Re: Man vs. Boat (season 1, episode 1).
Re: Man vs. Boat (season 1, episode 1).
OK then, before we get too far along in this saga there are those who wait with baited breath and unrequited vexation for the aforementioned funny story. Do tell, spare no details, keep in mind, our expectations are quite low.
Okay: Seeing is how this is supposed to be fun, and since your expectations are low, I will give it a try. The story will be in two parts: the first part is the story of me buying it (told by me), and the second part is a block copied email from a friend of mine who tells the "shipping/delivery" story better than i do. Keep in mind, most of this is "you had to be there" type humor, but hopefully it will translate. Grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable......
As background context, our family needs a new boat like we need a hole in our head. Our budget and time are stretched very thin with 4 little ones under 9. Nonetheless, I somehow got the bug to restore an old boat and found myself in the "addictive vortex" spinning between iboats, ebay and craigslist looking for information and a project. During this process, I somehow decided I wanted a chris craft. One night after a few too many glasses of wine, I was reading to my son and then started surfing on my ipad while he was laying down -- trying to get him to go to sleep. I typed in "Chris Craft" into ebay and this beauty popped up. Opening bid: $11.00. I had my "clark griswold" moment - the lights from heaven were shining down and I had to have it. Of course, I'm in Mississippi, but the boat is in New Hampshire - I thought to myself "How bad can shipping be; people buy boats and cars all the time on ebay; we'll figure it out, later; let's go after this thing" (that's foreshadowing, of course).
So, there I am in the bed with my son, ipad in hand and a nice little wine buzz working, and the moment of truth: my first bid - EVER - on ebay: $15.00; Quickly, I was outbid (head scratching, that was fast), so I entered $25.00 (again, shot down). So, I poked around and read that I could set my bid to my highest amount (probably obvious to most everyone, but this idiot), and so I sat there for a minute and thought: "what is the most I would pay for a boat that I have never seen that is about 2,000 miles from my house????" - $300.00 came to mind.... So, there she went.... With the excitement of a kid at christmas, I pecked in my bid.................... "Congratulations, you are the highest bidder...$266.00." At this point, there were 4 days left on the auction.... However, for now I was content with the fact that I was under my max and the winning bid. I sheepishly broke the news to my wife: "if my master plan worked out, we would be the proud owner's of a boat at Lake Winnapasauki (sp?)" She was like, Lake What? Where is that? Me: "Don't worry, hon, its a beautiful place, it's right up the road a ways, in................ New Hampshire? Her: "What, are you crazy....How are you going to get it here?" Me: "People do this all the time; it's a great price; I'll figure it out; I'll drive up there if I have to, or we can take a vacation to New England when the leaves are changing" (again, I'm reaching here....bad... all my senses are clearly deluded by my visceral need to have this project boat).
So, fast forward 4 days (after checking ebay at least 5 times a day) to the final day of the auction, and I am at meeting in Memphis with a client and some potential investors.... There are about 7 folks in the conference room and I am supposed to be leading this thing..... However, I have a divided mind, because the meeting is running long and my auction ends at 5:00.
So, out slips the IPAD under the table and onto my leg.... I somehow find my way to the auction page fumbling with keystrokes under the table, while acting like I am paying attention: 20 minutes: $266.00.... still winning... I check it again about 15 minutes later.... UH OHHHH, the bobber is moving... we've got a nibble... bid has been raised to $280.00, but I'm still winning.
So, of course, even a rookie like me can anticipate what's about to happen.... I am hitting "refresh" under the table about every 10 seconds, while trying to discuss the merits of an investor placing about 3MM with my manufacturing client.... (not very smooth, I know, but I can multi-task). At about 30 seconds, it jumps up to $305.00. So, I have to process quickly.... ANGEL ON ONE SHOULDER: This is a good thing right? I mean, I couldn't possible get a 300 boat from New Hampshire to Mississippi, so let it go.... DEVIL ON OTHER SHOULDER: "Don't let that person get your boat at the last minute; you'll figure it out; New Hampshire's not that far; Go after it, it's your boat; eat the apple, dammit... it was meant to be yours...."
Agreeing with the Devil, my competitive nature took over.... So, with about about 15 seconds left, I punched it my next bid: $315.00.... and waited what seemed like an eternity for the screen to refresh....... The response: (wait for it)..................... "You are not logged in." oh crap, so I'm racing under the table to log into my ebay account..... I get my username and password entered as the clock is ticking down, 3,2, 1....... Screen refreshes, bid processes, and with the apparent skill of professional bidder, I take down my boat with 1 second left, to the disappointment of some other idiot out there who had fallen in love with the same mistress....
On the drive back from Memphis to Jackson that night.... Honey, we are proud owner's of a 1975 boat. Here comes the rationalization propaganda from me: It will be fun for the kids; it won't be that hard to fix up; we'll have a lot of memories on the boat; a nice dress can cost this much; it's a $300 boat that works... how could I pass this up, etc...., etc..., etc... Her: Sounds great, how are you going to get it here? Me: got 4 days to pick it up; I'll make some calls tomorrow and figure that out. Sure it won't be a problem....
So, the next day during some down time I work, I log into Uship to see what the damage is going to be: Quickly, the shipping bids start coming in: Cheapest one: $2900 (oh crap, Houston, we have a problem.......). So, realizing that shipping was not going to be an option, I quickly made some calls to New Hampshire and was lucky to find out that my boat was actually at a marina (Fay's boat yard), and they could store it for me in there "yard" while I figured this thing out. Of course, they were absolutely wonderful to deal with.... (but I'm sure were like, some "hayseed" down in MS bought that boat out in the yaaard (New Hampshire accent) that's been sitting there for years."). So, the next 4 weeks of my life are devoted to logistics (I still don't know what "OMC" means and that those 3 letters are, potentially, a bad thing and that it should impact my shipping/purchasing decisions)...So, the hunt continues.... A buddy of mine following this story with interest... agrees to road trip it with me for a long weekend..... However, I don't have a trailer? Luckily, the seller of my boat agreed to sell me his trailer that came with his new boat. this was actually a decent deal... $650.00 (total investment, though, now $900). We've got wheels, though... Well life gets in the way, and we both realize that a marathon road tip like college kids is not as easy in your mid-30s with kids, jobs, etc..., as it was when you were in college.... So, I bite the bullet and decided I was going to get it shipped to my friends house in Atlanta, and we would drive over Labor Day weekend, stay with them and pick it up..... (that's part 2 of the story.... next post). My 300 boat.... We'll let's say I found a really good deal on the shipping, but I'm still very much "pot committed" at this point to what was supposed to be a $300.00 boat...
