Mast Stepping for Lake Champlain Canal to Norfolk Virginia

A very busy real estate agent couple had purchased a 40 foot Beneteau Oceans 400 sailboat on Lake Champlain. They were taking a sabbatical for a year of sailing in The Bahamas. They didn’t want to waste a lot of time getting their boat down there, so they hire me for the hard work!

I encourage new clients to start communication with me early on in the process of a boat purchase. I provide free consulting leading up to a boat purchase, or a possible delivery. I do not charge for this service whether you hire me or not. This would include review of your survey, my comments, things to look out for, things you should be concerned about or not, possible negotiation tips based on the survey or my thoughts on the boat. I insist on reviewing it for any ocean deliveries. If you do end up hiring me for a delivery, during my time spent on the boat, I will have learned a lot about the boat, and things you should look out for, operations, things that should be repaired, new equipment suggestions and more. After the delivery, I will spend time with each client, transferring that knowledge to them, and giving them some operational tips on their new boat; such as boat handling, docking etc. I provide this service at no extra charge for a whole year for clients that have hired me. For example this client spent almost a year in The Bahamas, and I was on call for them if they had any questions about their boat, or any local knowledge questions in The Bahamas. I have spent 15 years sailing The Bahamas, and could offer a lot of value there.

I arrived at the Marina where the boat was purchased from with my crew and the owners. We spent a day sailing her to another marina on Lake Champlain, where we would step the mast. I am and my crew member, Artem, built the mast cradle, stepped the mast, disconnected all the electronics, and instruments, rigging, secured it safety. Then once we arrived in Catskills, NY on the Hudson, we raised the mast, and re-connected all the wiring, instrumentation and made sure everything was working properly.

We then took the boat down the Hudson, and offshore for a few days to Norfolk Virginia! We cleaned the boat afterwards inside and out, and left it in perfect shape!

“Mission accomplished!! Worth every penny!! We are indebted to Ed for caring for our boat like it was his own and safely delivering it through the Champlain Canal and down the Atlantic coast to Hampton, VA. Ed is a very knowledgeable captain who quickly got to know our boat and helped us learn all that we needed to get started.

He stepped the mast up and down, built the mast craddle and made sure all the equipment and instruments were working again. We were lucky to spend some time with Ed on the boat during one of the delivery legs and he was amazingly patient with us and helped us far more than we ever expected. Ed was very considerate, saving us money wherever he could and left the boat beautifully clean at the end, which was very much appreciated! Ed has become a friend who we reach out to first when trying to solve a problem on the boat as he always has some keen advice for us. Everyone we’ve met who knows Ed has told us he that he’s the man to trust, and after our experience with him, we agree!!”

Thank you so much, Ed! – Charles & Sabrina Cameron s/v “Paradise Nine”