PNW cruiser wanted

Hello everyone,
We recently finished our Great Loop (and a half) in our Mainship 390 and are now looking for a boat for cruising PNW for couple of seasons. It will probably need to be in Seattle/ Vancouver area. Budget +/- USD100k.
At this stage not yet set on any model in particular, but it will need to be comfortable, well maintained, in good condition and essentially ready to go. We want to be on the boat sometime in April for a May departure.
If you have or know of a suitable boat, please get in touch.

If 100K is your budget, why not just ship your Mainship 390 here. You can put it on those types of ships that partially submerge, drive your boat on, they shore it up and you can either stay on the ship for the trip or fly in later.

This type of ship used to anchor and pick up boats for transfer back to Florida, it came to our area for a number of years (Deep Cove, North Vancouver, BC). I'm not sure of all the destinations this company covers.

https://digg.com/video/yacht-transport-ship

Thanks for the thought but we sold it to the first person who saw it!

My impression is that Trawler-type boats go for a higher price here in the PNW. And, if your new boat will be of any size, particularly longer than about 35-40 feet, get on marina waiting lists now . I am one year into my wait for a 50-foot slip at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes WA. It’s a nice marina with easy access to the San Juan Islands and parts north. Welcome to NW cruising!

By the way - "seasons" here can be year round if you plan it carefully. We use our trawler year round...sometimes we're sorry but more often just wet. If you opt to work with a broker try Waterline in Seattle, we bought through them. And do take the caution on slip availability seriously, we keep our boat at Port of Everett and there are some waits 3+ years for 40+ ft. Good luck!

Earrame said:

Hello everyone,
We recently finished our Great Loop (and a half) in our Mainship 390 and are now looking for a boat for cruising PNW for couple of seasons. It will probably need to be in Seattle/ Vancouver area. Budget +/- USD100k.
At this stage not yet set on any model in particular, but it will need to be comfortable, well maintained, in good condition and essentially ready to go. We want to be on the boat sometime in April for a May departure.
If you have or know of a suitable boat, please get in touch.

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Earrame,
There are some slips available on Vancouver Island (Canada) for full time use and some available for seasonal use (vacate slip from May 1 to October 1 for instance). Some of these marinas are a bit "out of the way", but if you are coming in from Aus., may be OK for you?
Good luck on your boat hunt. If you are looking for a broker, we were happy with Richard Hargreaves from Yacht Sales West in Vancouver. He is a no BS kind of guy with a dry sense of humour, who went above and beyond for us .

Thank you for the warnings about marina shortages- we will certainly bear this in mind.
Ditto for the advice about brokers- is it usual in the PNW for brokers to act as a buyer's broker on a split commission basis?

Although any broker would like to get "both parts" of the sale, they often only get one (either the listing broker or the selling broker). Personally, I think there is a (at least potential) conflict of interest with using only one broker.
For us, we used the same broker to list our boat when we sold, and to act as our "buyer's broker" when buying.

Good luck with your searches.

Earrame said:

Thank you for the warnings about marina shortages- we will certainly bear this in mind.
Ditto for the advice about brokers- is it usual in the PNW for brokers to act as a buyer's broker on a split commission basis?

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Yes, brokers will act as a buyers broker and split commissions with the listing broker, and that is exactly the case in our purchase of a Nordic Tug 42 that is set to close on Monday.

We were quoted a 2 to 3 year wait at Cap Sante in Anacortes for a 50 or 57 foot slip this past Monday. They do not allow any overhang and the dingy/davit configuration on our prospective purchase takes us just over 50 feet LOA. Some marinas have a more generous overhang allowance in the PNW. Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham also has a lengthy wait list. Sublets are sometimes available, but from March to October, they are difficult to find.

Check out Point Roberts, they may have something.

Also check Blaine WA. It’s part of the Bellingham port, but often has openings and is low cost. Skyline Marine on the west side of Anacortes might have some openings as well - or at least a shorter wait and it, too, is less expensive and allows some overhang.

This is all useful- thank you all.
We won't need one for the summer as we will be travelling the whole time, but will need a slip for the off season.
All I have to do is find the right boat.....

Earrame,
If you are indeed coming in to boat from Australia, you might want to consider mooring in Canada. I don't know all the "rules" for "foreign boat owners", but it can't be too stringent as there are a fairly large number of US owned boats moored in BC. There is moorage available in Nanaimo at both the Port Authority docks (right downtown) and at a relatively new marina with a waterfront hotel. Nanaimo is located about mid island on Vancouver Island, which allows easy access to the Gulf Islands, US San Juans (same day), the Sunshine Coast, Desolation Sound and points north.
Point Roberts Marina definitely has vacancy. I used to moor there and still have many friends who moor there. It is located on Point Roberts (no kidding), which is a piece of US land that is only accessible by water or by land entering from Canada! It is not the easiest to get to without your own car (taxi does go there). The upside is that PR is close to the US San Juan Islands, the Canadian Gulf Islands, Victoria, etc. The fairways are wide, and the slips are fairly wide at Point Bob.
Due to way more coastline in BC than is available in Puget Sound, etc. a lot of American boaters spend most of their time in BC (some go to Alaska). If your boat was moored in BC, it would avoid another border crossing situation. Not that big of a deal, but "just saying".
Good luck,

This is all useful- thank you all.
We won't need one for the summer as we will be travelling the whole time, but will need a slip for the off season.
All I have to do is find the right boat.....

I don't think you are into the spirit of what we are telling you, if you find moorage take it, yes you will be paying for time away from it like we all do. But don't think you can leave a marina in the spring and come back in the fall and something will be available, and this is true as you increase your boat size.

Thanks for the help and advice about slip availability- I have taken note!
I have a preference for overwintering the boat in BC as Canada is a little easier for us from a visa angle.....but first I need to find a boat.
We shall keep looking .

We have a 43' Nova Sundeck Troller that was a great cruising boat. It's currently in Napa CA, but is in very good shape, well cared for. It's listed at $89,950 w/broker. could take $79K w/out brokers. Estate sale. you can see pictures on https://www.napavalleymarina.com/blog/yacht-sales/43-nova-cockpit-motoryacht
My dad was in coast guard for 22 years, and took care of his boat. Likewise my brother has had it in Cali and also takes care of it well.

there is a 2001 mainship 390 for sale in Anacortes Wa. here is the link https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2001/mainship-390-trawler-3617404/
i don't know the vessel, i just live here, but i used to own a Mainship 400T

Greetings,
Mr. E. A friend has his boat up for sale in Oregon. https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1977/cheoy-lee-46-long-range-cruiser-trawler-3542425/

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. E. A friend has his boat up for sale in Oregon. https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1977/cheoy-lee-46-long-range-cruiser-trawler-3542425/

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Mr. Firefly -

That's a great boat!

I've had a couple of friends try to inquire and see this vessel, but have indicated having a hard time getting anywhere. Might your friend consider listing with a more local or at least regional broker? The listing has said more pics and info coming for many months now...

How about a Fisher?

Well, my boat is for sale also. She is an English built Fairways Fisher 38' trawler (43'OA) w/twin Ford Lehman Sabre diesels- 1979. Now in yard replacing fuel tanks and other refurbishments. Will be ready in two months. Well built strong boat that looks great. Asking $99,000.

You have multiple areas in BC to look for boats, Vancouver obviously has a good supply, also Victoria, and to a lesser degree up Island, like Nanaimo and Courtney/Comox and Campbell River.

Thanks rsn. We are quite prepared to cast a wide net and will probably look for a buyer's broker in the next week or two.

So 100 K American which is roughly 130 K Canadian and a boat 39 feet or longer. I do peruse some locations for boats so I'll keep this as the criterion.

Here is one, yes a wood boat, and yes you would be wise not purchase it, but.... what a great boat:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/856480524796666/

A 42 foot uniflite:

https://victoria.craigslist.org/boa/d/vancouver-uniflite-42-ft-double-cabin/7060337707.html

This one is $145,00 so roughly $15,000 over budget when translating $100 K American to Canadian, Bayliner Pilothouse 50':

https://victoria.craigslist.org/boa/d/sidney-bayliner-pilothouse/7065660601.html

A little bit smaller, a 36 Grand Banks 1980 (fiberglass hull):

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-powerboat-m...ntown-west-end/36-grand-banks-1980/1483770728

I will keep looking.

Thank you so much for these references. I am hoping that someone on TF will have, or know of, the right boat.
You are right about the first one on your list- we love other people owning wooden boats..
We are prepared to extend our budget if we have to, but that would mean there is less available for any upgrades, and there will likely have to be some.
I appreciate everyone's help.

Suggestion number two, subscribe to Pacific Yachting a local magazine that has been around a long time. There is a digital subscription available below with boats advertised, I just went through the back pages of boats for sale and found a few in your price range.

There will be more boats listed as we are just heading into our spring so more will become available more into march. The problem as I have experienced it is that the boats that are in great shape at a great price sell in about ten minutes. A buddy of mine sold his CHB in Ladysmith, BC. The guy who bought it didn't even have a boating license and had never boated. He wanted the boat for a live aboard only. By the way, I recommended this boat to a TF member but by the time he got around to following up on it, it had gone.

https://www.pacificyachting.com/pricing/

Mainship400 said:

there is a 2001 mainship 390 for sale in Anacortes Wa. here is the link https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2001/mainship-390-trawler-3617404/
i don't know the vessel, i just live here, but i used to own a Mainship 400T

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I saw that boat on Yachtworld...but the limited pics suck...

We have a 44' Nova sundeck moored in Napa marina. the boat was from Puget Sound and brother took it to Cali. It fairs very well in Wa waters. Here is the link....https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1986/nova-cpmy-3609743/
Good luck!
This is an estate sale. Boat must be sold

Tina