Looking to Purchase Trawler

Hello to All: We would appreciate all advice and opinions!
Wife and I have looked on and off for over two years and feel certain a Trawler suits our needs. Our priorities are comfort and room, no need for speed, and a good used well maintained boat. We plan on keeping her relatively near our home which means the Miss/Ala/NW-Fla gulf coast. Our present interests are to relax/fish the Chandeleur Islands over toward the mouth of the Miss. River, and will also do flexible/no schedule ICW cruising on down to the Keys. We also love just spending time in the Florida panhandle area, and given the price of beach condos this appears to be such a better option offering more advantages for enjoyment of this particular area. .
We have come close to pulling the trigger, and have learned quite a bit from reading here as well as speaking with several of you who have been so generous to discuss any questions we had. We have also watched in amazement during our initial learning period at :
(1) the amount of Boats sitting in marinas hardly used;
(2)overpriced Boats on the market just sitting unused for well over a year since we started our search, with little realistic price reduction;
(3) wondering what market affect the recent boat carnage due to hurricane/storms will be on boat values.
We have also wondered why shared ownership doesn't appeal to more people on several fronts. It seems to certainly provide multiple owners with expense participation and perhaps newer/larger/nicer vessel options. There seems to be quite a few people who like their Boat for seasonal use, and even more who because of jobs/family commitments etc. are limited to sporadic use. It seems to us that relationships on shared usage would be very beneficial, and would open up additional areas for enjoying the Trawler Life. For instance in our case, it would be wonderful to spend time up in the PNW each year without the need to "cruise" there or maintain a vessel there. Perhaps it just doesn't work out?

We do not see ourselves living aboard for extended periods, and are not presently interested in the Great Loop. We love the boating lifestyle, and are struggling to make our final decision. We do plan to take a few charters in several areas, but family, grandkids,etc realistically requires us to stay mostly close to home. We still know so little but are eager to learn, but do know we are not the first to discuss these issues. Perhaps if similar discussions are on the board I may have missed those threads. Thanks to all as always...would love some thoughts on these areas of interest

really?? no one??

i can't believe no help here thanks for reading

Hi - Just came across this. I don't really see any specific questions, but gather you're looking for threads that are about first-time trawler buyers? Have you used the search function?

I read a number of statements and observations,perhaps intended as discussion topics.
Asking something specific would be better.
Boat share boats seemed to occupy a large part of the recent Sydney Boat Show,I doubt it is restricted to here. Why not check that out as it interests you.

KRedmann said:

i can't believe no help here thanks for reading

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Suspect a few of us missed your original post.... I was probably sleeping.

But, give us a bit more info and we'll spend your money, and you'll probably get a variety of opinions.

Boats, cars and planes, and most toys are usually in a buyer's market, unless it's a real specialized item and in short supply. And sone of those deals are just too good to be true. And, yes, some are overpriced and will sit for years.

Give us some of your thoughts... what items on a boat do you like, dislike, etc. Let's assume you want the basic amenities, at least one nice state room, head, AC, generator and a comfy salon.

Do you want a flybridge, steps up or ladder, 2nd head, big boat, small boat, top name or moderate?

I'm pretty new at trawlers, so I'll let the others guide you. I just bought my 400 Mainship earlier this year and I like it. But, I'm doing the loop and that is the goal with this boat. For just cruising the ICW, like I have over the past 20+ years, I'd think differently.

It's just my opinion, but shared ownership of boats doesn't seem to work as well as with houses and airplanes. Don't know if it's relative to the people or possibly greater amount of general maintenance and necessary regular inspections. For boats kept in the water, regular inspections and scheduled maintenance for both topside and the hull require a more engaged owner or paying someone to do it. This is quite different from an airplane that stays in a hangar between uses. The other limitation with multiple owners would be the necessity of removing all your personal stuff after each cruise. If you plan to cruise for a month or more, the amount of personal stuff can be quite extensive.

Chartering may be a better option for you.

Ted

Sounds like you need a lugger, not a trawler. Just kidding, one in the same I think. Start searching for Chandeleur boats and checking local yacht clubs. Biloxi-Pass Christian harbors have a boat load of boats your looking for. Take a few days and ride around and look for for sale signs.

O C Diver said:

It's just my opinion, but shared ownership of boats doesn't seem to work as well as with houses and airplanes. Don't know if it's relative to the people or possibly greater amount of general maintenance and necessary regular inspections. For boats kept in the water, regular inspections and scheduled maintenance for both topside and the hull require a more engaged owner or paying someone to do it. This is quite different from an airplane that stays in a hangar between uses. The other limitation with multiple owners would be the necessity of removing all your personal stuff after each cruise. If you plan to cruise for a month or more, the amount of personal stuff can be quite extensive.

Chartering may be a better option for you.

Ted

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Ted,

Good point on sharing a boat. I've shared boats, houses, airplanes and cars. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. BUT, for one that doesn't use a boat much, it cuts the costs dramatically.

I currently have a 3 way partnership in a small Sundancer and works absolutely great. For the most part, I call the shots and have control. We all agree that the boat will be kept in top shape so our philosophy is the same, and that's the key. It's small enough so one doesn't have a ton of personal stuff on board, but we have a dock box and shed for that.

To make a partnership work, the philosophy of how the boat will be used and maintained is probably the biggest key.

One more thing, I really prefer a "joint venture" or a rental agreement rather than a partnership. Only one person with the final say.

I had the worst of partnerships in a plane once. We had to sell the plane and each get our own to save our friendship... and at the same time we were building storage buildings and that was going south, got a bit ugly. But today we are best of friends because we recognized the issues and solved them. Still made a ton of money so that helped.

But, if one "is in love" with their boat, no partnership will do.

Boats of this size and purpose are very complex systems, perhaps comparable to a small vacation home. Therefore if you've been away for a while, there is a rather extensive opening and pre-start procedure, and the same thing when leaving. There's also general cleaning every time, plus periodic maintenance. all this to say and sort of echo what OC Diver and Seevee said: for a shared-ownership, you'd have to pick a partner VERY carefully. it would be one that has the same level of meticulous maintenance and cleanliness you do... but also probably not a friend or relative, because this doesn't mix well with business.
Another variation of this is to buy a boat, but then when not using it, arrange to charter it out to others for a fee. Here again you'd have to be good with strangers using the boat and have proper insurance, but i guess you'd make back some of your investment.
On the boat sales listings: Agreed, in fact we've seen a couple boats that are sitting for sale for literally years on yachtworld or elsewhere and yes sometimes the price doesn't drop much. If you see one like this that interests you but is out of your budget yet has been for sale for a year or more, i'd say don't be afraid to throw in a low-ball offer. All they can do is say no but you might get in for a bargain. Just be sure you get a good survey in this case because it might have been a problematic survey that kept it from selling to the last bidder.
Also if inexperienced, it can be helpful to enlist the help of a buyer's boat broker. the buyer doesn't pay broker fees and this can be a great resource to help guide you.

Habyve you read this?
http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/boat-search-101-a-14905.html

In over 40 years of boating, I have only seen one boat owner partnership that lasted more than 1 season. That was a 17 ft Bayliner owned by 5 guys. They had strict rules, like whoever uses the boat has to top off the fuel tank at the end of the day or they forfeit their next 2 days of use. Do it twice and they forfeit their share. Strict compliance made it work for them.

Sounds like a floating time share.
No thanks.

If you want shared ownership, buy into a boating club or a shared ownership boat offered by a company in that business. That way the rules are all set, everything is managed, and it reduces disputes with other owners.

Still, it's not something I'd personally consider. Guess I just don't like sharing. I don't want a partnership in business or personal. History says the majority don't last and many breakups are ugly. Divorce rates are 50% and that's the most carefully worked out partnership you can have with someone you love. I'd put business partnerships around 10% and shared boats or homes not much better.

Hamrow,

If one wants to keep the boat running and wants it paid for, chartering it makes a LOT of sense, but there's some work involved.

I did that for awhile with a few planes I had and worked out great. I had a good pilot that was reasonable, great customers, and just keeping it busy 10 days a month, I made enough to keep three planes running. Similar to boats. There's a real high charge per hour that the customer will pay. Not hard to get a few thousand a day for a trawler. I've also got a few great captains in mind.

One does have to "roll out the red carpet" for their customer, but it works and can be a lot of fun.

My Goodness...what a difference a week makes!!! Thanks to all for taking the time. I have always admired those of you who give your time and experience to newbies like us! To answer some of your questions, and for further comments, here goes. I really wasn't very specific in my inquiry , but I have already noticed and somewhat familiar with the Boats owned by you guys. Moonfish I have done a fair amount of searching on this T&T, and thehulltruth...reading for hours until falling asleep...but learning as we go. Bruce K, I have only seen 1 Island Gypsy, and we loved it...but we love all quality boats with teak decks & Mahogany such as Grand Banks etc....

Looking To Purchase Trawler

So.... as you probably know, in speaking with people, when you discuss what you are looking for, half scare you off with the fear and expense of maintenance issues....but we seem to keep coming back to boats that are necessarily going to require TLC. We are looking for a well maintained boat and would like to stay under 150K.
Sevee makes a great point on several issues and we are currently looking at a very nice(IMHO) 350/390 Mainship that fits the bill. The Cajun Rose!!! OMG she is lovely although we have never considered one nor seen one turnkey within our budget. But what you show in your pics is our future. I grew up running the Islands of the Miss coast as well as the coastal Louisiana waters. Will you be at the Wooden Boat Festival??
We have a little experience, a little money, a lot of desire, but feel we can handle a vessel up to 42 ft. Our plan is to keep it locally for up to a year...getting acclimated and more experience, running mostly inland waters and coastal bays from the mouth of the Miss. River to the Miss. Gulf Coast area, waters I have been familiar with since college. WE understand the partnership problems, as we have best friends who enjoy the same things and activities, but pretty sure not compatible in joint ownership. In other words, even though money or work contribution would be equal and unquestioned , as you know personalities differ and some just get aggravated whereas others are more lassiez fare!

We are struggling with how reasonability and practicality should weigh in on our ultimate decision? No doubt glass decks vs Teak is an easy decision, but only if you have decided on your priority in terms of maintenance vs aesthetics. My wife loves comfort, and looks, but all of these have that!! She will be spending the afternoon in a sundress enjoying a glass of wine as I return and sling a few trout and redfish over the stern from a quick trip out!
We would like two private sleeping areas, with the ability to have extra sleepers in the galley area. Dual power in not a necessity, but seems most we have looked at have them, and docking and maneuverability would be enhanced.

It appears to be a buyers market and we certainly can afford to go it alone, but we do enjoy other lifestyles and do not ever plan to live aboard longer than a few weeks. We do see ourselves heading to the keys from time to time, so that is where we are. It would be fun to share this with someone else who has similar interest in the same areas so we can enjoy all these amenities while sharing effort cost and expense.
We so appreciate all thoughts and will certainly reach out to those who have been so kind...Kris/ Grace

BandB said:

If you want shared ownership, buy into a boating club or a shared ownership boat offered by a company in that business. That way the rules are all set, everything is managed, and it reduces disputes with other owners.

Still, it's not something I'd personally consider. Guess I just don't like sharing. I don't want a partnership in business or personal. History says the majority don't last and many breakups are ugly. Divorce rates are 50% and that's the most carefully worked out partnership you can have with someone you love. I'd put business partnerships around 10% and shared boats or homes not much better.

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BandB,

Good points, but the boat club just sucks. Looked at them for a run about to play with and found I could have a better boat and a LOT more flexibility at about the same cost, if I did it myself. So far, I have one that works GREAT, with three of us. We have never had a dispute and we all think that it's cheaper just paying a bit more than our share and we still get a boat way cheaper than by ourselves. Plus, if it's a boat that is not used much, it gets used, which is better. I've got one partner that has never taken the boat alone.

BUT, one needs limits and rules and fairly easy to establish. AND, one should look at their partner as one they would possibly marry to make it work. Not talking about a same sex thing (not my preference this year). But if you're partner were the opposite sex, would you consider dating them for a potential permanent relationship? If not, it may not make a good partnership.

And I don't like partnerships, but joint ventures or a rental situation. I don't believe in a democracy where we all have a say so, I believe in a dictatorship with boats.... only one person has the final say, but the others have a way out.

I've done MANY of these with success on every one. The straight partnership has been iffy.

Seevee said:

BandB,

Good points, but the boat club just sucks. Looked at them for a run about to play with and found I could have a better boat and a LOT more flexibility at about the same cost, if I did it myself.

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Actually, they work quite well for certain people, most aimed at smaller boats. On lakes they've gotten very popular. They can save very low usage boaters considerable money and, more than that, headaches. Not for me, but safer for most than partnerships are. Partnerships on boats fall apart when the first major maintenance needs hit. That's the one thing that doesn't impact boat club members.

Living in a land-based condominium is difficult/complicated enough. Wouldn't want the same complications with a toy (aka recreational) boat whose purpose is fun.

If both couples want to use the boat at the same time, who gets the owner's stateroom, hmmmm?

If one wants to add additional electronics and the other does not..... You are beginning to see the problems???

KRedmann, before you fall too much in love with teak decks. They are beautiful, and cool to walk on. But,the old screwed down kind are prone to failure,degraded caulk, thinned planks, screws that fail, etc, and once that happens they usually compromise the real deck underneath, which consists of something with a fibreglass layer top and bottom, forming a "sandwich". If the "meat" in the sandwich is ply or teak offcuts, rot can follow, and big $ follow it.
Newer deck material is more likely glued not screwed. There are synthetic substitutes too. In an older boat be careful. Redone decks is a huge plus, old decaying ones a huge negative. There is usually a "woe is me" teak deck thread running on TF. I think I ran one. My deck redo approached 30K,would have cost much less if I`d opted for painted fibreglass everywhere, instead of part painted, part teak. But it looks great!

BandB said:

Actually, they work quite well for certain people, most aimed at smaller boats. On lakes they've gotten very popular. They can save very low usage boaters considerable money and, more than that, headaches. Not for me, but safer for most than partnerships are. Partnerships on boats fall apart when the first major maintenance needs hit. That's the one thing that doesn't impact boat club members.

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BandB,

Just for reference, the last boat club I looked at had a large percent of their boats inop. And the rest looked like crap. Sure, they work, but you have to significantly lower your standard... but there are a few exceptions, but not cheap.

I'm all for doing my own thing, and that has worked well for a long time... BUT you're right, you need rules, reserves and a philosophy that the boat will be kept in top notch condition regardless.