aginglawyer
Member
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2015
- Messages
- 20
- Location
- US
- Vessel Name
- La Paloma Blanca
- Vessel Make
- Helmsman Trawler 38
My new Helmsman 38 Pilothouse was loaded on board its transport last week in China and is now en route to its new home on Bainbridge Island, Washington. After semi-customizing the boat with Scott Helker the builder and watching its construction via photos provided from the factory, we can almost smell the sea air as it comes in through the center windshield opening window. We are ready. And excited.
This is our sixth boat, having come to the Helmsman by way of a Catalina 30 sailboat, a 28 foot Bayliner that would take you anywhere but had problems bringing you home, a small Arima runabout and then two Ranger Tugs, a 25SC and a 29. With all of our time traveling and boating, we decided on a smaller house and a larger boat.
The decision to go with the Helmsman was easy once we became familiar with the boat. We were not aware of the Helmsman but then two of our friends own the same boat and we got such rave reviews from them and enjoyed their boats so much, we decided to more carefully look at the Helmsman. The experience of working with Scott on getting this boat has been excellent so far and we are hoping for a long relationship.
Our initial inclinations were to go with a Nordic Tug 38 or an American Tug 395, both excellent boats. We looked at these both very carefully and saw many used Nordics. The Nordics certainly hold their value as used boats and were quite expensive for 10-12 year old boats. The American Tug is an excellent boat but got a bit pricey for us. There has been talk of a larger Ranger Tug but so far, after a few years of talk, there is no boat on the horizon and I think we have outgrown Ranger Tugs and want a more substantial boat.
When we saw the completed Helmsman, however, there was really no comparison in terms of the finish and the value of the boats. The Helmsmans are definitely built by incredible craftsmen who take great pride in the work they do and it shows in the fit and finish and in the quality joinery with the well-matched woods inside the boat. Equally important to us has been the large amount of the inside space that is usable in the 38PH. With no side decks around the salon, the entire beam is available inside so the interior is vast compared to the other boats we looked at. Our friends have had about 20 people on board at the dock with no issues of space. While some might think that having no outside decks is a problem for docking, we don't see that issue. My wife takes a line off the boat from the swim step on arrival and secures the stern and then I had her the line for the bow from the helm door so we haven't used the side deck anyhow. The convenience of two helm doors is not to be underestimated here.
The components of the engine and drive train, the gauges and the controls also met our needs for quality reliable products and the custom electronics for navigation will be installed after arrival in the US. The value for dollar is part of what made our decision.
We plan to spend most of the summer on the boat so we have looked carefully at what we had previously. The Ranger Tug 29 fits a lot of stuff into a small space and a 10' beam but it was not enough space for our 3 week adventure last summer from the Seattle area to the Broughtons, a nearly 700 mile round trip. We hope to do a similar trip this summer but in six or eight weeks instead of three. Our boat will be used throughout the inside waters of the Northwest and may make a run up to Alaska if the spirit moves us.
This will be a new experience for us in another way: speed. In our Ranger Tug 29, we regularly cruised along at about 14-16 knots. In the Helmsman, we are more likely to be in the 7-9 knot range. In preparation for this change, we spent part of last summer just wandering around in our Ranger Tug at 8 knots and found it was actually pretty nice -- we had less worry about logs and deadheads, saw more of the surroundings and had a much more relaxed hold on the helm. We don't think this will be a difficult adjustment.
The boat will be docked about 2 minutes' walk from our front door. So, with a smaller house, the boat then becomes our guest quarters when we have company and an extension of our home at other times.
Now comes the hard part: we have to come up with a name for the boat. I have some I like and my wife has some she likes; it's just that the lists don't quite line up.
In the meantime, I will continue a log on commissioning this new boat and will be happy to answer any questions any may have. I suspect we are all going to be seeing a lot more Helmsmans around.
Any suggestions on breaking in the new boat will be most appreciated. The engine is a Cummins QSB6.7 380HP. I can provide more specs if anyone wishes.
Now then, back to the list of names.
Allan and Yvonne (with Admiral Fergus, the Westie)
This is our sixth boat, having come to the Helmsman by way of a Catalina 30 sailboat, a 28 foot Bayliner that would take you anywhere but had problems bringing you home, a small Arima runabout and then two Ranger Tugs, a 25SC and a 29. With all of our time traveling and boating, we decided on a smaller house and a larger boat.
The decision to go with the Helmsman was easy once we became familiar with the boat. We were not aware of the Helmsman but then two of our friends own the same boat and we got such rave reviews from them and enjoyed their boats so much, we decided to more carefully look at the Helmsman. The experience of working with Scott on getting this boat has been excellent so far and we are hoping for a long relationship.
Our initial inclinations were to go with a Nordic Tug 38 or an American Tug 395, both excellent boats. We looked at these both very carefully and saw many used Nordics. The Nordics certainly hold their value as used boats and were quite expensive for 10-12 year old boats. The American Tug is an excellent boat but got a bit pricey for us. There has been talk of a larger Ranger Tug but so far, after a few years of talk, there is no boat on the horizon and I think we have outgrown Ranger Tugs and want a more substantial boat.
When we saw the completed Helmsman, however, there was really no comparison in terms of the finish and the value of the boats. The Helmsmans are definitely built by incredible craftsmen who take great pride in the work they do and it shows in the fit and finish and in the quality joinery with the well-matched woods inside the boat. Equally important to us has been the large amount of the inside space that is usable in the 38PH. With no side decks around the salon, the entire beam is available inside so the interior is vast compared to the other boats we looked at. Our friends have had about 20 people on board at the dock with no issues of space. While some might think that having no outside decks is a problem for docking, we don't see that issue. My wife takes a line off the boat from the swim step on arrival and secures the stern and then I had her the line for the bow from the helm door so we haven't used the side deck anyhow. The convenience of two helm doors is not to be underestimated here.
The components of the engine and drive train, the gauges and the controls also met our needs for quality reliable products and the custom electronics for navigation will be installed after arrival in the US. The value for dollar is part of what made our decision.
We plan to spend most of the summer on the boat so we have looked carefully at what we had previously. The Ranger Tug 29 fits a lot of stuff into a small space and a 10' beam but it was not enough space for our 3 week adventure last summer from the Seattle area to the Broughtons, a nearly 700 mile round trip. We hope to do a similar trip this summer but in six or eight weeks instead of three. Our boat will be used throughout the inside waters of the Northwest and may make a run up to Alaska if the spirit moves us.
This will be a new experience for us in another way: speed. In our Ranger Tug 29, we regularly cruised along at about 14-16 knots. In the Helmsman, we are more likely to be in the 7-9 knot range. In preparation for this change, we spent part of last summer just wandering around in our Ranger Tug at 8 knots and found it was actually pretty nice -- we had less worry about logs and deadheads, saw more of the surroundings and had a much more relaxed hold on the helm. We don't think this will be a difficult adjustment.
The boat will be docked about 2 minutes' walk from our front door. So, with a smaller house, the boat then becomes our guest quarters when we have company and an extension of our home at other times.
Now comes the hard part: we have to come up with a name for the boat. I have some I like and my wife has some she likes; it's just that the lists don't quite line up.
In the meantime, I will continue a log on commissioning this new boat and will be happy to answer any questions any may have. I suspect we are all going to be seeing a lot more Helmsmans around.
Any suggestions on breaking in the new boat will be most appreciated. The engine is a Cummins QSB6.7 380HP. I can provide more specs if anyone wishes.
Now then, back to the list of names.
Allan and Yvonne (with Admiral Fergus, the Westie)
