Real World Cruising Staff (RWC) interview with Mark Welther (MW)

RWC: So you have had this dream of going cruising for a while, haven't you Mark?

MW: I am a hopeless dreamer. And often my dreams just stay dreams. So I wasn't surprised when, at the age 45, I read a series of sail around the world books and started dreaming about a long distance cruising adventure of my own. Thanks to the guidance and encouragement of Real World Cruising, this dream is starting to become reality.

RWC: How did your dreams start to become a reality?
MW: One day while I was bored at my desk job, I searched a well-known online sailboat site and found the boat of my dreams for a rock-bottom price. Of course, it was a complete project boat, on the hard and neglected for fourteen years, but I didn't care. I told myself naively that I could do the work myself even though I didn't have the money or skills. So, on a lark, I flew the next weekend to Port Townsend, Washington to check out my prize. Within three weeks, I was trucking this 12-ton sleeping beauty down to my home in Oakland, California. I left the rigging and rotten spruce mast behind.

That fact is important because, before I left Port Townsend, well-known master rigger Brion Toss, author of The Complete Rigger's Apprentice, told me that he had a friend in the Bay Area who could rig the boat for me. And that's how I met Guy Stevens of Real World Cruising.

RWC: So what happened after Brion Toss recommended Guy Stevens and Real World Cruising?
MW: As it turned out, Guy was much more than my rigger he became my mentor, teacher and cheerleader. Guy has in-depth personal experience with all aspects of cruising boats. In fact, I was telling him about a story I had read about building your own watermaker in Good Old Boat Magazine, and Guy laughed and pointed out to me that he had written the article (I checked and it was true).

RWC: How did Real World Cruising help you get started on the project?

MW: When I bought the boat, the surveyor told me that my engine, a Perkins 4-108, was dead, a doorstop. Even though it only had 1,000 hours on it, it had been partially disassembled and left open for over a decade. Guy took one look at the engine and said that he didn't see any reason why it wouldn't work. To make a long story short, Guy had me buy another Perkins parts engine for $200, and with a few weeks of work we rebuilt the exhaust system, fixed the broken engine mounts and had that engine running smoothly.

RWC: Wow so right at the start Guy and RWC saved you over $10,000.00 on a new engine. What happened next?
MW: Guy then tutored me through installation of new through-hulls, fairing, barrier coating and painting the bottom, rebuilding the rudder, rebuilding the cutlass bearing and installing a new prop and shaft, fabricating new chainplates, bobstay and bowsprit, and much more. Next up is rerigging and rewiring.

Guy is great at encouraging me to focus on small steps when I start getting overwhelmed by the project, and he passes along helpful hints like clean everything up and take a break after every step so you can see the progress.

RWC: It sounds like you are on your way to making your dream a reality!
MW: Some day, Guy and his wife Melissa and I are going to meet in a tropical port half way around the world. When we do, I will raise a toast to Guy for helping me make my dream a reality.