New GB 42 owner

Old boater new to trawlers. We've owned various vessels and recently sold a 68' that we had for 12 years. Keep a 32' Trophy in Portland Oregon and a 28' Mako in Palm Coast. Wanted a smaller cruiser that could easily manoeuvre the Bahamas and found a nice 1985 GB Classic that had been lying dormant for over 10 years. Needs lots of work and we're about 20% of the way. Installed new windows all around, tore off all the teak decking (major task), repaired some minor leak issues and will be installing composite decking over re-fiberglassed decks ( trying to get the vessel less labor intensive). Changing out all electronics to Simrad (finally making the move from Raymarine), installing new holding tank and Thetford electric heads. The vessel is lying in Palm Coast Florida and we have 2 low fixed bridges to our house on the Intercoastal. Am installing a 3-5' 12V piston to lower the mast for bridge transit. Vessel has twin Cat 3208's, 12KW jenny and the interior is a 9 and we just finished a week's work cleaning up the engine room. Fuel tanks don't leak and we are cleaning and surfacing with POR 15 in the hopes of staving off the known fuel tank leak issue for awhile. Painting the engines red ( a fetish I've wanted to do for years since seeing it in a vessel owned by Roger Penske). Still deciding on a tender addition and am considering a hydraulic aft platform since my rebuild is coming in lower than estimated and it would make life easier when travelling the Bahamas. I promised my wife this would be the last boat and so we are naming it "Swan Song". Coincidentally, I shared this thought with a friend in Asia and he subsequently advised he had seen a vessel named "Swan Song II" so there's always hope. Having some questions about the build and will share this as we go along

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. So what do you do in your spare time? Hahahaha...

Hoping by February to be heading down to Key West if all goes well - then will switch to "my Buffet routine!"

Welcome from the St Johns!

Now I am really not understanding why you are trying to make those Cats look like Lehmans with the red paint.

Sounds like an interesting project.

Welcome to the TF, gerryhebear. Congrats on your GB 42 and on all the ambitious things you've done for her. She deserves it!

Hope to see some photos soon, and to see you and Swan Song out on the local waters.

Welcome, sounds like you have alot on the run already, keep us posted of your progress, all the best.

Speaking of the name. My personal favorite has always been "Last Fling IV".

Thanks for the welcome. I have always believed that the condition of the engine room underscored the dedication to the vessel - and red engines do stand out. Putting red on a pair of large "cats" would add a "wow" factor to the visual. Also adding a step down ladder to add some "cool" to the engine access area. It's all just an old man's fetish, I guess.
I don't know much about what Grand Banks did to resolve the "tank" issue but I just decided I'd deal with it when the day came. But scraped and sanded the tanks and coated with
Went to see a new Grand Banks (US $1.4 million) at the boat show with the intention of buying a trawler there. The "Euro" model GB makes has 2 rooms forward and no aft stateroom - not at all what we wanted. This one has the aft stateroom with full Queen center line bed. I decided that no matter what it cost to make perfect, it was the style we had envisioned and I would be saving a "fortune" either way. We are not disappointed. Bought the vessel locally after it had been sitting for 11 years with lots of cosmetic exterior issues but near perfect teak interior, 3208 cats with 900 hours and completely overhauled, jenny and AC all working well. Needs new electronics, waste system, etc., etc., etc. But paid $25K ( less than the cost of a good engine) and will spend maybe $65K if we go "nuts" on it so still a great deal for what we want to do with it. Plan is to take her south to Key West then on to Cuba and then to Belize, then back up from the bottom of the Bahamas leaving her whenever we get tired and returning to continue the odyssey as we wish.

Welcome aboard. GB's are great boats & IMHO aft Staterooms, my partner laughs when I refer to our snug aft cabin as a stateroom, are the way to go when spending extended periods of time on board. (Oh Oh stand by for potential thread creep).

Time to post some photo's. That is a mighty undertaking you are embarked on. One question though, why did both CAT's need a complete overhaul at 900 hours?

They didn't need it but after the husband died the wife decided to have the engines and jenny serviced by the CAT dealer who were their friends I presume and anything that needed done was done so I presume a minor overhaul. The vessel was caretaken by a friend of theirs and that's how I came upon it. I wasn't that keen on such a project but now that I'm into it, it's actually quite enjoyable. My wife is also full time on it which makes it that much more interesting. She removed all the old teak one struggling board at a time ( It took the patience of Job) and now has embarked on making all the drapery. The vessel sits at our home which makes it more pleasant and we work and relax as we wish. Expect all to be done by mid to end February.

Haven't figured how to get pictures out. Will see what I can do

Welcome and please keep us posted on your progress.

Welcome from another Grand Banks, good luck.

Nice to hear from France. Je suis francais de Montreal, Canada and now live in Oregon and Florida. Still have a home in Canada and spend 2 months a year in China ( my wife is Chinese and we have factories there) so life keeps us moving. Spent time at Le Petit Castel in Antibes and love Cote D'Azur. I envy you and your trawler there. But the Caribbean has some great living. Spent much time there and want to do one more adventure. Did some ocean crossings ( New York to Bermuda to Azores to Mediterranean) and some South America but always loved the lifestyle of Bahamas cruising. Maybe some day we'll share stories