We'd like to call it a yacht as it's a step up from our mirror dinghy, but we might be going a bit far there dahhhhlling. Perhaps it's more likely a cabincruiser. Or a sailboat. At 14ft, if you're defining a yacht as something over 70ft, it's definitely not. If you're defining it by attitude - she's going ... But perhaps it's what it's initials stand for - a 'trailer sailer' - that's what the TS stands for in a Hartley TS14, which is what our new vessel is called. A yacht will need mooring fees - a trailer sailor you can take home and put in your garage, or in our case, a big tarp. But if you're a pedantically sailor type and you've clicked on this post with utter outrage that I've called it a yacht, well, here you are. What do you think of our sailboat?

Last month over a few beers Jamie said to me: 'you know how much you love surfing? And how surfing is in your family? Well, sailing's in mine'. It dawned on me that I'm going to have to support this venture of his, as he supports mine. After having various boats shoved in front of my face via Gumtree and Facebook ads, and being forced to come along to make a decision when we looked at it, I agreed - this boat might be the one - for now. I'm already enamoured enough to start thinking that if we can sail this one, maybe a bigger boat - one that can take us round the world - might be possible.

The guy we bought it off was an interesting chap. An 80 year old ex pilot, his garage was immaculate. On the walls were photographs of various cars, planes and boats - this guy was a hobbyist and had spent his life building and restoring vessels and vehicles of all kinds. At the back of his shed was a brand new tear drop camper trailer. He made them for a living - a make to order kinda venture. Sometimes who's that skilled and particular could not sell you a sub par boat. The hull had been repainted, ply replaced, and so on. A few mod cons such as a 12V battery to power a stereo and lights - don't laugh, we had nothing in the mirror dinghy so that's a HUGE step up for us!

Hartley TS14

So, I'm forcing myself to learn a little bit about boats. One of the most frustrating things is learning the lingo - boats have such odd, old fashioned words to describe things that I'd call by quite mundane, every day names. Scuttlebutts and shrouds? I don't know if he's joking most of the time. Yesterday, I learnt that the small cabin is a 'cuddy'. Believe it or not, it's six feet long, so we can sleep it in if we so choose. We actually like the idea of taking it for adventures up rivers (it can go in very shallow water) or around Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay, and sleeping overnight in it.

Of course, I was pretty keen to test it for size. I give it two thumbs up. With a camp mattress, a sleeping bag and a pillow, we can both sleep comfortably in there, with a tarp perhaps to extend the cuddy a little if it rains. Next step is to make a galley box, which will have a little stove and some accoutrements to make tea and sandwiches.

For all my wifely moaning, I do love an eccentric husband who gets into hobbies like this. It sure makes for a more interesting life.