Another Sailor to Trawler

Hello. My wife is already a member here. We lived and cruised full time on a 42 foot Tartan. We returned to land living to re-fill the cruising kitty. Just a few months later COVID arrived extending our land side stay. We bought First Light, our first power boat a couple of months ago. She is currently on the hard in New Bern while we get her ready for travel again. I am a life long aircraft pilot / mechanic with a current Coast Guard 6 pack license, and spent nearly two years working in a boat yard while on Kintala (our previous boat). I've worked on trawlers but have never owned or operated one to any degree, so this is a new adventure. At the moment we are on the boat working the "TO DO" and, as expected, finding the list to be longer than we had hoped. The boat is basically sound but a life long pilot / mechanic is, almost by definition, a bit OCD. So the more access I have to the experience of others the better.

Welcome to the forum!
Congratulations on your new to you boat!

Making the boat yours is half the fun. Where do you plan to cruise? Need to post some pics of your new ride.

Ted

Thanks for the welcome. This time around we are planning on a six & six kind of thing. Daughter Eldest and her brood currently live on a sailboat. We traveled with them for close to two years before returning to land and hope to do the same on First Light. Daughter Middle and Youngest, with the other 7 of our grand kids, both live in St. Louis. So we would like to spend the summer (hurricane) months up river with the boat berthed in Alton, IL. Just across the river from our land side dwelling. Winter months would be spent down river in the FL Keys and the Abaco Islands, our favorite stomping grounds from our years on Kintala. We know the Islands are still recovering from Dorian and will never be the same in our lifetime. But we want to return anyway. The timing is very flexible. We have very little river experience other than the ICW from the Chesapeake to FL and back. Most of our travel time was spent in the Islands or off shore rather than the ICW.

The first time out we rarely saw the various clans of grandkids, at best a couple of weeks a year. Can't do that anymore. We also hope that some of them will spend time with us when we are traveling on the boat. Live will unfold as it will, and our plans will change accordingly.

Hi tjakey, and welcome (to you both!). 43 years together and 11 grand children - impressive! Sounds like you will have plenty of company along the way. What great memories you will create for your grand-kids

Best regards -

Peter

Excellent!

I spend summers North in the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, or Chesapeake, and return to Fort Myers for winter. While my experience on the Hudson, Erie canal, and Champlain canal are only a couple of trips, I have one Great Loop trip. Will be heading back to Lake Superior this summer. If I can offer you any information on your planned routes, don't hesitate to reach out.

Ted

Ted, thanks; we will definitely keep you in mind. It will be a while before we get off the hard. Next spring is likely the earliest and that depends on how long I have to work to cover the costs of getting First Light up to speed. I am a bit obsessive when it comes to maintenance and this boat, as is my experience with most boats, has seen its share of abuse. Engine room maintenance includes all new exhaust hoses and clamps, heat exchanger overhauls for both engines and generator, new thermostats for the engines, water pump maintenance and, of course, all new fluids. The electrical system is in pretty good shape but there are over-voltage protections missing and some work that needs done at the breaker panel. The main cabin doors are a screwed up mess as is the lower helm door. The interior needs a lot of cosmetic work to repair water damage and there is at least one relatively minor structural repair needed in the fly bridge. But it will still take a few days and some serious glass work to fix. And, like every used boat I have ever seen, there are waiting gelcoat repairs galore. The cosmetic work is part of everyday living on a boat, hobby style stuff much of which will wait until we are in the water. Engine, structure, and wiring work will have to be accomplished before we splash. With the boat in New Bern and the job is St. Louis scheduling the time necessary is difficult. Some of the work will have to be contracted out. Additional cost and moths spent working to cover it, but all part of the deal. We have been through this before and accept that there are going to be hurdles to clear along the way. Owning and living on a cruising boat is not for the faint of heart or easily discouraged.

Welcome, and congratulations. That's a lot of travel between summer and winter destinations!

I'll wave when I cross the Neuse river in April.

Ted

Welcome aboard! The idea of moving uphill to Alton from the lower latitudes sounds like a nice idea. Have you made that climb before? I have, just once, and the first mate and I both agreed we would NEVER tackle the 215 miles uphill climb up the swift Mississippi from the confluence of the Ohio to St Louis area in a boat able to make less than 12 knots, preferably more.

“Uphill”…I’m so new to the trawler world I didn’t know what you meant until I finished reading your post. We have wondered about the river currents. We have talked to some trawler folks based in St Lewis that go down to Kentucky Lake and back, and up to the Lakes and back. They didn’t say anything about currents but they were short conversations. All stuff we have to learn about, all part of the fun. So we know all of our “plans” are written on wet toilet paper.