Bahamas with The Moorings

[Sababa]

Skipped out on forty degrees and rainy in the PNW for my first trip to the Bahamas and first bareboat on a Moorings power cat for my kids’ winter break week. Air temp is 82, water temp is 78, and the view to the bottom is so clear off the swim deck that it looks like we are hovering in space. Win! Win! Win!

The Moorings people (and everyone here) were super nice and helpful. Not so helpful that they remembered to provide the snorkeling fins we requested but we were in a hurry to get underway. We also didn’t get the upgrade to a newer boat we were promised and there were lots of little broken bits (latches, door pulls, etc.) on board. Finishes are IKEA kitchen quality and it must be tough to keep all that fiber board in good repair with all the abuse it gets.

The only major item that we discovered was out of order after leaving the dock was the watermaker. They said they had a technician in Staniel Cay who would take a look at it but he never showed up. Not a big deal given the tankage and the length of the trip, but it would suck if we’re were going to be out longer.

Skippering the cat is very different from even the twin-screw monohulls I am familiar with, mostly in a good way. The ability to pivot and maneuver in close quarters with the engines is uncanny. And that’s fortunate, because the tiny rudders are completely useless below about four knots.

The lack of pitching in a moderate head sea crossing over to the Exumas at 16 knots was welcome. But the price of the cat’s natural resistance to rolling past ten degrees is an uncomfortably hard stop at eleven.

Bottom line is that while I’d never want to own one of these beasts they are super user friendly to charter with a family in unfamiliar waters.

 

[mvweebles]

Bahamas coined the phrase "gin clear water." It was a visit there 13 years ago that convinced me I wanted a displacement trawler, and Weebles would be perfect for our needs.

Thanks for sharing.

Peter

 

[ofer]

in Hebrew its called a SABABA trip

 

[BruceK]

"Sababa is a Hebrew slang word meaning “great or cool” and can express enthusiasm and satisfaction. Sababa comes from the Arabic word tzababa, which means great or excellent in spoken Arabic."

 

[leeman]

Skipped out on forty degrees and rainy in the PNW for my first trip to the Bahamas and first bareboat on a Moorings power cat for my kids’ winter break week. Air temp is 82, water temp is 78, and the view to the bottom is so clear off the swim deck that it looks like we are hovering in space. Win! Win! Win!

The Moorings people (and everyone here) were super nice and helpful. Not so helpful that they remembered to provide the snorkeling fins we requested but we were in a hurry to get underway. We also didn’t get the upgrade to a newer boat we were promised and there were lots of little broken bits (latches, door pulls, etc.) on board. Finishes are IKEA kitchen quality and it must be tough to keep all that fiber board in good repair with all the abuse it gets.

The only major item that we discovered was out of order after leaving the dock was the watermaker. They said they had a technician in Staniel Cay who would take a look at it but he never showed up. Not a big deal given the tankage and the length of the trip, but it would suck if we’re were going to be out longer.

Skippering the cat is very different from even the twin-screw monohulls I am familiar with, mostly in a good way. The ability to pivot and maneuver in close quarters with the engines is uncanny. And that’s fortunate, because the tiny rudders are completely useless below about four knots.

The lack of pitching in a moderate head sea crossing over to the Exumas at 16 knots was welcome. But the price of the cat’s natural resistance to rolling past ten degrees is an uncomfortably hard stop at eleven.

Bottom line is that while I’d never want to own one of these beasts they are super user friendly to charter with a family in unfamiliar waters.

Great pictures!

 

[Sababa]

in Hebrew its called a SABABA trip

Sababa legamri! (Totally excellent!)

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Can you tell us more about the cost involved? many T.F. members advocate the use of charters for people contemplating a trawler purchase. Personally I think it is too expensive to charter a few boats to find one you like.

How expensive was your charter, how about fuel and transportation?

pete

 

[Dougcole]

I am assuming you chartered a Leopard, as that is who builds most of the Moorings powercats, correct? What size are you on?


Thanks.

 

[Sababa]

Can you tell us more about the cost involved? many T.F. members advocate the use of charters for people contemplating a trawler purchase. Personally I think it is too expensive to charter a few boats to find one you like.

How expensive was your charter, how about fuel and transportation?

pete

Cost for the boat is about $2k per day with taxes, fees, and damage waiver. We spent about $1k provisioning at the grocery store. I expect we will pay around $1k to fill the tanks when we return it. Airfare from Seattle was ~$1k pp, maybe $500 a night for family hotel accommodations coming and going. Not close to cheap, but comparable to a suite or pair of rooms at a high-end all-inclusive resort during winter break week, which was the alternative.

Bahamas are definitely not the place to do a dry run on a trawler purchase. Money aside, they don’t rent trawlers here that I’m aware of. We bareboated several Nordic Tugs in Puget Sound and Alaska before purchasing our own. But what sold us on the brand was bareboating some lower quality makes and seeing how much better the tugs held up under the abuse of chartering. I’d highly recommend PNW bareboating for a potential trawler purchaser.

 

[Sababa]

I am assuming you chartered a Leopard, as that is who builds most of the Moorings powercats, correct? What size are you on?


Thanks.

Yes, Leopard 433PC, with a master suite in the starboard hull and two cabins with a shared head in the port.