Recent content by dirtdoc1

There's one at my marina. I walk by it every time I'm there. It's a beautiful boat and looks like it is a seriously purpose built cruiser. The owner has taken it from Redwood City, CA down the coast to Mexico and back a few times. He says she's a tank. She looks like a tank. It's for sale. I...

That's quite an assumption on your part. It wasn't my situation at all. Also, I think the type of boat has a lot to do with the decision to mortgage or not. Trawlers either hold their value or increase in value where many other types of boats depreciate considerably.

Boat Buying Debt It's such a personal and potentially complicated issue depending on your financial situation and your level of comfort with debt. Some people are not comfortable with any debt. Some people are leveraged way beyond their means but walk away rich. If passage-making is something...

Yes go with a Kadey Krogen, full displacement hull with ballast. You won't have to worry about being in open ocean with a KK. I took possession of my NP45 in Bellingham and spent almost 3 seasons cruising the San Juan's and BC. It was perfect in the protected waters. I installed stabilizers for...

Nordic Tug 44 vs Helmsman 46 I think the NT 44 is over priced but is a beautiful build with a nice interior layout. I don't care for the tug look. The Helmsman have improved their look and appear to be well built. I really like their new 46. It's a very nice looking boat. Unfortunately...

I took possession of my first trawler in Bellingham WA in 2017. I was planning on taking the boat directly home to Redwood City, CA. Many people suggested spending some time exploring Puget Sound, which I did in addition to the Gulf Islands and up to Desolation Sound until Canada closed the...

I had a new Carver C34 with a gas Kohler 7.5kw genset. I had nothing but trouble with it. Not even the Kohler tech could figure out why it acted as if the starting battery was dead the next morning while on the hook. The remote start never worked either. It was also very loud. I assume that was...

I added Keypower fins last year. They run off of a PTO on the main engine. About $50k installed! Better to buy a boat with them. No more rolling!

Congrats on your new boat and on being able to use it in BC. It doesn't get any better than that! I bought my first trawler at the end of 2017 and went right up to BC. I spent the entirety of each boating season up there. My daughters started telling people that I lived in Vancouver. I miss it...

:rofl::lol: Too Funny!

Agreed! Very good advice.

I have a single engine with two tanks but it's set up so I can return to either tank. I have it set up to draw from one tank and return to that same tank. When fuel starts to get low in that tank I can either equalize them or pump fuel from the unused tank to the used tank. I guess you could...

I always use a bridle. My bridle adds about 10-15' of scope and since it attaches much lower on the chain, (about 10' below water surface) puts more chain on the bottom increasing the holding. For some reason North Pacific likes to use a smooth roller. Because of that, the chain flops around...

Yup