Strictly Sail Pacific visited us in April. We had plenty of projects planned, as well as some extra room in the budget for anything else we might want. We did not expect to leave $7,400 poorer, having only bought 3 things!

Our dream of having a dodger – specifically the Iverson I-Top Charles had been hinting after – evaporated that weekend. 

Our roller furling was a nightmare – it must have been original, and had not been serviced for a long time. To roll up the jib, we needed one person pulling the furling line, while another person sat at the furler’s drum and physically helped turn it. So going into the expo, a new one was high priority. We ordered a beautiful new Harken roller furling. It took a while to get installed – a whole different story – but since it has been on, it has worked like a dream!

We also got two great pairs of binoculars, which have made a huge difference in spotting an eddy under the Richmond Bridge, checking out dolphins, and catching the far reaches of the sunset.

Our final expense, and the final nail in the coffin for our dream dodger, was the custom mattress we ended up ordering. Handcraft Mattress Company (HMC) Production had some beds on display. On Duende, we wore out one foam topper, then ruined our backs on the cushions (likely original from the 70s). On Manzanita, we had a foam topper cut for the v berth, but it was developing a weird valley. With the boat show discount, and all the options to make it our perfect mattress, we could not pass it up. The hinge and the vinyl covering really fit our needs, and their promise to have it on our door within 2.5 weeks was the cherry on top.

We walked away from the boat show lighter than air – and not just because our pockets were empty and our credit cards were smoking.