Jack and Barbara Kershner
The Search for Adventure
A pair of life-long sailors describe the thinking that led them to an N37 as their ultimate retirement boat.
For a man who spent an academic career as a neuro-psychologist, it seemed only natural that boat shopping might take on the trappings of a research project. Jack Kershner and his wife Barbara were devoted sailors, but as retirement approached, and the children were out of college, they contemplated the transition from sail to power. In their own words they tell the story of how their experiences and research led them to a Mirage N37.
“For nearly 25 years, we chartered sailboats during breaks in our careers,” Jack says. “We bareboated with friends out of St. Lucia to cruise the Windward Islands and sailed the Leeward Islands almost as often. For the Bahamas, we chartered out of South Florida. I also did a lot of crewing with a buddy of mine who was fascinated with blue water sailing, so I’ve done passages from Tortola to Bermuda to Bar Harbor, Maine.”
“And twice during those years, we had an opportunity to take a sabbatical year. Both times, we bought a boat and sailed for the entire year, living aboard while doing academic work to satisfy the requirements of the sabbatical. We would sail those boats down to the Bahamas. One was a 41 Morgan Out Island and the second was a Gulfstar.”
“Once we retired, we started looking for that perfect boat in perpetuity, to sail off forever into the sunset on a grand adventure. Of all the boats that we had sailed, the Morgan 41 Out Island seemed to offer the best compromise. And so we moved from Canada to Virginia, and bought the last 41 that Charley Morgan built in. But it soon became apparent that this wasn't the right boat. Our plan was to stay on the Chesapeake in the summer and take the boat south in the winter, at least as far as the Bahamas. But we encountered some 133 bascule bridges along the way, and this proved quite tedious. We also calculated the amount of time we were actually under sail, and found that we were actually motoring more than 90 percent of the time.”
“We began researching options,” recalls Barbara, “talking to friends who were shifting from sail to trawlers. We did some research for ourselves, and looked at everything from picnic boats to fast trawlers to classic Grand Banks. We looked at a lot of boats and developed some high standards. There were certain layouts that we didn’t want. There were a number of perfectly nice trawlers that seemed to ruin the layout with a split layout that put the master aft and a V-berth in the front. We had done that with sailboats and didn't want to repeat the experience. We didn't find what we were looking for until we went to the Annapolis boat show and saw the N37.”
“It was something different,” Jack says, “which is exactly what we wanted. Being on the Chesapeake we planned to do a lot of exploring on the bay itself, something we hadn't been able to do in the previous five years because we hadn't had the right boat. The N37’s shallow draft would allow us to explore areas we'd never been able to get to in a sailboat, and to do so in considerable comfort.”
The twin engine configuration was also a deciding factor, Barbara says. “After going over all the debates on twins versus singles, and listening to a lot of brokers, salesmen and boat owners with real-world experience, we decided that two engines really were better than one.” This was especially true for the N37, Jack said, because it offered a full-beam engine room with stand-up headroom, and ample room to perform routine maintenance with ease. Equally impressive was the home-style galley which featured full-sized kitchen appliances. “No other boat in this size range offered anywhere near an equivalent level of living and storage space,” Barbara says. “Add in the rugged build quality and the low-maintenance exterior, and it all just made sense for us,” Jack says.
Soon after acquiring their N37, the Kershners were laying plans for a cruise to the Bahamas and possibly beyond. “This is a boat that's well suited for excitement and adventure,” Jack says. “We plan to enjoy it for years to come.”
A pair of life-long sailors describe the thinking that led them to an N37 as their ultimate retirement boat.
For a man who spent an academic career as a neuro-psychologist, it seemed only natural that boat shopping might take on the trappings of a research project. Jack Kershner and his wife Barbara were devoted sailors, but as retirement approached, and the children were out of college, they contemplated the transition from sail to power. In their own words they tell the story of how their experiences and research led them to a Mirage N37.
“For nearly 25 years, we chartered sailboats during breaks in our careers,” Jack says. “We bareboated with friends out of St. Lucia to cruise the Windward Islands and sailed the Leeward Islands almost as often. For the Bahamas, we chartered out of South Florida. I also did a lot of crewing with a buddy of mine who was fascinated with blue water sailing, so I’ve done passages from Tortola to Bermuda to Bar Harbor, Maine.”
“And twice during those years, we had an opportunity to take a sabbatical year. Both times, we bought a boat and sailed for the entire year, living aboard while doing academic work to satisfy the requirements of the sabbatical. We would sail those boats down to the Bahamas. One was a 41 Morgan Out Island and the second was a Gulfstar.”
“Once we retired, we started looking for that perfect boat in perpetuity, to sail off forever into the sunset on a grand adventure. Of all the boats that we had sailed, the Morgan 41 Out Island seemed to offer the best compromise. And so we moved from Canada to Virginia, and bought the last 41 that Charley Morgan built in. But it soon became apparent that this wasn't the right boat. Our plan was to stay on the Chesapeake in the summer and take the boat south in the winter, at least as far as the Bahamas. But we encountered some 133 bascule bridges along the way, and this proved quite tedious. We also calculated the amount of time we were actually under sail, and found that we were actually motoring more than 90 percent of the time.”
“We began researching options,” recalls Barbara, “talking to friends who were shifting from sail to trawlers. We did some research for ourselves, and looked at everything from picnic boats to fast trawlers to classic Grand Banks. We looked at a lot of boats and developed some high standards. There were certain layouts that we didn’t want. There were a number of perfectly nice trawlers that seemed to ruin the layout with a split layout that put the master aft and a V-berth in the front. We had done that with sailboats and didn't want to repeat the experience. We didn't find what we were looking for until we went to the Annapolis boat show and saw the N37.”
“It was something different,” Jack says, “which is exactly what we wanted. Being on the Chesapeake we planned to do a lot of exploring on the bay itself, something we hadn't been able to do in the previous five years because we hadn't had the right boat. The N37’s shallow draft would allow us to explore areas we'd never been able to get to in a sailboat, and to do so in considerable comfort.”
The twin engine configuration was also a deciding factor, Barbara says. “After going over all the debates on twins versus singles, and listening to a lot of brokers, salesmen and boat owners with real-world experience, we decided that two engines really were better than one.” This was especially true for the N37, Jack said, because it offered a full-beam engine room with stand-up headroom, and ample room to perform routine maintenance with ease. Equally impressive was the home-style galley which featured full-sized kitchen appliances. “No other boat in this size range offered anywhere near an equivalent level of living and storage space,” Barbara says. “Add in the rugged build quality and the low-maintenance exterior, and it all just made sense for us,” Jack says.
Soon after acquiring their N37, the Kershners were laying plans for a cruise to the Bahamas and possibly beyond. “This is a boat that's well suited for excitement and adventure,” Jack says. “We plan to enjoy it for years to come.”
