A Good Day Aboard

Peter B said:

Because, as the boat has been for sale, we had let our sub to the local Volunteer Marine Rescue folk lapse, otherwise the tow would have been free. There's a lesson there I guess.

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Wifey B: Yeah, we know people here who dropped their tow membership when they put the boat on the market. Cost them several hundred when showing the boat. Once back at dock, was a 15 minute fix, but they couldn't take time to figure it out while stranded in the ICW.

Peter B said:

Ain't that the truth Mark. For anyone interested, the outcome to the problem that ruined my birthday cruise here... http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s53/hello-coomera-queensland-36335.html#8

...turned out to be something a couple of nips up with a spanner cured. Trouble is, I couldn't find the said fuel leak, as it was only revealed by pumping the lift pump vigorously for longer than I did. It was where the copper tubing fuel line joins (via a metal locking nut), to the on-engine 2º filters. It took the diesel mechanic, who had dealt with this sort of thing before, about half an hour to fix. The tiny leak allowed air to get in and cause an air-lock when we throttled off for the first anchorage. So, it cost me the four day cruise, and $520 for the tow back..! Because, as the boat has been for sale, we had let our sub to the local Volunteer Marine Rescue folk lapse, otherwise the tow would have been free. There's a lesson there I guess.

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Sorry to hear about your pump failure, Peter. I've been waiting for that to happen for the 10 years I've owned FlyWright.

My boat came with electric fuel pumps inline to the lift pumps but they were never hooked up to 12V...just loose wires to nowhere. I recently connected them to 12V with a toggle switch to assist in bleeding the fuel system after filter service. A backup benefit is that if a lift pump fails, I can turn on the electric fuel pump on that side to pump fuel through the lift pump to the high pressure pump.

Some folks use externally mounted electric pumps as the lift pump replacement on some diesels.

Well said, thank you for posting

Very much appreciate the post and reminder of how special our experiences on the water are...cheers.

FlyWright said:

My boat came with electric fuel pumps inline to the lift pumps but they were never hooked up to 12V...just loose wires to nowhere. I recently connected them to 12V with a toggle switch to assist in bleeding the fuel system after filter service. A backup benefit is that if a lift pump fails, I can turn on the electric fuel pump on that side to pump fuel through the lift pump to the high pressure pump.

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I had to do that on a delivery once. Thanks for reminding me I need to pick up a couple of (the right capacity) electric lift pumps and install them. Somehow that hasn't made it to the top of the list yet. But it should.

Peter B said:

. So, it cost me the four day cruise, and $520 for the tow back..! Because, as the boat has been for sale, we had let our sub to the local Volunteer Marine Rescue folk lapse, otherwise the tow would have been free. There's a lesson there I guess.

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Its been suggested to us a few times to do this but I just can't see a 35ft outboard powered power cat having the grunt to undertake a tow on a 70tonne trawler.

jet thruster question

Anyone out here had any experience with Holland Jet Thruster?

Hello! You look so happy in this photo. I see a cake on your table. Did you have a birthday?
markpierce

"Its been suggested to us a few times to do this but I just can't see a 35ft outboard powered power cat having the grunt to undertake a tow on a 70tonne trawler."

If there is little wind and current , weight is no problem , tho the tow will be fairly slow.

We started the day planning on a 35 mile cruise around Aquidneck island, turned back do to fog 1/2 way thru and called an audible ending up at Potters Cove (Ri). Super calm can he’s the crickets from shore 500 yard off

Looking Back

I was checking this post and realized it’s ten years old, where did the time go? Wow, it’s scary how fast time slips by and how short the runway is becoming. Looking back over the past 10 years I feel that we have not accomplished nearly what we had hoped to do with boating and blame myself. While we did spend the last five years designing, building and enjoying our last boat (Helmsman 38E) the plans to retire early and spend time exploring the ICW did not materialize.

Could we have shipped the boat to the east coast as planned and flown back and forth trying to find a few “two week” periods of vacation, sure but would it have made sense? Not for us so we passed. Now with the boat sold we find ourselves trying to decide what the boating future holds and to be honest it is a little unnerving weighing budget, desires, health and timing. What I would give to go back to 2005. But I guess that’s why we started our trawler adventure 15 years ago instead of waiting. Despite not covering all the miles we planned we did enjoy four boats and wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything.
For anyone thinking about buying a trawler and trying to decide if the timing is right or wait a few years for everything to line up, done wait. Do what you can now and start enjoying it. There are no guarantees in life and a partially accomplished dream is better than just dreaming.

John T.

John, I always thought there was no one who enjoyed the building of his boats more than you did! (...and I mean that in the nicest of ways!)

Walt just took delivery of his Duffy. Maybe you could talk him into a SD Bay ride along. If I lived there without a boat, I'd be buying him lunch every week!!

What’s Next?

It’s been only a couple of months since we sold the boat and we are already missing being out on the water. Driving to San Diego, Dana Point and Newport Harbor to watch the boats just is not the same as being on the water. I have been boating my entire life (I just turned 60 - ouch) and though I feel great and still have a ton of adventure in me, my wife is done with serious boating ( double ouch). So she says then last week we went aboard the new N41 and she says we should buy one. I think it was more emotional than true thought but it doesn’t matter since for a number of reasons the N41 is not the right boat for us.

Getting ready for retirement in a few years also plays into our boat budget and unlike many who wait for retirement to buy their trawler and cruise we spent the last 15 years building three new boats and living aboard (part time) for about five years. All this was not inexpensive but we have zero regrets, in fact just the opposite.

So, where does this place us today? I think Mary is onboard for one last boat but it will be smaller and likely for just the day or weekend. Needless to say I’m not going to object and have already started the best part of boating which is researching and building a boat. Their is a world of different boats out there and I plan to explore as many as possible before deciding which one fits our next “mission” using the 90% rule. More to follow for anyone interested in the process we use.

John

It's time

This whole thread makes us hope we haven't waited too long. We have been sailing and powerboating all along as we raised kids, built businesses but now we are finally getting ready to do it for real.

Last fall we bought a 46' Lien Waa custom motorsailer and sailed her home. We had time to get to know all the systems but then had to put her away for winter.

In the meantime I got total knee replacement on both knees. Thanks football.
One after the other. It seemed like a good time to do it since with Covid we weren't going anywhere anyway.

We are going to cruise around Eastern Long Island and the Sound this summer after I get my act together. In 3 years after I fully retire at 67 (wife will be 65) we may take the boat to FL for the winter and back up to NY for summer.

The PO of the current boat was a very experienced yachtman and 71 when he commissioned it. It has electric winches and can be fully operated from the helm. We are in relative good health and my wife is a retired nurse. Its time to do this.

SBTC, Definitely go for the dream! It's always a worthy motivation back to good health. I plan to boat for as long as I can board.

Then when you're aboard, the 'Yacht Yoga' will keep you healthy as you squirm through the engine room for maintenance and repairs.

If you're really lucky, you'll have friends nearby who can help by handing you tools and tell you what you're doing wrong while they drink your beer.

We carefully selected this boat we could sail as a couple for at least 10 years. As I said the PO was 71 when he had it built and he is 84 now. He set it up well. Inside and out helms, windlass controls at both helms and bow, bow thruster, electric winches with everything lead aft to the outside helm, ketch rig with furling self tending jib and in boom furling for main and mizzen, hydraulic steering with autopilot, radar, generator, and 3 AC units.

Another requirement was a 54' air draft and 5.5' draft for the ICW.

and ...it has a nice bar with an icemaker. We can't wait to get used to it this summer.

Slowboattochina said:

We carefully selected this boat we could sail as a couple for at least 10 years. As I said the PO was 71 when he had it built and he is 84 now. He set it up well. Inside and out helms, windlass controls at both helms and bow, bow thruster, electric winches with everything lead aft to the outside helm, ketch rig with furling self tending jib and in boom furling for main and mizzen, hydraulic steering with autopilot, radar, generator, and 3 AC units.

Another requirement was a 54' air draft and 5.5' draft for the ICW.

and ...it has a nice bar with an icemaker. We can't wait to get used to it this summer.

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Sounds like heck of a nice craft. Do you have closeup photos of interior/exterior? Maybe I missed them in this thread; apology if so. I recall visiting Greenport by water in early 60's. Nice place!

I will post pics as soon as I can figure out how to resize them

Slowboattochina said:

I will post pics as soon as I can figure out how to resize them

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Way I do it:

Take photo on e-phone

Send it to your email [medium size selection]

Place the photo from email into a folder

When posting on TF:

Scroll down... punch up "Manage Attachments" - Follow easy directions

Once the photo are loaded... Then, hit "Submit Reply"

Good luck... Looking forward to seeing your boat's photos!

I hope you can see these pics.

Great photos!! Thanks!!!

Thanks for the advice on how to post them. The workwork on this boat wonderful if you like the "wood cave" look....and I do. Having restored a 1960 33' Rhodes and 50' 1941 John Alden designed swordfishing yacht before I am not afraid of varnishing.

Back to the theme of this thread. Do it while you are still young or spry enough.

Its been awhile since I viewed this thread and to be honest surprised to still see it listed. Possibly the general nature of the theme has made it easy for others to add on which is all good and brings me to this post. Yesterday I found my self off the San Diego coast line saying good by to a good friend from work who passed away unexpectedly last year. His family waited for a break in COVID to arrange for the spreading of ashes at sea and invited me to attend. It was, as expected a somber occasion but did help bring closure for everyone.

From a boating perspective this was only the second time I experienced a large cat (60') and was impressed with its ride, speed and stability at rest even in mixed seas. Cabin and aft deck space was small for a boat this size but I guess that is trade off for this type of design. The power and sail combination is a nice safety factor for long voyages and I can see while these designs have caught on over the past 20 years. Lots of pro's and con's which if we were in the market for another trawler I would look at closer. In the end it does not matter what style boat you are on just being back out on the water felt good and nice way to say good by to an old friend.

John T

John, in another thread you hinted that you we pursuing another boat? Update? What are you building today?

Next Boat ??

twistedtree said:

John, in another thread you hinted that you we pursuing another boat? Update? What are you building today?

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We continue to sit on the sidelines since selling the boat in November and trying to figure out "life in general" as we remain interested in one more new build. I looked into small electric powered boats and even developed a design I shopped around as a "one off" build but that costs were a little too high. We took a second look at the new N41 (still like the Nordy's) but determined it was a little narrow inside and too complex for such a small boat. Maybe its me but as I get older, simplicity is more appealing while at the same time recognizing the difficulty trying to blend simplicity with world traveling in safety and comfort.

I have also been exploring sailing (I know, I'm going the wrong direction) as a challenge and something different so possibly I may go this direction but keep it small. My wife is done spending significant time aboard (I can't complain since we lived aboard part time for a few years and were the best of times for us both). Whatever I do will likely be focused on local cruising and at times solo. So as you can see nothing set in stone (yet) but one aspect of the next boat will be to try and make it a US build. I'm not political but when I see how aggressive China has become and continuation of US jobs being lost as corporations chase lower labor costs overseas, I would like to do my small part and help a US company. Many builders in the NE (and elsewhere) have enjoyed a resurgence recently but the COVID influence will not last so possibly a NE built boat? I have always admired the look of Downeast style boats and heck if Billy Joel and Jimmy Buffet can do their part possibly I can?

One thing for sure is that the clock doesn't slow down for any of us which sucks but that's life and I know I need to continue what i have always preached and "do it now" regardless of the style or type of boat as long as it meets our needs and built to high quality standards.

Will keep you posted.

John T. N4050 / N4061 / N3522 / H38E - Previous Owner

N4061 said:

"the view is the same from the aft deck regardless of the size of your boat"

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I'll be honest, at the start of the thread I was kind of rolling my eyes when you mentioned that you had owned not one, but two Nords. I mean, here I am with my little 37 foot, gas powered floating shoe that cost me significantly less than some used cars, and you've owned two Nords. What could you possibly say that I would find relatable and inspiring? And then I got to this little gem. It's not very often I hear things that stop me in my tracks and render me nearly speechless, but this one did.

I think I'm going to do an art project with this one, and hang it on a wall in the salon.

Its not the boat

toocoys said:

I'll be honest, at the start of the thread I was kind of rolling my eyes when you mentioned that you had owned not one, but two Nords. I mean, here I am with my little 37 foot, gas powered floating shoe that cost me significantly less than some used cars, and you've owned two Nords. What could you possibly say that I would find relatable and inspiring? And then I got to this little gem. It's not very often I hear things that stop me in my tracks and render me nearly speechless, but this one did.

I think I'm going to do an art project with this one, and hang it on a wall in the salon.

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I wish I could take credit for that one but to be honest it was something that a former N68 owner said in a post he made some time ago. He and his wife had the means to travel the world with their boat but also had a great attitude on what really counts. While most of us can only dream about a bigger boat and far off destinations its also interesting how some owners of larger boats find themselves dreaming about the bigger boat anchored next to them. Then over time the reverse occurs and we (at least some of us) want something smaller and easier to own. Its all about enjoying what you do have and not worrying about the other guys boat. Just my two cents.....

JT

N4061 said:

Its all about enjoying what you do have and not worrying about the other guys boat. Just my two cents.....

JT

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When you have a budget like mine, and a boat like mine, and you're like me of course, it's very easy to lose sight of what you do have, and only see the negatives. It's a slippery slope when you're constantly reminded of the shortcomings. It happened again this weekend at the pool. During casual conversation someone started ragging on gas, and how "gas goes boom". They had no idea we lived on a gas powered boat, but their tune changed dramatically when I informed them that we did. I often dream of a bigger boat, with more character, and a lower helm - but then I think about the bigger bottom job bills, and the increased maintenance costs, and the valuable space that we enjoy that would be taken up by a lower helm.

The fact is that our boat is exactly what we need right now, and for the foreseeable future. And if we repower with smaller diesels, it may be exactly what we need for years on in.

N4061 said:

I looked into small electric powered boats and even developed a design I shopped around as a "one off" build but that costs were a little too high. We took a second look at the new N41 (still like the Nordy's) but determined it was a little narrow inside and too complex for such a small boat.

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Have you considered Greenline, since you mentioned electric?

What an inspirational post. Thank you! Many people would have succumed to their pain and suffering and lived the rest of their lives watching TV. You have challenged yourself to do something more. You're going out of your comfort zone to experience more of what life offers.

Boating isn't the easy path. But the people you meet, and the sights you see make it much more rewarding that what most people do.