Our New Boat: A Brewer 44

We did it.  We pulled the trigger.  Scott and I are getting a new boat.  It was a LONG road to get to this point, the decision was not an easy one.  We went back and forth probably a million times.  In the end, however, we trust that this is what is best for our family.

Many of you suggested we keep Rasmus.  It seems you, like us, have a little emotional tie to our beautiful Rassy (okay, and some legitimate reasons as well).  Trust us, we get it.  We do.  However, our family is growing and Rasmus would have been very, very tight with the three of us and our respective gear.  Could we have made it work?  Of course we could have.  But the bottom line is this:  We were going to get a bigger no matter what.  It was simply a matter of time.  We found a great boat, in great shape, for a very good price (after negotiation) that would be perfect for our family.  After thinking long and hard we decided: why wait?

This boat, aside from the deck issue (which we are being compensated for after getting two quotes) is impeccable.  She is meticulously maintained (just how we like 'em!), and has just about everything we were looking for.  More space, two heads, cutter rig option, center cockpit, swim scoop, lots of deck space, low engine hours, decent canvas, and the ability to control all sails from the cockpit...in other words, the bones of a great family cruising boat.  She has a gorgeous interior with a nice, spacious layout, a U-shaped galley (something we really wanted), an aft suite with a king size bed, two heads and TONS of storage.  Did I mention how much we love her cockpit?  It is the very best feature of this boat because it is HUGE.  HUGE.  Perfect for entertaining and containing little rug rats.  We loved the Brewer 44 design from the minute we set foot on her and feel 100% confident that this is the boat for us.  In fact, she's kinda like Rasmus on steroids... Did I mention that the Brewer is considered one of the 10 Best Center Cockpit Cruising Boats?  No surprise why; they are strong, stout and fast.

There is so much more to tell you about the decision making process but I need to break it down into a few posts or else this one will go on forever.  I know many of you were rooting for Rasmus, and believe me we definitely considered going back to her.  We weighed all the pros and cons and looked at this from every angle.  The new boat won.  It was not easy.  In fact it was really, really hard.  Which makes the fact that this decision has been made all the better.  

Sigh.  Time for a new chapter to begin.

Hang on tight, and enjoy the ride!  We've got work to do!  If you want to check out some more pictures of our beauty, check out this post.