Trawler Planning

[healhustler]

Nicely put. Boats are like any other extensions of ourselves. They can serve to secure our intentions, or to expand them. They can help us become hermits or socialites, but even when we choose to be alone, what are we desiring to be alone with?

Initially, out of work obligations, our boat "Bucky" was incorporated into numerous Diplomatic receptions involving anywhere from 40 to 500 persons. People flowed on and off the boat, having private conversations in the pilothouse, boat deck, veranda, galley, stateroom, bow area or the salon (once, we even found two people making an agreement in the shower). Many "deals" were made on Bucky. Then there were the very intimate dinner cruises of six or so, tours of the Miami Harbor and the residential islands, tall stories of who owned which house and the wild parties that are still going on there. We attended perhaps 350 receptions per year. Maybe 10 of them were involving Bucky.

Since we retired last year, many people have commented about how they miss "the boat". In the Miami social scene, one only needs to be connected here and there to get regular invitations aboard the next biggest, latest, and most opulent vessels. A lot of the people we knew took plenty of those glorious opportunities, but still they talk to us about their intimate moments aboard Bucky. Whether it was a meeting, an agreement, a sunset or even a quick afternoon dip out in Biscayne Bay or Stiltsville, it seems important to them.

Boats are beautiful, romantic opportunity machines that can help connect even the most hardened and stoic of characters to the most limitless physical element we know of on earth. When it's our intention to use what we have to share this enormity with others, it works.

[ksanders]

The big question is would you rather be out cruising in a more modest boat, or would you rather spend the next decade behind your desk paying for a more expensive boat.

We can all trade our time for more money, for more and better things.

But time is the one commodity we cannot get more of. With time I can make more money. All the money in the world will not buy more time.

[Steve]

Here is a nice site to check out for cruising the Caribbean etc in a trawler Francesca a 44' Marine Trader. Lots of information here
This site ends in 2002 but I believe they did a lot more cruisng after and wound up buying some land in Panama.
Good luck!

[FlyWright]

Originally Posted by ksanders

The big question is would you rather be out cruising in a more modest boat, or would you rather spend the next decade behind your desk paying for a more expensive boat.

We can all trade our time for more money, for more and better things.

But time is the one commodity we cannot get more of. With time I can make more money. All the money in the world will not buy more time.

What a great post! Thanks for that, Kevin.

My perspective has shifted a little as I have become accustomed to retirement. Here's some of what I've learned before and after retirement...

1. A dream will always be just a dream until you take the steps to make it a reality.

2. The boat of your dreams doesn't necessarily need to be a dream machine to fulfill your dreams.

I found it in a very affordable, older boat that was well cared for and ready for making new memories. We have been able to make many great memories with this boat that lacks the spit and polish of many very nice vessels, but suits us just fine!!

3. Life often throws barriers in the way of dreams. Some are real obstacles and some are mere diversions. It's important to learn which ones make a difference? If not today, when? What really makes a difference?

4. I found it better suited to my needs to buy a retirement vessel 5 years before retirement to learn the ropes, identify the needs and fund the needed projects while the 'disposable' income was available. When I retired, I had all the improvements either completed or all the major components purchased to make the improvements in retirement when I had the time to complete them. YMMV

5. I found a slow trawler well-suited to our retirement needs, but not-so-well suited for my working years. Now, 1 1/2 years into retirement, I'm so glad I made the decision to buy this boat! As I like to say, in retirement I've got more time than money. This boat suits that constraint very well.

Now that I'm retired, I truly appreciate and enjoy the slower pace of trawlerdom and am pleased with our decision to go the slow route. I hope you find the same.

[Marin]

I think determining exactly what one wants to do with a boat is far, far more important to do before starting to shop for a boat.

I grew up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (Hawaii), so while I have not done any long distance ocean cruising, I've done all the open ocean boating I care to do, both power and sail.

So my interest (and my wife's) are today solely with coastal cruising. I deliberately chose to move to the Pacific Northwest after getting my first look at the Inside Passage on a ferry ride down it on a vacation in 1977. I was absolutely fascinated then and continue to be by these waters because they have all the life and dynamics you get with a salt water environment, but they are relatively protected, as opposed to the huge swells, waves, and strong winds I was used to in Hawaii.

So when we decided to acquire a cruising boat of our own in 1998, we knew it only had to be capable of doing one thing well, and that was cruising the 1,000 miles of islands from Puget Sound up the BC coast and through SE Alaska.

Which made selecting a boat pretty easy. There are a huge number of so-called "coastal cruisers" available that will work well in these waters, ranging from outboard-powered C-Dorys and Sea Sports on up through the many kinds of so-called "taiwan trawlers" and clear on up to things like Flemings, if one is inclined to spend a lot of money on a boat.

As advantage of coastal cruising is that you don't have to have things like strong windows and super-tough, very stable hulls, and super-reliable systems and components which one would like to have with long distance ocean cruising, all of which come with a pretty hefty price tag.

And because there is such a huge variety of "coastal cruisers," and in this area there are vast numbers of them, you can get one that will work for you for a pretty reasonable price.

We found a quality cruiser that cost what we wanted to spend on a boat at the time (ironically, it didn't come from here: we found it in Alameda, CA and had it trucked up), and sixteen years later we are still using and enjoying it. I have another few years to go before I retire, but we manage to use the boat on a year round basis although our longer cruises are still limited to just one or two per year.

While our first love in terms of boating is and always will be the area sometimes referred to as the BC Raincoast, we will be branching out a wee bit into boating in Europe, specifically the Irish and North seas and around the UK. We anticipate doing this on and off for a few years, and since it's impractical to take our current boat as checked baggage on the plane, for this phase of our boating we are having a boat built for us in Europe that is suited for those waters (the boat we have here is not).

But even this boating will be more or less coastal in nature albeit it in rougher and more unpredictable waters than what we boat in here. So we still don't need a boat capable of making long, open-ocean cruises.

As others have said, if one can make a really honest appraisal of what one really wants to do with a boat, it will go a long, long way toward narrowing down what kind of a boat one really needs.. And this in turn will, I believe, help maximize the enjoyment and use one gets out of the boat.. Quite often, the boat that best suits reality is not the boat we wished for in our dreams.

[siestakey]

Originally Posted by FlyWright

What a great post! Thanks for that, Kevin.

My perspective has shifted a little as I have become accustomed to retirement. Here's some of what I've learned before and after retirement...

1. A dream will always be just a dream until you take the steps to make it a reality.

2. The boat of your dreams doesn't necessarily need to be a dream machine to fulfill your dreams.

I found it in a very affordable, older boat that was well cared for and ready for making new memories. We have been able to make many great memories with this boat that lacks the spit and polish of many very nice vessels, but suits us just

3. Life often throws barriers in the way of dreams. Some are real obstacles and some are mere diversions. It's important to learn which ones make a difference? If not today, when? What really makes a difference?

4. I found it better suited to my needs to buy a retirement vessel 5 years before retirement to learn the ropes, identify the needs and fund the needed projects while the 'disposable' income was available. When I retired, I had all the improvements either completed or all the major components purchased to make the improvements in retirement when I had the time to complete them. YMMV

5. I found a slow trawler well-suited to our retirement needs, but not-so-well suited for my working years. Now, 1 1/2 years into retirement, I'm so glad I made the decision to buy this boat! As I like to say, in retirement I've got more time than money. This boat suits that constraint very well.

Now that I'm retired, I truly appreciate and enjoy the slower pace of trawlerdom and am pleased with our decision to go the slow route. I hope you find the same.

Flywright

I find from reading your post (and others) how much we have in common. Although I grew up on and around large sailboats and teaching sailing at the St.Petersburg yacht club, I dreamed of owning a trawler from a very early age. I was able to stop dreaming and get my first at the age of 50 earlier this year.

Siestakeywife retired not long after we bought the boat and since I can pretty much work from any place I have mobile and internet we have spent a great deal of time on the boat.

We have met some amazing people in the past few months just in passing and ones that seem to have become lifelong friends.

The projects on the boat have been a great deal of fun Pamela and I have our different projects it is just amazing the fun we are having and the new friends we are making.

I also find it so amazing the help I have gotten from this forum

[siestakeywife]

Originally Posted by BandB

Wifey B: And your point about working. Sometimes it's like a disease to pursue some type life and not ever break free. I mean I do believe it's why so much unhappiness and divorces that couples don't have enough time together. I knew I always came before my hubby's work in his mind. And when we could stop, we did. But always we made time to enjoy life together.......................................Sor ry for taking this off track but what Pamela and Kevin said really hit me as I fly across the country. That person beside you right now. They might not be there tomorrow. Treat every day of your life as if it's the last. Peace and love to all.

Wifey B,
WOW! Well said! Thank you! I am looking very forward to meeting you some day, hopefully it will be soon!
Kind Regards,
Pamela

[Steve]

In Post #43 I left out the link to the Francesca trawler cruise site here it is

The Cruising Adventures of Joan & Ben Schuetz aboard

[siestakey]

Originally Posted by Steve

In Post #43 I left out the link to the Francesca trawler cruise site here it is

The Cruising Adventures of Joan & Ben Schuetz aboard

Steve Thanks looks like some good reading

[siestakeywife]

Originally Posted by ksanders

The big question is would you rather be out cruising in a more modest boat, or would you rather spend the next decade behind your desk paying for a more expensive boat.

We can all trade our time for more money, for more and better things.

But time is the one commodity we cannot get more of. With time I can make more money. All the money in the world will not buy more time.

Kevin,
Ditto! How wise you are!
Regards,
Pamela

[siestakeywife]

Originally Posted by healhustler

Nicely put. Boats are like any other extensions of ourselves. They can serve to secure our intentions, or to expand them. They can help us become hermits or socialites, but even when we choose to be alone, what are we desiring to be alone with?........Boats are beautiful, romantic opportunity machines that can help connect even the most hardened and stoic of characters to the most limitless physical element we know of on earth. When it's our intention to use what we have to share this enormity with others, it works.

Thank you Larry! I agree 100%!
Cheers,
Pamela

[siestakeywife]

Originally Posted by FlyWright

My perspective has shifted a little as I have become accustomed to retirement. Here's some of what I've learned before and after retirement........Now that I'm retired, I truly appreciate and enjoy the slower pace of trawlerdom and am pleased with our decision to go the slow route. I hope you find the same.

Al,
Wow!! Amazing post! Very insightful!
Regards,
Pamela

[ksanders]

The way I look at it, it's not just trawler planning, its life planning.

We need to be realistic here. If cruising as a lifestyle is the goal, then the time of life for that goal is for most people/couples their 60's.

Only a few can take off from life in their 50's as much as we all think we can...life just generally does not work out that way.

By the time you reach your 70's it's often too late to start. That's not to say allot of people don't cruise into their 70's because they do. What I'm saying is if you want to go cruising you need to plan to start earlier.

So, it's our 60's that are the best time to cruise.

With the age issue that just won't go away we need to start planning early. Whatever your income level, there is a boat you can afford to buy, outfit and cruise. We just need to be realistic about life's timeline and our particular set of circumstances and plan accordingly.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by ksanders

The way I look at it, it's not just trawler planning, its life planning.

We need to be realistic here. If cruising as a lifestyle is the goal, then the time of life for that goal is for most people/couples their 60's.

Only a few can take off from life in their 50's as much as we all think we can...life just generally does not work out that way.

By the time you reach your 70's it's often too late to start. That's not to say allot of people don't cruise into their 70's because they do. What I'm saying is if you want to go cruising you need to plan to start earlier.

So, it's our 60's that are the best time to cruise.

With the age issue that just won't go away we need to start planning early. Whatever your income level, there is a boat you can afford to buy, outfit and cruise. We just need to be realistic about life's timeline and our particular set of circumstances and plan accordingly.

I've known too many people wed to their jobs, retiring only to find out they either have no hobbies or they no longer have any that they can participate in. The other common reality is one or the other in a couple to have health problems. I'm 9 years older than my wife. The odds are that I'll face real limitations and health issues 15 to 20 years before she will.

I had a friend who was 8 years older than his wife. They had a second home near the coast, Grady White center console, loved to fish. He waited to retire until she could at 65. He was 73. Three months after they retired and moved there full time with the dream of fishing at least four times a week, he broke his hip on a fall while carrying the fishing equipment down to the boat. They sold the home and boat and got a condo back in a city with more and better medical care.

Sadly when you have time and when you have your health may not match.

[Mule]

Yep. Comes to mind a couple where his wife spent waaaaaay too much time at the nursing home taking care of Mama. Mama was so out of it and even when lucid the daughters presence was inconsequential. Mama had the care she needed. The motor home stayed parked, for years and years, even upgraded to a better one to park. Mama finally passed so it was time to hit the road. Three months later the lady had a debilitating stroke. Now guess what her husband is doing. I truly hope I do not live too long, there are worse things than dying.