So now I will relate a little bit about Kuan Yin, A-268.
After buying and sailing A-238 all over Puget Sound last summer, I was back home in San Francisco with far too much time on my hands. I had acquired an extremely bad habit of searching craigslist far and wide with only one inquiry, "Alberg". Why would someone do this, you ask. I already had one Ariel and I was extremely happy with her. Did I want a bigger boat? Maybe. Or was I just torturing myself with all these beautiful boats? Definitely.
It was on craigslist that I come across an ad about an Ariel in Point Richmond. "Not so far from home!" the little devil on my shoulder whispered. The angel replied "You already have one, no one needs two Ariels!" That sentiment was also reaffirmed by my girlfriend... We all now know who I listen to...
Anyways, the post said something like "I have this boat and I don't want it anymore. I don't want it trashed. I don't want it to go to some yahoo who is gonna use it as a white trash trailer and live in it until it sinks or they abandon it. If interested please tell me a little bit about yourself and what you want to do with the boat." Something like that.
So I send off an email with words of encouragement and a photo of my A-238 Spirit Wind as hopefully a boost of support for maybe sticking it out and trying to fix up the boat. Of course I put my # in there as well.
By weeks end we had planned to meet up and have a look at Kuan Yin. I will be honest, she was a wreck. It seems the mold on the inside was thicker that the fiberglass. Only rivaled by the suspended jungle of weeds and shellfish on her bottom. Crazed gelcoat that almost looked intentional. Topsides that looked like they had run into everything around them and these wildly oversized combings that were in desperate need of?????
So yeah, a wreck. Yet I still saw her beauty. Maybe I was missing my sweet Spirit Wind up north. I told him how the boats were different and how they were not. He told me of how he acquired Kuan Yin and how he had planned an ill fated sail to Hawaii.
He asked if I wanted her. I couldn't answer. I hesitated. He said that I was perfect to take over. That I knew the boats and that I cared about what becomes of them. I agreed with the latter. He said he would give her to me, he had the paperwork over on his new boat. Before I knew it I had signed on the dotted line.
As the old saying goes, "there is no such thing as a free boat!".
So yeah, now I have 2.
I have taken her out of Point Richmond twice since being her new owner. She sails like a dirty charm. We have cleaned up her insides and Emily(my girlfriend) has painted the main cabin and has made new cushions for it. I have started removing hardware and sanding the deck. The main sail and boom have been unshipped, as well as the stern pulpit. She will be getting paint all the way around and new non-skid on deck. I've already redone the running rigging(learned to splice double braid!) as well as replaced dock lines.
We plan on selling her when done. As we all have heard before, there is no reason to have two Ariels. But when done she will be back to her original beauty with new hardware and paint. Someone will see her and fall in love.
So yeah, that's the story of my second Ariel. I hope you enjoyed it.

Oh yeah, shout if you're looking to buy a boat!