Mid50s life change...

Mako said:

Not sure I agree. Have been offshore and in 30ft seas and haven't gotten seasick yet.

Only time I ever threw up on a "machine" was sitting on a moped in Saigon. After an hour of 2-stroke scooter exhaust in my lungs I couldn't handle it anymore.

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So... throwing up on a scooter in Saigon has to be a better day than any day in the USA:lol:

pkirkll said:

So... throwing up on a scooter in Saigon has to be a better day than any day in the USA:lol:

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Perhaps. Fantastic city and country. Lived there twice. Actually nowadays I’m seeing more electric scooters in Saigon. Hopefully 2-stroke motors (like on my fishing boat) will head into extinction soon.

Do not confuse the other Bluewater Yachts shown in the previous photos with the Bluewater Yacht shown in my avatar and which have an owners section here on the forum. The ones like mine have a soft chine displacement hull and low horsepower singles or doubles-totally different boats.

When we were having our then recently purchased Bluewater project boat trucked from Portland to Puget Sound this confusion cost us much time and money.

We were living on Maui at the time and had arranged by phone the trucking. After flying to Portland and taking the boat to the ramp where it was to loaded on the trailer, the trucker looked at it and exclaimed that this was not the Bluewater he was expecting and could not ship it at that time because he needed a larger trailer, a different route, permits, a follow car and he could not take it to Port Townsend but only to Olympia. I had emailed him all the dimensions, displacement and weight info as well as a general description of the boat. I had to fly back to Maui and return 4 weeks later to load the boat at much greater expense. We did end up being able to take her on her own bottom from Olympia to Port Townsend. Understand the differences!

Tator

Phycho,


I few thoughts.....
First, charters are not $10k. Heck, if you're very inexperienced, charter a small boat for a few hours to break the ice and get familiar....any size will do. And later charter a cabin cruiser/trawler of sorts instead of a fishing boat, unless you want to go fishing, but that's not the goal you posts.


As for your TN/KY home on the water...that's the BEST idea you've had so far, and you would absolutely want access to the Cumberland/Tennessee rivers. And in that area, I'd be surprised that you couldn't live on your boat there. Now, you have a "base" to operate from and a place to store your RV, car and junk, PLUS no marina costs which is a HUGE expense, and you have the boat close by.


Now, if you've never owned a boat before, I could argue to pick up an inexpensive ~20 ft single outboard (with a good motor), and play with it for one season. Learn rules of the road, boat handling, basics.



For a second (or first, if you're up to it) boat in that area, I could argue strongly to get a very popular boat that has some creature comforts (cabin, air, heads, cooking), like the smaller trawlers (Roseborough, Camano and others), OR a cabin cruiser with outboards. Good starter boat and can do a ton of cruising with them (including the Great Loop) and if you don't like it, or want to get bigger, not hard to sell.


I could argue strongly against an older "project" boat, unless you just like to work for free and tinker. Financially, you rarely make out and if your doing major fix up you wont have time for cruising.... and some of those older projects take years to complete, and aren't worth what you paid for it. (that's just my opinion).



As for insurance, easier to start with a smaller boat and I could argue to only get liability if you don't like the prices.


BUT, in any case, get a good captain to train you! That's a MUST. Also, regardless, learn the systems on the boat and learn how to maintain them.


Now, you haven't mentioned a wife or significant other. If so, what does she say? And if you don't have one, get one... they're fun and will give you something to complain about if the boat works fine.


Now, after a few years of boating you might figure out what boat you really want.

Another thing....


After some experience, you'll figure out if you want twins or singles, and I could take either side of that argument. But one myth... the twin does not burn double the fuel. In the same boat, the twin will burn about the same fuel... at hull speed.



Also, some say the fuel is not your big expense... well, if you use the boat much, fuel will be your biggest expense... certainly your biggest operating expense. One can minimize that with slower speeds and smaller boats. There's lots of mid to small sized trawlers that could be a good live aboard like the the 35ish foot range Grand Banks (and look alikes) Monk, Albin, Mainship and others, and can get in that 3 to 5 mpg range. But time for that later.

Seevee said:

Phycho,
Now, you haven't mentioned a wife or significant other. If so, what does she say? And if you don't have one, get one... they're fun and will give you something to complain about if the boat works fine.


Now, after a few years of boating you might figure out what boat you really want.

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He states in the very post "Retired Military Bachelor with no children"

SeeVee...
WHOAAAA Nelly!!! A Wife might be nice but I DONT wanna rush into anything! Im only mid 50s!! ? Seriously, I have thought many times how my life might have developed with a moderating/ civil buffer And someone to 'grab the end of the box please?' LOL I'll concentrate on the Land and Boat for now though.

ODan. Thats the 'Lofe Changes'... No dependants and now parentless and Tired of the Mn Cold! Good market to sell and go RVing in and decide 'where' I need to go next...

All the new replies. I have been kinda busy but luv the info and viewpoints. I admit. I like the IDEA of completely remodeling and refitting a boat. I Dont expect to get rich (hoping Not to go Broke!) I know its something I would probably never finish and it would be a 'project boat' like OD was saying. But I DO want an in depth knowledge of the workings of it... So in 4 or 10 years, off the coast of guatamala, the XYZ pops and I have to jimmy-rig it... I Can!

IMO all you can do is make the best informed decision and hope Karma agrees. SB mentioned an 'Ugly boat will be ugly inside'. Thats a good point. But the boat I looked at last weekend was nice. From 20' away. It was Clean and kept up for Living aboard but not Boat use. (New HWH and Toilet. Decade old house batteries and neglected motors)

Thanks for all the advice!!

RE: Fuel use. Upkeep.
A smaller boat to learn and get my feet wet in a few hours a week wouldnt use too much fuel. Im just concerned for the long distance trips in the future. 6000 miles on the Great Loop, 500 miles a month at 1gpm vs 3gpm vs 5gpm can be a huge difference in total costs.

I have looked into 'general' pricing for a 36-42' boat, ins, reg, and other fees. But what are the big $$$ in that 10% Maint figure? Fixing and replacing things? Overhauls, Zinc pads, hull painting, ???

One thing that has come up is Oil Changes. The Lehman is suggested to be changed every 100Hrs. That would be 10 oil changes on the Great Loop. Another guy said he does it yearly or 1000hrs but does oil testing in between.

Psychowolff said:

RE: Fuel use. Upkeep.
A smaller boat to learn and get my feet wet in a few hours a week wouldnt use too much fuel. Im just concerned for the long distance trips in the future. 6000 miles on the Great Loop, 500 miles a month at 1gpm vs 3gpm vs 5gpm can be a huge difference in total costs.

I have looked into 'general' pricing for a 36-42' boat, ins, reg, and other fees. But what are the big $$$ in that 10% Maint figure? Fixing and replacing things? Overhauls, Zinc pads, hull painting, ???

One thing that has come up is Oil Changes. The Lehman is suggested to be changed every 100Hrs. That would be 10 oil changes on the Great Loop. Another guy said he does it yearly or 1000hrs but does oil testing in between.

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What you're trying to do seems quite reasonable. Predict maintenance, upgrade etc costs. I'm going to say it's nearly impossible to do on an older boat. You'll find so many things you can't predict on older boats. Important systems that need anything from minor repairs to full replacement. You can hire the best surveyors. You can spend large amounts of time going over the boat before making an offer. There will still be many very expensive surprises.

Without going into details my latest purchase was 2 yrs ago. She surveyed very well. Dealing with all of the above plus moorage and insurance fuel comes out to just 0.93% of the total costs. And I've got another winter of expensive work ahead of me before she's ready for a trip of the magnitude of the loop.

Now to fast forward to the end of next year when I hope to have completed months of cruising to SE Ak and back. At that point following this winter's work I estimate fuel will be 6.22% of total costs. That's only if I don't find more expensive surprises.

Hopefully as I get this boat squared away and use if for more longer cruises the fuel % of cost will go up. Way up. But it has taken a lot and will take a lot more to get there.

So, as many have said, don't put too much focus on fuel costs. Unless you are purchasing an ocean crossing globe trotting vessel.

If I were in your shoes, and not tethered to any one location after selling my home, I would seriously consider a easily trailer-able boat and sturdy tow rig and go exploring some of the highlights of the inland waterways of North America. It does not need to be a "trawler" or anything fancy but just big enough cabin to get out of the weather and sleep comfortably, 22'-25' in size, big enough for one but small enough that launching alone would not be impossible. A sport cabin configuration like a "Parker" with a RV style, roof mount AC unit that could be used on land would allow you to camp on land between cruising grounds. The great loop is a cool and unique adventure but there are many highlights along the way that you could pick and choose from in a trailer-able rig with a lot of flexibility to change your plans on the fly. That particular brand is fetching a high price (like many boats) but you could find something similar for a good deal with some patience. The Trent Servern Waterway would be my first adventure with such a rig.

Newbie thanks

Hola, another newbie here. I was just browsing this thread and came across some very valuable information about swfyachts.com, that was EXACTLY what I've been looking for!

I've already talked to them and am looking at my schedule to see about doing one of their classes.

P.S. The itch won't go away, I've had it for months and I spend way to much time reading/browsing and learning what I can.

robtx said:

Hola, another newbie here. I was just browsing this thread and came across some very valuable information about swfyachts.com, that was EXACTLY what I've been looking for!

I've already talked to them and am looking at my schedule to see about doing one of their classes.

P.S. The itch won't go away, I've had it for months and I spend way to much time reading/browsing and learning what I can.

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Welcome to TF. Do stick around. After all, in the words of that old but iconic song from 'South Pacific'..."if you don't have a dream...how you gonna make a dream come true..?"

RobTX... There is an Amazing amount available here!! Good luck!

Gdavid. Waterfront is hard to find reasonable. They want Gold for any advertized places. LoL Thats one reason im getting a smaller boat. Just a 16-18' fishing boat for exploring the tributairies.

Thanks for all the Info. Hard to keep up on it all!!