“Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe” says Wikipedia. But for us, and for the moment, Sandpiper is the Heritage East 36 trawler that we have set our eyes on.
We finally had a chance to see her in real life on Thursday. Randy Nulle – a true professional broker – had been careful to warn us that the boat was not perfect, and 17 years old. So that when we stepped aboard and started exploring in detail, we were pleasantly surprised. Yes, a few problems, but nothing structural. Yes, some equipment we didn’t like, but we could imagine solutions. A lot of questions remained pending, but that was perfectly normal.
So far so good. Next round the following day, with the mechanical survey.
On Friday, Travis Thomas, Service Manager at NW Diesel Power, dives into the engine room, then surfaces to perform a cold start; he requests a ride in the Bay, in order to check RPM’s, oil pressure, temperature, etc. under power.
Randy takes us back magically to the dock. Travis’ report will come in a few days, but his diagnostic is what we hoped for: “This is a good engine, well maintained, with minor issues, and nothing that has to be addressed urgently”.
Once more, so far so good. Next round is… Tuesday next week, for the hull and systems survey, including a haulout and another sea trial.
The wait is getting on our nerves… Fortunately, we keep ourselves busy babysitting our new buddies Missy and Lucy.