An old acquaintance going on the block

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rgano

Guru
Joined
Oct 8, 2007
Messages
5,012
Location
USA
Vessel Name
FROLIC
Vessel Make
Mainship 30 Pilot II since 2015. GB-42 1986-2015. Former Unlimited Tonnage Master
I am posting this under general discussion about a boat for sale because this is not a listing for the boat, and it is not mine.

When I knew the boat back in the 1990s, the 1980 year model 42-foot Bristol trawler named Vendredi (it's Friday in French, I was told) was owned by very dear friends who would spend 6 months at I time aboard her in the slip next to mine in Panama City. They were about 25 or so years older than I was and not as mechanically adept; so, I naturally spent some time aboard assisting in this and that. When they took off on their Great Loop trip in 1994, I went along for the first week or so and then reboarded for a couple of weeks as they transited the Trent-Severn Waterway, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan.

My friends' health concerns forced sale of the boat, and it changed hands one more time before I spotted it under the able care of the current owners. We became slightly acquainted, and I went aboard a few times to help with a noise diagnosis of one of the Ford-Lehman engines and to observe some of the fine woodwork repairs he was performing on one of the cap rails.

In my time aboard the boat, I found its rounded chime hull to be comfortable in a seaway with a softer roll than my Grand Banks 42, and the layout of the boat was similar to mine with somethings I like better than my own boat and some I did not, as is always the case when comparing.

The daughter of my now-passed friends has sent me a copy of the current owner's Facebook page where they describe their plan to bring the boat back to the US east coast from The Bahamas in order to sell it with an asking price of $49,000. The vessel's name is now Journey.

From my distant perspective, this looks like a sound choice for anybody in the market for such a vessel.

The owners may even be TF members for all I know, but I just wanted to comment about an old friend on the market.
 
Interesting post, Rich, and that would indeed be an interesting boat to consider, especially because no two Bristols were laid out alike. They are all handsome boats, though, and every hull I've seen was sturdy, no matter which builder's yard it came out of. Owing to the passage of decades, I guess, it's become rare to find one that isn't a project, but still a worthy project for anyone with a taste for a split-cabin trawler style cruiser. Look forward to seeing the listing if / when Journey appears.
 
By all accounts, this does not look to be a vessel in need of a refit, but every boat, even my near showroom condition Mainship is a project if you are handy.
 
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