Why did you buy your boat?

Third-Reef · Feb 9, 2013

We wanted an appartment in so cal to escape the harsh N cal winters and so the wife could paint with some artists in Laguna beach. The boat was way cheaper, faster, the rent is less, and the ocean view better the what we saw for 5X the $. The walk around queen helpped, plus lots of room for surfboards, being a good coastal crusier with reasonable range and the PO had dumpped a bunch of money into it befor deciding to sell. Having had it for just over a year now and looking at other boats, i denfently could not replace it for what i payed

AusCan · Feb 9, 2013

My wants changed slightly over the year I spent looking for a boat, but in the end I was looking for:

- something that would handle 4-6 feet of choppy swell
- displacement hull
- good all round visibility
- a boat that is fishable
- back up engine (or sail)
- nice lines
- affordable to buy, run and maintain

My wife wanted:
- sleep & feed 4 comfortably for up to a week
- something that wouldn't sink
- affordable to buy

We'll soon see if our newly purchased boat meets all of our objectives.
Our last boat - a much loved 50 year old 18ft plywood runaboat - struggled with both of our first objectives; although we did try on the odd occasion.

Boatgm · Feb 9, 2013

Why did you buy your boat?
I have changed a bit but started with a basic design brief:

This boat will have to operate in open ocean low latitude conditions.
Range at cruise speed 3000 miles
Cruise speed of 400 miles per day
top speed 20 knts
Max 160hp
integral fuel tanks
Cat one safety gear
short handable
5 tons of cargo
Cheap to build
cheap to run

CaptTom · Feb 9, 2013

markpierce said:
...and motorboats don't usually lean 30-45 degrees as sailboats frequently do.

I'm amazed as I read this how many things were not on my "official" list, but were in my "always keep in mind" list. The thing about sailboats heeling was a show-stopper for my wife, too.

Daddyo · Feb 9, 2013

Because the DeFever 48 was on my list of two dream boats that would ever be in my price range (Krogen Whaleback being the other). I wanted a little ship that could cross oceans thereby making the normal stuff quite comfortable. I love the space of the aft cabins but the covered decks and style of the "Europa" sedans. We now have both. Another need was the three staterooms, galley up and two heads. Full size shower. Finally a standup engine room was a must.

Daddyo · Feb 9, 2013

AusCan said:
My wants changed slightly over the year I spent looking for a boat, but in the end I was looking for:

- something that would handle 4-6 feet of choppy swell

We'll soon see if our newly purchased boat meets all of our objectives.
Our last boat - a much loved 50 year old 18ft plywood runaboat - struggled with both of our first objectives; although we did try on the odd occasion.

4-6' chop in a 30'? I don't see how that's going to work?

MurrayM · Feb 9, 2013

We decided to step up in comfort from sea kayaking.

Last summer we drove 1,200 km and almost bought a sensibly sized first boat; a 23' trailerable diesel pocket trawler. The deal fell through at the last second because while on the hoist we discovered it weighed almost twice as much as was stated in a Pacific Yachting magazine article written in the early 80's. (The surveyor figured it was a combination of the writer using the hull weight, plus somebody putting extra weight in the keel.)

We had bought a better trailer for it, but it wasn't strong enough. We hit the slope of rationalization at full speed and started crunching the numbers...selling new trailer for a loss...buying a stronger trailer...buying a stronger truck...plus the cost to bring the boat up to snuff. We ended up walking away from the deal, but the sting was lessened by a feeling that the Karmic Forces had a better boat waiting for us that we didn't know about yet.

When we got home we went and finally looked at a Sundowner Tug which had been for sale locally for three years. We'd never gone to see it because it was a much bigger boat than we felt comfortable getting, and it was a slam-dunk the price would have been way out of our league...until that trip down the slippery slope of rationalization!

We got along with the PO's son and PO's wife really well. The sea trial was perfect. We settled on a partnership where the son, who's a millwright and knows the boat inside and out, will stay on through the years and teach us everything we need to know from the batteries on up.

So, now we have our retirement boat 13 years early

jeffnick · Feb 9, 2013

JD said:
jeffnick said:

------------------

I have a question.

So who is it you got upset that you were banished to the dink? Or was it that after setting the whisker pole in that 6 ktn breeze you were so happy that the wing and wing went on for more than five minutes you just had to have a picture.

Click to expand...

It was me in the dink out of sheer boredom.
You must know what it's like to run downwind in a light breeze and have the apparent wind regularly go to zero so the windvane quits.

AusCan · Feb 9, 2013

4-6' chop in a 30'? I don't see how that's going to work?

Either do I , but I'll soon let you know. I may have to scale down my expectations, but I think the boat will probably handle more than I will.

Marin · Feb 9, 2013

If the original question is why did we buy the boat we did, not just why did we buy a boat period, then I'd have to say we simply bought a boat that we felt would meet our needs in the most sensible way. But GB is not on our list of favorite boats. In fact we feel they are fairly ugly and unbalanced, so we certainly didn't buy it for aesthetic reasons.

The pluses are they are very well built, particularly the first year of fiberglass; previous owners tend to take very good care of them so even an old one is more than likely in far better shape than many other makes the same age; they have great visibility from the main cabin (one of the reasons we ruled out a sailboat which in some ways would have made more sense for us), and they have a spacious (for this kind of boat) walk-around main deck which for us is an absolute requirement in a boat of this type.

And the deciding factor was that older GBs are damn near free in comparison to the boats we prefer. So the cost to get into this kind of boating would be minimal for us, yet we would still get a very good boat.

While we had never even considered a GB in our discussions about getting into this kind of boating in years past, when we decided to see what this kind of boating was about we decided to charter a boat first. A good friend of ours who at the time was in the marine diesel/generator manufacturing industry had a friend who owned a charter company in Bellingham. This company specialized in Grand Banks. So we chartered one because of the connection to the company, not because of the kind of boats they had, and while we were not particularly enamored with GB we loved the experience.

When we decided to commit to the "sport" and buy a boat of our own, it made sense to get a GB for the reasons I listed above plus we were now somewhat familiar with them from chartering and we had excellent contacts in the GB market so the search and buying process would be quick. We had and have no time for shopping for boats, poring over ads, walking docks, etc. We also don't have the interest in doing any of this and still don't.

So it was a fairly objective decision, not a subjective or emotional one in terms of the type of boat we got.

By sticking with GB and working with people we already knew and who were very experienced with the brand with connections in the market throughout the country-- plus our ace-in-the-hole friend in the marine diesel business-- it was a very fast process. The time between when we made the actual decision to buy a boat and when we put an offer on a boat was a little less than an hour.

Fourteen-plus years later we are still using the boat year round, going up to it almost every weekend, and enjoying the hell out of operating and maintaining it. We still don't much care for GBs aesthetically but this one has served us well in every respect except speed, and we may be doing something about that in the not-too-distant future, we'll see. So we've never had any regrets or "I wish we'd done this instead" moments since we bought the boat.

Pack Mule · Feb 10, 2013

We were making the big move from always owning sailboats.
Our wish list:
a trawler we didn't mind looking at
one we didn't mind working on
plenty of outside shaded lounging area
economical
shower
pressure hot and cold water
no fly bridge
ready for change

Underway · Feb 10, 2013

Sundeck
Cockpit for easy boarding @ low docks and dink
Twin engine safety/reliability
Spare cabin for occasional overnight guests
Dinette area separate from salon
Upper and lower controls

nemier · Feb 10, 2013

We bought our boat to cross oceans in luxury...
The N62 seems to fit the bill for serious passage-making.
We'll let you know how we get on!

Sailor Ken · Feb 12, 2013

Advice from a Tug Owner

MurrayM said:
We decided to step up in comfort from sea kayaking.

Last summer we drove 1,200 km and almost bought a sensibly sized first boat; a 23' trailerable diesel pocket trawler. The deal fell through at the last second because while on the hoist we discovered it weighed almost twice as much as was stated in a Pacific Yachting magazine article written in the early 80's. (The surveyor figured it was a combination of the writer using the hull weight, plus somebody putting extra weight in the keel.)

We had bought a better trailer for it, but it wasn't strong enough. We hit the slope of rationalization at full speed and started crunching the numbers...selling new trailer for a loss...buying a stronger trailer...buying a stronger truck...plus the cost to bring the boat up to snuff. We ended up walking away from the deal, but the sting was lessened by a feeling that the Karmic Forces had a better boat waiting for us that we didn't know about yet.

When we got home we went and finally looked at a Sundowner Tug which had been for sale locally for three years. We'd never gone to see it because it was a much bigger boat than we felt comfortable getting, and it was a slam-dunk the price would have been way out of our league...until that trip down the slippery slope of rationalization!

We got along with the PO's son and PO's wife really well. The sea trial was perfect. We settled on a partnership where the son, who's a millwright and knows the boat inside and out, will stay on through the years and teach us everything we need to know from the batteries on up.

So, now we have our retirement boat 13 years early

Murray M,

After reading your post, it sounded like a carbon copy of what I am considering. I found a 26' wooden pocket trawler with twin Mercury 50 hp. outboards with a trailer. I am coming over to the dark side from a 30' Nonsuch Cat Rig sailboat that I have loved for 18 years.

Since the woody is near you in Everett, WA, could you comment on taking this vessel through the San Juans and up the inside passage to southern Alaska? I hope I have executed this reply correctly since I just joined this forum.

Thanks,
Ken

Sailor Ken · Feb 12, 2013

Pinapple Girl,

I am condidering coming to the 'Dark Side' from a 30 Nonsuch Cat Rig. Since I am looking to keep my cost down to less than I sell/trade my Nonsuch for. I have 2 questions. 1. What is a PT 35? 2. I found a Willard in the classified section that is in your marina, can you comment on it's condition, seaworthyness and value?

Thanks,
Ken

MurrayM · Feb 12, 2013

Sailor Ken said:
Murray M,

After reading your post, it sounded like a carbon copy of what I am considering. I found a 26' wooden pocket trawler with twin Mercury 50 hp. outboards with a trailer. I am coming over to the dark side from a 30' Nonsuch Cat Rig sailboat that I have loved for 18 years.

Since the woody is near you in Everett, WA, could you comment on taking this vessel through the San Juans and up the inside passage to southern Alaska? I hope I have executed this reply correctly since I just joined this forum.
Ken

Hi Ken,

I'm nudged up near Alaska's panhandle so can be of little help about the San Juans, I'm afraid.

Without knowing much about the boat you're talking about, it's also hard to give any kind of opinion. All I can say is that having done the coast of BC by sea kayak, the most important decisions were knowing when to wait for favourable conditions for a particular run (even if it took days) or when to duck into a protected cove before a storm arrived. This would hold true for any kind of boat.

Marin · Feb 12, 2013

If you watch the weather and don't have a timetable you can do the Inside Passage sitting on a log. People have taken all manner of boats up the Passage. We know people who have gone up and back in a 22' C-Dory, a 26' Tollycraft, a little Ranger Tug, twenty-something foot SeaSports, Grady-Whites, and a San Juan 24 sloop.

Pineapple Girl · Feb 12, 2013

Sailor Ken said:
Pinapple Girl,
...
Thanks,
Ken

Ken I sent you a private message.

CW · Feb 12, 2013

Single, keel protected prop and rudder.
Walk around island berth.
Two state rooms.
Covered aft deck (back porch).
Pilothouse, additional flybridge a plus.
Galley up.
Air conditioning--we are in Florida.

Moonstruck · Feb 12, 2013

CW said:
Single, keel protected prop and rudder.
Walk around island berth.
Two state rooms.
Covered aft deck (back porch).
Pilothouse, additional flybridge a plus.
Galley up.
Air conditioning--we are in Florida.

All good reasons. I checked the listing out on your new boat. It looks like you got a good one.

Why did you buy your boat?

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