Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Spy
Read George Buehler's book, "The Troller Yacht", then go out and buy and convert a fishboat with good bones.
A gigantic gulf coast shrimp boat conversion pulled into Powell River a few weeks back. Did all the work himself and is now out there doing it.
Many people in this site will dissuade your dreams.
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I thought the coolest shrimper converted was about a 65 footer named Blue jeans. The sail tender was called patches and the rowboat called cutoffs. In Miami circa 1978.
Nothing wrong with dreams...but every time some very inexperienced boater shows up with dreams and casts off with disastrous results....the dark side tells the gauntlet of who encouraged who that they were responsible. After all the deaths on my professional watch...I don't need any more.
I say go for it...but mechanic skills are secondary to captain skills when in the briny and the only way to get that experience is dedicated study and practical experience...... 6 years is enough, if it is dedicated and not just laps around the sea buoy.
Part personality...that can accelerate learning or virtually destroy it....just hard to judge in a forum and others have warned me to be more conservative.
But my firm belief is that boating isn't all that hard...but from a full timer in many aspects of it for 55 years or more, I am a lousy overseer of what experience one should get underway with.