Hello from Charleston

We are Kathy and Steve DuPree living in Charleston, SC. We are 5 years out from retirement and hope to purchase a trawler within the next 3 years to get prepared for our ICW cruising. We look forward to meeting others and learning all that we can from you more experienced cruisers.

We’ve had many sail and power boats over decades.
We bought] our current trawler 2 years ago and based it in Charleston (where we live).
We’re former lake ocean sailors, saltwater fisherman, sailing charterers, and blue water delivery crew. Settled on a trawler for the next 10+ years hopefully.
We too purchased before we could go cruising full time but will take the next few years getting comfortable with this boat and it’s upkeep.

We live in Charleston and base the boat here ( Ashley). You’re welcome to visit or call if you wish to share our experience and ideas. I’m here each weekend but my wife is in Chas full time. Come for a ride if you wish to see a KK.

Thanks so much for the offer Stickman. We will most definitely take you up on it. I will probably bug the crap out of you with questions too.

Welcome aboard.

Thank you.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard y'all.

Welcome! We’ve always thought of Charleston as our second home, with lots of family and friends there. In fact, we got the idea for our Defever’s name from the little church on Sullivan’s Island.

Steve DuPree said:

We are Kathy and Steve DuPree living in Charleston, SC. We are 5 years out from retirement and hope to purchase a trawler within the next 3 years to get prepared for our ICW cruising. We look forward to meeting others and learning all that we can from you more experienced cruisers.

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Welcome to the forum. However, in these situations it always concerns me when folk indicate waiting until they retire before they do something positive towards their plan. In our case we bought way before I retired and enjoyed our boat for 16 years. And just as well, as by the time I retired my 2iC's health has declined to the point that we would have had to sell the boat at that stage, even if we had not already decided to do that for other reasons. So, get involved as soon as possible is my advice. Why wait the three years..? So, if possible, "just jump in and hayang on", as Flatt & Scruggs used to say when having a jam...

Thanks all for the welcome. Angus99 I actually have friends that go to Stella Marris. Such a small world isn't it. Peter B I agree and the 3 year purchase from now is just a number. It happen well before that my friend. I agree with you that waiting to long is not the right way to go. Live life now.

Angus 99,

Where are you all berthed?

It’s comfy.

hytedin said:

Angus 99,

Where are you all berthed?

It’s comfy.

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We’re berthed in Chattanooga (our home) while finishing upgrades. Hailing port is Charleston. Photo in post 7 is from a stop on the Erie Canal.

Greetings,
Mr. 99. Does that picture happen to be Ilion, NY?

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. 99. Does that picture happen to be Ilion, NY?

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Good eye, RT. A brief stop-over where I suspect we took on some bad fuel. Pretty spot though.

Steve we just arrived at Isle of Palms Saturday and will be there a month or so. I am traveling back and forth from NC. Let me know if would like to come aboard and tour or ask any questions.
Don

Thanks for the invite. We will definitely try to take you up on that.

Something to consider is what age range of a boat are you considering. At 20 years, there is typically things that will need upgrading or replacing. We figure it typically takes at least a few seasons to get a boat where we want it. This is even with a turnkey boat.

Admittedly we're an an area with harsh winters and we both work full time. Just the same, consider taking on some of the cost and time during income earning (rather than burning) years. It gives you a chance to become familiar with the boat, and you're ready to go once you and your box of stuff walk out on the last day.

Peter B said:

...... it always concerns me when folk indicate waiting until they retire before they do something positive towards their plan. In our case we bought way before I retired and enjoyed our boat for 16 years. And just as well, as by the time I retired my 2iC's health has declined to the point that we would have had to sell the boat at that stage, even if we had not already decided to do that for other reasons. So, get involved as soon as possible is my advice.

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I wholeheartedly agree. I bought my first cruising boat at
36. I bought my first trawler at 45. I have absolutely no intention of waiting until the last years of my life to start living it.

I know the locales are different, but do you live full-time in a marina?

Welcome

Hi and Welcome

We are currently doing the loop, sort of, but our home port is Isle of Palms. I would suggest joining the Marine Trawler Owners Association (MTOA). We did a few years back before we got our trawler and have really enjoyed the camaraderie and knowledge that exist within the organization. There is a Charleston chapter called the Palmetto Cruisers that meets a few times a year.


Hope to see you in Charleston or on the water some time.


Magnus Sjoberg
Swede Dreams

Steve and Kathy,
Please reach out to us via e-mail at tdbentle@southernco.com.
Jacque and I are currently in the same position that you guys are and we are learning a lot.
Thanks,
Tsali & Jacque Bentley
Blairsville, GA

Welcome. You will learn as much as you want on this site. Good job starting three years prior to retirement.

I shouldn't be surprised at how many current and future cruisers are based in Charleston. I live just across the river in Mount Pleasant. My wife and I are in the exact same situation, about 5 years out from retirement and buying our next boat (sooner if things work out). We are still trying to figure out how big we need to go but I'm guessing with my height (6'7") it'll be on the bigger side. I've been eyeballing the Defever 44s as they seem to have nice headroom.