New to Board

Hi, my name is Patti and I retired a few years ago after 30 years in the Army. My husband and I have a small 18' footer, but we hope to be getting a trawler in the next year or two. Forgive me, if I ask questions that many of you may think are things we should already know. We live in Saint Petersburg, FL.
Thanks, in advance for everyone's help.
Patti

P.S. CIMOTUSA stands for Chief Information Officer Third United States Army

Patti
Welcome aboard TF Good to have more female members along with their perspectives. You may notice a bit of testosterone at times but I'm guessing with military background you can more than handle yourself.
Thanks for your service!
We all started boating someplace with all kinds of craft. Let us know what your plans and dreams are once they form up. Lots of good info and advice here.
Welcome

Congratulations on your move from Ground Pounder to Pollywog. There is a lot to learn with boating the larger stuff, but none of it is really hard, just the learning goes on and on and on; actually part of the fun of it, if you enjoy learning.

I'm assuming your title implies some serious rank. I come from generations of Canadian military, including myself and my son. Interestingly and I bet almost no American knows this, an amazing number of Canadians came down and fought for the North in the Civil War, my great..great...? grandfather being one of them. Lived in the Cornwall Ontario area but for some reason I'll never figure out, enlisted in Madison Wisconsin where, ironically, I ended up living their while my Dad, a light Colonel, worked in logistics at Truax Air Force Base. A Canadian army guy working at an American Air Base back in the 60's until Johnson shut it down.

As in most requests for information, the more specific your question, the more likely to get accurate responses.

So your Mision: To acquire a trawler, size, brands (?), live aboard, home cruising, extensive cruising, one engine, two engines? LOL.

Rsn48: thanks for the welcome aboard message. I retired as a full colonel. Other than pinning on the gold bar and promotion to colonel, all my other promotions were overseas. The only continent I haven’t been on is Australia. I sent six years in various war zones.
The Canadians have played an important part in U.S. culture. I know Canada took a hit not being included in 4-eyes or 5-eyes classified information under George HW Bush. If you want to know why, I can tell you off-line.

I am looking at the Defever 55 cockpit cruiser that is selling for $275K (located in CA). So that gives you an idea of the direction we are looking. Some must haves are stabilizers, a full range of electronics (I know what I don’t know, which is everything), and 4-stroke engine(s). Would like 3 staterooms with en-suites.

Welcome aboard the board currently filled with bored people!

I am assuming it is this one, looks in really good shape:

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1990/defever-55-cockpit-cruiser-3563383/

Are you planning on staying on the Best coast or taking it back.

Welcome aboard. Art Defever designed a lot of great boats. Good luck in your search.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

Welcome Aboard Patti, Thank You for your service.

That is a LOT of boat, no, let me rephrase that, THAT is a HELL of a lot of boat. It looks beautiful. Are you sure you can handle a "learning curve" that steep?

Also, unless you are planning on staying on the West Coast you should be looking at boats on the East side of the country. Getting that boat from San Diego to Florida will probably run you around $50,000, maybe more.

Good Luck, Keep us posted.

pete

Bacchus said:

Patti
Welcome aboard TF Good to have more female members along with their perspectives. You may notice a bit of testosterone at times but I'm guessing with military background you can more than handle yourself.
Thanks for your service!
We all started boating someplace with all kinds of craft. Let us know what your plans and dreams are once they form up. Lots of good info and advice here.
Welcome

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Thanks... and I think I can handle the testosterone.... once you kick them in the balls, no issues (of course it was an accident, he ran into my knee). Respect is earned, not given. I was the only female officer in a 1500 man battalion. After that no one bothered me.
I am the first to say I don’t that much about large boats, but I’m a fast learner and I want to learn. I’m a sponge.
Patti

menzies said:

Welcome aboard the board currently filled with bored people!

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[emoji2]

Pete Meisinger said:

Welcome Aboard Patti, Thank You for your service.

That is a LOT of boat, no, let me rephrase that, THAT is a HELL of a lot of boat. It looks beautiful. Are you sure you can handle a "learning curve" that steep?

Also, unless you are planning on staying on the West Coast you should be looking at boats on the East side of the country. Getting that boat from San Diego to Florida will probably run you around $50,000, maybe more.

Good Luck, Keep us posted.

pete

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Pete... yes, it is a lot of boat and would like to find something on the East Coast. I didn’t think shipping a boat from West Coast to East Coast costed $50k.
Patti

rsn48 said:

I am assuming it is this one, looks in really good shape:

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1990/defever-55-cockpit-cruiser-3563383/

Are you planning on staying on the Best coast or taking it back.

Click to expand...

Yes, that’s the boat or yacht. Would like to find something on the East Coast. With the virus economic meltdown, it’s more difficult to get a boat loan. I’m glad we refinanced our house early January.

cimotusa said:

Pete... yes, it is a lot of boat and would like to find something on the East Coast. I didn’t think shipping a boat from West Coast to East Coast costed $50k.
Patti

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Regarding the learning curve, as long as, no one is shooting at me or trying to blow me up, I hope to be able to learn.

cimotusa said:

Regarding the learning curve, as long as, no one is shooting at me or trying to blow me up, I hope to be able to learn.

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Hah! Depends on your posts!

Option: https://www.sevenseasus.com/?gclid=...maRUMGktd-VgkJru555WXiA9N6pa_JhhoCGkwQAvD_BwE

Option: This company used to run from Florida to Vancouver with a stop in California. It's a float on, float off kind of deal. [I don't think they are making that run anymore, but I'd enquire as the plague might change their plans to something North American based]

Homepage - DYT Yacht Transport

In fact, where I used to live before moving to Vancouver Island is where they dropped off the yachts for the Vancouver area. All of the yachts dropped off here were bound for Desolation Sound and the Broughtons. Here is a live cam of where I used to live, and across the water by the mountains is where the ship would sink so the yachts could off load:

Live Webcam - DeepCoveKayak.com

And this is to wet your whistle as to why you should leave your boat up here for at least a few years. There is a company (not large) called "Slow Boat" and they run tours from Seattle or where ever in Puget Sound to Alaska and back. If you have the money, its a good way to quickly learn how to get around in our waters. And I always tell folks, if you can safely navigate and anchor in our waters, WA, BC, AK, then you are petty much good for the world, more challenging than the loop or ICW. Of course, you don't need to use this company, most don't but I know two that have done so, relatively new to boating and they loved it and are now much more skilled in all things boating.

rsn48 said:

Option: https://www.sevenseasus.com/?gclid=...maRUMGktd-VgkJru555WXiA9N6pa_JhhoCGkwQAvD_BwE

Option: This company used to run from Florida to Vancouver with a stop in California. It's a float on, float off kind of deal. [I don't think they are making that run anymore, but I'd enquire as the plague might change their plans to something North American based]

Homepage - DYT Yacht Transport

In fact, where I used to live before moving to Vancouver Island is where they dropped off the yachts for the Vancouver area. All of the yachts dropped off here were bound for Desolation Sound and the Broughtons. Here is a live cam of where I used to live, and across the water by the mountains is where the ship would sink so the yachts could off load:

Live Webcam - DeepCoveKayak.com

And this is to wet your whistle as to why you should leave your boat up here for at least a few years. There is a company (not large) called "Slow Boat" and they run tours from Seattle or where ever in Puget Sound to Alaska and back. If you have the money, its a good way to quickly learn how to get around in our waters. And I always tell folks, if you can safely navigate and anchor in our waters, WA, BC, AK, then you are petty much good for the world, more challenging than the loop or ICW. Of course, you don't need to use this company, most don't but I know two that have done so, relatively new to boating and they loved it and are now much more skilled in all things boating.

Click to expand...

Rsn48: Interesting and something to consider as we go forward. I look forward to your advice on future topics. [emoji4]

Hi Patti,
Welcome, and thank you for your service! Big time respect, and please don't take my next comment the wrong way, but especially for your time served and your achievements, especially for a female starting out 30 years ago.
Most Defevers are great boats. That is a large boat to basically "start out on", but it can be done. I would advise hiring an instructor to give "hands on" boat handling training on your boat (should you end up with such a boat). In my opinion, there is no better way to quickly learn how to handle a larger powerboat. In addition, taking other training like "Power Squadron" is also a great idea.
RSN48 makes some great points. The so called "Pacific Northwest" offers some of the most beautiful, varied, and sometimes challenging boating in North America if not the world. But I am not only spoiled, but a bit prejudiced in that regard . You could boat in this huge geographic area for years and not see it all. Companies like "Slowboat" offer great guided floatillas and are a good way to get comfortable with the many challenges of boating. I know a few people who have gone that way and really enjoyed it and found it very helpful for them.

Shipping a larger boat like that can get expensive. I do not have a "crystal ball", but I would suspect that boat selection/availability should be going up in a while, with prices dropping. Boats are usually bought with "disposable" money, and there could be a shortage of that coming up for many people. I hope not, but ......
Good luck with your boat search and all of the decisions associated with it.

Firehouse: thank you for your comments. A lot to consider going forward, but with everyone’s help, we hope to make the correct choice, at least for us. All the comments help to build a solid framework in buying a new boat. �� thanks again. Patti

Thank you for your service. There’s a lady over in Madeira Beach named Shirley Nelle that it would behoove you to meet. She used to be NI’O (not in Oklahoma) Group Inc. I don’t know if she retired or not, but unless she’s dead, she still lives there. She knows big boats very well, and knows everything you need to know. If you go over to ABC Marina and just yell out her name, I guarantee you somebody will come out and direct you to her.