Newer member/first post

Hi,By way of introduction, I have been a member for a short time and have enjoyed the informative postings. Thought maybe it was time to jump in the water and introduce myself. My name is John, I am a life long boater, started with my father when I was six. My Dads' pasion was harpoon swordfishing, and most of boating has revolved around sport fishing. However, now is the time to change course and do a different type of boating.

My wife and I are retired moved to Florida in 2000 from taxachussetts(Mass). We have been looking for a trawler, pocket style and compact for over a year. Yesterday we found what we have looking for. We have a deposit on a Prarie 29, built in 1978,with a Perkins 4-108. The seller is the orginial and only owner. Needles to say we are execited and looking fwd to a different type of boating.

As time progress and we need information we will be asking for your assistance. From what I have onserved over the last several months, you folks are really good at providing assistance and guidance. Any suiggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks.

John

Welcome aboard John. I'm pretty new to this site as well and find it very informative. I know there are many more knowledgeable people on here than I, so the only information I would suggest on your purchase is to have a very good Marine Surveyor check it out.

Good luck and let us hear from you.

Welcome aboard John. I am a former Prairie 29 owner. They are excellent boats!!! Feel free to ask me about it. We had a 1981/82....29-55....the last P29 built. It is still in the area here in Texas. Anyway, fantastic "little" boats!!!!

I'm new here too but welcome. Everyone here has been great and they even tolerate my many questions!!

John,

Welcome aboard. As you stated, there are many folks here with a lot of knowledge about boating. Right off the bat you found out Baker is a former owner of a Prairie 29, so he'd be an excellent resource. *And as Rooster suggested a good survey is*crucial.


I say this having just met a man who had boats for many years, but thought he didn't need a survey on his last boat.....he could do it all. *Bad idea. *I'd also suggest a diesel survey on the Perkins, just to establish the baseline for wear in the future. *The survey will also let you know if there are hidden problems. *I had a Perkins 4-108 on my Cheoy Lee Clipper 36 a few years back and they're very sound engines.


As a life long boater you're probably already aware of all this, but it never hurts to be sure.


Again, welcome aboard!




Mike
Brookings, Oregon

Roostor wrote:

*I would suggest on your purchase is to have a very good Marine Surveyor check it out.

Click to expand...

Look around don't just hire anybody.
It is easy to hang a sign and become a Marine Surveyor.* You see adds in the boating rags all the time on how to become a Marine Surveyor in 10 easy lessons..

A good source could be your broker or ask around at Marinas or boat yards get refrences. A good Survey can make or break a deal.*Or your wallet.

SD

*


-- Edited by skipperdude on Wednesday 18th of August 2010 09:59:53 AM

And I would say find somebody local to suggest a surveyor. The brokers know who the "Santa Clauses" are and that is who they will recommend so that there is less chance of a surveyor poo pooing the deal. You want a surveyor that will make the broker cringe.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. I guess I wasn't clear. This is my first trawler,not my first boat or my first rodeo in purchasing. In fact I have owned a boat every year of my life since i was 15. I have worked as a marine consultant and professional Capt for several different owners. Your suggestions are all excellent and are of course minimal steps to be taken when considerig a purchase.

My concerns are around issues of cruseing and doing so at a slow pace. I am used to pushing the throttles up and getting near instant response. Of course the fuel burn rate equals that efffect in the rate it disapears.

Specifically, we have been looking for a Prarie 29'. I deliverd one from Maine to SE Mass several years ago and was greatly impressed with the seakeeping ability and the fuel economy of this little gem. So I am execited to find this one owner and her history. The biggest problem we face, is the fact she has been idle for five years, engine has been started regulary,as has the gen set. Thats a lot of idle time, and that can cause a whole horde of sub issues to surface, usually according to Murphys law. My wife is not at 100% health and we need to be prepared for everything and anything. One of the nice things about the prarie29 is she can easily be singlehanded.

My surveyor is an individual I have worked with for several years. I am totally confident in his skills and his candid opinions.

We are also interested in replaceing the carpet with hardwood flooring. Once the survey is complete and we have our baseline we will let you know and see what happens next.
Thanks for the greetings and be assured we have no intentions of purchaseing without a survey.

John

Welcome and I hope all goes well with the survey!
I used to have a Camano 31 "fast" trawler and cruised around 12-14 K the first year I had her. Then I made a trip buddy boating with another Camano owner who cruised 7-8K, I felt like we were standing still! But I got used to it and enjoy it much more at that speed. Top speed in my Monk is maybe 9k I rarely go more than 7.5. The benefit to the pocketbook from fewer stops at the fuel dock also is appreciated.
Where in Florida will you be boating?
Good luck,
Steve W.

East coast, of central Florida. Port canaveral is our home port. We live close in Merritt Island. First cruises will be on the east coast. Hope to spend time next summer in the Chesapeake Bay.

John

The biggest problem we face, is the fact she has been idle for five years, engine has been started regulary,as has the gen set.

Starting is actually a disaster as the engine never gets warmed up.

The circ water may go up , but the engine is COLD and with no load simply loading the oil with blowby .

I would demand a compression check and oil sample as a minimum.

We are glad to hear that there are other Prairie Trawler owners in Florida. *I think that by the time we take "Slo Poke" home to North Port, FL, on the West Coast, from Baltimore it will be nearer the end of September. *We have only spent 2 nights on her and slept very well. *we also look forward to adapting her to our needs etc, meanwhile, searching the remaining "cubbies" for all the gems left by the former owner.*We have a Perkins 4-154 and have no spares for the raw water pump.... something we plan to purchase before we leave the dock .... Otherwise, I believe we have spares for everything else courtesy of the former owner. Donna

FF thats a great point, appreciate the suggestion.

John

Donna, Think you got a great boat. We were talking to the broker about going up to see her, when he informed me you had her under contract. Enjoy your trip home, it is a great time to be on the ICW going south. When you get near our area give us a shout.

John

There are several Prarie 29's for sale here in Florida. I am sure we both saw the same boats advertised. Be interesting to determine how many we have in the state and if we can perhaps have a get together some time.

John

It is a small world out there. *While up here in Massachusetts, Rick went to his 50th class reunion and met an old classmate, who is friends with the former owner, a retired engineer. *And yes, we think we have a great boat. *For sure we will look you up when we get South! * *Donna

We saw one in Northern Florida that was North of Tampa and one in Cape Coral, FL. *gave up looking until Slo Poke came up for sale. *Knew what we wanted and didn't hesitate to by her.! *I don't know of any others here. *Did your boat come from Florida?

Donna, Indeed a small world, we just got back from Mass, my home state, thre weeks ago. This fall is my class 50th . *We looked at two of the boats listed, one in new Port Richie and one in Ft Meyers.

Water pump should be an easy part to pick up. Call to Atlantic Yacht Basin in Great Bridge,Va. You will go right past them and they might have the part or be able to have it by the time you reach them.

John

Please send us your Phone# and email address to place in our address book. *bacchus42@mac.com * Rick and Donna Cass

We looked at the same boats. New Port richey is just north of Tampa, and the Ft meyers was really in Cape Coral. The Cape Coral Boat was in rough shape. We made an offer and she failed the survey badly.

Our boat was never formally listed, a friend of ours told us about this boat. It is from Tampa, and these are the orginial owners. They were thinking of selling and we went and looked. It kind of just worked out. *There are two others in the state that I know of as being for sale and one in Boston.

John

How great is that! *and already in Florida! *Donna

So did y'all look at the one they are asking $22k for??? I know it is rough on the outside but a paint job is relatively cheap compared to engines and generators....especially since they claim that boat had new hull paint....just paint the topsides. Anyway, just curious as that boat is listed very cheap. And Sortie, if that is the boat that failed the survey badly, what were the problems?

Multiple issues. Rear and fwd seals had leaks. Transmisson seal leaked.Head not hooked up to holding tank. Fuel tank was a plastic tank, 1"1/2 hose reduced from 2" fill hose. Several serious wiring issues, ac unit frozen, gen set not plumed to fuel tanks and improperly wired. Delamation in several spots on dec near rails. Indications of hull stress(hurricane) damage.

My offerwas for 7$ thousand less then asking, way to many issues. My survey was the second that failed. Too much time and money needed to get her ready. Someone who has a year to get things done can get a great boat, I just didn't have the time.

John

We had a survey on that boat and didn't complete it because of too many issue to deal with. *It was advertised as having two AC's. *One was a rusted hulk and the second was one installed in the rear port window. *The broker had to come with a spare fuel can to run the generator and it was too loud ! *What work was done was incomplete or done poorly! *I did not feel we could trust what had been completed.

We did not complete our survey either. We were about half way through a growing and extensive list of issues when I decided to cancel the remainder of the survey. That saved me some money on the survey plus the haul out. Donna is correct, in addition to the issues that needed attention you had a list of items that supposedly been repaired but were very poorly done.

The painting of the upper part of the vessel, were minor compared to the other issues. Fiberglass repair work on the decks was scary to look at, made you wonder was under the paint job on the hull.

Someone who has the skills and the time could at the end of a year have a great boat. I have the skills but lack the motivation to spend that much time restoring the boat. You really do have to restore it, top to bottom.

John

Yikes...thanks for the replies!!!

If you had the time and the money and got the boat for free .... you might break even!

What's the hull look like below the WL on the Praire 29?

Eric Henning

Don't know if you mean in general, but here are photos of the bottom of our boat!

Straycat,The keel and rudder are a lot like my Willard but the flat strait run aft is way different. The stability from a flatish bottom is golden but the efficiency of a full displacement stern is good too. My Willy (Willard) is an 8 ton boat that only requires about 18hp to cruise 6 knots but if I want to go faster (and I'd live to) no amount of power would deliver. You must have considerable power to require a 4 blade wheel. That big rudder should work great in following seas and while maneuvering in close quarters.
Here is the Willy before any bottom work was done. Looks like new now.


Eric Henning