1981 GB Classic

[hwclark]

11/30/18 In process of purchasing. Never had a Trawler or Diesel engine. Before. How best can I get familiar as to reading for familiarization as a back ground for hands on piloting and maintenance training?

 

[firstbase]

I can only tell you my approach when I went through the same thing a year and a half ago. Sailing boats my whole life. Twin diesel trawler? Had never been on one. First, I read everything I could get my hands on for about 1 year prior to purchase. I think I read most of this site as well as grandbanksowners.com (not really true but you get my point) as well as a good bit of boatdiesel.com. Most of what I read I didn't understand but as I went along I became more knowledgeable on the conventional wisdom of many subjects.

When I finally purchased a boat I hired a well known local Captain and trainer to help me bring it north. A 1 1/2 day trip. Then I paid him to come back and spend a day going through the systems basics as well as 1/2 day on the water with handling. He gave me some pointers on how to practice on my own which I did for a few days after I got up the nerve to take it out on my own with wifey on board. Then I took one of his boat maintenance classes, two days and finally the Nigel Calder / Steve Zimmerman Diesel Engine course at Trawlerfest. That's the grand total of "formal" training.

In-between all of these I just went out on nice days, practiced slowing, accelerating, spinning on a dime, backing up, backing up and turning, played maneuvers around a buoy, etc. just to get more and more familiar with how the boat acts. Did so on smooth open waters with no one around. Found an empty dock are at my marina and practiced putting it in a wide open slip and against the dock with no other boats around. In short time I got to "adequate" on the handling scale. Wasn't that hard after a little practice and time. One final exam was putting it in between two boats to get fuel. It went fine and if nothing else my wife was impressed.

That's my story. Good luck with yours. My advice is to spend a few $$$ on someone who can show you the basics for a day or 2 and get you going. Go from there.

 

[Giggitoni]

This^. I did exactly what firstbase did, but about 11 years ago and on the other coast. Good advice!

 

[Rain Dog]

I would recommend joining grandbankowners.com and reading through the manuals and forum archives there. Most GB specific questions are answered there.

 

[firstbase]

I would recommend joining grandbankowners.com and reading through the manuals and forum archives there. Most GB specific questions are answered there.

What he said. Slower, less populated site but you will get answers and some of the members are about as guru on Grand Banks as they come.

 

[Giggitoni]

The link... Grand Banks Owner's Resources

 

[Landfall]

I enjoy countless hours on a new boat following wires, hoses, pipes and peeking in openings. Find out what hooks to what and why. label what is not, find problems before they find themselves, remove leftover superfluous stuff left over from past repairs or refits. You cannot be too familiar with how the boat works when something breaks.

 

[firstbase]

I enjoy countless hours on a new boat following wires, hoses, pipes and peeking in openings. Find out what hooks to what and why. label what is not, find problems before they find themselves, remove leftover superfluous stuff left over from past repairs or refits. You cannot be too familiar with how the boat works when something breaks.

Wish I had read Landfalls comments before we picked up our boat. I have searched many wires...failed to label or write down anything. It goes away quick. Now I get to do it all over again. Someone else said to "Go slow to go fast". Wish I had done that for the same reason. I learned a little about everything fast but not really in depth so...I get to go do it all over again..again.

One other thing I learned was it is great to go into every nook and cranny of the boat. On our GB42 there are more of those than you think possible. We were finding them months after we got it. Clean them out but be careful of what you throw away. My experience is that something is on a boat because it is needed, or may be needed, for something no matter what it looks like. Good example is a 6" or so piece of odd shaped PVC pipe. Looked like trash. Found out it is a tool to remove or tighten the galley sink faucet from below. Not having it makes the job very difficult. An odd sized pencil zinc that doesn't seem to fit the engines may be a replacement for the one you didn't notice on the oil cooler. Stuff like that. We had a bunch of those.

 

[Civilitas]

Wish I had read Landfalls comments before we picked up our boat. I have searched many wires...failed to label or write down anything. It goes away quick. Now I get to do it all over again. Someone else said to "Go slow to go fast". Wish I had done that for the same reason. I learned a little about everything fast but not really in depth so...I get to go do it all over again..again.

One other thing I learned was it is great to go into every nook and cranny of the boat. On our GB42 there are more of those than you think possible. We were finding them months after we got it. Clean them out but be careful of what you throw away. My experience is that something is on a boat because it is needed, or may be needed, for something no matter what it looks like. Good example is a 6" or so piece of odd shaped PVC pipe. Looked like trash. Found out it is a tool to remove or tighten the galley sink faucet from below. Not having it makes the job very difficult. An odd sized pencil zinc that doesn't seem to fit the engines may be a replacement for the one you didn't notice on the oil cooler. Stuff like that. We had a bunch of those.

Those two posts should be a “sticky” somewhere. They are simple, short, succinct and get the meassage across effectively. Almost a lesson in narrative writing as much as boat maintenance and survey.