Do You Believe In Love at First Sight?

Yeah, me neither. When I first saw "the boat" or "das boot" for all you German majors, I wasn't all that impressed.
I pulled into the secluded home on Lake Murray and went to the door to let the owner know I was there to see the boat. It was then that I met Norma. Norma had recently lost her husband Bud to a protracted illness and was in the process of downsizing, which was the main reason the boat was on the market. We spoke for awhile and she invited me to go make myself at home and we would talk later. I made my way to the dock and that's when I became acquainted with "Doo-Dah" 

 

I immediately recognized her as a Helms 27, for two reasons. One I had owned a Helms 24 for several years. (as previously mentioned) and it had the familiar insignia right on her side.

You can see it just forward of the life-line stanchion.

She was in pretty sad shape and I kind of felt sorry for her. Norma had explained that Bud had been an avid sailor and raced Doo-Dah a lot when he was in better health. But due to his long illness the boat was succumbing to that fatal disease of all things left unattended...neglect.

But I knew the boat and I knew "of" the boat-builder, Jack Helms and knew that she came from a good stock. I continued my once over taking pictures as I went so I could once and for all so Lisa why we shouldn't buy this, or any other, boat.

The jib sheets were way over-sized and had been exposed to years of weather

The tarp was there because of a leak around the mast step. In fact the deck over the cabin had developed a soft spot.

Hatch Boards

Main Sheet

A Big Mess

Anyway, I'm sure you get an understanding about the condition the boat was in. I was fully prepared to show these pics to Lisa, whereby she would inflect her voice of reason and logic and once and for all put this crazy notion, of getting an sailboat, to bed. 
Boy was I wrong!