New and Eager

[slowandsteady]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the forum but I have been reading and browsing for a few months. I've been out of boating for 20+ years but I plan on jumping in again. All that "life" stuff got in the way (i.e. mortgage, business, college tuition, family health issues, etc.)
I have been educating myself for the last 8-9 months and after the youngest graduates from business school in December I plan on getting on the water again. We look forward to it.
I hope my questions aren't TOO stupid and maybe I can be a member of this forum that can contribute something soon.
Thanks!

[Bilgewater]

Welcome aboard! Your avatar says it all. Best of luck on your journey!

[slowandsteady]

Thanks Bilgewater
The Lady J is a nice looking Gulfstar. We are looking at getting into about the same size trawler. Of course I started looking at smaller boats but after much research I think the 36 foot size is just right.

[Nomad Willy]

I was new and eager in 1959 too.

[DavidM]

Welcome aboard. There are many choices to consider when looking at trawlers:

Fast trawler with a big engine or lower hp engine that goes slow
Full displacement (not many of those) or semi displacement
Fly bridge or not
Galley up or down
Aft cabin or Euro/sedan style
Single or twins

All of these have been debated on this forum and there isn't a right or wrong answer. It all depends on how you use the boat and what your personal preferences are.

Enjoy the search.

David

[jwnall]

Welcome. Hope to hear more from you.

John

[slowandsteady]

Here I go....
I'm looking at a Mainship 36 Double Cabin. I'm trying to get into something for short money because I'm still recovering from tuition for 2 kids. It's a lot of boat for the money but I'm not too excited about the 2 V8 crusaders. There is one in FL with twin Perkins 135 hp. I plan on doing a lot of the work myself, I'm capable because of the business I'm in, experience in carpentry, electrical, diesel engines, etc. It is listed as a semi displacement hull and the listing claims that it will burn 5 gph with the generator running.....I prefer twins. We prefer an aft cabin with creature comforts and a fly bridge

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome...

[jwnall]

"We prefer an aft cabin with creature comforts and a fly bridge"

I know that I am biased, but the Gulfstar 36, with aft cabin, fly bridge and twin diesels, is very nice. And the price is right on the older boats, too. As always, of course, you have to pick and choose to find a good one. But with your DIY capabilities, you should do OK.

[tracie]

RUN - do not walk ! stay away from gas engines at all cost ! I'm sure others will pipe in with the same opinion IMGO - gook luck !!! As stated above, you will have many, many options out there, but a gas engine should NOT be one of them.

[jwnall]

Originally Posted by tracie

RUN - do not work ! stay away from gas engines at all cost ! I'm sure others will pipe in the the same opinion IMGO - gook luck !!! As stated above, you will have many, many options out there, but a gas engine should NOT be one of them.

That was one of my thoughts also, when I first looked at the post, but then I remembered that some of the Crusaders have been converted to diesel, so perhaps those have. If not, then of course I would have to second the notion to stay away. Plus I have my doubts about the converted ones. GM (which could screw up a one car funeral anyway) put out some cars with gasoline engines which had been converted to diesel, and they were lemons from the get go.

[slowandsteady]

There are many Mainship 36 DC with 350 Crusaders available, very cheap too.. I guess I just got accustomed to seeing those hulking, beastly blue 454's when I was looking at express cruisers. And I did run GM pick up trucks in the 80's with the converted V8 gas blocks.....awful, just awful. I always felt a trawler is best with diesel engines, too bad it's so expensive to repower.

[steveandtina]

unless you can get a screaming deal on a boat you really love [ like for about 12 dollars] re powering from gas to diesel or old diesel to new diesel takes a really special kind of stupid. you would instantly be putting waaaay more money into a boat that it could possibly be worth. other than docking issues don"t get locked into the [i need twins in case one breaks down] 95 % of all diesel failures while running are fuel issues. unless you have dedicated tanks to each engine ,filled in different locations,, a fuel problem will manifest itself with both power plants.. [by now, you may have surmised that i am a single screw advocate.. anyway,, food for thought,,, steve --- lesser half of steveandtina

[slowandsteady]

Steve, I was just lamenting the fact that there are quite a few perfectly good boats out there with gas power (and in your opinion, gas AND twin!) And a better description than special kind of stupid would be pure insanity. I realize it's more than just swapping engines. transmissions, shaft size, props, tanks, etc., etc. I suppose these perfectly good boats would function tied up to the dock but I am one that wants a little more out of a boat than a floating condo. I hate to see things wasted. I have looked at so many boats that people have just walked away from with food in the fridge and linens on the bed (yuck!) Would it have killed them to clean it up a little before they take pictures of it to post? It blows my mind. As far as the twin vs single argument, my mind is not closed to a single....if the right boat comes along and it's a single screw, I'm on it. You must understand, I grew up on my Dad's Chris Craft Commander with twin detroits. A twin is all I ever knew and I remember limping back to the marina on one engine occasionally. Of course this was before Sea Tow and Safe Sea so this is not really an issue anymore... Sorry for rambling, but thanks for your input, and good luck with your new tug. Richard

[Nomad Willy]

Steveandtina,
Well I guess I'm "that kind of stupid" as that's what I did but it's a great way to get everything just the way YOU want it. My favorite boat is the Nordic Tug 32 but I'd like to have one w much less power so if I were to find one w a spent engine and priced real low as a result I'd have my choice of all the engines of the world to put in. Or I could change it to twin 40hp. Then if you think of all the subsystems and things like stoves, heaters, winches, electronics ect ect .... wouldn't it be nice to have all the things YOU like? No ... You're right it isn't cheap but if you bargain well do some of the work yourself you can have just what you want.

But many or even most don't care if they drive a Mainship, Eagle or IG. But if you're fussy (like me) one of the ways to get what you want is an extensive refit replacing much of what's ther'e OR a new build and that's even more money ... Much more I think but that would be utopia for me.

BUT you've got to know something about what you're doing or you'll modify a boat into something that will never sell for any reasonable amount. So if you're a bean counter and just want to get the most boat for the buck shop well, buy well and sell well.

[Codger2]

Originally Posted by manyboats

But many or even most don't care if they drive a Mainship, Eagle or IG.

Thanks, Eric! I think your editor must have missed this one.