New Member Hello

[Canoe52]

Hi all,

My wife and I had the heart to heart and the conclusion we came to was we need to sell our beautiful sailboat and find a trawler. We are each hitting the seventh decade and just need a more roomy, comfortable, easier on the joints, boat.

We are retired here in the PNW, have cruised the San Juans, Gulf, and Sunshine Coast of BC on our 1970 34' Albin Sailboat for the last 6 years.

We have our eye on a pretty 1966 Grand Banks 32, looks like a nice stout boat, I'm interested in hearing about any quirks to look for and also how she handles a seaway, (i.e. Georgia Strait when it kicks up), if anybody here has experience with that on a GB32

We also heard this is a good place to ask for advice on anchors...

So hello to everyone here, hope to see you out on the water!

Wayne and Beverly

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. "...advice on anchors..." Oooh, my, my! You'll fit right in with the west coast crowd.

 

[DavidM]

The GB 32 is one of my favorite small trawlers with its sedan design. Perfect for a couple.



As with any old boat, look for water intrusion, core rot, teak decks leaking through hold down screws, and leaking fuel tanks. Check the decks for sponginess and any water leaks around the windows.


My friend in Atlanta had one with a Cummins 210. Very nice engine but don't expect to use all of that power. The standard Lehman has plenty of power.


David

 

[rsn48]

I found a Grand Banks in Vancouver, probably still there, and I was very close to purchasing it and selling my older 1969 express cruiser. But my express cruiser is a glass and wood hull (original build) and is "tank" like, I'm guessing the hull thickness at around 1 1/2 inches. I watched a video of a chap talking about the expense and number of hours per year he put in to maintain his wooden yacht. Wooden yachts are a labour, and I emphasize labour of love with sometimes more labour than love.

Old Grand Banks are beautiful boats, I love em, but after learning of the amount of maintenance involved, I painfully passed on its purchase. In fact, here it is, its still for sale, but no buyers. Those in the know won't purchase it because of the money and time needed to maintain her and bring her up to date. This boat is in Richmond BC, right by Steveston Chandlery in Richmond:

https://ca.boats.com/power-boats/1967-grand-banks-32-sedan-6829263/?refSource=standard listing

I edited this in, just to get a rise from the crowd: "and it has a Rocna anchor!"

 

[Canoe52]

Thanks, for the advice, this would be my first "big" wood boat. The other was a wood daysailer many years ago.

 

[Canoe52]

"but after learning of the amount of maintenance involved, I painfully passed on its purchase"

I'm newly retired and looking for a project boat anyway, and this one might be a real gem.

 

[rsn48]

They are beautiful but I'm a sucker for classic lines. The new stuff with weird angles and even weirder angled windows, not my cup of tea. I'm in Qualicum Beach (up from Nanaimo) and my boat is in Comox, on the hard currently, busy helping my re-fitter to buy that new BMW he always wanted. I just read on one of the forums here, some guy saying - "re-fits take three times the money and three times the time I thought they should" - that's my experience as well. She went on the hard for refit on 1 Nov 2018 and I'm hoping to get her back by the end of May.

If you do get a boat, and you want company into Desolation, Jarvis Inlet and/or the Broughton, let me know, I'd love company.

And "good luck" with whatever you find and do.

I have entered my boat and I and the crew into the Victoria Classic Boat show always held on Labour Day weekend. Come on up, look for a boat named "Capricorn."

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Canoe52]

Thanks, we were in Naniamo then made it to the Harmony Islands last summer for the first time. Beautiful up there, looking to make it to Desolation this year. We will see if it be by sail or trawler. Will keep an eye out for you.

 

[rsn48]

I've heard this advise before, I believe it and will echo it. For our fjord journeys (Jarvis, Desolation, etc) a power boat is best. Sailing in a fjord is doable but sometimes you will be doing a lot of jibbing or tacking, too much for my taste. For these areas, a straight line is best. As you get older, too much too see, too little time to do it in. Seven knots in a trawler is faster than sailing at 7 knots as you well know.

I and my family spent a lot of time on Whidby Island and I would take Canadian Air Cadets down for Whidby Island Naval Station tours, staying multiple nights. I was thinking, if I lived on Whidby where would I keep my boat and Anacortes would get the nod for me, nice and close to the San Juan Islands, Gulf Islands and Victoria, and points north.

And I recommended this to a friend and he tried it out and liked it, he lives in Anacortes. French Creek, in between Parksville and Qualicum Beach is a working harbour, and not very large. To see it, Google Earth "French Creek Marina, Nanaimo, BC" It isn't in Nanaimo but the regional district of Nanaimo and this easily confuses people not from here.

You won't have electricity most likely and you will be rafted up to another boat, but.... You can get a book of tickets for something like $120 Canadian (30 tickets in a book). My buddy brought his boat up after farting around in the San Juan and Gulf Islands. Left his boat in French Creek as he wanted to go further north and didn't want the hassle of going back and forth (and expense) from Anacortes to further North, places like Desolation, etc.

He used 15 tickets (nights) and drove back to Anacortes (wife drove car up, ferry from Anacortes to Vancouver Island). Then he and his wife drove back and explored further North. He then had 15 tickets left for his next year's adventure. There's an area where you can park the car endlessly for free. I live about a 5 minute drive from this marina.

 

[rsn48]

I searched for the video I mentioned and finally found it, cost of maintaining a wooden boat both in money and time:

 

[Comodave]

I searched for the video I mentioned and finally found it, cost of maintaining a wooden boat both in money and time:

Ok, that is exactly why I will never own a wooden boat. I love working on my boat but that is not what I want to be doing every year.

 

[Canoe52]

Thanks rsn48, I'll check out French Creek Marina. We keep our boat at Oak Harbor Marina, about 3 hours to Deception Pass and then an hour across to the San Juans.