They say there are two lucky days in the life of a boat owner. You most certainly know that saying. Today was such a day for me – I´ve finally handed over OLIVIA, my King´s Cruiser 33, to her new skipper. Nico, a very determined and sympathetic guy from Hamburg, arrived in the morning with his 3 lovely kids, all excited to get to see their new boat. I must admit, it wasn´t that exciting or lucky for me: Although my decision to sell OLIVIA is month old now, I had very, very mixed feelings about letting her go.

Lots of work to do – still a good bargain boat

I´ve spent more than 450 hours working aboard this yacht during the last three years. I went through good and bad, I learned so much from this boat and I dreamt myself away sitting in her large saloon taking a break from sanding, painting or cutting stuff. She was a big part of my life and the centerpart of my longings, my thoughts and plans for the future. Letting her go was much, much harder than I´ve thought …

Paperwork first

I welcomed the Nico family in my flat in Luebeck early in the morning to clear the paperworks first. Therefore I downloaded a standard sales agreement for used boats and filled in the blankets with all information requested. It was as easy as ABC because the boat is in a “refit condition” so I did not have to specify the usual details for a ready-to-sail craft. We ran through the contract, signed it and the boat was officially not in my possession anymore. Strange feeling though …

Paperwork first

With the contract I handed over the original document of Lloyd´s of London (yeah, back in these times the boats had been commissioned by this entity, today you´ll get this service solely with buying an Oyster) and all insurance papers of the boat: The new owner under German law has now 4 weeks time to have the boat insured to his name. And then, of course, the keys to the yacht.

Handover of the keys

Down in the parking lot his car was waiting: “It will be empty, no problem”, he told me on the phone the other day when I said that he´d need a big car to carry all the stuff. With three seats already occupied by the kids it was a tough game of Tetris to store away the cushions of the King´s Cruiser. But eventually we´ve had it complete and set off to the marina.

Boarding the new Boat

There she was in all her beauty and glory. Still I love the sleek lines by Pelle Petterson and think this boat is an absolute GRP-classic of the IOR-era. Nico knows the boat well: “We´ve had a similar boat by Fiskars, a motor-sailer. But now I do need something quicker and … a bit more beautiful.” And beautiful this boat is indeed! Roaming the interiors I showed him the neuralgic points and explained where the tricky parts are: “I know it´s a lot of work still to do – but I was looking for a nice boat, a cool project and a bargain. And here we are: She is exactly like I thought. Nice!”

Inspecting the new gem. Well, a raw gem.

I was of course not hiding any information from him: Being open and honest always and not concealing the critical points of this boat, or let´s say, the refit-work still ahead, is a matter of honor for me. As I cannot sell a boat in my professional life I won´t do it in my private life as well. And here I am, slowly adjusting to the fact that OLIVIA is now the property of another one. I begin to feel good for the boat because I know that Nico is determined to finish her and bring her to the water again – something I couldn´t be so sure of anymore.

Saying Good bye to my OLIVIA.

For OLIVIA and Nico and his nice family a new chapter has now begun. I wish them and the boat all the best – many, many lucky and satisfying hours aboard. I will try to keep track of this yacht from time to time, looking for her progress and Nico advancing to make “my” boat to being “his” boat. Thank you, guys: And all the best for you!

For me, of course, a new chapter will begin soon: As you may have read, I´ve nearly made my decision which boat to buy next: It will be a new boat, no refit, so sanding, no painting, no dust – just hoisting the sails and off I will be to some new adventures. Stay tuned!

 

All articles on Pelle Petterson´s masterpiece King´s Cruiser 33:

All data and my refit project

All articles on the Kingscruiser 33 refit

Visiting with the first owner of Kingscruiser 33 #133 OLIVIA