Full Exposure

On our second date, we took Kenutu for a ride. Coming from outboard experience, having a wheel and a motor that responds to the push of a button was a major change... but a welcome one. On our last boat, we really didn't have the luxury of reverse. We had a boat hook and practice. Kenutu had reverse, forward, speed changes that don't require you lean off the back of the boat to turn a handle, and that sweet, giant wheel that turns left to go left and turns right to go right. She cut through waves like butter and when we let out her sails, she took our breath away. Kenutu has a 150% genoa sail, and it was so giant and so pristine we couldn't believe what we were seeing. 

​The haul out revealed what was going on underneath. Which is a major case of herpes. Since she is 36 years old, we fully expected her to have some blisters, but this old girl has some teenage grade acne. Our surveyor made some chalk marks on the worst of the blisters, and while she was out at the boatyard we had the yard crew give us a quote for a total bottom facelift and one for blister bandaids. Those quotes were almost $10,000 and almost $4,000 respectively. Apparently we should have been boat yard operators.

The other surprise discovery was that the propeller was corroded. Apparently there is a condition know as "Pink Prop," which happens when your zinc is not properly in contact with your propeller. A little scrape with a knife revealed another $1,000 issue, but we were also told that the propeller wouldn't just fall off or break in half but rather start chipping around the edges. After the negotiation, we planned to file that under To Worry About Later.

Even with her flaws and her desperate need for a face lift, we were wild about Kenutu. We met our dealer for margaritas once the day was done and tossed a couple offers back and forth before we finally sealed the deal. And now the real love affair begins.