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portager · 02-01-2012, 06:23 AM

Walt was kind enough to invite my wife and I to come down to San Diego to see Seahorse II and to go to the boat show. We liked the arrangement and build quality of the Halvorsen 32 a lot. I raised seat with a view forward for the copilot would be nice to have, but I not sure where you could put it.

Then Walt took us over to the boat show and showed us more boats.

We looked at a Mainship 30, but we thought it was a little too small. Colleen doesn't like the galley down and neither of us like the V-berth. The Mainship 34 has a 12'3" beam so it is a too wide to ship without a pilot car.

We also looked at the Back Cove 30' was too small and we didn't like the V-berth or the soft enclosure on the back of the saloon.

We liked the Back Cove 34' better because it has an Island berth, but I don't think it is a Island Queen, maybe an Island double? It does however have a dry bath with a separate shower. I'll add it to my short list after the Nordic Tug 34 due to cost. The cost is competitive with a new Halvorsen, but the Back Cove 34 has not been on the market long enough for any used market to develop, and a used Halvorsen 32 is cheaper than the new Back Cove 34 right now.

The Back Cove 37' is very nice, with a real back door, a large Island Queen berth and a half million dollar price tag! It also had a 13' beam. When I told the salesman that I wanted to stay below 12' so it would be transportable without a pilot car, he told me that you could tow up to 14' without a pilot car in Western states including CA, OR and WA. I politely thanked him for the information, but I checked it when I got home. Turns out he is correct for OR and WA but not for CA. Here is a link to the CA DOT pilot car maps. http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/permits/pcmaps.htm If you open the legend link you'll see that 11' to 12' wide loads do not need a pilot car on yellow and green routes. From Orange County you can take the 405 FWY North until it meets the 5 FWY and then you're on a yellow route all the way to Oregon. However, the 5 FWY through down town LA is red, so it pays to drive around.

Another interesting comparison is the Halvorsen 38 and the Back Cove 37. They are comparable in speed and cost, but the Halvorsen 38 has a 12' beam so it is lower cost to transport than the Back Cove 37. If I win the lottery I'll be interested in the Halvorsen 38.

02-01-2012, 06:23 AM	#9
portager Senior Member City: Silverado, CA Vessel Name: Osprey Vessel Model: Nimble Wanderer Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 182	RE: New Bee Introduction Walt was kind enough to invite my wife and I to come down to San Diego to see Seahorse II and to go to the boat show. We liked the arrangement and build quality of the Halvorsen 32 a lot. I raised seat with a view forward for the copilot would be nice to have, but I not sure where you could put it. Then Walt took us over to the boat show and showed us more boats. We looked at a Mainship 30, but we thought it was a little too small. Colleen doesn't like the galley down and neither of us like the V-berth. The Mainship 34 has a 12'3" beam so it is a too wide to ship without a pilot car. We also looked at the Back Cove 30' was too small and we didn't like the V-berth or the soft enclosure on the back of the saloon. We liked the Back Cove 34' better because it has an Island berth, but I don't think it is a Island Queen, maybe an Island double? It does however have a dry bath with a separate shower. I'll add it to my short list after the Nordic Tug 34 due to cost. The cost is competitive with a new Halvorsen, but the Back Cove 34 has not been on the market long enough for any used market to develop, and a used Halvorsen 32 is cheaper than the new Back Cove 34 right now. The Back Cove 37' is very nice, with a real back door, a large Island Queen berth and a half million dollar price tag! It also had a 13' beam. When I told the salesman that I wanted to stay below 12' so it would be transportable without a pilot car, he told me that you could tow up to 14' without a pilot car in Western states including CA, OR and WA. I politely thanked him for the information, but I checked it when I got home. Turns out he is correct for OR and WA but not for CA. Here is a link to the CA DOT pilot car maps. http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/permits/pcmaps.htm If you open the legend link you'll see that 11' to 12' wide loads do not need a pilot car on yellow and green routes. From Orange County you can take the 405 FWY North until it meets the 5 FWY and then you're on a yellow route all the way to Oregon. However, the 5 FWY through down town LA is red, so it pays to drive around. Another interesting comparison is the Halvorsen 38 and the Back Cove 37. They are comparable in speed and cost, but the Halvorsen 38 has a 12' beam so it is lower cost to transport than the Back Cove 37. If I win the lottery I'll be interested in the Halvorsen 38.