Let's Start at the Beginning

We first laid on eyes on Kenutu on Christmas Eve 2015. We'd seen her profile on YachtWorld.com after going on dates with all sorts of other boats, including a 45' Hunter Passage that was a floating condo and 41' Formosa that required a 50' slip because of its massive bowsprit. Our plan was to wait until February to get a new boat, mostly for financial reasons, but also because we wanted to hit some boat shows and do a little market research (read: see the insides of more boats than our 1972 27' Catalina).

The thing about falling in love is that it always happens when you least expect it.

When we stepped onto Kenutu, we felt her good bones, her warm heart, her steady demeanor. She was filthy, caked in a decade of dust and stained the color of nicotine, but underneath the grime was character. She felt like an old, neglected farmhouse, and since we grew up in the Bible Belt, we equate old, neglected farmhouses with home.
​
Kenutu was listed at $39,900. We made an offer of $20,000. And then we were laughed at. So we threw $29,000 out there, got some attention, made a deposit, booked a sea day, and scheduled a survey. Then we held our breath and hoped our second date would leave us as impressed as our first.

---