I had been chasing the previous owner by text and had just about given up when I got another text providing his address and a promise of all-weekend availability. Great, I thought, that just leaves the unregistered trailer issue and being the weekend no inspection stations would be open so that would mean going to a "Service NSW" office and buying an unregistered vehicle permit.
Arriving at the property, I noticed two things; an uncovered Mirror dinghy sitting markedly in the front garden and, the house had no garage. This raised the chances of said dinghy having rot from pooling water. Then I discovered that Tim was not home and my visit was unexpected; hence the task of flogging the dinghy fell upon the wife. A pleasant person, she felt most comfortable talking up the pressure they'd had sailing as a family before they went away and asked me about my obvious sailing experiences. All very upbeat, but as a poor buyer of this neglected craft, S was intent on drawing out a more pessimistic line in order to talk the price down. I pointed out its sore general condition from various angles (mostly the unregistered trailer),while she kept asserting "well it's a good dry boat. It never leaks". Just about then I innocently removed the rubber bung from the stern buoyancy and out gushed 6 litres of tea coloured water. She muttered "Oh Tim" through gritted teeth and said "what now?" Good question, I may wish I walked away, but it felt solid and it needed someone to resurrect it from this dinghy hellhole. Silence. She says "how about a couple of hundred?" so we did the deal. At least I could afford a sheet of 6mm marine ply if I needed it. I did want to stay and listen to her greeting of Tim when she saw him next, but I had a trailer to register, and then the fun began!
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