New to Trawlers and looking for insight

[dave81]

Hello Everyone,
My wife and I are new here and looking for some insight about how much time we could expect to spend on a daily/weekly basis washing, cleaning and general maintenance. We are looking at a Northern Marine 57. We haven't owned a boat this size before and before we pull the trigger we want to make sure that we will be able to enjoy the boat instead of spending all our time cleaning etc. The plan would be to keep the boat at a Florida marina and cruise to the Bahamas over to Turks and Caicos cutting across to Belize and Cancun in the winter months.. I don't have a problem hiring cleaning crews at marinas for the exterior. I am comfortable with mechanical repairs and maintenance and with the equipment onboard, dock master controls along with a captain to train us we don't have concerns about handling and docking it. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Mac2]

Welcome. Love the Northern Marine boats. A dock mate of mine used to live in Florida and the one thing he misses is the amount of labor available for cleaning/waxing and the lower cost (compared to the Seattle area). Doing it yourself, it will depend on how much of a perfectionist you are. I tend to wash my 65 foot boat in sections. Might go for a few hours and then put off till the next day. Might take 2-3 days depending on my mood. I'm a livaboard, so I tend not to be rushed about projects. I wash it once in the spring and once in the winter. I like to wash in the rain if possible as this makes it much quicker as the soap isn't drying and I tend to just add soap to the brush and continue to wash, only occasionally needing to rinse. After a good wash, I will only need to rinse the boat once a week. I am next to a gravel yard, so I get more dirt than most. You will end up washing the walking/flat spaces more than anything else. Depends where you are at. Windows maybe every 2-3 weeks. I use the pad/squeegee tool with just water (most of the time) and can knock out several windows in about 5 minutes. Keep in mind, once you get a good wax on your boat, you can mostly clean your boat with a good rinse. Keep in mind I don't know how the sun in Florida will affect the above cleaning schedule, but this might give you some idea what to expect. Plus you're on a boat, so is it really "work"?

 

[dave81]

Thanks a lot for your insight! That really helps and clears up some things and it sounds much more manageable than we were thinking. We love to scuba dive and want to spend as much time as possible in the water. What model is your 65?

 

[dave81]

Welcome. Love the Northern Marine boats. A dock mate of mine used to live in Florida and the one thing he misses is the amount of labor available for cleaning/waxing and the lower cost (compared to the Seattle area). Doing it yourself, it will depend on how much of a perfectionist you are. I tend to wash my 65 foot boat in sections. Might go for a few hours and then put off till the next day. Might take 2-3 days depending on my mood. I'm a livaboard, so I tend not to be rushed about projects. I wash it once in the spring and once in the winter. I like to wash in the rain if possible as this makes it much quicker as the soap isn't drying and I tend to just add soap to the brush and continue to wash, only occasionally needing to rinse. After a good wash, I will only need to rinse the boat once a week. I am next to a gravel yard, so I get more dirt than most. You will end up washing the walking/flat spaces more than anything else. Depends where you are at. Windows maybe every 2-3 weeks. I use the pad/squeegee tool with just water (most of the time) and can knock out several windows in about 5 minutes. Keep in mind, once you get a good wax on your boat, you can mostly clean your boat with a good rinse. Keep in mind I don't know how the sun in Florida will affect the above cleaning schedule, but this might give you some idea what to expect. Plus you're on a boat, so is it really "work"?

Thanks a lot for your insight! That really helps and clears up some things and it sounds much more manageable than we were thinking. We love to scuba dive and want to spend as much time as possible in the water. What model is your 65?

 

[Mac2]

I have the Real Ship Voyager. Built in North Carolina