When “I purchased the Baja” I’ve got to tell you that statement is a bit false. Lets talk about why the Baja is technically, morally and rightfully not mine. You might be able to help!
I owe much more to my Uncle Bob than what I am about to tell you. I will try to articulate it as best I can.
On a VERY rainy weekend in 2011 I sat very broken on my first boat. A 1983 Sea Ray Sundancer with a single 454 that would make any die hard boater want to take up knitting or some other much less stressful hobby. After weeks of serious engine trouble and issues with mechanics doing things like taking 45 minutes to replace a rubber hose and issuing me a $600 bill without the problem being resolved it was time to start thinking differently. So, far too late (because I already purchased the boat) I took my uncle Bobs tactic of paying for quality now so you don’t have to buy it later at an inopportune time.
The searay had met my mechanic who I trusted then and still trust today. He took a look at the boat. He determined my lack of power to be a propeller. But it didn’t address the issue of the sometimes we run and sometimes the boat quits issue. Primarily because that squeaky wheel wasn’t squeaking when the grease gun was with me if you know what I mean.
So I gained 4 knots on this early 80s 454. We went from a WOT RPM of 4800RPM at a speed of 10 knots to 5000 RPM at 14 Knots.
So weeks and months pass. My mechanic and I cant get our schedules to jive. Hundreds of dollars have been spent on tune ups, parts, tubes, wires, carb issues to absolutely no avail. This boat and I developed a clear personality clash. I had to fix it OR this boat was going to kill me in the attempt.
The searay started to teach me life lessons. Such as don’t get steaming angry 
when you are 40 yards from the marina and the engine wont turn the prop at absolutely any speed without the engine dying. The radio shorts out. The lights dim. We are surely in a state of growing trouble but nothing life threatening. We are certainly NOT going to fix this issue with 4 drunks and 1 sober captain. We switched off one battery to conserve power. Shut off everything but the anchor light and nav lights. At this point I am in an internal panic but externally I am maintaining. I throw my blackberry hard into the dash and my anger is now evident to my guests. We couldnt make 40 more yards to the fuel dock. We had to get towed in because the “Lake Effect” which we renamed “Skidmark” couldnt carry us just a little further. After 10 minutes of life teaching me that things happen on the universes time, Gods time or what have you a group of boaters make the turn out of the marina and as they begin to throttle up they see us setting our anchor, lighting the boat, and opening our flare launcher container.
They did what any truly responsible owner would do. They pulled up along side and graciously towed us 40 yards to the fuel pier at Cedar Point.
It was a clear and comfortable Saturday night and the next day was going to be a terrible terrible thunderstorm. So in my still present disgust I locked my boat up at the fuel pier and slept on my cousins boat. The next morning he towed the sea ray down 2 piers then down the length with everyone standing there watching, pointing and commenting. As he used the
“towski” to manuver my 28 foot powerless boat down the fairway I moved from bow to stern to set lines for the upcoming swing and docking attempt. BANG! As I jumped from the gunwale to the deck moisture made the deck slippery. I am laying there and a friend is standing over me telling me that I am obviously hurt and to stay down. The moisture was blood. I had slit my foot open only slightly but somehow covered 
the port gunwale so bad with blood it look like a horror movie. Bloodied I stand up and ask my cousin Rick, the towski captain if he wanted to buy the boat. It obviously is sending me signals that it wants me gone. At this point it is not my place to argue. I wrapped my foot with several paper towels as the boat swings in between the big metal bulkhead and the dock. An officer and a nurse are the 2 friends from hockey standing there to grab the boat. Seeing the bloodied boat they secured the boat and fixed my foot up pretty good.
The conversation about buying the boat was made in the heat of the moment. 
I am not perfect. But I only stepped back on that boat ONE time after that to get my belongings and effectively put an end to my boating experience.
The mechanical maladies robbed me of my own birthday. My family went to Put In Bay earlier in the day on a Friday. They are there waiting for my arrival. As I leave work and start my mental check list I am thinking of pumping the bilge water, getting a bottle of water to drink, stow this, tie that down, stock this, bring something someone forgot. So after executing the check list, 
checking the fluids. I put the key in the ignition and the engine starts to roll on the starter. We are starting and starting and starting and pumping the throttle. Just to realize we are not starting. Lets try it again. The last attempt was a bad dream. Attempt two we are sounding a bit more promising a back fire a 
sputter a mumble of life. Attempt three WE ARE IN BUSINESS. Great! Toss the lines make the hard left turn out of the slip and I am on easy street. Nothing is going to stop me. Except another engine failure 15 minutes later at dusk at the fuel dock again. My cousin Rick knew why his cell phone was ringing. He didn’t answer it. He just got on the towski and towed me back.
My family was a bit jarred that I was getting out of boating. It wasn’t the boat, 
it was the boating. It was the short trips to the pump out station and through the marina that gave me a thrill JUST as leaving my slip and heading to an island 2 miles – 14 miles away. It was the adventure. The people onboard. The sound of a 454 doing what it was designed to do when it was working properly that is. But even better… twin big block engines in perfect synchronization running through Sandusky bay at sunset. Light traffic, flat calm. The color of the red sky is strong. The family on board with you. The controls are set and you are riding on the water and the only word to describe this experience is heaven.
The searay couldnt produce the sound. It wouldn’t plane out. It was unsafe to say the least. The family wouldn’t get onboard. The vessel underway was unreliable. The searay couldn’t get the desired effect that it was giving other boaters. The effect I had when I was 18 on my little 19 foot rinker exploring West branch aka Kirwin Resivor or Lake Berlin. It couldn’t make the experience enjoyable. The boat failed to be the boat i needed to be happy. It was obvious that my offer to my cousin was real.
The day I got aboard the ole skid mark was the day it tapped me on the 
shoulder and told me to get the hell out. During one of the 3 days it rained the whole summer I sat patiently in the boat. Knowing today was it. I wasn’t ever coming back to the thing that I loved doing so much. It was my hobby, my passion and my dream to own a boat similar to this. The day was drawing on. The fun thing on the TV went to commercial and the rain slowed. I turned off the A/C for the last time. I shut off the TV and silence came over the boat. The boat had to poke me in the sholder. The window started leaking right on my right sholder as if it was telling me its time to go, remember? It was the silence of a dead vessel. Someone elses boat that you dont belong on even though the title had not yet transferred. My bags are packed, I shut down the breakers that needed to be shut down and pickup my bags.
The phone rings. Its my uncle who is a bit excited and very full of energy. He asked me where I was and what I was doing. I told him heading home without the dreariness and depression I was truly experiencing. “Walk over to pier 2 find the only Baja Yacht on the pier. Tell him you are interested! Give him everything you have in your pocket and wait right there.” My uncle says in a commanding voice.”It’s raining” I replied. “I don’t give a shit, we are buying you a real boat. Its time to get off of that piece of shit that’s going to kill you.” He said. I promptly acknowledged his order since he was on his boat at Maumee bay (another trip canceled due to ongoing issues). I put on an old oil stained shirt, grabbed a 
notepad, ziplock bag and headed over. I walked 50 boats down the pier and stopped as I approached the Baja. I knew it was there. I had never seen the boat before. But it was like an old friend waiving from a distance. It was DeJa Vu. Something I didn’t expect on this depressing day turned mysterious. I knocked on that hull until my knuckles nearly bled. I felt like I was trespassing by unzipping this mans canvas and tossing a note in my ziplock bag and tossing the bag onto his floor. The little I saw of the boat inspired a feeling. However I needed $6k to buy and I didn’t want to ask anyone for the money. That is not how I do things.
I stayed on my cousins boat that Saturday night not mentioning anything 
about the phone call or this 34 foot boat on pier 2. Sunday my uncle comes looking for me. We walk over and talk to this very frail mid 60s gentleman who told us that he took a $100 deposit from someone on the boat. I immediatly switched back into “Weldon is out of boating” mode. My uncle didnt. He offered to put down $5000 tonight and the remainder on tuesday. Being of strong character the owner also named Bob rejected my uncles offer. He further stated that the deposit was left the night before. My uncle and I agreed that if the deal with the other person fell through we were to be considered next in line.
Skip ahead 3 weeks. I have accepted that I am no longer a boater. I went to 
lunch with a friend who knew I was a bit down. This was the end of the 3rd week. I put my order in and my cell phone rings. “Weldon, come get this God Damned thing” the frail older sounding man bellows out. I had to ask who it was. He told me it was Baja Bob. “The deal fell through, we accept your offer, when am I meeting you to do this?”
Outside of the logistics I have got a newer better more quality boat.
“Bob, I need 15 minutes to tell you when I can be there” I said. I called my uncle who is gracious and kind and he said “Bob called you didn’t he?” I replied to the affirmative. My uncle instructed me to finish what I was doing, pick him up and we would pull the cash out of his bank and drive up tonight. I called Baja Bob back and said Ill see you in a few hours. He said tomorrow is good. We show up with 2 problems at hand. 1. I need to pay my uncle back $8k stat and number two is that we are in mid July. I am not allowed to take possession until August that year. We wrote up an agreement and everyone signed it. We went to the title bureau and transferred the boat. The last part was difficult. There were no keys handed over to my uncle or myself.
We are driving home and my uncle is absolutely bummed out to no end. His 
attitude at the time was how crappy that they had that stipulation. The boat ran, it floated, it had next to no hours on it. It had service records like a jumbo jet airliner. Every time a screw was tightened I think its noted. I had the service records the manuals, the bills of sale from Baja as I am the 2nd owner. This boat has been flawlessly kept by two of the nicest, gentlest people I have met.
The unexpected call comes just a week later. “Weldon, Its Bob and Carriann. 
It’s not fair for the two of us to stay on the boat that is yours. We have cleaned it off. We would like to meet you this weekend to transfer the keys, perform a walk through and give you what you have waited for for so long.
Elation. Joy. Excitement. Gratefulness, Sincere appreciation. Responsibility. Were the first things that went through my head. Elated because I get the Boat now. Joy because I have a 2nd lease at my boating life. Gratefulness and sincere appreciation because my uncle made this happen. He went SO far out of his way to buy me this boat in 2011.
I now endure 2 responsibilities.
1. It is my mission to sell my 2007 Yamaha Roadstar Silverado Midnight Edition S Motorcycle for $5,500 to pay him back most of what I owe him.
2. Raise enough funds at work to cover the remainder of that balance.
I could use your help!
I need to sell this flawless motorcycle. The website even goes with the motorcycle. www.yamaha-cruiser.com. If you read the entire page you will see that we even offer a monthly payment plan on the motorcycle. It is FLAWLESS!
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3rd: Buy a shirt or other apparel from our online store – Click Here
4th: Help me pay the loan to my uncle back at GoFundMe.com/boatassistance.
5th: Donate via PayPal.com/weldonpc
As I’ve said in my previous posts… I am helping mom who is also a cancer patient and I am nearly tapped out on funds. We are trying to survive. Boating has brought my family so much closer together in very uncertain times. I want to keep my family coming together and boating does that.
Thank you for reading! Thank you for your help!
