Now Let's Find a Place to Live

Let's start with a premise. The number of people who live aboard their boat also own a home and, in some cases, more than one. We did not. So the decision to sell the boat required us to start the process of finding a place to live.

That process started in late December and quite by accident. Our good friend, Jim Lampl, invited us to join him and his cousins, Micheal and Deborah, from Pittsburgh for lunch at Marina Jack. As the conversation proceeded we learned that they wanted to move to Sarasota and that they had been looking, actually "scouting out," properties in the downtown area. I say "scouting out" because their time frame was about one year down the road. However, they had found a terrific furnished unit at 1771 Ringling, which is on the east side of downtown Sarasota. The unit, 601, was also fully and tastefully furnished. The asking price was $495,000.

At this point in time two couples had looked at the boat and neither made an offer. The visit by Wayne and Catherine was still over a week away and they were still "classified" by us as prospective buyers. Still, the thought in my mind was that at some point we were going to need a place to live. In addition, Diana had expressed a desire to move off the boat and we had looked at a small one bedroom apartment in a new building just on the outskirts of downtown.

So as we sat there I made a proposal to my friend Jim that we go partners on the property on the basis that Diana and I would live there until his cousins were ready to move. Then we would turn the property over to them at the price we paid for the unit. Jim thought that was a good idea and we proceeded to look at the unit. It was lovely. See photos below.

1771 Deck

1771 Dining Room

1771 Kitchen

1771 Living Room

1771 Bedroom

1771 Pool which the the unit overlooked

1771 Ringling Blvd

Did I mention the dog? Well it turns out that Michael and Deborah had a 65 pound dog. Of course you, my readers, know that we have Kodi who weighs in at 57 pounds. Well it seems that the building accepted dogs but they had to be under 50 pounds. We figured that given Kodi's status as an ambassador for Southeastern Guide Dogs that they might make an exception. At that point we did not realize that that policy was RIGID.

Short version of the story. I negotiated a good deal on the unit and we brought Kodi to meet the building manager. She was unmoved by Kodi's ambassador status and basically told us to get rid of the dog. Further, her inflexibility boded poorly for the building accepting Mike and Deborah's 65 pound dog. We immediately withdrew our offer and our realtor unwound the deal.

Fast forward to early January. By December 24 we had a signed offer from Wayne and Catherine to purchase the boat with a sea trial scheduled on Monday January 24 and, assuming the boat passed muster, a closing date of February 1. Things had progressed MUCH quicker than we expected and we were about to become "homeless" AGAIN.

Explanatory Note: In 1996 we had sold our town home in Palatine Illinois. The closing date was set for early August. Additionally, we had a purchase contract in place for the property at 1030 W. Wrightwood in Chicago's Lincoln Park (see previous article for photos). The problem was the closing dates did not align and there was a two week gap between vacating Palatine and occupying Wrightwood. Oops. We were about to become homeless. Diana's friend and colleague, Carol, came to the rescue. Carol owned a lovely Frank Lloyd Wright condominium at 5000 S. Lakeshore Drive that was currently unoccupied and unfurnished. This condo was in the Hyde Park District, which is the home of the University of Chicago campus that was less than a 1/6th of a mile west of her condo. It was also diagonally across the street from the Museum of Science and Industry. She graciously let us use it for the two week "transition period." All that was required was that our mover drop off a few pieces of furniture at Carol's place before putting the stuff in storage for two weeks. Problem solved!

Nobody came to our rescue this time. Time to look for a place to live.

We liked Bibi-Ann Allard and Kevin Moran, the real estate agents that we worked with when we made the offer at 1771 Ringling so we reconnected with them.  Again, the goal was to be in downtown Sarasota. They showed us a unit at 1350 Main Street (#1406), a building on the corner of Main Street and Palm Avenue, which is right in the heart of downtown. It was listed for $1,070,000. The following day we withdrew our offer.

1350 Main Street inside the circle

Unit 1406 is one below the penthouse

The unit was spectacular with a west exposure overlooking Marina Jack and Sarasota Bay.

1350 Main Street looking northwest at marina Jack and Golden Gate Point

1350 Main Street looking northwest

We spent several hours on a Sunday during an open house to get a sense of the sun's effect in the late afternoon. Needless to say, even in January, it was extremely bright requiring window shades with a very high UV rating. We also noted two other issues. The kitchen, while lovely, only had two drawers. Allow me to repeat. Just two drawers. We had eight on the boat and all of them were filled. The other issue was the air conditioning in the master bedroom did not seem to cooling that room adequately. Given that this was in early January, when Sarasota is the coolest, this was a concern. We were assured that it could be corrected but we were skeptical.

1350 Main Street Galley Kitchen

1350 Main Street living room

The clock was ticking as we got closer to the boat's February 1 closing date. So, on Sunday, January 13, we went to an open house at 100 Central Avenue and looked at several units. One of the units, number 1018, a 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath with a lovely east exposure, was worth consideration and we left thinking that we might make an offer. Incidentally, our friend, Jim, who has lived in this building for 10 years accompanied us on this adventure. Needless to say, there were lot's of people at the open house looking at unit 1018. As we exited the building, Jim asked us if we were serious about unit 1018. He then pointed out that two of the other units on the 10th floor, that we had also visited, had been sold that very afternoon. He predicted that given the amount of people who were looking at unit 1018 hat there might me a serious buyer in that bunch. Essentially, he said if you want this unit you better make an offer.

This proved to be fortuitous. Several months after we closed and occupied the unit we met the couple that bought the other east facing unit and learned that they had made an offer on unit 1018 literally five minutes after the sellers' had accepted our offer.

In the next article I include photos of unit 1018 and a bit more of the story of our transition from live-aboard boaters to condo dwellers.

Written by Les.

Living Aboard Comes to an End

The live aboard journey finally comes to an end.

This journey began in October of 2010 with a 6,150 mile adventure called the Great Loop, which began six months after I retired from The Warranty Group. The journey ended on February 1, 2019 with the sale of Guided Discovery. 

In the middle there is the building of the 63 foot Outer Reef, which occupied a year and a half (October 2012 to February 2014) and the five years (short of 9 days) that we lived aboard on Guided Discovery, which as readers who follow this blog know, involved 10 trips between Sarasota FL and Hingham MA. All of which were memorable and a few were down right scary.

We did not start out with the intent to live aboard, but that's the way it worked out. After taking delivery in February of 2014 we still owned our town home in Chicago. By early summer we concluded that having a town home in Chicago that we rarely used was a risk, both for break-in and potential problems, such as a burst water pipe during the winter, and an unnecessary expense. So early in July (actually the 7/2/2014) we listed the property for sale.

1030 W. Wrightwood Ave, Chicago. Our unit is dead center.

With that Diana headed for Chicago to get the unit ready for showing. On July 24th we received an offer for 98.8% of the asking price. We accepted and the deal closed in mid September.

We then made a strategic decision no dispose of all of our furniture and most of the "stuff" that we had accumulated over the years (rather than put it in storage). Some of the furniture and all of the art was shipped to my daughter, Lesley, in Rhode Island. Our pool table was given to our close friends Becky and Steve and their kids, Dakota and Nathaniel. The "stuff" consisting of clothes (I owned over a dozen suits) and other household goods were donated to the 'White Elephant" (an arm of Chicago Children's Hospital). Those donations totaled over $50,000 in retail value. That process took about two weeks. When it was all said and done we turned the unit over to the new owners in absolutely pristine condition. I've included a few photos of the Wrightwood property below.

Kitchen

Dining Room

Entry

Living Room

Pool Table in 1st floor family room

Fast forward to 2018. Diana and I had made a deal when we contracted to build the boat that once it was completed we would use it for the next five years and then sell it. By November of 2018 when we returned to Sarasota that the five year time frame was coming to an end.

So, on October 16, 2018, we listed the boat with the Outer Reef Yachts. My logic was simple. Outer Reef caters to a particular market, people who are looking for trawler motor yachts that are capable of being both a yacht and a home for long term periods. If we listed with any of the other major brokerages we would be one yacht among many. By contracting with Outer Reef we were, at the time, one of only four Outer Reef's for sale.

This proved to be a good strategy. It took Outer Reef about four weeks to prepare marketing material and post the boat to www.yachtworld.com, the premier website for listing brokered yachts. They also showed the boat for sale on their website.

The boat was shown three times. It is interesting and a totally logical strategy that Outer Reef allowed me to show the boat to prospective buyers unaccompanied by my Outer Reef broker. The third showing was to Wayne and Catherine, a couple from Annapolis. They arrived on Friday, December 22, and spent almost three hours exploring the yacht and talking with me about my experience with the boat and Outer Reef. Truly a charming couple.

On Sunday December 23, 2018 they made and offer and with minimal negotiation we settled on a price, which represented 97% of the asking price. Things proceed.quickly from that point. Wayne and Catherine did their homework and hired a yacht surveyor and an engine surveyor. We all met in the early morning on Friday January 18 for the inspection and sea trial, which involved hauling the boat at a nearby yacht yard. The surveyors reported that the boat was in unusually good condition and two days later, I had a signed "Conditional Acceptance" in hand. The "condition" was a price reduction of $3,700, which represented repair of the port engine oil pan seal and replacement of the batteries, which, while not problematic, had reached the end of their useful life (i.e., replacement was clearly on the horizon at some point in the near future).

Explanatory Note: When I met Wayne and Catherine back in December I had presented them with a $2,800 estimate from Ring Power, the Caterpillar dealer, for a replacement of the port engine oil pan seal. That seal had been problematic for over a year and despite several attempts to fix it by tightening bolts it continued to leak. I told them upfront that I would pay for that repair.

The deal closed On February 1, 2019 and we moved off the boat.

And here too there is a bit of story. Our objective was to leave the boat in pristine condition for the new owners. So after the moving company removed the boxes (of which there were 24), we proceeded to clean the interior from stem to stern. This took almost the entire day.

I took responsibility for cleaning the heads (bathrooms for those of you that are landlubbers). That of course involved cleaning the toilets. Without consultation, Diana decided that I did not do an adequate job of cleaning the toilet in the master head and proceeded to try and clean it again. Not only was she unable to improve on my work but in the process she broke the toilet seat. See photo below.

It turns out that the seat was on its way to failure and her effort was the final straw. So now we had a toilet seat to replace and that turned into an absolute month and a half nightmare. Short version. The manufacturer, Tecma, a division of Dometic, send me a seat assembly which turned out not to fit. Despite being the manufacturer they had no idea what toilet had been installed on the boat and this problem was exacerbated by the fact that they had been bought out and most of the people were new. They had no idea what I was talking about.

After much frustration I went back in my records (which are extensive) to figure out how we had replaced that same unit about 18 months earlier. Turns out I had bought the first replacement from Yachting Bliss an on-line boat hardware suppliers. So I called them and they sent a new seat assembly. Low and behold, it did not fit. The mounts had been changed. So, in the end after numerous calls with Cheryl, the owner, we finally figured out that the manufacturer had changed the mounting assembly. Cheryl to the rescue. She was able to locate the critical parts and we were able to install the original seat with the new parts. The word frustration does not even begin to describe process of fixing the seat.

Meanwhile, we needed as place to live and that will be the subject of my next article. Here too it turned into a bit of an adventure.

Written by Les.

Remembering Bill Fisher

Bill Fisher, my friend and mentor, passed away on November 27, 2019. He was 79.

I met Bill in August of 1970, some 49 years ago, when I attended a two week training course in Chicago that was put on by Pat Ryan & Associates that trained Finance and Insurance Managers for automobile dealers. He was my instructor.

You need a little background to appreciate my relationship with Bill and the impact he had on my career.

In 1967 I went to work for Liberty Loan Company as a collector at their office in Brockton Massachusetts. I was hired by a gentlemen named Bobby Freedman, the manager of that office and, quite frankly, that is a story in itself and maybe I will write about it one day. (Frustratingly, I lost track of Bobby.)

Bobby not only was my boss, but also a became a good friend. A year later (1968) he left Liberty and took a position as National Assistant Credit Manager at Mister Donut of America, a franchiser of donut shops in the New England area. In 1969 I was promoted to manager of Liberty's Westerly Rhode Island Office and a year after that took over as manager of their larger Providence Office.

Bobby subsequently left Mister Donut and went to work as a Finance and Insurance Manager at an automobile dealership in Framingham Massachusetts. He was trained for this position by Pat Ryan & Associates. I took over the position of National Assistant Credit Manager when he left. I held that position for one year and for reasons which are still a mystery, was terminated.

I then proceeded to take about 6 months off. I had a Corvette and summer was approaching and I had our house in Newton Mass all to myself.. This, by the way, was the second time in my working career that I took time off between jobs. The first of these two "sabbaticals" occurred in March of 1967 when I returned from completing the three month Basic Officer Artillery Course at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

After my "sabbatical," and with Bobby's help, I contacted Pat Ryan & Associates and they recruited me to be the F&I Manager at Tom Connelly Pontiac in Norwood Massachusetts. This required that I attend their two week training course in Chicago, which I did in August of 1970.

Pat Ryan & Associates recruited, trained and supervised Finance and Insurance Manager for automobile dealerships. In fact, Pat Ryan and his associate, Herman Bass (who was Director of Training), literally created the position of Finance and Insurance Manager in the late 60s. By 1970 Ryan was training close to a thousand people a year for the F&I position and Bill Fisher was one of  four full time trainers. Two years later I became the 5th trainer.

Bill Fisher was, no exaggeration, a fabulous instructor. Together with Herman and the other instructors (Bob Leonard, David O'Brecht and George Anderson,) they had created an amazingly effective two week training course that utilized video taped role playing to hone the skills of the trainees. Needless to say I was impressed and took copious notes.

I went back to Tom Connelly Pontiac and proceeded to knock the cover off of the ball - Thank you Bill.

Some more background. The Sales Manager at Tom Connelly was a gentleman named Gene Day. Gene had been a field representative for Pat Ryan. Gene and I worked well together and became friends. Subsequently, Gene and another former Ryan Associate, Eric Johnson, found a backer and decided to go into competition with Pat Ryan in the State of New York. Additionally, they decided to replicate Ryan's approach, which required a focus of training.

They hired me to be their trainer. So, in 1971 I moved to New York and spent the next month at the Lexington House Hotel writing their F&I training program. Guess where I got the bulk of my program. You got it! From the notes I took in Bill Fisher's class. Needless to say, I added something based on my experience a cannon gunnery instructor in the National Guard but the bulk of my material was what I had learned from Bill (and those rather detained notes I had taken).

Later in 1971 Transcapital Fiscal Systems ran out of "capital" and I returned to Massachusetts.

Nothing like getting a little help from your friends. My girlfriend, Maria (aka Gracie) Larangeira, and later my first wife, worked a the credit manager for Warren Jewelers, a credit jeweler in Providence RI (Note: They advertised the "5W Plan" or "Why worry, Warren will wait."). She invited me to a dinner with her boss and his wife, Marilyn. This proved to be a monumental event. After dinner, Marvin and I adjourned to his study. What followed was a discussion about my prospects for the future (read this as Marvin cared about Gracie). By the time the evening was over I had promised to call Pat Ryan & Associates.

I did and the rest is history. Short version: I followed through and called Herman Bass, Pat Ryan's Director of Training. They invited me for an interview and the following week I was hired as the fifth full time instructor. Pat Ryan & Associates later became a subsidiary of Aon Corporation, the largest commercial insurance brokerage in the world. Thirty eight years later (to the day I might add) I retired after a spectacular career.

Back to Bill. We worked together for several years as fellow trainers. Bill went on to found and head up Ryan's Business Development Team, a group of high powered consultants who went into dealerships that were not achieving their potential and turned them around. He was a highly effective leader.

I had the pleasure of working directly for Bill from 1983 to 1985 on a project to boost the sale of mechanical repair contracts (aka extended warranties) in our client dealerships. We named it Ryan Telemarketing. Using direct mail and telephone follow-up we attempted to boost sales by contacting the dealer's customers that had not purchased the product at the time they purchased their vehicle. We succeeded on two fronts. First, we were able to product an 8% sales rate. That showed the dealer and his/her F&I Manager that they were missing opportunities and that ultimately boosted point of sale production.

Bill later went on with Rogers Freedlund to form his own extended warranty company and, it is at that point that I lost track of Bill.

He will be fondly remembered.

Written by Les.