C:\[esc]

Hi all.

I've been lurking and reading posts here for a few months, but now that I've actually placed a check in the mail, I feel that I should introduce myself. My name is Matt, my wife is Megan, and our daughter is Taylor. We cruise out of Tacoma, WA for most of the year.

Last week we purchased a 1983 Fu Hwa Europa Seahorse. I read the thread about what is, and what is not a Europa trawler, but since the owners manual calls this boat a Europa, I'm going with that.

This is my wife and my 4th real boat (not including canoes, dinghys, cartoppable sailboats, etc). Our first boat was*a 1979 Catalina 28 Sailboat that we owned for just over a year. We then traded up to a 1986 Catalina 30 Sailboat which we owned for almost 5 years. When my wife was pregnant with our daughter, we decided to sell the sailboat and get a smaller boat designed more for daytrips and quick outings that can get to a destination quickly, so we purchased a 1987 28' Bayliner Contessa. We still own the Bayliner, but have listed it with Gig Harbor Yacht Sales, so if anyone is interesed...

In August, we were visiting friends near Oak Harbor, and were walking the docks looking at boats. I happened to come up on one particular trawler, and mentioned to the folks we were staying at that in a year or two that was exactly the type of boat that we were looking at purchasing in another year or two.... and thought nothing of it.

In November, we got a phone call from our friends. It turns out, he knew the owner of that trawler, and the current owner was thinking of getting rid of it so that he could purchase a smaller Nordic Tug. Over the course of a few weeks, we looked into it, and it turns out that this boat was too perfect a fit for us to pass up on... so as I said in the beginning, last week we put the checks in the mail.

I've attached a few pictures of the boat, as well as a youtube vid I took during the survey. It's*not exactly thrilling video, but it's a pretty good look at the boat.

[video=[MEDIA=youtube]5cosZmog2pk[/MEDIA]]

I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions over time... but maybe I can help as well. In our previous boats, we've redone upholstery (new foam, new*covers) and carpet, we've rebuilt head systems (new head, new holding tank, new hoses), we've rewired helm station (fixing bad tachs, poor connections, and replicating the fishfinder mount for both stations), and I've built a 10' sailing dinghy in my garage using the stitch-and-glue method.

I'm a software engineer by trade, currently self-employed, and hope to leverage that knowledge in our boating hobby; one of my first projects is to figure out how to do a weather/charting/multi-media system using cheap 7-10" android displays throughout the boat. There's no reason, IMO, to spend $2k for a commercial system, when you can put one together for a couple hundred dollars worth of hardware and freely downloadable software... but we can get into that project at a later time.

*

Congratulations! Small world, I just looked at your video and saw my old house up on the hill there at Mariner's Cove!

Funny, I posted a similar note on a pacific northwest based listserv and one of the first responses I got was, "Oh, I know that boat. I recognize it from sailing the blue hill sailboat across from you "BlueMoon".

Small world, indeed.

Yes, C:\[ESC] will be the name of the boat.

My wife is afraid that it screams "There go the geeks".... but I resemble that remark. ;-)

mattkab wrote:



Yes, C:\[ESC] will be the name of the boat.

My wife is afraid that it screams "There go the geeks".... but I resemble that remark. ;-)

Click to expand...

Feel your inner geek! x= Jell 0 + HDD boot/2 FAT (Albert)



-- Edited by GonzoF1 on Thursday 2nd of February 2012 12:32:52 PM

I hope you never have to transit through New Orleans at the Mississippi River, the Bridge and lock tenders here have a hard time getting the name GUMBO (my boat) right. I have often had to spell it out, likewise when hailing marinas.
Steve W


-- Edited by Steve on Thursday 2nd of February 2012 02:14:35 PM

I figured "Sea Escape" will work for VHF hailing, planning, etc, but that is a clear problem.

Nice vessel, Matt. Sincere congrats. BTW, when you figure out how to do those electronics on-board for hundreds instead of thousands, you just go right ahead and publish those discoveries for us right here so the rest of us can follow suit.

mattkab wrote:
Yes, C:\[ESC] will be the name of the boat.

My wife is afraid that it screams "There go the geeks".... but I resemble that remark. ;-)

Click to expand...

I'm glad you're in my cruising area, so when the Coast Guard asks you to*"spell your vessel name"*over the VHF*I get to hear it.* I would love to see the look on the Coasties face when he writes it down!!*

"Charlie, colon, backslash, Bracket Echo, Sierra, Charlie, bracket."*

**************************************** H U H* ??*

Not sure the USCG will allow you to document a vessel with symbols in the name... it is a cool name though

7tiger7 wrote:

Not sure the USCG will allow you to document a vessel with symbols in the name... it is a cool name though

Click to expand...

And yet, you can name your boat 'Mayday'. Go figger.

Edelweiss wrote:
"Charlie, colon, backslash, Bracket Echo, Sierra, Charlie, bracket."*

**************************************** H U H* ??*

Click to expand...

* * * ** :teevee: * Ditto! *******

GonzoF1 wrote:And yet, you can name your boat 'Mayday'. Go figger.

Click to expand...

That's because "mayday" for an emergency technically*isn't spelled that way.* It's spelled "m'aider" which is part of the*French*phrase. "venez m'aider" which means "come help me."** An "er" at the end of a word in French is generally pronounced "ay" as in "day."* Actually, so is "ez."

So if you name your boat "Mayday" you're just fine. But if you name it "M'aider" the USCG will come and blow you out of the water and then send you a bill for the ammunition.

Your history lesson for the day......

I am pretty sure you cannot name a vessel "Mayday", or any other word which sounds like a word which is generally used to request aid at sea (ie, you can't call a ship "Ess-O-Ess")

7tiger7 wrote:
I am pretty sure you cannot name a vessel "Mayday", or any other word which sounds like a word which is generally used to request aid at sea (ie, you can't call a ship "Ess-O-Ess")

Click to expand...

*"The United Nations and International Maritime Organization (IMO) have designated "Mayday" as the international distress code."

Making a hoax "Mayday" call is a criminal act in 170 of the*member countries of the*United Nations.**The danger to the rescuers' lives that a*rescue operation can create, the potential for real emergencies elsewhere, as well as the*high costs of such rescue efforts, makes a false distress call an international crime.*

Making a false distress call in the United States is a federal crime carrying sanctions of up to six years imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000.

I don't know. . . . what do you think?? * My guess is the Coast Guard takes a dim view of calling mayday over the radio even if it is your boats name.**I'll bet you only do it once!!

Larry B.**

In Canada, you must get your name approved. "Mayday" or anything that might sound like it on the VHF, will not be approved. Period

mattkab wrote:
Yes, C:\[ESC] will be the name of the boat.

My wife is afraid that it screams "There go the geeks".... but I resemble that remark. ;-)

Click to expand...

Hello Matt

C:\[ESC]*is*great name for your boat!* Cool survey video... looks like you found a real nice craft, congrats!* Be chating with ya in the future and look forward to hear your tricks on equipment building.* I'm in SF Bay area.

Happy Trawler Daze!! - Art

These are all good points on the name.

I'm thinking the name on the registration and the documentation may be "Sea Escape", with the name on the Transom being C:\[ESC]. Need to look into the legality of that though...

What's on the transom has to match the documentation with specific height characters, etc....

mattkab wrote:
These are all good points on the name.

I'm thinking the name on the registration and the documentation may be "Sea Escape", with the name on the Transom being C:\[ESC]. Need to look into the legality of that though...

Click to expand...

Matt - I say go with your passion!* But, that's the way I am!!* LOL

It is time the CG came into the 21st Century and learned the most*basic computer-term lingo-layout.* Think they can??* *

Here it is.

*

The name and hailing port of a recreational vessel must be marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull. The vessel name of a commercial vessel must also be marked on the port and starboard bow and the vessel name and the hailing port must also be marked on the stern. All markings may be made by any means and materials that result in durable markings and must be at least*four inches*in height, made in clearly legible letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals. The "hailing port" must include both a place and a State, Territory, or possession of in the United States. The state may be abbreviated.

My broker (selling my 28' Bayliner wrote the following):


I checked*with (internal contact, specifics removed) and**he advises me that for a state-registered boat it's no issue (what's on the transom is irrelevant: in fact the state identifies the boat by hull-number, tied to your WA number on the bow... same for insurance), but for a documented boat it might be ... what shows as the boat's name and home-port on the documentation MUST be also painted on the transom.
*
For what it's worth, the documented name ignores "symbols" so your document would show CESC as the name of the boat, and your transom-painted name just has a lot of "punctuation"... hehe
*
and if you want to get relly obscure, the "home port" does not have to even be a city on the water -- it only needs to have an official post-office in the named community.
I haven't decided if I'm going to document through the USCG, but if I don't, then this seems to confirm what I've been hearing -- namely that the name on the boat is meaningless -- its the registration*number on the bow that matters, and I could do whatever I want for the printed name.* At least in Washington State.
All Interesting information...

Our Arima is registered in Washington State and it doesn't have a name at all. Well, it does--- Malolo--- but it is not lettered on the boat nor is there any reference to the name on the state registration form. In fact I don't think there is even a space for a boat name on the state registration form but I could be mistaken on that.

We didn't even "name" the Arima until a year or two after we bought it (and registered it). Washington State couldn't care less what you name your boat as it plays no role in the boat's registration.

So if you don't document your vessel, you can name it whatever you want in this state, including whatever punctuation or symbols you want to use.

As for emergencies, while the USCG or Canadian Coast Guard will ask for the name of the boat, they are far more interested in its description (make, color, etc.) and its exact location. That is the information they use when broadcasting requests for assistance.

mattkab wrote:I haven't decided if I'm going to document through the USCG, but if I don't, then this seems to confirm what I've been hearing -- namely that the name on the boat is meaningless -- its the registration*number on the bow that matters, and I could do whatever I want for the printed name.* At least in Washington State.All Interesting information...

Click to expand...

*Are you planning to go to Canada with the boat?* If so, will it make a difference if it's not USCG documented?

I've never taken one of my own boats into Canada, so I have no firsthand knowledge.

From what I understand, though, both documented and state registered recreational boats can transit the border with no restrictions, other than normal border crossing rules. USCG documented vessels have an "easier" time doing so, especially in regard to commerce and trade. I like the idea of documenting the boat, though, and will probably do it.

We plan to take our boat up to Canada at some point, but not in the next year or two. There are many, many excellent cruising destinations closer to home that we would like to re-visit, or see for the first time.

In Washington State, you have to register your boat regardless of documentation or*State titled.

I go to canada several times each year and have been*doing so*for 30 plus years.* It's pretty much the same as taking a car or motorhome across the border.* I don't think they really care if a recreational boat is documented or titled.* They usually want your boat registration, passport(s), ask if you have firearms on board, how much alcohol, how long*you're staying.* If they are busy that's usually it.* If they have the time they may look in the fridige and a few cupboards.

My experience only, but usually they are the busiest and understaffed at*Bedwell on the BC side and San Juan Island on the US side.* If you go to*either you may have to wait during the summer months.* With boat skippers following the customs officers up and down the dock, usually they just exam your paperwork and let you go.

It can be a real goat frolic in the summer months.

Larry B

*


-- Edited by Edelweiss on Saturday 4th of February 2012 01:07:51 PM

Matt, what is the boat you are rowing in your avatar, it looks nice. Will you be using it for your dinghy?
Steve W


-- Edited by Steve on Saturday 4th of February 2012 02:08:49 PM

FlyWright wrote:

Click to expand...

*Are you planning to go to Canada with the boat?* If so, will it make a difference if it's not USCG documented?

*No, you can take any boat to Canada as long as it has the appropriate paperwork.* It can be documented or it can be state registered.* Same with returning to the US, of course.* We use our documentation number and that's what's on file now so that's what Canadian and US customs use.* But if we went across using our Washington registration, that would be fine, too.* And of course, you have to have the approprate personal identification, too.

Larry--- Bedwell is a breeze these days.* There is still a manned office but they don't care about your boat uniess they're told by the main office to inspect it.* Clearing in is by phone outside the office and there is a bank of them.* We have never had to wait to clear customs and since we're in the "system" clearance has usually taken only about five minutes.

One more thing required for Americans cruising in Canada - radio licenses.

Youre not required to have them in US waters, but if youre heading across the border you do need two FCC radio licenses one for you, and one for the boat. The Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit (for you) is issued for life. The Ship Station License (for the boat) must be renewed every ten years.

The dinghy in my Avatar is a 9' Livingston that goes with the Bayliner that I'm selling (it has all the davits hooked up and what not).

The dinghy I had planned to use on my next boat I'm building in my garage (picts attached) -- it's a 10' v-hulled sailing dinghy. However, now that I have looked around on our new boat, I don't think I have a convenient place to store it, so it may just become a weekend sailor and fishing boat for local lakes.

The current boat does come with an inflatable.

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