new to the dark side

My wife and I are now the owners of "Seahorse", a Tung Hwa 30 Clipper. I am (was) a lifelong sailor until last year when we sold our Newport 28 . We decided if we were going to cruise around the sound at 6-8 knots we might as well have some cabin space to live in, not to mention see out of. Lots to learn in this new venture,but a lot fewer strings to pull.

You've seen the light, welcome.

Congratulations. You sound exactly like us. We had a sailboat for many years. As it turns out in the Northwest, when the weather is nice, there is no wind. We motored almost all the time. So we made the switch to power a two years ago. A little faster, lots more room, and much more comfortable.

One of the boats I race crewed on in the early 80s was a Newport 28. The owner put mylar sails on it, a hydraulic backstay, and other race stuff but it was still like entering a Formula 1 race with a Kenworth. Very well built--- and heavy--- boat. We actually won our PHRF class one season, not because we ever came in first in a race but because we so consistently came in third.

Later the owner sold the N28 and bought a "proper" racing boat and we did much better. Although while it was longer it wasn't nearly as comfortable and "liveable" as the N28. Very nice sloop, that Newport was.

Welcome aboard. Lots of ex-sailors here, who reasoned exactly as you did.

John

Welcome, I'm from the other camp that did 30 knots and had to slow down. I still get the urge now and again but then I think about my fuel bills then and now and I sit back and relax. Enjoy the forum.

Welcome. Had a Ranger 33 in Puget Sound for a number of years, Rusty said it well. Every time we wanted to actually get somewhere, we motored. My bet is that you will love the change.

Chris

All your sailor friends will be jealous. Welcome.

Welcome. We were sailors and long distance cruisers for 17 years before we sold our sailboat and bought the trawler. We're currently in the Bahamas having as much fun as we did on the sailboat. Well, except we wait for weather a lot more than we used to. Chuck

AM- Did you happen to purchase your Tung Hwa in Gig Harbor? I ask as I looked at one there last year while I was down for the purpose of purchasing our Marben. The Tung Hwa was a last moment deal for consideration prior to commitment to the Marben. The Tung Hwa accommodations are excellent and that one was in fair shape worth the price.
Welcome to the forum, you will learn a tonn of information that you can actually use and the personalities are compatible compared to other forums.
Al Johnson-Ketchikan
27' Marben pocket trawler

Al, yes, we got her in Gig Harbor. Been lurking on this forum for about 6 months, and seriously looking at boats since Dec. We came down to three boats, the two others were Island Gypsy's, a 30 and a 32. The layout of the Tung Hwa won out over the galley forward on the port side of the I G's. We got a few dollars off because of steering issues,already replaced the hyd. ram at the rudder and may have issues with the lower steering pump.Also may be an auto-pilot in the future.

Yep., I bet that was the one. Breakwater was the agent. It had steering issue with the fly bridge station. It would revolve without end. Had a starting issue to, but the showing agent did have it running. The difference for me was the engine room access and the teak deck on the top and particularly foreward deck. We have 150 inches of rainfall average per year. None of the Taiwan boats excape deck leaks where teak is involved due to the process they use to fasten in that much rain.
Windows too become a challenge with that much rain. I don't believe that is as bit an issue in the Puget Sound area, although I read repair inquiries on the matter from that area. The Marben is solid fiberglass house and deck, no core in the house and the widows are aluminum set in such a way that leakage is not a challenge.
In the whole though, your boat, if it is the same one, (the owner lives in Arizona most of the year I believe) will give you years of very reasonable boating cost.
You are correct, the interior room for a 30 footer is amazing.
Again, welcome to the forum, good folks willing to share, sometimes particular members make snarky comments, just overlook those and sluice out the good stuff offered.
Al Johnson-Ketchikan