First weekend on our Monk 36

[Woodsong]

I posted this on another boating forum I am active on but I thought you all may enjoy the pics of our first weekend as well since you've been so helpful in answering my trawler type questions!! *


Well, this past weekend was our first on our "new" trawler. *We're definitely in the period of discovery...finding out what we need to address asap and what can wait, what works best, what doesn't etc. *That is all part of the process and in a weird way, kind of fun too. *
We spent most of our time sorting stuff out at the dock, moving stuff on board, and generally slowly moving in. *Saturday was my wife's bday so we had a party for her on the boat with my parents coming over and some other folks. *Even the dog got in on the fun:

Sunday afternoon we took some time to go out for a short cruise and my son who turns 8 next month took the helm for a while up on the bridge:

I also got to try out my docking skills on a single screw boat as we went to the gas dock to pump out the holding tank (note to self- get a sending unit/tank level gauge installed so we can tell how full it is!). *Good news is that she went right where I wanted her to go though I must confess, conditions were dead calm. *

Then after cruising for an hour or so we decided to drop anchor and go for a swim:

and cook up some gourmet hotdogs:

She seems happy at anchor and she seems happy to have new owners (or at least it seemed that way to us). *I don't think anyone has spent the night on her in well over a year??? She is going to get a LOT of attention from us though!

All in all, despite a few little interesting events (water tank not venting and then discovering about 30 gallons of water in the bilge when we were anchored out due to a fresh water line fitting coming off *at the water heater and the water pump deciding to pump the water out everywhere), we had a blast on her. *Very nice to be back on the water, kick back at the dock, icy beverage in the evening on the flybridge, daydreaming of our future plans aboard her, and generally getting to know our new boat and looking forward to times ahead with her as a family.


Can I tell you though how much FUN it was to kick back at the lower helm with my feet propped up, slowing cruising down the lake, cold a/c blowing, and the kids bouncing around the cabin with the dog, all excited to be back on the water? *Life is GOOD!!!! I feel so immensely blessed and I think we are going to really enjoy working on this old boat together and her rustic appeal to us.

 

[Tom.B]

YAY!!!! My first time was only a year ago. It gets better... and worse Glad you had fun the firs time out.

(This is actually our "motto") Cruising=Boating to exotic locations around the world and cooking hot dogs!

 

[Marin]

Congratulations on your first cruise. As GonzoF1 said, it just gets better. We've had our GB for twelve years now and we still enjoy it as much as we did when we got it. Actually we enjoy it more because we know the boat now, we've dealt with many of the things that needed dealing with when we acquired, and when new things crop up (or old things come around again) we know what to do about (most of) them. Much of the apprehension is gone with regards to going out in less-than-ideal weather or new docking or anchoring situations. You don't want to lose ALL your apprehension, however, because then you'll get cocky and do something really dumb.

The best piece of advice we've been given with regards to maintaining, fixing, and upgrading a boat was from a very experienced shipwright we met the day after we arrived with the new-to-us boat, which we had trucked from California to Tacoma and then drove to Bellingham on its own hull. By the time we got to Bellingham we'd had to shut an engine down due to an overheat (leaking coolant pump) and both toilets were plugged (we didn't know how to use them correctly). That plus a deck that needed a ton of work, failing paint on the 21 window frames, and on and on, seemed overwhelming. The shipwright, Pete, who took care of the large GB charter fleet in our marina told us, "Don't try to do everything at once. You'll just end up getting frustrated and come to hate the boat. Pick one thing and do that. Then pick another thing and do that."

 

[Baker]

That is living right there!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[kelbylinn]

Wow, we're going through the same experience with just a few twists.* We purchased our 1981 Grand Banks 42' in May over in the Houston area.* We intend to bring it home to Dauphin Island, AL probably around early October.* In the meantime, we have only been able to spend about 5 nights on board doing the move in thing.*

Every day was*discovery day with a lot of great history in the various drawers and spaces showing up from previous owners.* No real curves mechanically - just a lot of smaller things one would expect due to inactivity.**While we're waiting to bring her home,*we have had some good mechanical clean up done including a new dual racor filter system, fresh water pump, hoses, etc.

Our son who live in Houston, has of course been keeping a really close eye on her taking her out every weekend for short cruises and spending the night at the dock.* We'll be going down at the end of August for another 4 or 5*days and will probably take a short over nighter down to Galveston from Clear Lake where she is docked.* Can't wait to just do that "kick back" thing you so well described!* Take care, and enjoy that boat as much as we hope to enjoy ours.*

 

[Woodsong]

Thanks all- we had a blast and love our new ride! I agree about going at the work bit by bit. In fact, we agree so much that we are keeping the boat name as-is and not changing it. Her name, "Poco A Poco," is spanish for "Little by Little" and we decided it was appropriate as we would be fixing her up little by little, one project at a time.

We have a lot of projects planned for her, including right now but not limited to:
1) Recore bridge deck and small area @ foredeck.
2) Rough glass back in the bridge deck and install synthetic teak on the bridge.
3) Considering removing existing built in bridge seating and replacing on starboard side with built in L-shaped seating and a straight run built in on port side and mount a free standing/rotating centerline captain's helm chair at bridge helm (gotta make sure all that won't add too much weight to the bridge???)
4) Paint topsides and bottom paint too.
5) replumb water system or at least replace all the fittings as lines appear relatively new but seller has a bunch of hose clamp fittings everywhere that i don't trust. Also clear out vent line blockage so that the tanks will vent properly. Hopfeully all of that will stop the mystery slight water leak that we seem to have right now that continues to hide from me despite contorting myself all over the bilge to locate it.
6) remodel forward berth to either bunk beds or a vberth configuration for the 2 kids.
7) Install either new gas stove or an electric cooktop. My wife wants electric- I want gas. I need to convince her that gas can be safe if monitored and done properly.
8) Confirm status of fuel tanks and whether or not they are leaking or not when full. Seller thought they were leaking. I see no valid evidence of any fuel leak beyond the forwardmost injector and the injector pump on the engine. I think that is the real source of his fuel leak unless of course there is a pinhole leak higher than current fuel levels. If leaking though then fuel tank replacement moves to top of the list.
9) New canvas and eisenglass @ bridge.
10) Decide on electronics for upper and lower helm. Leaning towards laptop GPS down below and route a flatscreen from it to the bridge helm. We're not doing offshore passages- just inland lake right now and eventually probably the TN River, maybe looping in stages as time permits.

So really, only 10 items to deal with at the moment (I know, I know, a few items in the list had 2 items in them as one but if I keep it under 10 then it looks like it's not much to do!). Easy, right? hahaha. Well, it will certainly be educational and in the end of it I am sure I will know MUCH more about boat systems, etc. than I do right now and that is worth something, eh?

Good news is that both HVAC units are less than a year old, as is the water heater and seller installed dripless shaft seal about 2 years ago. I may redirect some duct work on the HVAC to adjust flow and output...who knows, maybe even add a unit just for the forward berth/head.
I am sure i will think of other fun things to do on the boat once we are rolling.

 

[Fotoman]

Marin wrote:"Don't try to do everything at once. You'll just end up getting frustrated and come to hate the boat. Pick one thing and do that. Then pick another thing and do that."

Sound advice. My personnal motto is to try to do one thing everyday, however small. That way there is always progress and I don't get overwhelmed by all the projects. So far it worked great for me and the boat is in much better shape now than 4 months ago.

*

 

[Woodsong]

yup...one day at a time and one project at a time.
We hope to tackle the decking issues asap as the first real step. From there we can start to really do stuff one step at a time.
We had weekend #2 on the boat this past weekend...went smooth except for the freshwater pumping giving up the ghost late saturday night. Fiddled around with it sunday a.m. and finially decided it was the pump itself, which I confirmed via more testing, so...zipped off to the boat supply shop, got a new pump, installed it within about 15 minutes of getting back to the boat and poof- problem solved.

 

[C lectric]

Congrats. It will be fun. and frustrating and lots to learn, also fun.
We got an unexpected gift from the P.O. when I chased down a clunk, clunk on our trip home many years ago. Took a while but came up with an unopened bottle of Tia Maria, a big one.
Wow.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Woodsong you have some good karma if you were able to finish a boat project in 15 minutes!* I can honestly say I have NEVER had any project go that well!* Were you a saint in a past life?

Jennifer

soon to be Overseas PT 35 owner

 

[Woodsong]

Pineapple Girl wrote:

*

Woodsong you have some good karma if you were able to finish a boat project in 15 minutes!* I can honestly say I have NEVER had any project go that well!* Were you a saint in a past life?

Jennifer

soon to be Overseas PT 35 owner

*

it only took 15 minutes IF you don't factor in the 1.5 hours fiddling with diagnosing it prior to getting the new one!! *

We are loving our "new" boat though! *Spent our 3rd weekend on her this past weekend...had a blast as usual. *No issues...all systems functioning as designed, etc. *We had sports with the kids on Saturday afternoon but went up to the dock for rest of the day...cooked a nice dinner, had a nice frozen daquari up on the bridge(margarita/daquari machine is IMPORTANT boating equipment!), and then spent Sunday anchored out from lunch til just at sunset. *I love this little boat....such a great platform for us as a family. *I love how the kids like to sit in the cabin and watch the world go by at 7 knots when underway (pics attached).

We hope to haul out this week to begin the fiberglass work so we can get her looking nearly new.

*

*


-- Edited by Woodsong on Monday 23rd of August 2010 02:43:32 PM

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Woodsong wrote:

*it only took 15 minutes IF you don't factor in the 1.5 hours fiddling with diagnosing it prior to getting the new one!! *

ok THAT sounds more like it!**

The boat sounds great and gives me more hope that our (soon to be) new to us 1984 PT 35 won't be one project after another.* Don't get me wrong, I LOVE*boat projects!**But I would like to enjoy the boat too.* It appears to be very clean and well maintained so I am hoping for the best.* Our survey is Thursday so my fingers are crossed that it is as well maintained as it looks and the broker would have*us*believe.* I hope to*be enjoying Pineapple Girls (our signature drink) on the sundeck or flybridge over labor day weekend!* thanks for the inspiration!