Northern Spy
Guru
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2012
- Messages
- 4,075
- Location
- Canada
- Vessel Name
- Northern Spy
- Vessel Make
- Nordic Tug 26
John, as a matter of interest, why did you fall out of love with the N35 so quickly..? Do you really, really, really want to do real blue water cruising, or are you more in love with the dream of doing it..? I must humbly admit I probably fall into that latter category….
By the way, if you are really serious, there's a Diesel Duck being advertised on the forum right now. They are definitely ocean capable...Google the exploits of 'ICE'…
ICE
I should clarify that we love our N35 and it has served its mission of getting us back on the water. Remember this purchase was always meant to be a test boat to see if Mary was ready for boating again. The boat is 100% amazing between its quality, robustness, performance and great looks which Mary has become accustomed to and thus the reason I went with another Nordhavn. Our biggest problem over the past years of boat ownership has always been the lack of time to set out for weeks or months at a time but we are getting closer to reaching early retirement and I would like to make our next boat the one that can take us to Hawaii, Alaska, Panama and the east coast. We have no desire to go around the world and it will only be the two of us aboard 90% of the time so I need a smaller boat that can accomplish this mission. Stabilization and range are two key factors we need to consider thus we keep coming back to smaller FD boats.
The N40 (with our custom layout we almost built) is really the perfect boat for us followed possibly by the N47 (a little big for me) but the prices of new boats are killing us. To pay close to $800K for an N40 doesn't make financial sense and a N52 (N47 is out of production) is well over $1M. I'm a little guy playing in this game who prefers a new boat (so does the real captain) for the warranty and historically fewer issues to deal with once we push off. To matters a little more confusing recent changes at work are causing some ripples in our plans to start taking more time off (near term) before formal retirement and may result in us just keeping the N35 for a few more years. I should know about this within the next month or two in the mean time we have the boat listed.
Life rarely goes as planned and one of the few guarantees we all have is that time will run out sooner then we think, gotta make that last voyage soon!
John T.
N3522
La Tempestad
John,
This may seem to be a smart question ... and it is in no way meant to be that way.. but how much do you budget to loose every time you do one of these boat changes?
I go through a few boats, but I do it at the lower end of the financial scale.. and I do a decent job of getting my boats for a good value.. but switching boats rarely is even a close to break even deal. I do ALL my own boat work and I on rare occasion break even on the equipment/parts/supplies that I "invest" in a boat... never the labor.
I as obviously do you love Nordhavn boats.. but unless one is doing real blue water passages they rarely are a necessity.
HOLLYWOOD
I like the MS 56 for its functionality but as Hollywood pointed out, it is one ugly son of a gun.
I got the original pic from the Nordhavn site, then used the computer to adjust it a little bit. With a redrawn line here, some junk left off there, I think it is an acceptable looking boat. With that variable pitch prop and slow revving Lugger, this thing can go just about anywhere. Trouble is, when you get there you want to park it out back.
So I tried to fix it.
What do you think?
I didn't mean to offend any MS56 fans, as I personally love the boats.Well, I don't agree the MS 56 is not acceptable looking, but setting that aside a moment. You've made some pretty significant changes. I don't think any dinghies are ugly but I wouldn't want to have a boat that size without one. I also consider the safety railings a nice safety feature and not unattractive. Also, I'd like the radar arch even though I don't think electronics are attract anyway but not leaving them off for appearance and do value the arch. Are we ready to trade function for looks?
If so, I'd suggest:
I didn't mean to offend any MS56 fans, as I personally love the boats.
The idea was to see if it could be made to look more traditional without costing any functionality. A dream exercise, for amusement purposes.
A porta-boat folding dinghy could lay flat on that roof, the big deck up there would be roomy enough to unfold it. I showed what I think might be the GPS gear on the deck there, the radar would be mounted on the main mast about 20 feet up in a way that wouldn't foul the jib when it's walked across, if at all possible.
I reviewed some drawings and pictures and you are right about the aft railings. Those bulwarks are only a bit over knee high, so safety first- I'd leave the rails alone.
The picture windows in the saloon seemed fragile for a passagemaker, so I redrew it with several smaller windows for strength.
I thought it looked more shippy.
I didn't mean to offend any MS56 fans, as I personally love the boats.
The idea was to see if it could be made to look more traditional without costing any functionality. A dream exercise, for amusement purposes.
A porta-boat folding dinghy could lay flat on that roof, the big deck up there would be roomy enough to unfold it. I showed what I think might be the GPS gear on the deck there, the radar would be mounted on the main mast about 20 feet up in a way that wouldn't foul the jib when it's walked across, if at all possible.
I reviewed some drawings and pictures and you are right about the aft railings. Those bulwarks are only a bit over knee high, so safety first- I'd leave the rails alone.
The picture windows in the saloon seemed fragile for a passagemaker, so I redrew it with several smaller windows for strength.
I thought it looked more shippy.
Well, you're not taking my dinghy away....lol
Why would one give up a nice dinghy for a porta-boat. That's like trading a nice toilet for a porta-potti?
As to the windows, can't tell from a photo the strength or fragility.
You're right. It's a trade off on looks versus practicality. Personally, I don't think the boat looks bad. It just looks like a Nordhavn. Funny, when I see a Nordhavn, I really don't think of how it looks in comparison to other boats. Just know it's going to look like a Nordhavn.
But I'm not giving up the dinghy. lol
And you didn't comment on the boat photo I threw in. Might not be practical as a passagemaker with a 100 mile range, but can get you to the next fuel stop fast and look good doing it.
A dinghy, to me, is just a ship to shore conveyance so a porta-boat doesn't bother me, but then I'll never really be a Nordhavn customer, either.Well, you're not taking my dinghy away....lol
Why would one give up a nice dinghy for a porta-boat. That's like trading a nice toilet for a porta-potti?
As to the windows, can't tell from a photo the strength or fragility.
You're right. It's a trade off on looks versus practicality. Personally, I don't think the boat looks bad. It just looks like a Nordhavn. Funny, when I see a Nordhavn, I really don't think of how it looks in comparison to other boats. Just know it's going to look like a Nordhavn.
But I'm not giving up the dinghy. lol
It reminds me of my brother-in-law's bass boat when he's trying to get to the good spot first.
Oh, yes. My bro in law is a tournament chasing bass man, he has an old 19 or 20 footer but she's packin' a 250 hp Mercury and tops out at 70+ mph, he told me. Smooth ride, too.We lived on a lake in NC covered with bass fishermen. Actually on the lake there were fishermen, average boat 17-18', speed 30-40 mph. Then there were bass fishermen, average boat 19-24', speed 50-70 mph. The only reason some went to longer boats was so they could put more motor on it. A lot of 250-300 hp outboards sold.
Just a few go-fast boats like the one in the photo and they were much smaller than it.
The start of bass tournaments, you'd think that there were only three or four spots on a 30 mile lake that actually had bass.
I like the MS 56 for its functionality but as Hollywood pointed out, it is one ugly son of a gun.
I got the original pic from the Nordhavn site, then used the computer to adjust it a little bit. With a redrawn line here, some junk left off there, I think it is an acceptable looking boat. With that variable pitch prop and slow revving Lugger, this thing can go just about anywhere. Trouble is, when you get there you want to park it out back.
So I tried to fix it.
What do you think?
I think Nordhavn painted it that way to accentuate the "Nordie butt" that is their standard.Nobody has mentioned the clean line along the shear, which is just a paint change. I think the shear looks a lot nicer this way.
A dinghy, to me, is just a ship to shore conveyance so a porta-boat doesn't bother me, but then I'll never really be a Nordhavn customer, either.
Nordies have their own look, they are unmistakable, even at a distance.I think Nordhavn painted it that way to accentuate the "Nordie butt" that is their standard.
Dave
Exploring is definitely fun and rewarding, no doubt!I'm allergic to orange. lol
It's amazing how we all use our boats differently and then see dinghies or tenders differently. We normally overnight at marinas but we probably use our ribs as much as anyone. At least those who know laugh at us. But we love to go explore those areas the boat won't go. Shallow, under low bridges. All around islands. We've had days that we were gone the entire day in the rib. Well, did have to refuel a couple of times. But places like Savannah with all the wildlife reserves and on up the rivers and the islands in the Bahamas and around Destin and Panama City.
That said, we would have to have a better way to get the dinghy into and out of the water. Would also probably want a little larger dinghy. But then we're not their targeted customer.
The way the N 56 is built, these changes are only possible in fantasy land. The entire deck/pilothouse out to the bulwarks is one piece from a female mold and it wouldn't be feasible to do this.Bluto: When altering the looks of traditional boats as we know them here on TF, you'll always get a wide spectrum of opinion. Thank Heaven's we do, cuz if we didn't, all boats would be built and marketed the same. Take a jaunt down to Miami and look through the marinas.....full of carved bars of soap,....boring and unimaginative even with their incredible interiors. The N-56 might be functionally styled, as is my boat. I like what you've done with it cuz it's more my style, but for the most part, we gotta live with them the way they are or have an awful lot of money to burn.
Every change I've made to my boat, I've Photo-Shopped first to see if I've made an even more style-challenged boat more challenged than before. So far, so good, but I've gotten a great deal of critique from traditionalists, which unfortunately is the kind of buyer that is interested in function over form designs, and eventually who I'll have to market my boat to as well.
T
I like the N56 and if I had one I wouldn't let anyone near her with a saw in their grubby hand..
Still, it's fun to play designer when it doesn't cost anything or damage any boats.
Agreed, but with these older 70's and 80's boats, if one sees an opportunity to improve something without compromising the strength, balance, CG, saftey or intention of the design, modern materials and tech "could" improve performance, convenience, and maybe even the appearance. Necessity forced me to take a saw to mine already, and I'm not done yet.
There have been some smaller power vessels designed for long range cruising. Whether or not they were truly practical I know not.
Camano, Bob Warman, designed a 36'?? Camano of aluminum many years ago which was supposed to be able to reach Hawaii from Vancouver, B.C.
Loved the look of the boat but I don't think there were more than one or two sold. I did see one in person many years later.