Places

Windsurfer for Sale

An amusing look back at some entries in the cottage diary

by John Constable
May 1988—Visited my brother at his cottage. Saw some windsurfers in the cove. Gayle said that it looked like fun and suggested we could maybe get a windsurfer board. I said it didn’t interest me at all, but if she wanted to spend a little money on something like that for herself, we could check into the price of a used one.

June 1988—Checked around; only used windsurfer we could find locally was $900. Imagine! 900 bucks for something that could only be used a couple of months a year! Nope, I’m going to firmly stand my ground on this matter. We’re not spending $900 on a windsurfer!

July 1988—Saw an ad for a used sailboat for sale. Agreed this was at least something we could BOTH enjoy. Seventeen-foot Paceship with motor and trailer for $3500. Decided to buy it.

Aug 1988—Brother has been hinting we need to find our own place to moor our boat, away from his boat. Bought a waterfront lot a few doors down from his cottage. $24,000. Prices sure went up since my brother purchased his lot for just $15,000 13 years earlier. Anyway, we’ll now have a place to call our own, and from which to set sail.

Sept 1988—Decided our little inflatable dinghy wasn’t practical for getting from shore out to the moored sailboat. Bought a canoe and paddles. $600.

May 1989—Finding it uncomfortable to sleep in the van when we stay overnight. Bought a used travel trailer to park on the waterfront lot. $3200. We’ll clear a place under the big pines.

July 1989—Noticed that the cottage next door to our lot was up for sale. Joked about how all the work would be done if we bought it, and how we could spend our vacation time just sailing. Will call out of curiosity to see what price they’re asking.

Aug 1989—Closing date arrived; received the keys and deed to the cottage. The place is far from finished, but is useable. Sold the trailer for less than we paid for it, but at least we’re rid of it. Will hang onto the empty lot just for the privacy space it provides from neighbours.

July 1990—Installed a bay window in cottage to enlarge the lake view. Had the well re-drilled, had indoor plumbing installed, and had the electrical panel upgraded. Managed to sail a couple of times when the wind was sufficient or when we weren’t busy renovating.

June 1991—Bought a used windsurfer for Gayle for $450, after seeing ad in the paper. It was a bargain compared to similar new models, selling in the $1800 range. Gayle keeps trying, but hasn’t managed to stay up on the board for very long.

July 1992—Bought new furniture, mini-blinds, and ceiling fans for the cottage; also new barbecue and furniture for patio. Gayle is still struggling to windsurf without getting dunked. Bought a “how-to” book. Turns out her board is a competition model for professionals and is not recommended for beginners.

July 1993—Stopped at a nearby yard sale, and guess what? They had a perfect-sized beginner’s windsurfing board for $150. We couldn’t get it into the van quickly enough! Now, every time the wind comes up, Gayle is skimming around the cove, never falling off.

July 1998—Cottage seems to be sinking on one end; had entire cottage raised and set on a full walk-out basement. Also had basement extended 10 feet on the east side of cottage to accommodate a stairway and morning sunroom. Installed knotty pine boards on the sunroom’s arched ceiling and painted the walls a cheery yellow. Still looking for the perfect wallpaper border for the finishing touch in sunroom.

July 1999—Found three rolls of wallpaper border in a clearance bin. The yellow in its background perfectly matches the yellow on the sunroom walls. Only 99 cents each; finally, we got something at a decent price!

Aug 1999—Mis-calculated the amount of wallpaper border needed. Short by about six inches. Had to special-order one more roll. $27.98 plus taxes.

July 2000—Had proper septic system installed to code. Required a more elaborate drainage system because of the limited space between the cottage, lake, and property boundary. Installer said it would have been half the price otherwise.

July 2002—Studded the basement walls for den and guest bedroom. Installed rec-room fake-wood wall panels. They may not be the “in” thing anymore, but it’s cheaper than gyproc (and we don’t want to have to deal with all that sanding and fine gyproc dust!). After all, we keep reminding ourselves that it’s just a cottage.

June 2003—Returned from our three-week West Coast vacation to find the humidity level in the basement had maxed out, causing those wall panels to pop through their nails and warp every which way but flat. Oh, well! We’ll learn to live with the wavy walls.

June 2004—All the wall panels in the basement have been removed. Workmen should arrive next week to begin installing moisture-resistant gyproc.

July 2004—Crack-filling and sanding finally completed; gyproc dust everywhere throughout the cottage, including inside the bureau drawers. Went for another swim today, since it was too calm again to either windsurf or sail.

June 2005—Tore out original bedroom carpets and removed linoleum in kitchen and living room. Installed laminate clic flooring. Decided to continue throughout the upstairs, and did the matching sunroom floor as well.

July 2006—Did some major cottage-cleaning. Threw out all the bits and pieces of left-over gyproc, flooring, and moldings. Came across the first windsurfer, which hadn’t been used for some 15 years, buried now under odds and ends of other accumulated junk in one corner of the basement storage room. Suggested to Gayle that we try to sell it, since she prefers the other one and this one wasn’t being used. She agreed, and I asked her what she thought it was worth. “I don’t know,” she replied. “What did we pay for it?” I checked back through the diary and wrote a want-ad: WINDSURFER for sale. $186,237 OBO. •

Originally published in the Summer 2007 issue of Lifestyle Nova Scotia Magazine.