By Joe Parker

We raced and cruised our Tanzer 26, Dark Star all over the upper Great Lakes from 1981 until purchasing our Allied Seabreeze in 1998. During those years we also raced on many other boats as skipper or crew and did numerous deliveries on all kinds of boats (even the occasional powerboat). We owned a couple of International Offshore Rule (IOR) style race boats during that time as well. But we loved our Tanzer 26 and because she was on a trailer, we could travel farther to go cruising and store her in our own shop. She was and still is a fantastic boat.

When we cruised after Brad was born, we always took a friend or a cousin along, even on daysails. It was easier to entertain two kids than just one. And they always had fun, and always wanted to go sailing. But as Brad and his friends got older, it became apparent that Dark Star was getting too small, so we began our search for a new-to-us boat.

Debbie and I have tons of experience on all types of boats, from classic wooden sailboats to the most modern racers and racer/cruisers. We have even put many miles on multihulls. But one type stands out as our favorite. Some friends owned a 1954 Sparkman and Stephens-designed 41’ wooden yawl that we got to sail a bunch through the early 90s. We had sailed on other Cruising Club of America (CCA) type boats over the years, but this one had a wonderful combination of speed (especially reaching and running), comfort while sailing, and beautiful lines. I like to say she was very stately. She also had a full keel and a centerboard, so draft was shallow to get into some of the really interesting cruising areas, but could sail upwind well enough to be acceptable. So that type is what we decided we wanted to own. We decided that we wanted to have a boat between 35 and 40 feet and it should be great looking, made of fiberglass, shoal draft with a centerboard, and we would prefer a yawl. We also said we did not want a project boat.

So we began our search. Since this would be our family boat, we all had a say in our choice. We looked at the Bristol 35.5, the Tartan 34C and Tartan 34 MK II (didn’t quite fit the definition but we liked it very much), the Pearson Invicta, Morgan 34 yawl, Alberg 37 yawl, the Bristol 40 yawl, and of course the Hinckley 35 Pilot and Hinckley Bermuda 40 yawls. All of them ticked most of the boxes, but none seemed perfect. Debbie kept saying to me, “We will know the perfect boat when we see it.” And I kept saying, “We already know all of the boats, one of these has to be right.” But I was wrong and Debbie was right.

We were in Fairhope, AL looking at a Bristol 40 yawl with a broker. It was a very nice boat and I was ready to buy it. Debbie was starting to come to that as well; she really liked the boat. We got off of the boat and were walking along the main dock heading back to the office. I was looking back at the Bristol and admiring her, and trying to picture her in our dock. As I shuffled backward I bumped into Debbie and nearly knocked her in the water. I turned around and she was pointing at a boat. She said: “There is our next boat.” I had no clue what it was, but it really did look exactly like we had envisioned.

So we said to the broker, we will have to think about this Bristol and get back to you. But do you know what that boat is? And he said no. So we said our goodbyes and were getting ready to leave when a couple came down the dock and stepped aboard the boat with no name.

We went up and introduced ourselves and said we would like to know more about their boat. This was our introduction to the Allied Seabreeze. The owners truly loved the boat and had owned her since she was new in 1971. This boat was not for sale, but at least we now knew to look for one. The owners were telling us that only 135 had been built, and they were rarely on the market as owners kept them until they could not use them anymore. As we were talking, Brad asked if he could go below. The owners said yes, make yourself comfortable. Brad poked around for a few minutes and then he was quiet. We talked to the owners for at least two hours and they were such great ambassadors for this boat that by the end of the conversation the Seabreeze had moved to the top of our list. But when it was time to go, Brad sealed the deal. He was down below, curled up in a corner with a book. We told him it was time to go and he said, “This boat fits right.”

So, our quest to find one started the next day. There were a couple of the sloops on the market, but no yawls. We joined the Seabreeze owners group and searched all of the brokers info. It turns out that most of these boats were in the Northeast, the Chesapeake Bay area, or the Gulf Coast. We searched for 18 months because these boats sold very quickly when they came on the market but most needed significant updating and maintenance. I now understand that is because they were owned by the original owners and most of those folks were getting older so the boats were not getting regular maintenance and updates. The boats that were getting that care were not for sale.

We finally found one near New Orleans, a 1968 model that seemed to fit our budget and was represented as having had some updating and generally good care. We made a deal sight-unseen with the sale contingent on survey, sea trials, and personal inspection. We made plans to travel there to inspect the boat a few weeks later during spring break. We bought our plane tickets and flew down to see our new boat. What a disappointment. While we were doing our inspection, Debbie saw that teak oil had run down the hull side. The fresh paint job that was touted in the listing was peeling off since the previous owners hadn’t done proper prep work and had painted right over the oil drips. I pointed out to the broker that the wood trim (of which there is a lot) was not teak, but was instead mahogany. Since it had been left bare and covered with teak oil, the mahogany trim was all rotting and needed to be replaced. The broker didn’t want to believe me so he pulled on a handrail and it broke in two in his hand.

We decided that the boat needed much more work than we were willing to do and especially for the price we had negotiated. So we told the broker we were backing out of the deal because it was not as represented to us. He tried to talk us into it, but we walked away.

We still had a few days in New Orleans so we looked at a few other boats and saw the sights of the city. The next morning the broker called and said he had spoken to the owner of the Seabreeze and the owner asked us to make an offer to renegotiate. We did some significant soul searching and realized that if we did not buy this boat now, it would go to scrap within a couple years setting in the gulf coast sun with no maintenance. So we calculated the cost of paint, mahogany, varnish, lots of epoxy and fairing materials and all of the stuff we knew the boat needed right away. We also realized that even though we did not really want a project, this one would be huge but would be a blank slate to make her whatever we wanted. So we made a ridiculous offer, which the seller agreed to without further discussion.  

The first winter we owned her, we put more than 1,000 hours into the boat. We disassembled and reassembled all of the deck and all of the wood trim. We also decided to paint and varnish the interior while we were at it. This experience drove home an important lesson that you will hear me say many times – when you start a sailboat project, only start what you can finish in one offseason. You MUST sail the boat every year to maintain motivation to keep going!

When we were ready to launch following the exterior makeover, we decided to give her a new name. Brad and I had been listening to Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, and Brad suggested “Stardust, because everything is made of Stardust.” And so it was. And her home port is the Milky Way Galaxy.

I have to say we have spent more money and more time than any sane person would. I will detail some of the upgrades and projects we have completed on the boat in future posts. But we have a unique boat that fits our needs perfectly. And she is a stunning beauty! We get compliments wherever we travel, and even folks who regularly see her sailing on the bay still praise her good looks!