New member from Va

[SaltyDawg86]

Just wanted to give a quick hello since I'm new here.

I was looking to get a vacation house and after talking with my wife, we thought a vacation house that floats would be a better idea so we're looking at trawlers.

I'm 28, married with a 3 week old son and a 7 year old step-son. I have a 2nd Mate AGT Oceans and a 1600t Master's license so I have spent some time on the water. I'm currently working in the GoM on an OSV and enjoy relaxing on my time off.

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

[Steve]

Welcome, I keep my boat in Houma, La. Do you work out of Fourchon?

[psneeld]

Financials dictate a lot...considering how much of your life you have ahead and your kids.

Unless you are planning on venturing out into the deep blue, cruising around the Chesapeake and ICW, plus the sounds of NC....you really can't beat the amount of living space a young family can enjoy that comes with a nice houseboat. Especially if a lot of the time will be spent at one particular spot with some trips in....but my younger kids preferred messing around marinas and docks as to being underway or anchored out. You have a pretty good split there but still for the next 5 years or so, better to have less tied up in a boat as there's less to lose if/when you do want/need to sell.

By the time serious cruising is on your horizon...you probably would change boats anyway so why not start with the better vacation house and less money to boot?

Again....financials are everything when planning to buy boats/vacation homes so this is nothing more than the other side of the coin if looking to save those precious dollars for things that may become more important down the road.

[SaltyDawg86]

I do work out of Fourchon, I'm willing to bet I've seen your boat!

What sort of houseboat do you recommend? Something like a Blue water? I make good money and my dad has owned big(er) boats all my life, so I have an idea of what to expect.

My ideal boat is a yachtfish that burns 2gph, but I don't think that's an option haha.

[psneeld]

older Barracuda's seem to have a rough water bow compared to most and the ones I looked at seemed to have held up better through time.

Bluewaters are OK...I looked at a few but was disappointed in their access to things for maintenance...not the really old designs that are more houseboat like might be better.

[SaltyDawg86]

Thanks for the info. I'll look into that

[ben2go]

[siestakey]

Welcome

I made a bullet list of a few things I wanted and listed it here and got some great input you might try the same