Your boating history...

My high school and college years were spent with OB skiffs and one plywood OB cruiser. The big 16' cedar planked skiff had oak frames and batten seams. I ran about 12 knts with a 15 hp Evinrude. Spent most of my time on rivers and Puget Sound standing amidships holding on to a heavy line tied to a frame. I learned a lot about how a boat should handle with this one. I rebuilt a 14' version of the same boat and it was'nt up to the standards of the 16. I had a plywood sail boat on Mission Bay in SanDiego ( while in the Navy ). Not really anyplace to go but out into the ocean but it was very pleasant sailing in the bay. Later in college I had a Bryant 17' OB cruiser with a 35hp Johnson. It was a very light mahogany plywood boat and I got good economy at about 12knts and the mixture leaned out. I remember crossing Georgia Strait at 7 knts amid 3' seas .. actually a pleasant memory, as I sang boldly to the seaguls ( I had just broken up w a girl ). Not long after that I took a 7 day trip on that boat and had a wonderful time. In my senior years in college I designed a ultra light OB boat. Several years later I was teaching HS shop in the Queen Charolette Islands and there built a 28' version of that boat. The cross section of the boat looked a little like a W with one more V in the middle. One could say it was a little like a cross between a cathedral and a trimaran hull. Fortunetely it was a good sea boat or I would have drowned at sea playing with it. It rode very softly despite it's ultralight displacement and went 14knts at half throttle w a 55hp Johnson 3cyl. Soon after that I took the boat to Juneau for one of the highlights of my life among whales, misty clouds, sea otters, seals and beautiful ice. My navigation equipment was a Silva hand held compas ( w quivering needle ) and a Forest Service map.....youth. Actually it was summer and charts were nowhere to be found.
Eric Henning
30 Willard
Thorne Bay AK

Well, first it was the inner tube. No, it was the plastic boats in the bathtub. I grew up in and around the water of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, TX. I was in boats of some kind literally as long as I can remember. We lashed barrels to pallets to make our own. Found one abandoned wooden pirouge (pee-row) and my friends mom got the station wagon and helped us haul it home. We put our allowances together and bought a couple of tubes of the cheapest caulk we could find, since that's all we could afford. Fixed it up, launched it, and it promptly sank.

Well, later we got into actual powerboats, sailboats, etc. I got a gig working as a deckhand on a towboat in the GICWW, running between somewhere in LA and Chocolate Bayou, TX. Two captains and two deckhands. Interesting! My first "big" boat was a 36' Sea Ray aft cabin, 1985 model purchased in 1993. Boy, did that change my life. At that time, I was doing management consulting, and had that three piece suit thing going on. The boat changed my life... heck, I don't even want to wear shoes any more! My dock neighbors poke fun at me any time I actually have a shirt on down there. Had the Sea Ray for 5 years or so, then bought a new Cruisers 3950 aft cabin. Had it for 5 years; bought the current Krogen in 2001. Lived aboard the Krogen for about 4 years, hoping to find someone who could cruise the great loop and Caribbean with me, but at my age, all the women are tied up, mostly with debt. I need to find someone either really rich or really poor to go cruising!

Went through lots of courses with the Power Squadron, learned celestial navigation which I haven't kept up with, did tons of work on my boat(s) and in doing so learned a lot about the stuff. I still do most of my own work, but occasionally hire folks to do something I don't want to mess with, or don't have the tools to do. Cruising area is mostly from Port Aransas, TX over to New Orleans, LA, although planning a cruise down to Key West, FL next November. WooHoo!

-- Edited by Keith at 06:17, 2008-01-23

After 6 mos in Anchorage my 1st wife and I decided to move to Washington state. We sold or shipped all of our belongings not on the boat and headed south. We first went to Glacier Bay and then to Angoon where my father had a nice big house on a point of land sticking out into Kootznahoo Inlet where Creakie the eagle lived, float planes landed and whales fed beyond the kelp. It was such a magic place one could sit for hours and look out the window on a rainy day.
Walt ( Seahorse II ) has been there. After Petersburg and Ketchican we headed out to cross Dixon Entrance and got stuck in 10' head seas. Too far to go so we stopped at Foggy Bay. We surfed in on a rushing big sea, over a saddle and into the peaceful inner harbor. For three days the spray went over the bridge of ferries and ships. We ran out of water. I rowed up the river with the dink to find water. The tide changed and I could'nt row against it. Took me 5hrs to get back to the boat and Kathleen thought sure I was bear dinner. I always love to stop in Prince Rupert. I remember Oliver Inlet, Milbanke Sound and Bella Bella. We stopped at Butedale. At that time ( 73 ) Butedeale was still in good shape ( it isn't now ) and we were treated to showers ( hot and as long as we wished as the pelton wheel was still in operation). We took a month and a half to make the trip and thats what I plan to do this summer going north. In Vancouver BC we stood in awe at the tall buildings like we'd never seen um before. Shortly after we arrived in Washington I went to work at Uniflight in Bellingham. I worked on Whaleboats and Navy Utilities like FFs boat installing rudder ports, shaft logs and engine beds untill I got placed in the engineering department where I did drafting and equipment installation changes. It seems they could'nt build a boat that floated on an even keel so we had to move stuff around to ballance the boat. I was sort of involved in the development of the 28' Omega model ... Keith Walton NA.
Eric Henning
30 Willard
Thorne Bay AK

Eric---

When you were a Uniflite did you know Paul Graf? He is the former Uniflite engineer I've mentioned who has helped us on a number of our boat projects recently. He has a sailboat that was new and stored just outside the Uniflite plant when the plant caught fire. The heat damaged much of one side of the boat. Paul bought it and spent quite awhile repairing it. He still sails it today.



-- Edited by Marin at 01:00, 2008-01-31

Marin,

Paul Graf was the man insturmental in my getting fired. I wonder if he still caries many pens and pencils in a plastic sheath in his pocket? I sorta liked Paul put I hated the fact that he couldn't accept any other boats in the world. The world revolved around Uniflight. When I talked about other boats that were superior to the Uniflite product poor Paul Just could'nt handle it. I was a slow draftsman too and I'M sure that did'nt help. If I said a Rybovitch or a Hatterass was beter looking Paul just squirmed in frustration. But the Uniflite was a very well built boat. It's lines were much like those boats built by builders that also or primarly built fish boats and how can you call rubber window frames " classy ". Say hello to Paul and I hope he's doing very well.

Eric Henning
30 Willard
Thorne Bay AK

Eric--

Paul has been a member of the boating club we joined a few years ago for some 25 or 30 years and his boat is in the slip opposite ours, which is how we met. I haven't had occasion to discuss different boat makes with him, but he is a meticulous craftsman--- I believe he said he came from a farming family and learned the value of fixing things at an early age. He and his wife built their house on some 16 acres of wooded land outside Bellingham as well as much of the furniture, and the design and craftsmanship are remarkable.

When we had to replace our anchor windlass this fall, he was instrumental in helping me figure out how to get the old one off and how to adapt the new one to the existing mount. He has an amazing shop in the basement of his home and machined some parts I needed as well as "rescued" fasteners and other components I figured I'd need to replace. Whithout his help and guidance, I suspect the project would have been a huge exercise in frustration. As it was, it went very smoothly.

The value of forums like this one is the wide range of information you can get on any given question. For people who work on their boats (as opposed to hiring the work out) the information and advice you get here can be invaluable. In the same way, the willingness of someone to physically lend a hand on a tricky project can make all the difference in the world.

I have no idea how Paul might be to work for or with in a professional capacity so I can't comment on the experience you had with him. But I can tell you I haven't seen the pens and pencils in the pocket protector, so I guess it's not a necessity in retirement

So an addition to the history:

My first joy ride with friends on my current (and only owned) boat:

Backing out of the slip. Already everybody is complementing me on how smoothly and confidently I'm handling the boat (extremely technical departure: stbd engine aft, add the port engine aft a second later, and both neutral about three seconds later).

For some reason, I'm really paranoid about going back too far and hitting boats in the next row back. So the port engine comes back forward just before the bow clears the end of the slip.

I watch as the boat pivots beautifully. But boy, is the bow close to the piling at the end of the slip. I froze. In retrospect - port engine neutral, stbd aft, and five seconds later it wouldn't have been close. But after all of the smooth and confident stuff, I was absolutely paralyzed.

It probably cleared by six inches... but thank goodness, it did clear. Crew and passengers still convinced I'm master and commander. I'm doing a silent "thank you , God... I'll put on clean underwear later."

But the rest of the trip went great!!

Chris, don't be too hard on yourself. What if the bow had not cleared...."THUNK"....not really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. I realise being a relative newbie and your ego does get caught up in it.

I think the lesson here is what if you had not cleared the piling? How do you think the rest of the scenario would have played out? If you have a good answer to that question in your head, Great! If not, you may think a little harder and next time have all of your contingency plans in place before you start backing out. Knowing all of the forces at work(engine, bowthruster, wind, tide, etc.) and their effects on the boat is a big start.

You haven't screwed up until you start making excuses.

John -

Two different answers in two different worlds:

Physical: not a big deal. Maybe a little mark on a few inches of caprail towards the bow, maybe even a little tweak to the railing. No real damage or danger.

Ego: whew... Wife on board for her first trip on the boat. I already manage to do enough things day to day to convince her that I'm not the brightest bulb in the chain. Friends whose feelings of confidence that they can trust me at the helm suddenly not so sure. And me - am I endangering my loved ones when I can't even get away from the dock without hitting something?

In this case, the miss was sure as good as the mile!!

Well, glad ya made it!!!!....

I left the boat in Prince Rupert rafted to a live aboard and drove to Seattle area. By mid summer the job hunt was'nt going well so I returned to Prince Rupert to get the boat. Put the boat on the grid at high tide ( 2am ) layed in the mud and cleaned the bottom. I was in my rain gear half green man and half brown man with slime. A loitering fisherman said I should use the other end of the grid. When I asked why ... he said " see that pipe down there ... thats the sewer " You'd think I could figure that out! The weather blew up terrible. I got cleaned up and went to the local cafe on the cannery dock to eat. It was blowing so hard the air above the water was filled with white spray usually refered to as sea smoke. I wanted to get under way .. was anxious. The fisherman said it only blows bad in the harbor so I'd be fine once I got out of the harbor. My whimsical side overflowed inside my head and on the spot I decided to go to Alaska instead. I put my rain gear on and got accross the bay and down Metlakatla Pass. The fisherman seemed to be right. Condtions moderated so I continued up Chathm Sound, past Green Is Light and around Dundas Is into Dixion Entrance. Conditions got worse. In the lee of Dundas Is .. was'nt so bad so I went on. Big mistake. The SW gale was growing stronger and also switched to SSE. The gale had me checkmated. My back trail was now a washing machine of 15 to 20' seas .. Neptune's Horses. The waves were like jagged flint mountians so big that I could only rarely see anything of the horizon. Only once did I see another vessel ... a heavy Tahitti Ketch under power. At one point we were both on top at the same time going over a wave and I saw his entire rudder, clear to the keel, must have been 8 or 9' long. When I got close to Mary Is I thought things would get better ... wrong. The ebb tide rushed past Mary Is slaming into the seas from the south making them as steep as possible. I climbed a mountian of water at full throttle and then chopped the throttle to iddle just at the right time to surf the face of the wave with fore decks flush with the surface of the water. I was a young man, my boat design was good and I am a Sagitarian ( luckiest of all signs ) so I was basically home free when I entered Rivalagigado Sound and on to Ketchikan.
Eric Henning
30 Willard
Thorne Bay AK

Had nothing to do with boats for most of my life.* After college I spent seven years in the Air Force trying to see how many different countries I could visit.* Most of my career was in aviation support, first with the Air Force and then as a logistics and customer service manager with Boeing in Seattle.* I first got interested in boating when a neighbor took us out in his Nauticat motorsailer.* This same neighbor ordered a brand new Krogen 42 in about 1995 and we did a couple of short trips with them.* Got the bug, joined the Power Squadron, took the courses and learned all I could.*
* We looked at Nordic Tugs, Pacific Trawlers and then discovered the Pilgrim 40s.* Fell in love with the Pilgrim and started looking for a boat in 1998.* We found Avourneen in Florida.* She was a 1988 and owned by a Canadian named Paul Browne.* Those of you who have been members of T&T and Passagemaker lists might remember Paul Browne as a real character with a somewhat skewed sense of humor.* He had not yet put the boat on the market and we were pretty eager.* We made an offer, sight unseen, and contingent upon survey, sea trial and financing.* I don't remember how I found the surveyor in St. Pete but I did, sent him money, and arranged for the survey all from Seattle.* The surveyor called me at my office a couple of days later and said he had never seen a cleaner boat.* At that point I figured I must have hired Paul's brother-in-law.* I flew down to St Pete and fell totally in love.* Called my wife and told her this was our boat.* It was probably one of the greatest afternoons in my life.* The boat was absolutely immaculate; you could have eaten off the Westerbeke engine.
* We had her trucked from St Pete to Seattle, cost $12,000.* Learned a lot about boating with this first one. *We renamed her Elska Minn, which is Icelandic for My Love.* Great boat; a bit soft in the chines, a small rudder and a really underpowered bow thruster.* I never did learn how to dock her.** We kept her for only two years then sold her for about $40K more than the original purchase price.* We were both still working and we really weren't using the boat.*
* In 2000 I took an early retirement and we decided to first buy a boat capable of doing the inside passage to Alaska and then to move to a smaller community north of Seattle and build a house.* We found an early 80's DeFever 44.* Big mistake!!* The boat was used as a live aboard for years, the owners both smoked and they had one of those yappy little white boat dogs.* We owned the DeFever for two years and spent a small fortune cleaning, fixing, painting, installing and redoing many of the systems.* After two plus years I honestly couldn't tell any significant difference.* It was a big, capable boat but it was not in good shape and honestly, we didn't use it much.* Every time we took it out of the slip it was like moving a house.* What's that old adage about the smaller the boat the more it gets used?* Oh yeah, our dreams of living aboard had pretty much evaporated during one very cold, very windy winter while the new house was being built on Whidbey Island, north of Seattle.* Bottom line was we really didn't need a BIG boat and a brand new house, both with mortgages.
* After selling the DeFever in 2003 we were boatless for about six months.* We stumbled upon a Great Lakes 33 trawler up in Bellingham, WA.* The boat was a bit overpriced, obviously unloved and was kind of shabby around the edges.* Like the Pilgrim, this boat is also Canadian and was built in Ontario.* Really well constructed boats these Canuck canoes!* The Great Lakes had sat at the brokerage for probably a year with no offers.* We low-balled the owner and made a couple of concessions and ended up with the boat in December 2003.*
* She is a very capable and well-constructed boat.* She has a downeast style hull, semi-displacement, hard chines starting about half way back from the bow and ending up with an almost flat deadrise at the stern.* She is 33 LOA and displaces about 12,000 lbs.* Power is a Volvo Penta TMD40A.* We run at a steady 7 to 8 knots and burn around 2 gallons/hour.* The boat is supposed to be able to plane but I believe, like many of us, she has gained weight over the years and just buries her stern in the water.
* The most significant improvement we have made to Saratoga Sue is the addition of the aft hardtop, converting her into a true Europa style boat.* Previously the aft was an open cockpit with covered side decks.* I built the hardtop in my garage using marine plywood covered with fiberglass and West Systems epoxy.* Really changed the usability of the boat by giving us a giant enclosed, all-weather cockpit.

Steve,

You learned how to pick and bargan for boats almost instantly. Your Great Lakes looks like a perfect trawler to me especially the soft chine fwd and hard aft. We house shopped Whidby Is too but found it too civilized for us. What is a TMD40A ? We need to build an aft hardtop too. Did you build it heavy enough to walk on or is it ultralight ? We need it much more than you do here in Alaska. You mentioned cruising to Alaska so when your'e here stop in Thorn Bay where our house is yours.

Eric Henning
30 Willard
Thorne Bay AK

Step: I love your story and can relate, directly, to most of it. I also love the looks of your boat and it reminds me* Parlitore's "Growler."

This "topic' on TF is now my favorite! Thanks to Eric for injecting life in to it.

Walt

Thank you Walt, Jhon and Steve for your input,
I love to read the stories and submit my own in hopes others will share with thiers. Everyone has a story and everyones story is unique. I hope I have the nerve to tell some other parts of my tale that may reveal more than I want. I wish all the lurkers would come out of the closet and tell all.

Eric Henning
30 Willard
Thorne Bay AK

Dayum, dude, a little longer and I think the hypothermia woulda gotcha.

I have enjoyed reading others history so I'll have a go at it.*

I got my start at recreational boating 44 years ago, before my 1st birthday aboard a 27' Youquist Viking that dad had bought used, along with the boathouse in the port of Everett.* We spent 4 years with that boat cruising the San Juans, Gulf Islands and South Puget Sound.* Hard to believe it now, but mom and dad packed 5 kids, along with themselves onto this small wooden boat for week long trips.* Even though I was barely 5 when dad sold it, I still remember many wonderful trips around the NW.* Amazing thinking about that now, the boat had no flat screen, surround sound, RIB tender with 50HP, computer navigation systems, refrigerator, etc.* but we managed.* The Yougquist was sold to make way for the new 31' Trojan that actually had enough berths for all seven us, my 3 sisters in the V berth, my brother and I on the dinette and mom and dad on the sleeper sofa in the salon.**No more sleeping on the aft deck.* We kept this boat for ten years and continued to cruise Puget Sound and North.* With the new boat came the new skiff and*a 5 1/2 HP Evinrude.* Now my brother and sisters and I could get away and really explore.**One of the things that we did a lot of back then was cruise with 3 or more other families.* We would raft up in various anchorages, sometimes 8 boats wide.* My Uncle had a what was then "big" 38' aft cabin*Trojan and was always the center boat with the smaller boats flanking both sides.* One of my most vivid memories aboard this boat was listening to the AM radio as Nixon resigned.* We were right off of Spieden Island headed to Roche harbor.* We about wore that boat out after 10 years and then moved up the a 36'*Trojan, the first fiberglass boat we owned or "Clorox*bottle" as dad used to call it.* With this boat we had a refer instead of an ice box, genset,*shower and our first "flying bridge".* We would spend weeks*in the San Juans and further North into Desolation Sound.* As my siblings grew up and out of the house, the boating trips became fewer and farther between.* Usually just dad and I would take off for a few days of cruising and fishing, and I slowly took over the skippering and maintenance duties.* We held onto the boat for 20 years, the last*ten of which I was*usually the only one who put any hours on it.* The last real trip I took on it was my honeymoon where my*wife and I spent a wonderful week in the Gulf Islands.**After selling the boat (for the same price paid for in 1976) we*took a break for a few years to focus on starting a family and business.* That's not to*say were were completey boatless.* There was a Glas Ply fishing boat, a Larson center console, a couple small skiffs and kyak, just nothing for extended cruising.* We chartered a OA 40' few years ago and this was*our first real trip on a trawler style boat.* It was big for the 4 of us (wife, 2 small kids and myself) slow and comfortable.* Other than crossing the Georgia Straits, I didn't*have any desire to go over 8 knots.* And only burning*$300 worth of diesel in 8 days was appealing.* We purchased our 38' OA 2 years ago.* We looked at Grand Banks, Hershine, CHB, etc.*but liked the space and layout of the OA.* It has the typical TT issues*that we are methodically dealing with, but overall have been very happy with our choice, even after just going to the on the water boat show.**We are continuing*basically the same cruising patterns that I experienced as a kid with*our kids, (except at much slower speeds) and, quite frankly, can't imagine doing anything else.*

My turn:
Grew up near Memphis, TN.* Barely saw a boat until I was ~ 17 years old.* Rented/borrowed small john-boats to fish locally.

Bought a 17-foot sailboat, took it out, capsized it within 2 minutes.* Swam around, righted the boat, then learned how to sail it.

Now live in East TN (Knoxville area).* I've owned 6 sailboats, last one was a 25' Catalina.**This is definitely not sailing country, so finally gave up on sailboats around here.*
Have also owned a ski boat, deck boat, house boat, 26-foot cruiser, and now finally a 34-foot cruiser.
Have bareboat charted sailboats in the FL Keys and the British Virgin Islands (great fun!).
Now looking to*trade into*a Trawler within a year or so.* TN River is an excellent starting point for the Great Loop.

Max: I'm new to all of this.* What is an 'OA' Trawler?* And what are the 'typical TT issues' you mention in your post?* I'm trying to get an overall idea of the types of trawlers out there and what sort of problems people are experiencing with them.
Thanks!

Steve,

The OA refers to Ocean Alexander yachts and the TT is a common term for Taiwan Tub, which are the trawlers built in boatyards in Taiwan, China.* There are a lot of these boats, CHB, Marine Trader, Puget Trawlers and so on.

Good luck in your boat hunting.* Look a lot and read a lot before making up your mind.* It's a fun time!* Did it myself last year.


Mike Wiley
34'CHB
ChristyLee
Brookings, Oregon

Typical Taiwan Trawler items are fuel tanks, teak decks/waterlogged decks, and window leaks.

Interestingly these are the same problems of almost any boat built in the same era. Most fuel tanks in the 70's and 80's were mild steel. They eventually get water on top of them or water trapped inside in the bottom and they rust out. Some boats had aluminum tanks or stainless which have their own types of problems. Take a good hard look at fuel tanks when buying a boat as the cost to replace can be large if you have twins and large tanks.

Teak decks are often maligned as being a terrible thing to have on a boat. If not properly maintained they can allow water to leak into the deck core thru the screws used to hold the teak down. If the deck gets saturated with fresh water in particular it will rot and lose it's strength. Replacing bungs, resetting screws, and caring for the seams will allow you to enjoy the teak decks for many years.

Window leaks are also common. If you have wood paneling inside it will discolor or delaminate. If you have plywood cabin sides, they will delaminate and require complete or partial replacement. A problem some don't recognize is the conddensation which normally accumulates on the inside of windows in cooler weather in some parts of the country. Good ventilation/circulation is important so that water doesn't sit on the windowsill and eventually cause problems.

Ken Buck
40' Puget Trawler

Coyote,
Why do you say Taiwan Tub. Whats the matter with Taiwan Trawler?
Souvenir,
One of the hardest things to do is to pick or choose your next boat. It wouldn't seem so but it's even harder to know for sure how well the boat we have fills our needs. Much of the value of a boat is in the heart, not in the head. The in the heart part is what usually screws us all up. Or does it? If wer'e looking for a love affair then then thats what we need .. and in a boat thats what we should have. Is it possible your cruiser may be perfectly fine for your needs? Changing boats and assuming all the troubles of the new boat ( it will have troubles ) costs a lot of money. Some people buy hybred cars and brag about getting 50mpg but the money they save on fuel probably is small compared to the cost of the hybred car. Down south I probably drive 10 times as much as I do here so if I only get 8mpg I'll still burn far less fuel. So many varibles. Relative to the previous post about Taiwan Trawlers the advice and information is excellent. Remember also that there is some truth to the statement the smaller the boat the more fun we have.
Eric

-- Edited by nomadwilly at 13:13, 2008-02-15

Eric,

No offense meant by the phrase Taiwan Tub.* That's just what I've always heard TT referred as.* Taiwan Trawler sounds good to me too.*

Erics post hit the nail on the head.* As an owner of a Taiwan Tub, I mean Trawler, the decks, fuel cells and windows were all the first things checked.* And Steve, knowing that the cost of replacing fuel tanks is VERY high, you now know to pay particular attention to these areas.*

Mike Wiley
34'CHB
ChristyLee
Brookings, Oregon

Steve,

Thats incredible! I was only away for one or two minuites from this thread ( my computer went off line ) and there was your response. It's like were're sitting accross a table from one another. Thanks for the response.

Eric

Steve- Yep, all that they said.* We took the plunge into our TT knowing that there were some issues to deal with, although not as many as most TT's we looked at.* This was taken into consideration with a drastically reduce sales price.* Most of the work*we are able to do ourselves and have spread it out over a 3 year time*line, addressing the most pressing issues first.* Good luck!*

Max Simmons wrote:

I have enjoyed reading others history so I'll have a go at it.*

I got my start at recreational boating 44 years ago, before my 1st birthday aboard a 27' Youquist Viking that dad had bought used, along with the boathouse in the port of Everett.* We spent 4 years with that boat cruising the San Juans, Gulf Islands and South Puget Sound.* Hard to believe it now, but mom and dad packed 5 kids, along with themselves onto this small wooden boat for week long trips.* Even though I was barely 5 when dad sold it, I still remember many wonderful trips around the NW.* Amazing thinking about that now, the boat had no flat screen, surround sound, RIB tender with 50HP, computer navigation systems, refrigerator, etc.* but we managed.* The Yougquist was sold to make way for the new 31' Trojan that actually had enough berths for all seven us, my 3 sisters in the V berth, my brother and I on the dinette and mom and dad on the sleeper sofa in the salon.**No more sleeping on the aft deck.* We kept this boat for ten years and continued to cruise Puget Sound and North.* With the new boat came the new skiff and*a 5 1/2 HP Evinrude.* Now my brother and sisters and I could get away and really explore.**One of the things that we did a lot of back then was cruise with 3 or more other families.* We would raft up in various anchorages, sometimes 8 boats wide.* My Uncle had a what was then "big" 38' aft cabin*Trojan and was always the center boat with the smaller boats flanking both sides.* One of my most vivid memories aboard this boat was listening to the AM radio as Nixon resigned.* We were right off of Spieden Island headed to Roche harbor.* We about wore that boat out after 10 years and then moved up the a 36'*Trojan, the first fiberglass boat we owned or "Clorox*bottle" as dad used to call it.* With this boat we had a refer instead of an ice box, genset,*shower and our first "flying bridge".* We would spend weeks*in the San Juans and further North into Desolation Sound.* As my siblings grew up and out of the house, the boating trips became fewer and farther between.* Usually just dad and I would take off for a few days of cruising and fishing, and I slowly took over the skippering and maintenance duties.* We held onto the boat for 20 years, the last*ten of which I was*usually the only one who put any hours on it.* The last real trip I took on it was my honeymoon where my*wife and I spent a wonderful week in the Gulf Islands.**After selling the boat (for the same price paid for in 1976) we*took a break for a few years to focus on starting a family and business.* That's not to*say were were completey boatless.* There was a Glas Ply fishing boat, a Larson center console, a couple small skiffs and kyak, just nothing for extended cruising.* We chartered a OA 40' few years ago and this was*our first real trip on a trawler style boat.* It was big for the 4 of us (wife, 2 small kids and myself) slow and comfortable.* Other than crossing the Georgia Straits, I didn't*have any desire to go over 8 knots.* And only burning*$300 worth of diesel in 8 days was appealing.* We purchased our 38' OA 2 years ago.* We looked at Grand Banks, Hershine, CHB, etc.*but liked the space and layout of the OA.* It has the typical TT issues*that we are methodically dealing with, but overall have been very happy with our choice, even after just going to the on the water boat show.**We are continuing*basically the same cruising patterns that I experienced as a kid with*our kids, (except at much slower speeds) and, quite frankly, can't imagine doing anything else.*

Click to expand...

You are truly blessed!!!!*

coyote454 wrote:

Eric,

No offense meant by the phrase Taiwan Tub.* That's just what I've always heard TT referred as.* Taiwan Trawler sounds good to me too.*

Erics post hit the nail on the head.* As an owner of a Taiwan Tub, I mean Trawler, the decks, fuel cells and windows were all the first things checked.* And Steve, knowing that the cost of replacing fuel tanks is VERY high, you now know to pay particular attention to these areas.*

Mike Wiley
34'CHB
ChristyLee
Brookings, Oregon

Click to expand...

And to add to it, I think FF was the one who coined the phrase "Tawainese Tub".* Some people were offended and a little skirmish ensued.* After the dust settled, the term survived.* So it is somewhat of a Trawlerforum cultural term now.

In case you wanted the history of it.

Thanks for all the good info about 'TT' boats (had never heard that term before).
I wasn't sure whether to avoid the Taiwanese boats or not. Sounds like they should not be excluded in my boat search.

Mr. sloboat, I would go even further than "If folks want to talk about a specific boat built by certain yards in certain years, then that's fine" I would say "If folks want to talk about a specific boat." That's what a survey is for. I too find the TT designation insulting and Mr. Souvenir should not discount ANY vessel based on country of origin. Anecdotal comments are just that "Well, I've heard about..." or "Everybody says" if said enough times seem to become truth. If I hear the term WMD one more time....... Some folks can separate the wheat from the chaff but newbies are at a disadvantage due to inexperience and this forum and those like it are supposed to be educational I would think.

You are worried about TT, try owning a ferrocement boat and listen to the comments. Don't get so sensitive.
Since when has a boat ever been an investment, unless you have something very very special,*every*boat is a liability, it costs!* If you want a probable*investment, buy land.
We live full time on a floating concrete liability and just love it