Greetings. After spending 3 years searching the US and Canada for the right one we finally took the plunge and bought a Hat 58 LRC. Hoping to cruise down the west coast then make the jump to Galapagos, Fiji, Marquesas, etc.
Almost 20 years ago we made a trip 1500 miles from Naples, FL to the USVI in a 46' and fell in love with the life. Now the kids are gone and we're hoping it's still got the same magic. Love to talk to anyone who has experience and lessons to share.
I'm always interested in hearing about previous boating experiences of newby trawler purchasers.
I don't know about others experiences, but I expect ours are not as extensive as many.
We owned a 28' SeaRay Sundancer, shipped her to the Caribbean. Cruised the local islands of Vieques and Culebra. On the way to St. Thomas one day I realized my single-engine, non-generator weekender was not enough for big waters. On my next business trip to the US I scoured both coasts of FL for a bigger one. I bought a 46' Sea Ray, with twin Cummins 6BTA's and a genset. My wife and our 2 girls flew in, we spent 2 weeks provisioning, then we pointed the bow east. 1500 miles and 2.5 weeks later we arrived on the east side of Puerto Rico, where we kept her for the next 3 years. We cruised all the Spanish VI, the USVI and most of the BVI. Sold her and moved to WA state. Waited 6 years to buy a boat, and made it a Bayliner to tour the San Juans. We were surprised by the beauty, and plan to enjoy it for about 3 years, then set out for some big trips.