We have a confession to make. For the past 12 months we have been secretely looking for a successor to Take It Easy. As we settled into our life afloat and confirmed in our mind this is the lifestyle we want to enjoy for many years to come, we started dreaming again! We envisaged what life would be like on a larger cat. And now we think we might have found what we are looking for. It is scary but very exciting!
So as you can imagine, although we have been quiet on the blog front and haven’t done much sailing after our haul out, we have been looking at boats! This time of year is when vessels come on the market. It is the beginning of summer. People are back from winter cruising in the tropics or arriving in Australia from overseas, and put their boat out for sale.
It is however much harder than we thought to find the right catamaran because to warrant making the move, we want it all: good sailing performance, an interior to our liking and all our requirements met. We are very particular with what we are after.
Why an upgrade?
When you live aboard, your boat is your home. You want it to be very comfortable, welcoming and well equipped so you are autonomous at sea. People say to live on board a catamaran permanently you want a minimum of 44 ft length. After spending 1.5 year afloat, we agree. The move to a larger boat is about getting extra space, more creature comfort and more payload – the capacity to carry weight without compromising performance.
We could just make do with what we have, because after all, Take It Easy is a nice cat that sails well, looks good and does not limit us. But we have decided to enjoy life to the full and upgrade. And it is not like we have kids to leave our money to! So we might as well spend it on ourselves!
We have made an offer on a beautiful cat and once we finalise the negotiations on price, we will have it surveyed. Stay tuned for more details and wish us luck!
Sv-Anui 
Now hang on… I think Bengie would disagree with one comment. It is her inheritance you are spending!. 🙂 xxx Sending positive vibes your way.
Hi Trish, we love her dearly but hope to outlive her … So no inheritance for our fur baby! If it all goes well she will have a lot more territory to patrol! Thank you for the good vibes, we need them 🤞😘
Completely understood and empathised with…but I am sure she thinks you could buy a lot of yummy catfood with the difference. My fur baby on the other hand has finally decided he likes the new (and even more) expensive stuff!
Ohh exciting times! Look forward to hearing how it goes. I am sure you’ll find some new loving owners for Take It Easy too.
Let’s hope so Viki. It is nerve wracking to commit to the change, but hopefully worth it.
Best wishes for making the deal! I totally understand the need for more space. 😎🙏🏻
Thanks John… nervous times but if it works out it will be sensational.
Fingers crossed! 😎🙏🏻
I hoped you slept last night. Very exiting time for you both. I hope you are successful in the negotiations. I look forward to sailing with you in your new cat. My new cabin awaits
Not much sleep, Susie, too keyed up. Hope next time you are on board, you can sail with us in style. You might have to hang on to your hat! But for now we just have to be patient as it is not in the bag yet.
Ah, well, did the stay at Boat Works revive the chance to look around ? There’s usually a few tempting ones there for sale !
Not really, but we were impressed with the Boat Works set up.
Of course I wish you the best of the deals, also, that you get exactly what you want for the new vessel. 🙂
Thanks HJ – hope to soon have good news and photos to share.
When we stepped on board TIE we were amazed at how much more room than Medina she has. TIE will be a good boat for her next owners. Good luck with your next boat.
Hi Mick – yes Medina is 29ft, so 9 ft more makes quite a difference. Take It Easy is very liveable and we look after her, so she presents well.
Best of luck finding your replacement for TIE!
Thanks Barbara – getting very close!
Hi Chris & Wade. Exciting times! Good luck with the buying … and the selling.
Hi Amanda, it’s a bit nerve wracking but all going well!
It sounds like you know just what will suit your purpose,. Best luck in your search my dear friends,,, Look before you LEAP, CHEERS & BEERS.
You bet, Terry – survey and sea trial coming up!
Had an inkling you might be up to that. Good on you. If we had a bigger boat we would be sailing nomads permanently. Can’t wait to hear the results. Go team TIE
Hi Janne – Yes we have been looking for a while. There was no hurry because TIE is nice, but the opportunities multiplied at this time of year…. Our offer has just been accepted tonight. So the next step is a survey and sea trial. Hopefully all will be good!
Still keeping the design a secret? Exciting times. Hope the survey and trials go exceptionally well and you have the added thrill of moving house. 👏⚓️
Hiya Janne – we couldn’t make it public until we agreed on price. But now we can tell you: she is a 52ft Crowther! We’ll email you some details. The official post comes out in a few days.
I like the imagery of TIE motoring off to the horizon. Looking forward to seeing the new big blue beast.
Hiya Greg! Yes, I had put a photo of the new beast in the post, but Wadie made me take it off because at that stage we had not had our offer accepted. Spoilt sport! About to send you a set of photos.
Will be a bit sad to say goodbye to Take It Easy. We’ve had such wonderful adventures exploring Tassie, The Keppels, The Prom and so much more. Hope the new owners are as adventurous and also as generous in sharing the sailing experience because it is a very comfortable and fun boat to be on.
Oh that’s such a nice thing to say, Ann! Yes we will have mixed emotions too. Pretty sure there will be tears!
HeHe
First post when you posted you were looking previously, I thought “they’re in trouble – a new boat’s coming up”
Good Luck, around the top we go?
Cheers Gary
Ha, not immediately Gary, but it’s on the list!
Traitors!! Walk the plank !! Good luck with your new boat. Eventually we will cross paths.
Jason and Sally, Easy -Que Sera.
Yes, we feel a bit disloyal to our gorgeous Take It Easy, but she will hopefully go to a good home. We would still like to catch up with you in the Broadwater!
Wow: what an exciting time for you. I think I can understand where you are coming from. Occasionally as we’ve been building Selah I’ve wondered where you found room to put all the toys. At first glance, cats can appear to have a lot of “living” space, but due to narrow hulls: lots of narrow storage spaces. We have had to make special provision for big things like suitcases for our friends who will be flying to join us. Hey: best wishes and good luck with your new adventure. Dying to know what you are going to name her ….!
Hi Pete and Deb! Yes cats are very sensitive to weight and you have to resist the temptation of filling them up! We always ask friends to bring soft bags rather than suitcases… The new cat is a Crowther called Anui. We will put a post out about her after the survey and sea trial are done. We quite like her name which means ‘Big Canoe’ in Polynesian. So we are letting the name Take It Easy stay with TIE. We will rebrand the website to Anui…
Lovely name!
Thank you for all your news. Anita and Greg gave Colby and Family and Kerrie and her Father a wonderful day today….great to see the kids enjoying the pool and toys. Must go to bed. Trust all goes well for you next week…..see you soon hopefully Lots of love From us both P&Frank
Hi Pam – thanks for the good wishes. We will let you know how it all goes.