Snapdragon III
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2016
- Messages
- 421
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Snapdragon
- Vessel Make
- Custom 56' Skookum trawler
Hello all,
My name is Loren, and I have been lurking on and off on here for years, but especially heavily in the last couple months since I purchased our first Trawler. Our last boat was a 25' foot Aluminum fishing boat that we sold a couple years ago. I am very excited to be back out on the water. We Have it Moored in Anacortes, Wa. The boat is capable of much more than we are going to have time for, for the next few years, but we will be making the best of weekends, and our big goal for this summer is to do the outside of Vancouver island.
The Boat
We bought a 1990 Seakeeper 40' that was Built in Ohio by a very short lived company (Marine Aluminum Fabricators). From what I was told they might have made 5 boats? It is aluminum, and a Ted Brewer Design. I am very excited about it. I can see why the company who built it were not a commercial success, they went crazy fabricating stuff from scratch. Including the hydraulic windlasses, door latches, alarm panels, hydraulic dingy lift, custom welded aluminum dingy, etc. According to the previous owners, the boat has done the great loop, Caribbean, Western Mexico, and 8 trips to Alaska.
Things I like.
-Duel Hydraulic windlasses
-Twin 62 hp Yanmars
-Keel cooled (Chambers welded into Aluminum Hull)
-dry stack exhaust
-Sea chest for all salt water inlet, (For shaft seals, fridge condenser, and washdown)
-Hydraulic dingy lift W/ custom plate welded 11' dingy
-Paravane stabilizers
-450 gallons fuel, 300 gallons water
-Twin keels protecting running gear, supposed to be beachable
-Small day tank in pilot house with gravity feed to dual racors, for three engines and heater. Good alarm system and setup should make it easy to avoid ever starving engines of fuel, or feeding them bad fuel.
-Exceptional visibility from pilot house.
Things I don't love
-I wish the topsides were not painted. At 26 years old, it is showing its age, and I am not looking forward to dealing with it.
- The fridge and freezer are engine driven, (off a 7hp pony engine that also drives a high amp alternator, and hydraulic pump.) It works good, but you can't leave the fridge on while the boat is at its dock plugged into shore power.
-The hot water is also off the pony engine, and there is no way to make hot water with shore power
-The shower construction sucks. It has a completely flat floor that does not drain right.
-The swim step is too short to comfortably walk on.
-it is a bit on the loud side. Especially when running the pony engine at anchor for the fridge/hot water. The noise is more annoying when you are not on the move.
-Electronics are all working and fine, but not new and shiny.
My name is Loren, and I have been lurking on and off on here for years, but especially heavily in the last couple months since I purchased our first Trawler. Our last boat was a 25' foot Aluminum fishing boat that we sold a couple years ago. I am very excited to be back out on the water. We Have it Moored in Anacortes, Wa. The boat is capable of much more than we are going to have time for, for the next few years, but we will be making the best of weekends, and our big goal for this summer is to do the outside of Vancouver island.
The Boat
We bought a 1990 Seakeeper 40' that was Built in Ohio by a very short lived company (Marine Aluminum Fabricators). From what I was told they might have made 5 boats? It is aluminum, and a Ted Brewer Design. I am very excited about it. I can see why the company who built it were not a commercial success, they went crazy fabricating stuff from scratch. Including the hydraulic windlasses, door latches, alarm panels, hydraulic dingy lift, custom welded aluminum dingy, etc. According to the previous owners, the boat has done the great loop, Caribbean, Western Mexico, and 8 trips to Alaska.
Things I like.
-Duel Hydraulic windlasses
-Twin 62 hp Yanmars
-Keel cooled (Chambers welded into Aluminum Hull)
-dry stack exhaust
-Sea chest for all salt water inlet, (For shaft seals, fridge condenser, and washdown)
-Hydraulic dingy lift W/ custom plate welded 11' dingy
-Paravane stabilizers
-450 gallons fuel, 300 gallons water
-Twin keels protecting running gear, supposed to be beachable
-Small day tank in pilot house with gravity feed to dual racors, for three engines and heater. Good alarm system and setup should make it easy to avoid ever starving engines of fuel, or feeding them bad fuel.
-Exceptional visibility from pilot house.
Things I don't love
-I wish the topsides were not painted. At 26 years old, it is showing its age, and I am not looking forward to dealing with it.
- The fridge and freezer are engine driven, (off a 7hp pony engine that also drives a high amp alternator, and hydraulic pump.) It works good, but you can't leave the fridge on while the boat is at its dock plugged into shore power.
-The hot water is also off the pony engine, and there is no way to make hot water with shore power
-The shower construction sucks. It has a completely flat floor that does not drain right.
-The swim step is too short to comfortably walk on.
-it is a bit on the loud side. Especially when running the pony engine at anchor for the fridge/hot water. The noise is more annoying when you are not on the move.
-Electronics are all working and fine, but not new and shiny.
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