The Boat

We bought Christine in September 1989. We liked her because she was unusual and seemed to be built real heavy. The boat was built in South Africa in 1978 by Halstead International. It is their Flamingo 42' model. We now know that about 40 of them were built, all semi-custom made for the owner.

You can see on the right Kathy's sketch of the boat.  We paid $44,500 for Christine. At this price she was comparable with a 36' or 38' without an aft cabin. So we thought getting an aft cabin and a boat built for the "roaring forties" was a plus. The boat was in good condition inside and out. The engine was just overalled with 2 coats of "Perkins Engine Paint",  but she still needed ether to start. The hull is fiberglass and she's ketch- rigged.

The name "Christine" was not to last, mainly because it brought to mind Stephen King's novel "Christine", a story of a killer car. As Kathy had heirloom china painted in gold with the letter "R" for her maternal grandmother's maiden name "Runkle" the search was on for a boat name starting with an "R". Yes, the china resides on the boat. "Raison d'Etre" won out, meaning "Reason for Living" in French. And she is our reason for living. We live our life to be with her. It was very appropriate.                               

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