rudder linkage, and installed vertical blinds in the salon.
Upon my return to North Carolina in early August, we got serious about selling our "dirt". We took our last load to the boat, and readied the townhouse for showings. We accepted an offer within 7 hours of active listing and hope to close just after Labor Day.
Since "living aboard" (still in New Bern), we continue boat projects. We finished the bow sunshade. Ray designed and commissioned the removable aluminum poles, and I trimmed and restitched the shade.
We made a quick drive to Savannah, GA, to pick up a new dinghy, and since then, Ray has been sweating again to remove the old dinghy chocks and fabricate new ones to secure the new boat.
Next on the agenda is a long-overdue boat wash!
Then, many more projects in New Bern, before SCOUT heads south in October.
We went with a Whaly 270. It is basically an indestructible, all-plastic RIB. I have had great experiences with small plastic roto-molded boats in the past.
What did you decide to go with for a dinghy and what drove the decision?
Matt B