Coming "home" to the Salish Sea

Hi,

I have been a sailor most of my life, but got involved with a 1968 Hunter Boat Company MY - built in Suisun Bay (San Francisco area). 45 feet, 50 overall with new swimstep and bow plank.. and all wood, with Chrysler 440 GAS engines. Lost her in the 2008-9 recession... got offered her back recently.

But "Foresight" is still a woodie, with twin gas...and I want FB and single or twin diesel for the Salish Sea. So, decided Not to Buy her back ;( -- Instead, I will be moving home (went to U-dub and then worked for Port of Seattle, EPA, Port of Everett before moving back to my native SoCal. Been trying to get "home" for decades (a long story...maybe for another time!).

I am an oceanographer/marine biologist and consultant in the public agencies realm. Once back in the PNW, I am going to seek -- yes, horrors, a powerboat. I tried sailing in the San Juans during a stint at Friday Harbor Labs... the wind goes in circles, always on your nose, and the tidal currents taught me how to sail (full, drawing sails) backwards! (water mass went south faster than I could foot north -- sorry, that's sailor/ragman talk).

Occasionally ran Udub (University of Washington) boats, and power is the right choice at this point in my life. So, I have joined to start learning about, and researching, an appropriate trawler to liveaboard (have lived on various boats (sail and power) for many years), and yet suitable to explore BC, the wild side of Vancouver Island, and eventually up to SE Alaska.

So, I look forward to reading, learning, meeting you all, and maybe getting help/suggestions on good used boats -- just divorced and a modest budget - maybe $80k-$120k for a suitable boat...when I move in late summer (2015) back the the PNW.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

Welcome Aboard! Sounds like a good plan to me...enjoy the search!

Good you passed on the big gas boat.
It's a buyers market up here and lots of boats to look at .. by fall even more.
But the live aboard notion could be difficult as moorage for that is somewhat hard to find. Time spent on YW will familiarize you w the market.

Everett eh? We moored there some time ago and wife worked there when I met her. Lived in Arlington ... Concrete now.

Salishseer said:

I am an oceanographer/marine biologist and consultant in the public agencies realm. Once back in the PNW, I am going to seek -- yes, horrors, a powerboat.

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Welcome, to another convert to the dark side. Eventually, most "rag baggers" come to the conclusion that a power boat can be quite roomy & warm, with their feet up on the console as they pass their brethren, huddled in their oil skins, at the helm of their painfully slow vessels. hide I envy you in your choice of cruising venues....the very best of luck to you!

Welcome home. We missed you...

Thanks to all the welcomes and good wishes. Some local (Kingston) friends also said...wait for the gray of winter to buy...after others have failed to sell during the summer season... but, I don't want to inadvertently miss a "good" one.
To 'RT Firefly' and 'wyoboater,' thank you. To 'manyboats' -- I've a number of your posts around the forum...would love to get a cup of joe with you/wife and chat, when I get there! Everett has changed since the 70's - a friend works in a marine supply store there. And Arlington/Monroe, and nearby areas were our stomping grounds for late-night BMW car rallies -- in the boonies! Best part was getting lost and then driving like idiots to get back "on the clock." - Ah, youth!

Hey, 'Codger2' - even when I was sitting on my Tanzer 22 in Tacoma, I had the same feelings about the stinkpotters passing me - going against the tide, warm, coffee in hand... and me, heeled over, wet, cold, and probably going - on a good day - a net of 1 know forward! Even that way when I lived on my LaFitte 44, and sailed in San Francisco...against the ebb tide. And last, but not least (new friend!!), 'Moonfish' -- just started reading your mag... I assume there are great archives? Count me in!

Salishseer,
Sounds like you've read some of my posts .. Not the ones where I got chastised or booted off TF I hope.
Your friend .. at Harbor Marine by chance. Was there a couple days ago. Gotta see Mike in the gear shop now and then. Chat and coffee ? .. I do much of my TF at Starbucks in Mt Vernon. Boat is at LaConner where we're headed now. I'll PM you my phone for when you come .. or?

Ben's at Dunlap Industrial Supply... And no, I haven't [yet] found the messages that got you booted off!!! Starbucks works...everywhere. TF ?? May be in town mid-July.

Also...looks like I sent my response twice..How does one get the dup removed? am such a newbie here, wow. And where does one do PM's?????

Salishseer said:

'Moonfish' -- just started reading your mag... I assume there are great archives? Count me in!

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Well, I wish I could take credit for a magazine... We do boating videos. Cruising guides, product demos, boat reviews, feature stories, etc. Perhaps you are thinking of Waggoner's Pacific Northwest Boating which is on our home page? That's my friend Mark's publication (he also has the Waggoner Cruising Guide), and it's a good one. One of our own TFers - Retriever - also works with both the mag and the guide.

Ah... you're right... the failings of a newbie.... But yes, I saw a video!. Thanks.

Sal,
Click on the person's name upper left then click on " send -------- a private msg"

To remove click on "edit" and click on the dot "delete msg". And click delete msg on the right.

The Edit function disapears all too soon .. like several hours!

Thank you, Eric, for both tips. Got it.

Just takes a bit to get the 'local' steps down.

Now, if it were just as easy to find the 'right' boat. But, I have all summer to do that research and connect with knowledgeable folks...especially about what works in the Salish Sea, and northward.

Most of it looks pretty calm, compared to storms I've weathered off Pt. Conception and in "Windy Lane" between Catalina Island and the mainland. But I am sure there will be some rollers, breakers, and confused seas crossing Queen Charlotte Sound. Not looking to go back into the Gulf of Alaska in bad weather -- been there, done that -- and it was pretty hairy at times, even on a 100-foot research vessel.

Again, thanks.

The Strait of Georgia can be a nasty bitch if she wants to be. We don't get ocean swells here (been there, done that, got the T-shirt after growing up and living in Hawaii), but in some ways what we do get are worse: very closely spaced, steep-sided wind waves which when they get into the 5-foot plus range make you really wish you were someplace else.

And Johnstone Strait can take your boat apart if it's in a mind to do so. We've flown up it in the floatplane and looked down on big North Slope tugs that all but disappeared under the spray and their barges were out at a 45-degree angle off their stern. And I'm sure Eric can tell some tales about the channels he used to run in SE Alaska, to say nothing of Dixon Entrance.

Ah...so much to learn. I really look forward to getting this kind of feedback - nothing's better than local knowledge.

Question - can we archive our own/these threads for future reference, or is it better to copy them into a log or list of comments?

I appreciate the input - short, steep, wind-driven waves are almost always harder on boats and people - even when heading directly into them -- they have this annoying habit of not staying square to your heading!

All posts since this forum began in 2007 are in the archives that you can access using the Search function.

Thanks... let me take a month off to read! - well, ok, i'll be more selective... looking for opinions on 36-44 footers for living aboard and cruising through the PNW and AK. Are there good "comparison"/review articles, or primarily member's feeback and discussions? And, is it better to search by Manufacturer, or.... [insert suggestion(s) here].

Thanks!

The search function works off of key words and compares them to words in the posts. So enter "anchor" and you'll get a link to every thread that has at least one post with the word "anchor" in it. So finding something specific requires some thought and creativity in choosing the key words or phrases. There is an Advanced Search function that lets one refine things a little better.

Great.... tomorrow, I'll start exploring... oh, wait, I still have a bit of billable work here in SoCal to finish up... hmmm... maybe tomorrow night, before I turn in!

Thanks.

Salishseer said:

Question - can we archive our own/these threads for future reference, or is it better to copy them into a log or list of comments?

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i didn't really answer your question actually. Every post to this forum goes into the archives. But if you want to save some or all of the content of a specific post you need to copy/paste the text into your own document using Word or Pages or some other text application. So far as I know there is no way to create your own personal archive within the forum itself.

That sounds typical of other forums. I have often just cut-and-pasted useful items into a named MSWord file for future reference, but if they are retained here, I guess I just need to start using the proper tags for easy retrieval.

Also, based on your earlier response about searches, e.g., on "anchor" - I take it the search engine does not search the entire text, but only tags, right?

The search engine has several modes. There is a list of most used tags you can select from. I use the advanced mode and the search engine looks at all the text to find matches to my keyword or phrase. Best thing is probably to experiment with the search function's various modes of operation and determine which one(s) works best for you.

Sounds good. I am looking forward to exploring discussions of various brands. Have spent the past few days on Yachtworld, and frankly, it is a bit overwhelming. I've always been partial (visually) to Grand Banks, but Ocean Alexanders look interesting, as to a number of other brands. Am hoping to find comments about building/construction integrity for open ocean (San Diego to BC) travel on her bottom, etc.

I'll also look at the common search tags, although for comments on quality/integrity, your suggestion of advanced 'text' searches sounds about right. Last question -- where are you based?

Thanks.

Another resource for boat make information is David Pascoe's website. Pascoe is a retired marine surveyor and he has generated a lot of material-- books, etc.--- about boats. His reviews can be very useful in helping determine what to be on the lookout for when contemplating a particular make and model.

However..... his reviews should be treated as a single data point as they do not always reflect a general reality. He is VERY opinionated and bit full of himself, so keep that in mind when reading his stuff. However, his writings can be a very useful resource to someone contemplating buying a boat. http://www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/indexboatreview.htm

There is a pretty good Passagemaker article on "Taiwanese Trawlers," the generic name used for the large number of cruisers produced in Taiwan during the 70s and 80s. These include makes like CHB, Puget Trawler, Marine Trader, Roughwater, Albin etc. The article talks about the good and bad aspects of these boats. http://www.baris.net/boats/lf3/pdf/articles/venerable%20taiwanese_trawlers.pdf

Ah, David Pascoe! I read his review of my former home (a LaFitte 44) - yeah -- that's a sail boat with a big stick (65') and 2-3 sails. Some was on point, and some, well, he just never lived and cruised the boat as I had.

So I appreciate the reference to his site... I haven't seen other reviews by him, but the salt shaker will be weighed carefully!! Thanks, too, for the "Taiwanese Trawlers" -- interestingly, my LaFitte 44 was one of those - 1978, built by Chung Hwa shipyard!!