View Single Post
Old 05-09-2013, 08:42 PM   #46
MikeM
Senior Member
 
MikeM's Avatar
 
City: Virginia Beach
Vessel Name: Tuscan Sun
Vessel Model: Krogen 42
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 281
Quote:
Originally Posted by angus99 View Post
You're right, I could have been clearer on that.

On the maintenance part, it was mostly the realiziation that a 25-year-old boat with many more pumps and mechanical systems than I'm used to can require a lot of attention. I don't mean to trash the charter we had, but maintenance in some areas was lacking. The shower sump and salt water washdown pump both were inoperabe, as was the autopilot (not that we'd have used it anyway down there). The windlass needed a lot if coaxing, the starter solenoid on the generator needed to be manually engaged half the time (which meant a trip below) and the horn didn't work. The brand new heavy duty hoist (which is responsible for the slight list to port you might notice in the bow-on photo) leaks hydraulic fluid. Plus a couple of serious cabin leaks when it rained and one of the heads didn't dry-bowl. I spent more time than I should have trying to find the causes of problems and doing work-arounds where possible. I could probably repair or replace any of that with my own tools, but I didn't want to root through the owner's tools and spares and take on that liability. As I mentioned, I like working on boats and it's always bothersome to see one even slightly neglected. I saw a ton of other things I would fix or replace and it just became dialed-in for me how much maintenance is involved.

On the logistics piece, I was mainly referring to knowing all of the things that go into planning a route, knowing where you want to anchor that night, verifying bridge clearances (we had to drop the radio antenna going under "C" span heading north out of Sanibel) finding a good spot in a crowded anchorage, waiting for the wind to die before you attempt a complicated docking. Looking for reasonably priced diesel fuel (I used 20 gallons a year in my sailboat) and fitting the max amount of boating into 4 days on the water. Stuff like that. All things that most of you do reflexibly . . . and that I look forward to learning.

Thd key takeaway here is that none of this discouraged us. We had a blast. Hope that answers your question.
Thanks for clarifying. We we've looked at a few boats and really like the KK 42. We hope to charter one in the not too distant future. It's kind of disappointing to hear that it wasn't in the greatest of shape. I suppose a charter is pretty hit and miss.
MikeM is offline   Reply With Quote