Scott Fillmer » boat

Our Final Full Day in Buloba Uganda Today

Scott Fillmer — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:34:51 +0000

Today was our last full day in Uganda. Tomorrow we will head over to a local market and have lunch before we head for the airport and a long long ride home. Today we went across Lake Victoria to the Bethany Village Orphanage in the morning, and back to Buloba to visit some sponsor children, put up some rain catches, and the woman were able to speak with a group of local woman. It was a very refreshing and uplifting day.

Tonight we had a wonderful last dinner at the guest house with our friends from 60 Feet. It was so great to have the two K’s over for dinner (their first names are Kelsey and Kirby), and I think we all enjoyed some casual discussions, along with African Renewal Ministries who came over as well. There were so many things we experienced on this trip that need to be followed up on, things that God pulled together for our team that became a great start. We understand as a team we probably can’t change the world, but we can continue to take some small steps forward that will collectively make a difference.

Tomorrow we head to the airport for our 11pm flight. Our flight leaves about 2pm Central Time on Thursday, and if our flights are on time, we should be back in Auburn late Friday afternoon. This trip has been incredible to say the least, and God put together a team that had so many different individual gifts and talents that only God could have brought us all together like this. As we head home we have so much to reflect upon, so much to process, but we trust in God to take care of the details and to use this trip to fulfill a purpose that will glorify God.

Posts Related to This Topic:

Photographic Look at Lake Victoria from Kampala Uganda

Scott Fillmer — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:09:48 +0000

One of my favorite parts of this particular trip was getting to go across Lake Victoria to the Bethany Village Orphanage (see this post on the orphanage). Of course to get to Bethany Village, we had to cross the lake. Lake Victoria is the second largest lake in the world (by surface area), the largest lake in Africa, and is the source to feed the Nile River. Obviously being the largest lake and bordering three different countries we only put eyes on a tiny little sliver of Lake Victoria on this crossing. We were also able to see the shoreline from the Botanical Gardens in Entebbe, Uganda on the way to the airport but I’ll save that for another post. The Lake Victoria we crossed was an amazingly peaceful place. Almost all traffic on the lake was from local fisherman, many who mainly paddled across different parts of the lake while they fished. There were no high-speed motor boats, no large commercial fishing vessels, just us and a few fishing farmers.

One aspect of crossing the lake that was unmistakable was the view we had of the air quality in and around the lake and outward towards Kampala. Not just in the air above us but the water beneath us as well, which was covered in a thick mix of green algae. The photos below were basically right out of the camera but they highlight the water and air quality in that particular area on that particular day. Historically the areas surrounding the lake from Kenya to Tanzania to Uganda have had to deal with pollution on different levels and “is mainly due to discharge of raw sewage into the lake, dumping of domestic and industrial waste, and fertiliser and chemicals from farms” and from factories who dump their waste directly into the lake untreated. [1] I am certainly no water or air expert (and there actually are water experts going on our next trip) but I know what pollution does for photography. It’s great for incredible colors at sunset and sunrise, and nearly colorless at midday like most of what was shot below. It does make for an interesting surreal mix of beauty and a 1970′s Los Angeles feel.

The crossing for us took about 30-45 minutes. As we traveled parallel to the banks we could see small villages all along the way, each having their own routine and way of life. On the second trip over to Bethany Village we took a shorter crossing and landed among the local fishing boats of the area shown in the last two shots below (notice the water in the closeup of the motorboat). As usual the most incredible part that day were the people we met on the lake and at the orphanage.

Posts Related to This Topic:

Quiet Afternoon on the Lake with a Dagger Kayak

Tumble — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:52:00 +0000

The photo of the day today comes from a local lake, but the title caption isn’t exactly accurate. It was a nice quiet few minutes on the lake until this public lake patrol told us we could only take our kayak (our Dagger Axis) out on the water if we were going to fish from the kayak. I told him I didn’t want to fish today and he then told me we would have to leave because they only allowed people who want to fish. The crowds you can see were overwhelming, but we also won’t be going back to this lake any time soon either.

Posts Related to This Topic:

Our 1979 Morgan Out Island 33 Sailboat has Sold

Scott Fillmer — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:53:44 +0000

Today we have officially moved on to a new chapter in our leisure time life. We have sold our sailboat in Orange Beach, the 1979 Morgan Out Island 33 which we bought in Tampa in April of 2007. We had big dreams for this particular sailboat (over the other two sailboats we have owned) but we finally decided the distance from Auburn to Orange Beach was just to much to maintain. Plans are to replace her with a tiny little camper and go back to our camping roots and get to know some of the land and parks here in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida.

We first officially put the sailboat up for sale on June 3rd (For Sale: 1979 Morgan Out Island 33 Sailboat in Orange Beach) but decided by September that we needed to go ahead and sell the boat. Our philosophy has been pretty much the same every since we got married. If we are not using it, and well, then we don’t need it and should not keep what ever that happens to be at the time. Having sold on eBay full time for many years, and the Internet in general, people tend to want to get what they paid for on items when they go to resell them, we know this just isn’t the case (see also What is Your Blog or Internet Business Worth // eBay or Sitepoint?), so, when we want to sell something, we sell it.

This is good for the buyer of course, but when we have made up our mind to do something, we would rather do it than sit around for month after month working on it. When we started looking for this boat, a Morgan Out Island, there were not many on the market, but the ones that were on the market, are actually still on the market, 18 months later. Not because they are not good boats, they are, but because these people refused to sell something for what someone else would pay for it. A concept we don’t get. So we sold it for half of what we paid for it, but we had some wonderful times on the boat and great memories, worth more than what we paid or sold the boat for anyway.

Now it is time to move on, although we will both miss having this sailboat, she was great.

As Listed on eBay on September 8, 2008

For auction is a 1979 Morgan Out Island 33 in great shape. We had put a lot of hard work into her since we purchase her in Tampa in 2006. We purchased the boat about one year ago for $20,000, then had about $2,000 of general maintenance engine work done, plus replaced the heat exchanger with a brand new one, and of course all filters, oil, and that type of thing. The engine starts and runs great.The only issue she has at all is the 50hp Perkins motor needs a new head gasket (on the exhaust side). The Perkins has been serviced, a new heat exchanger installed, filters changed, and she runs GREAT. Starts right up every time, but she does need the header gasket replacement. This is strictly an exhaust side issue, no water/oil mix has ever been noticed and it was checked by a Perkins mechanic and this is what he said needed to be done. You can get on her and turn the key and she starts right up every single time. THIS IS NOT A HURRICANE DAMAGED BOAT AT ALL. It has not ever been damaged by a hurricane. There are no storm related damage issues with the boat, it has never been wet where it wasn’t supposed to be wet, and has been in the water in this slip for about a year.

Comes with all sails and equipment needed to take an off-shore cruise to the keys or Bahamas. I have the latest survey in a pdf that I would be more than happy to email to anyone that would like to see it. The last out of the water survey was done in 2004 and all items found on the survey (which were all superficial) were corrected at that time. We did not have one done as we did not continue the coast guard registration process. Along with all the normals for a boat this size, it also has a GREAT marine a/c and heater unit. We used this all summer last year and this winter and it works great.

The slip is paid up through SEPTEMBER 2008. The sails have a few seasons on them but are in good shape and are crisp. The roller furling and main were used to sail up from Tampa and is in good shape. In the locker there are two different size jib sails. Sorry, I don’t know or remember the brand of the sails. Electronics on board are not to many. There is a VHF, a marine am/fm radio, and there is an auto pilot which the previous owner had installed. There is also a 4-6 person West Marine dingy that comes with the boat, it is on the marina dingy rack, wrapped up. Doesn’t look like the dingy was used but a few times. We inflated it, no leaks, can hold about a 4-10hp outboard, comes with oars. We looked the dingy up on WM’s website and it is going for about $700.

It is a very roomy cabin, perfect for a live-a-board with the headroom and sleeps at least 5 comfortably. The interior is very clean and in very nice condition. Floors and wood work on the inside are in great shape. Two water holding tanks that hold about 60 gallons of water (in two tanks), a 50 gallon diesel tank, working head and fresh water shower.

To see the history of the vessel please visit the history page. We had not completed the name change so it is still technically called the s/v LAUGHALOT although we have removed all lettering on the boat for thew new owner to do with as they would like instead of using what we would choose for lettering. The boat is located at the Bear Point Marina in Orange Beach Alabama. You are more than welcome to visit the marina to see the boat. To see the history on the boat you can go to the blog post on the boat where we have it for sale, just go look at [History of Morgan Out Island 33 Sailboat, Hull Number MRY02337M79B] and for additional photos of the boat, click on the link at the top of the categories called €œcoastal€ and flip through the posts. If you can’t find it, just go to the main domain name I listed above and go to the category listings or put €œmorgan€ in the search box.

There is no reserve placed on this boat, we really need to sell the boat at this time as we have other obligations we must attend to. The buy it now is also very low and reasonable for this boat. The current NADA price is about $23,000 but we have discounted the header gasket work that needs to be done, which should only be about $1500 or so and we are only asking what is really fair for this boat, in this marina, in this condition. The marina is VERY nice and the slip is very reasonable at $350 per month, which includes electric, water, phone, and cable. The slip is paid for through the end of the month and can be transferred to the new owner. We have a full box of paper work on the boat with the original manuals for the boat and motor and will send those to the winner. Alabama does not title boats so the winner will receive a bill of sale from me with the previous bill of sale from when we bought the boat, which includes all the coast guard certificate of documentation that the previous owner maintained.

I will be more than happy to answer any questions. It is a great boat and we have loved spending time on it.

Survey Value

The 2004 survey is posted here (download 2004 survey in pdf) lists the value at $33,000 and a replacement value of $125,000. Additional photos will also be placed on the website at http://www.scottfillmer.com/category/coastal. The NADA guide value is also listed between $20,100 and $22,600 in standard used condition (which is the case here).

Bear Point Marina

The marina is Bear Point Marina and is located in Orange Beach Alabama just over the Florida border. The marina will allow the boat to stay there as long as you like, the slip is $350 per month. It is right on the inter-coastal waterway and it paid for through the end of September right now. The marina has been great and there are many live-a-boards throughout the marina. It is a dog-friendly marina and they have great facilities like a shower, laundry, restaurant (new), and a marina store with fuel station and pump house.

Auction Details, Please Read Before Bidding

Please do not bid if you are not serious. If you want to inspect the boat, please do so prior to bidding or accept the condition when you win and take ownership of the boat. Any bids with no feedback, negative feedback, or less than five positive feedbacks in the last 12 months will be canceled unless you make prior contact before bidding. We will not accept bids from outside the U.S. except for special arrangement and prior approval. The winning bidder will need to make a 10% down payment or $1,000 whichever is greater via paypal within 24 hours of the winning bid and the remainder will need to be paid with a cashiers check from a U.S. bank (or postal money order). The cashiers check will need to be mailed to us and once we have received the check we will mail the paper work and all other essentials to the winner.

The boat is sold as-is with no intended warranty. We have described the sailboat in as accurate condition as possible and you are more than welcome to go down and see the boat. We live about 5-6 hours away from the boat and although the marina is great they will probably not answer questions about the boat. We will be more than happy to answer any questions anyone has.

Additional Information Is Located at http://www.scottfillmer.com/tag/morgan

For more details and photos, visit the boats history page from the information above, from there you can read about the history of the boat, see photos of past work and cleaning, and also ask any questions you like. Please note, the state of Alabama where it is located does not require boats of this age to be titled, and this boat was in Florida until we had is sailed up by a qualified captain. So the documentation on the boat comes with all the original manuals, including the original owners manual, the perkins owners manual, all paper work passed down from the previous owner, and the coast guard documentation from the previous owner in Florida. We have the bill of sale from the previous owner, and the owner prior to who we purchased the boat from and you will be given the bill of sale from the previous sales, and a bill of sale from us as well. We purchased the boat about one year ago for $20,000, we have added improvements of about $7,000 and transportation costs to have it sailed from Tampa to Orange Beach of about $3,000, so we have close to $30,000 in this boat. We will definately take a loss for your gain. The boat was sailed from Tampa to Alabama so it is in great sailing shape. Any questions at all just let me know.

Questions and Answers on the Morgan

Q: Hi there Could you please send me a copy of the survey Thanks Phil Sep-13-08
A: Phil, I would be happy to send you a copy of the survey but it looks like at this point we have a relatively firm local buyer, we are just waiting on the deposit. If something changes I will let you know, thanks. Scott

Q: Hello€¦.I live directly across Arnica Bay from Bear Point Marina in the Stone Quarry subdivision (next to Pirate€™s Cove), and would like to inspect your sailboat. I read that you have offered to email the combination to the lock. I understand the risk in doing so, but I assure you that I will leave it just as I found it. I could drive over tomorrow evening if possible. Thanks very much€¦€¦Gary Sep-13-08
A: Gary, nice to know someone is that close by that wants to look at it. I do have a guy also coming in from Jacksonville on Friday to look at it. The combo on the companion way is [edit] please make sure you lock it back up when you are done. The key to the motor is [edit]. It should crank up first or second try if you want to start it. Fuel cut off is on the left side and that is how you turn the motor off. The power is off right now at the dock (just unplugged) if you want to look at the ac or heat just please make sure you unplug the shore power when you leave. It is a great boat there at the marina, and we loved spending long weekends on the boat at the marina, and the Morgan Out Island has a ton of room inside. Half of the boats in the marina have live-a-boards living on their boats and they all keep an eye on the other boats in the marina as well. Any questions at all just let me know. Thanks, Scott

Q: Could you tell me the draft of the boat? Also,if you bought the boat in Florida why isn€™t there a Florida Title?€”Thanks,fathersonrrc Sep-13-08
A: The draft is about 4€²6€³, a very very shallow draft boat, made specifically for the Florida keys and the gulf area waters. We bought the boat in Florida (Tampa) and had it moved to Alabama where we are residents. Alabama does not require a title on a boat, but even so, we did not have any reason to get a Florida title regardless? We do have the Coast Guard registration from Florida from the previous owner, but we would have no reason to even have a FL title. All paper work, manuals, captain logs, receipts, and all history from all previous owners will be sent to the buyer. Thanks, Scott

Q: Could you send a copy of the survey. I could not find it on the website. Thanks, John John Sep-13-08
A: John, I will email you a copy of the survey. We did not post it online for download (although now I think that would have been a good idea). Right now we have one local buyer who is interested and could make a deposit on the boat today, within a few hours. If that is the case, I will consider the boat sold locally, but until we receive the payment in full of course, it is still technically available. Scott

Q: I do not see a buy it now price, what will it take€¦. Sep-13-08
A: The original buy it now was listed at $9,898.98 and I have two local people who are first/second in line right now at that price, so if you are interested I will let you know. Thanks, Scott

Q: bonjour i try to bid but it not open pierre thanks Sep-13-08
A: Sorry, we are only able to sell the boat to bidders with a U.S. address or are within the U.S., thanks.

Q: bonjour we live in quebec canada please open so we able to bid pierre thanks Sep-13-08
A: Sorry, we are only able to sell the boat to bidders with a U.S. address or are within the U.S., thanks.

Q: Interested! Please send survey. 555@hotmail.com Sep-13-08
A: Survey has been emailed to you, thanks.

Q: Several questions: 1) Is the marina a full service marina with a perkins mechanic? 2) Is your mechanic sure that it is the head gasket and not the head itself? 3)Would you please send me a copy of the most recent survey?(pdf?) 4)When was the bottom last cleaned/painted. Sep-12-08
A: The marina has all the facilities for a live-a-board but it does not have a dry storage area if that is what you mean. They have no life or anything like that. They right on the ICW and they have a restaurant, store, laundry, shower/bathrooms, tv-cable, phone, water, electric hook-ups, and about half of the marina are live-a-boards. There are marinas all over this area that are full service with dry storage, but not this one. There are several diesel mechanics in the local area. You can ask the marina dockmaster, he knows several. I am not a mechanic, so I can only tell you what the other perkins mechanic told me. As long as you leave the water coolant tank pressure cap off while running the engine, the engine runs exactly the way you would expect it to. Put the cap on and the temp will run a little hot after running a long time. You can check the oil and it looks perfect, so no water is mixing with the oil, so he told me it was a gasket on the exhaust side. That is everything I know to the best of my mechanical abilities. You can start it right up, put it in gear forward/reverse, sounds really strong, doesn€™t smoke hardly at all for a diesel, and has plenty of water coming out the back which means all the intakes and the heat exchanger (which is new) is working just fine. The bottom was cleaned in the water right before it sailed from Tampa about a year ago. I believe the bottom paint was done when the survey was completed in 2004 but I don€™t remember off the top of my head. When the underwater cleaning and inspection was done in Tampa they said the bottom looked fine and didn€™t need anything done with it at that time. Hope that answers your questions, I will send the survey to you in a separate email. Scott

Q: Does the girl come with the boat? Sep-11-08
A: Not at this time€¦ reserve would be much higher to include my wife with the boat, but you did have her LOL€™d

Q: Hello, I€™d like to go and view the boat personally, and i€™m famaliar with the Marina. Is the boat unlocked where I ca nview and inspect the inside?? I just know that many having locking cabins. Thanks Sep-10-08
A: You are more than welcome to go down and look at the boat. I have a combination lock on the companion way and I will email you with the combo. Scott

Q: Hi, I would like a copy of the most recent survey. Will the marina go month to month so I could take my time and move the boat in a couple of months? Send Survey to gap@coolfeat.com. Sep-10-08
A: I would be happy to send you the survey, on its way. Yes, the marina will go month by month. I am on a month to month payment in a yearly rate (which is up). You would of course have to discuss the exact details with the marina but they have been great with everything we needed and there are several live-a-boards that always keep an eye on things. Scott

Q: Looking for additional pictures and equipment lists, did not see any current info on your website. What about AC? Sep-10-08
A: I am not sure if I have a photo of the AC unit. It does have a almost new, perfect running marine ac/heat unit built into the starboard side under the seat. It was installed in 2004 but never used until we bought it because the last part of the installation needed a water pump, which we installed ourselves. We used it one summer, and it works great. I think there is a photo on the survey and I will email that to you if you would like to see it. Scott

Q: Hi, nice looking boat. What sails are there? Looks like a roller furling, what brand is it? What kind of electronics are there? Condition of the standing and running rigging? Is the marina paid up thru June or Sept. ? Thanks Sep-10-08
A: Sorry, I had a typo on the slip, it is paid up through SEPTEMBER 2008. The sails have a few seasons on them but are in good shape and are crisp. The roller furling and main were used to sail up from Tampa. In the locker there are two different size jib sails. Sorry, I don€™t know or remember the brand of the sails. Electronics on board are not to many. There is a VHF, a marine am/fm radio, and there is an auto pilot which the previous owner had installed. I also forgot to mention there is a West Marine dingy that comes with the boat, it is on the marina dingy rack, wrapped up. Doesn€™t look like the dingy was used but a few times. We inflated it, no leaks, can hold about a 4-8hp outboard, comes with oars. Good questions, thanks for asking. Scott

On to the New Owner From Mobile

The new owner came to us from Mobile. We were very excited to find someone close by and hope that he and his girlfriend will be able to get many years of enjoyment from the sailboat.

Update: October 1, 2008

As of today the boat is going to be re-listed on eBay as the previous buyer never paid for the boat after many repeated attempts. The new ebay listing can be found on item # 130259740072. Hopefully we will find a buyer who loves the boat, and will have plans to pay for it, stay tuned.

Update: October 7, 2008

We have now re-sold the boat to a very nice couple in Texas and everything has been completed on the sale. I appreciate all the emails and questions that everyone sent to me, at this point the boat is in the hands of the new owner. The additional ebay questions that came from this listing at shown below for informational purposes.

Final Q&A For the Morgan Out Island

These were the final questions that were asked on the ebay listing.

Q: Scott, Have you sold the boat? I am a local fella and just saw it on ebay. You mentioned that you were not going to stop the auction till boat was paid for so i was wondering if i should still bid? please let me know asap as i may head down to BP to take a look. thanks, Mark 555-404-4357 Oct-06-08
A: Mark, just to let you know we do have another local buyer who is probably going to pay for the boat this morning. Until the payment goes through and clears out bank nothing is certain of course, but if you watch the auction and it is closed that is why, if it is still active by late evening then the payment did not go through. Just wanted to let you know. Scott

Q: Hello I am interested in your boat I wanted to bid on it the first time you placed it on ebay however a bid on another boat kept me from doing so, anyway if the buy it now price is $9,898.98 I will buy it now but I do not see a buy it now on the top of the ad where they normally are please let me know how to procede and how I can get in touch with you, I work overseas and my time is 9 hrs ahead of yours, after you let me know how to procede I will contact my wife and she will handle the bank transfer or how ever you would like to do it. Thanks, Coy Oct-05-08
A: Coy, yes, the original buy it now was the $10k but as soon as a bid is placed the buy it now is automatically removed by ebay. At this point to still accept the buy it now offer I would have to have the complete payment clear my bank by the end of business (U.S. Eastern Time) on Monday. This time around I am not going to end the auction early for a payment “promise” like I did last time, and the auction can not be ended within 12-24 hours of the close (which is Wed morning our time). I will send you another email with the information in a private email. There are several people still considering the buy it now, but any of those people only have until the end of business on Monday to have a buy it now payment completed, after that we will only be able to accept bidding and we will not close the auction for a local sale at that point. Let me know if you have any questions at all, thanks, scott

Q: Hello. I’m Bowie Hamilton and I’m at the Bear Pt. Marina currently. I’m interested in your Morgan. If you can, I would like to enter the boat to see the interior. Thank you very much. Oct-04-08
A: Bowie, no problem, just sent you an email with the information, let me know if you have any other questions at all. Thanks, Scott

Q: Interested in the buy-it-now price please. Dick in Minnesota Oct-03-08
A: Dick, the original buy it now price was $9,898.98 and if you are interested I will still accept that price for a short period of time. I will have to have the payment in full before the auction will be ended, any questions just let me know, thanks. Scott

Q: Hi there I am in the UK and would like to bid on your boat but I am unable due to your restrictions. Can you remove them so I can join in on your auction. Or will you give me a buy it now price so I can take her of your hands now? Thank you Regards Dave Thanks Dave Oct-03-08
A: Unfortunately once the auction has a bid ebay will not allow me to change the countries which are allowed to bid on the auction. You can send a payment for the buy it now ($9,898.98 USD) from a U.S. bank cashier’s check and once the check has cleared then we will close the auction, that is about all we can do for bidders outside the U.S. at this point. Please let me know if you have any other questions, thanks. Scott

Q: Hi there I am in the UK and would like to bid on you’re boat but I am unable due to you’re restrictions. Can you remove them so I can join in on you’re auction. Thanks Dave Oct-03-08
A: Unfortunately once the auction has a bid ebay will not allow me to change the countries which are allowed to bid on the auction. You can send a payment for the buy it now ($9,898.98 USD) from a U.S. bank cashier’s check and once the check has cleared then we will close the auction, that is about all we can do for bidders outside the U.S. at this point. Please let me know if you have any other questions, thanks. Scott

Q: Hi i live part of year in the US and most of the year in Europe my ebay address is in the UK would this bar me from bidding? i will be in mobile AL 10th of oct and would be prepared to pay via paypal at auction close if you are happy for my bids i will try to send a friend to veiw prior to auction end \\\Regards Brad Oct-03-08
A: Thanks for asking… the auction was actually setup with the original bid locations of the U.S. only. I have since tried to add Canada but it won’t let me change anything at this point. You can try to bid but if it is under your UK ID I don’t think it will let you unless you are a U.S. ID you can bid with. I would be more than happy for your friend to go by and visit the boat, not a problem. We would need a deposit of $1,000 via paypal and the remainder would need to be paid via cashier’s check from a U.S. bank or bank transfer would be ok as well. Let me know if you have any other questions. Scott

Q: Would you be interested in training for a 27′ Winnabago Brave +/- cash? Thank you in advance for a response. John Oct-03-08
A: Thanks for asking but we actually just sold our motor home, so we are just looking for a outright purchase, thanks. I will keep your offer in mind and let you know if something changes. Scott

Q: I’m heading to the marina now to look at the boat. Can I go on the boat? Can I get keys to open it up? It looks like the bottom needs to be scraped, when was the last time the bottom was cleaned? Do you know a diver that does this? The survey stated that the rigging should be replaced before raising the sails, has this been done? bryancase@msn.com or 555-806-2939 Oct-02-08
A: Thanks for the questions… yes, there is a combination lock on the boat and I will email you privately with the information. The bottom probably needs a cleaning at this point. We did have a diver clean it every so often, and yes, there are several dive companies that will clean the bottom for a very reasonable price. The rigging was the running rigging and they were replaced at some point, but not by us. The delivery captain did sail her over from Tampa just exactly the way she sits in the slip right now. I would probably have replaced the running rigging before taking her out on a long trip anyway. The standing rigging is in great shape and doesn’t need to be replaced. Any other questions at all just let me know. Thanks, Scott

Q: You’re probably the third person who’s relisted a boat for nonpayment/deadbeat winner. What is going on with that? I’m a little scared because it seems like maybe the buyers are unhappy with the quality of product, causing them not to pay. In your particular situation, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened? I was ready to go for the “buy it now” price when you said you had two offers on it already. I’m still interested, but wary. Can you put my mind at ease, albeit through email? Oct-02-08
A: Thanks for the question… in this particular case, the previous buyer wanted to setup payments and pay over time and right after the auction ended I just never heard from him again. I did not want to setup any type of payments for the sale at all, but was trying to be accommodating, should have known better really. I did have two offers and unfortunately this particular person who I “sold” it to was first in line, so there was a second person but they lived about 500-600 miles away and once I sold it to the first person they decided that they would buy a boat closer to their home. I was actually going to email the second buyer to tell him it was still available but never could find his email address. We had an interested party that lived right across the marina that went over to see the boat on Monday. He was not real interested in a Morgan itself but wanted to see the boat. His comments to me, directly copied from his email were: “You have a great sailboat which is certainly worth more than your asking price. Actually, I was very impressed with its condition considering the low price. It€™s just not quite what we are looking for. Thanks very much for your time, and good luck” I didn’t change his wording, that was just cut and pasted from his email to me a few days ago. So, to answer your question, flaky buyers on ebay (the motors part) is not all that uncommon, but annoying. I have tried to describe every detail of the boat and its condition as best as I possibly could. I do want the buyer to be as happy with it as we were. Hope that helps answer your question. I will still accept the buy it now price for a few more days, but won’t close the listing this time until payment is received. If you are interested just let me know, thanks. Scott

Q: It sounds as if the boat is a much loved member of our family, and as you’ve explained it had to b moved great distances, if I were to win this boat I to would have to move it great distances (Canadian side of lake Ontario) any advice? Oct-02-08
A: There are several transport companies that specialize in doing just that. I would check around on the Internet and see what your options are, and ebay actually has a few transport companies they work with as well. You can check out one called pk boat transport, which I think is boathaul dot com. On the other hand, the marina the boat is currently located at in Orange Beach is a great place to stay until you find the right transport options. I would have loved to sail this boat on the great lakes, sounds super. Scott

Q: would you trade for motorhome francois Oct-02-08
A: Thanks for asking but we actually just sold our motor home, so we are just looking for a outright purchase, thanks. Scott

Q: does it just need manifold gasket? or head gasket?for this great shape ship? Oct-01-08
A: I am not a mechanic by any means, I am really just going by what the perkins mechanic told me when he did the maintenence and troubleshooting for the gasket. What he told me was the gasket was on the exhaust side where it was pulling in some of the exhaust which was mixing with the coolant (if that makes sense). He said if it was on the other side you would see water in the oil or a milky oil when you checked the oil, and there has never been that type of oil water mix. The motor runs fine, starts right up and runs at the proper temp, and sounds great. Once you put the pressure cap on the coolant, the temp will rise slightly which (according to the mechanic) is what told him it was the gasket. I hope that helps answer your question. I was given an estimate of between $700-$1500 to fix the gasket, most was labor. Thanks, Scott

Q: Hello. Might I have a copy of the survey. Lynwood.Jones@UCLAlumni.net Thank you. Oct-01-08
A: Certainly… due to the size of the file we have made the survey available for download on my blog. You can just go to the blog address for the history of the boat at scottfillmer.com/about/history and scroll down to the bottom and there will be a link to the pdf file for the survey, thanks. Scott

Q: Hi! There must be reason why are you selling her one year later for half the price.Can you elaborate? Sorry for my straitforwordnes. Steve Oct-01-08
A: Steve, no problem at all… I think I actually mentioned a few of the technical reasons like the head gasket, but for the most part our jobs are keeping us quite a distance from the boat and we are not able to put the time and effort into sailing that we really want to. We love the boat, and all the time we spent on the boat was just wonderful. We spent a lot of money getting the boat from Tampa to Alabama to pay for several maintence updates and a professional delivery captain etc. Once we got it up to Alabama we didn’t have much left over to spend on getting her ready to sail like we wanted. We are also not the most experienced sailors and really needed more time on the boat than we could realistically do at this time. Almost all of those reasons have nothing to do with the boat itself, we love the boat, it just isn’t something we can continue to do in our lives at this point. The reason for the price is we are just trying to be realistic in the marketplace today, and we want move on, so we are willing to make someone a good deal if they want it. Hope that helps answer your question, just let me know if you have any others. Thanks, Scott

Q: I understand there is a website for Morgan owners??? Oct-01-08
A: If there is I am really not aware of one, but I am sure there is somewhere. I usually follow the Morgan Out Island crowd over on a few sailboat forums. There are several forums that are specifically geared to Morgan Out Island owners.

Q: Says on your blog that the boat has been sold. Is this so? Please clarify as I am interested in the boat. Thanks. C Bush Oct-01-08
A: Yes, the boat was just put back up for sale today. Per the ebay listing information: “We are now re-listing our boat due to non-payment from the previous winner. PLEASE, do not bid or waste the time of others if you do not intend to pay for the boat, or you can not pay for the boat at the time of the end of the auction. The information in this listing is the exact same as in the previous listing except I have posted the previous Q&A’s below.” The previous buyer never did pay for the boat after 3 weeks of attempted contacts. If you have any other questions at all please let me know. Thanks, Scott

Posts Related to This Topic:

Youth Day at the Lake Makes For Fun Photos

Scott Fillmer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:29:33 +0000

I have been a little off on my postings for the week this past week because my schedule has been so crazy. On Wednesday (18th) I spent some of the day at the Youth Day at the Lake event where, obviously, our youth spend most of the day at the lake.

Nothing can totally prepare a 40ish body for the amount of energy it takes to spend the day with the youth. I met them out at Lake Martin where I thought I would take a few shots of everyone hanging out at the lake. I arrive to find two ski boats and a wave-runner (sea-doo) and several inter-tubes.

I was able to get some shots of all the activities (see complete shoot here) and they all had a great time (how could you not). I was completely exhausted and wondering where the energy I had to do these things went. Although I did get a little burned, even with SPF 75 on, I thoroughly enjoyed doing the photography for and of the youth that day.

Thanks for a great afternoon everyone.

Posts Related to This Topic:

1979 Morgan Out Island 33 Sailboat in Orange Beach For Sale

Scott Fillmer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:44:29 +0000

This is probably the saddest post I could make on this blog but we have come to the decision that we can not keep up with our house here and the boat we love down at the coast.

I will be posted more photos and information as time goes on but you can look through this blog and all the posts and history of the boat to know what we are selling. It is a 1979 Morgan Out Island 33 in great shape. We had put a lot of hard work into her since we purchase her in Tampa in 2006. The only issue she has at all is the 50hp Perkins motor needs a new head gasket. The Perkins has been serviced, a new heat exchanger installed, filters changed, and she runs GREAT. Starts right up every time, but she does need the header gasket replaced.

Comes with all sails and equipment needed to take an off-shore cruise to the keys or Bahamas. I will post the latest survey soon. We did not have one done as we did not continue the coast guard registration process. Along with all the normals for a boat this size, it also has a GREAT marine a/c and heater unit. We used this all summer last year and this winter and it works great. It is a very roomy cabin, perfect for a live-a-board with the headroom and sleeps at least 5 comfortably. The interior is very clean and in very nice condition. Floors and wood work on the inside are in great shape. Two water holding tanks that hold about 50 gallons of water, a 35 gallon diesel tank, working head and fresh water shower.

To see the history of the vessel please visit the history page, you can also see the most recent survey as well. We had not completed the name change so it is still technically called the s/v LAUGHALOT. The boat is located at the Bear Point Marina in Orange Beach Alabama. You are more than welcome to visit the marina to see the boat. The current asking price is $19,500. The current NADA price is about $23,000 but we have discounted the header gasket work that needs to be done, which should only be about $1500 or so. The marina is VERY nice and the slip is very reasonable at $350 per month, which includes electric, water, phone, and cable.

Any questions at all please let us know through the contact page above and I will be happy to return your email. You can also ask your questions through the comment box below and I will post answers there publicly.

Here are some recent photos.

I am sure the new owner will enjoy it as much as we have. We spent many weekends on the boat and enjoyed each one.

Posts Related to This Topic:

Leave the Boat in Orange Beach to Sit in Traffic on I-65

Scott Fillmer — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:02:21 +0000

Well, we had to leave the boat and come back home. It was such a great weekend we didn’t want to leave but all good thing must come to an end I guess. It was nice to get back to the house though and take a nice shower and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. We left the boat around 9am and took our normal routine (which includes a stop for donuts) back up to North, LA. Along the way, unfortunately, we were stopped by a horrible accident on I-65 that was said to be a fatality. When we finally got up to the wreck, we could see only one car left, a black Chevy Suburban from Alabama, which obviously rolled at least once.

We thought we saw a careflight type helicopter, but we were only about 45 miles south of Montgomery so it would have gone north of us on takeoff. One of those things that makes you wonder why some of these drivers are so careless when this can be the outcome for more than just themselves. At least I had my camera but I wish the best of the family of that car, it was in horrible condition, unrecognizable.

While traffic in California may be bad, we rarely get stopped, but in this case we sat on I-65 for more than an hour with MANY other people. As a photographer, did I mention that I love head shots (and my wife), so, isn’t that a great shot of Deborah.

Update to This Blog

After I got back home I decided that “My Life in LA” needed to be complete. I imported, added, and re-posted all the blog entries from when we moved to LA, which was early 2006, up to this point. My apologies to those rss subscribers would are now spammed with all my previous blog posts. I am sorry, just want this to be an accurate historical record of our life in Alabama, which, at this point, began in January 2006. I did spend much of this weekend working on previous blog entries and updates to my other blogs for organizational purposes, hopefully that work is now done. Tomorrow and this week will be busy.

Nature in View

Once we got back home today we did find a female Red-Breasted Grosbeak at our feeder, along with two males. This was the first time we had seen any females and Deborah and I were both surprised to see them still here at our feeder.

Posts Related to This Topic:

Walking on the Beach is My Favorite Exercise

Scott Fillmer — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:18:19 +0000

Saturday, April 26, 2008

All the bad weather stayed well north of us today and left us with the most beautiful Saturday we could have asked for. Partly cloudy, 82° with a slight breeze, and enough humidity to remind us we were actually on the coast. Probably the nicest weather we have had since Deborah and I started coming down here more than a year ago.

We had breakfast at one of our favorite morning diners, Waffle House, then went over to a local public beach access point so I could get in a good walk on the beach. I was going to walk to where I knew the beach was blocked by a pier construction, then walk back. The pier was about 4 miles away, with a nice state park beach about 2 miles from my starting location.

Walking is Great Exercise

I have walked on this beach many times before, and sometimes it can be a fast walk, sometimes, very slow. It depends on the tide and how deep you sink into the sand. Today it was a slow walk that really works the legs, especially since I was walking in my jeans for some dumb reason.

I walked the 4 miles to the pier, then back 2 miles to the state park pavilion and decided I had had enough at 6 miles. I text Deborah who was happily knitting at my starting point and she came and picked me up. It was a 6 miles walk that felt like 10, but it was good exercise and I enjoyed it very much. Nothing relaxes the mind like a beach, a walk, and an iPod.

Flipper’s is Now Opened

A new restaurant opened that we were hoping would be good, since it is right near the boat. It has been several other establishments prior to Flipper’s but it opened yesterday and today lunch was good. I had a grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich with sweet potato fries, both of which were GREAT. Deborah is going to try out their hamburger for dinner. Hard to mess up one of those but we have been to many places that did.

Nature in View

Today with the walk on the beach I had an hawk or eagle fly over head, dive in the water and catch a fish with its talons. It flew within about 50 feet of me, I could almost see what kind of fish the bird caught. He flew off across the beach, road, and back to his nest I guess. Beautiful bird. No dolphins yet today, but there are some really loud party goers two slips over and if I was a fish I wouldn’t be anywhere near this place right now. Maybe later.

Posts Related to This Topic:

Moving Sailing Blogs Together and Moving On

Scott Fillmer — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:22:25 +0000

This blog is a continuation of a blog started on the different sailboats we have had but the focus will now be on the S/V Island Zephyr, a Morgan Out Island 33, which we plan to take coastal cruising in and around Alabama, the Florida Keys, into the southern islands and perhaps up the East Coast by the end of hurricane season 2010-2011. Previous entries will be related to other sailboats and when we purchased, what was at the time, LAUGHALOT.

Entries past this point will be on the preparation and maintenance of the [soon to be] s/v Island Zephyr to ready her for cruising.

[update 06-01-2008] Well, admitting defeat is not always a bad thing, we can’t get the repairs going and do not have time to be able to spend restoring the boat to what it needs for a long water crossing.Â We will spend some time camping and hopefully someone else will take the boat on and sail it like we wanted to ourselves.

Posts Related to This Topic:

The Thanksgiving Non-Event for 2007 and the Marina

Scott's Misc — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:38:26 +0000

Cooked and carved the turkey on Saturday, check. Made the stuffing, and the baked sweet potatoes, too, check. Sealed it all up in bags to freeze so we could have it on the boat on Thanksgiving Day, check. Loaded the car with clothing, food, ice chest, etc., check. Made sure to take computer to the boat too, so Secret of the Stole KAL members wouldn’t miss their final hint this Friday, check.

Leave on Monday and make the 4.5 hour drive to the marina, check. Upon arrival, found out the marina wifi was not working and would not be working until after the holiday week was over, CHECK. Made the 4.5 hour drive back to the house in the same evening, of course. What else were we supposed to do? Visions of Secret of the Stole members coming up the road to get me with lighted torches and pitchforks in hand went through my head.

Scott and I will be having our “leftover, prepared ahead of time” Thanksgiving dinner back here at the house. Luckily, we embrace change so it’s all good…