Although buying a boat was certainly not what I had in mind that day, it was not completely out of character for me. I had grown up sailing a wooden Enterprise (sail no. 541) with my dad, and progressed to bigger boats as an adult. To have my own boat was something I dreamed of but never thought possible.I had looked at many small ads before but there were a few reasons why this one caught my attention. It was for a 2 1/2 ton wooden Hillyard with two berths and all the gubbings. It was very nearby, and the price was very affordable, even taking in to account the hint at some renovation work needed.
I went home and looked up Hillyards on the internet and found some pictures of some very pretty boats. A few days later my parents came to visit and I launched the idea at my dad. He conceded that we might as well go and have a look.
We arranged to meet the vendor at the boat, which was currently in a mud berth in Tollesbury. We got there early but without a picture or name to go on had no chance of finding her on our own. Turns out we were looking for totally the wrong thing anyway.
Its fair to say that my heart did sink when i first saw her and my aspirations suddenly became a lot more realistic. She was half full of muddy water and mostly green on the outside. My dad set about pumping out the water and talking to the vendor which gave me time to look past the pealing paint.
Soon I could see that she was in much better condition than first impressions gave and that she was more or less complete, just neglected for a long time. It wasn't clear whether the water in her was mostly saltwater or rainwater and it was getting dark so we said we'd think about it and maybe take another look.I'm sure that my dad and I discussed it at length over the next day or so but his reply to one of my questions has stuck with me ever since. Asked what he would do if he were me he said that he would probably buy it. A few days later my parents had gone home and I went with some friends to take a second look.
She was floating! At high tide and in the sun she became a real boat and my decision was more or less made though i could tell my friends were not at all impressed.
The were still a lot of decisions to be made about where to keep her and how to move her but on the 1st September I bought Silver Spray for £750.
