New and Looking for ways to research

[Hawkeye0914]

Hello all,

I am looking to buy a boat sometime early in 2017. I would like to be able to keep the boat as a part time liveaboard. I have just completed my time building as a CFI and am moving up to be flying for an airline as a first officer. With work, I will be gone 3-4 days a week, and on my time home, I would like to be able to enjoy the boat.

I have been looking online for a year or two, and so far, I keep coming back to the Carver line. I have seen some material, but am having a difficult time researching the topics of what to look for when purchasing one of these boats. Anytime I google "buying a used yacht" it comes up with sailboats or giant mega yachts.

I would like to be able to plan for things like annual maintenance costs, slip fees, what sort of maintenance plans should I expect to follow, problems to look for, and anything else I would need to know. Preferably I would like to find a book with this information all in one place, but I know we don't live in a perfect world so this may not be possible.

Being a young professional (26), I don't have a whole lot of money saved up for this adventure quite yet. I am looking to spend 10-15k$ as the initial investment with another 5k set aside for repairs, upgrades, etc. I have been looking at boats that are similar to this one. (Used 1987 Carver Mariner 28, Pine Beach, Nj - 08741 - BoatTrader.com) Is this realistic?

I hope this is the right place, if not, please push me to the right area. I will take any advice you can give on where to find this info!

Thanks,
James

[Lepke]

From a guy that owns a 1942 wood boat, I don't spend $5000 a year in upkeep and repairs. But I know how to do everything. And I spent a lot getting the outside in good long term shape.
With a plastic boat, you shouldn't have much maintenance if it's not painted topside. Maybe wax the hull. How often you do the bottom depends on the quality of the paint and no stray voltage eating your zincs. Some boatyards offer specials in their off season. Especially those that cater to commercial fishing and work boats. I often can get hauled and the bottom pressure washed for $1000-1500 on a 83'. Quality paint last me about 5 years. Maybe $1000 for bottom paint. I make it a point to go between salt and fresh water so stuff that defies the paint dies anyway. Also keeps the plumbing clean.
Any repairs to the outside wood, I make quality 20+ year repairs, so I'll be dead before it has to be done again if ever. Buying cheap house products just get you into an endless cycle of redos. I buy as much as I can online. Sometimes it's 25% of the marine store prices. Properly fix any drips before you ruin the inside.
Not counting electronics, the common repairs will be things like pumps and switches. Living aboard, will put more hours on items meant for occasional recreation. So maybe a new reefer or shower sump. Also gas needs a fuel conditioner. SO does diesel, but not as critical. It's cheaper to keep your tank clean, buying a conditioner and biocide, than cleaning it out later. Clean oil and lower rpms will make your engines last longer. Going flat out is a lot of fun, but can cut engine life in half.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, James.

[Sea Dreaming]

Try changing your Google search to "maintaing a power boat" "maintaining a trawler"
You might also try doing a search for a Carver owners association. I did not look, but there might be one. Current owners will usually share what they know.

Also, a lot of what is true for a sailboat will be true for your motorboat as well. They both have through hulls, engines, electrical etc. These are general things and are the same on every boat.

[ranger58sb]

There are a few Carver discussion groups out there. One on yachtforums.com... and I think I just saw a new one the other day. Google Carver owners groups, owners forums, discussion groups, etc. Carver isn't as well organized as some brand-specific groups, but you can maybe find at least a few owners out there.

Carver makes a decent Chevy. Lots of other Chevies to look at, too. See the other recent thread here, too... with recommendation to browse yachtworld.com for ideas about features (and even whole boats) that might strike your fancy. Once you have some targets in mind, it's easier for folks to offer relavant comment.

The idea is realistic, though I dunno about prices and costs; haven't followed those boats, so dunno. You can expect costs to fall into major areas: purchase, slip fees, insurance, repairs, routine maintenance and service, goodies (upgrades), fuel, sanitation (usually periodic pump-outs), etc.

Boats are mostly systems of systems (similar to aircraft, nez pas?) so if the hull is secure, your sorta good to go (not sink) and everything else(engines, water pumps, AC systems, etc.) can be managed on your own terms (rebuild, replace, do without, etc.). Engines would be on the more dramatic end of that spectrum, a freshwater pump is trivial. Some is similar to (dirt) household stuff (refrigerators can be, sorta-kinda), some, not so much.

Access for service brings its own issues. Lots of stuff on a small-ish boat means access is sometimes more difficult... and a 10-minute fix on a workbench could take hours in the installed location. Consider this much more closely, if you'll be hiring maintenance and service... at $100/hour.

Liveaboard brings its own issues, too. Considering a potty run in the middle of the night with snowy, icy docks? Not so much fun, so you'll prefer the onboard facilities. Which means you'll want decent holding tank capacity, more frequent pump-outs, and so forth. Showering on board often means drying the shower stall immediately afterwards... to control humidity... to prevent mold. Et cetera.

I'm not aware for decent books that cover the full spectrum of yacht management (BTW, "yacht" in British English = darn near any sailboat... so that may explain some of the results you're seeing). Anyway, try terms like boat management, yacht management, etc. And then you can also review threads here and on other forums (trawlerforum.com is a useful sister site) about costs of various segments. For instance, lots of threads about marinas and slips. Lots of threads about insurance. Lots of threads about the various aspects of "gas vs. diesel," "full displacement vs. semi-displacement vs. planing," "inboard vs. outboard vs. IO," and so forth.

-Chris

[ranger58sb]

Hawkeye, where will you be home-based? Given that, we could give you some pointers on how to find likely marinas... if you haven't homed in (so to speak) on that issue yet.

-Chris

[Scout 30]

My neighbor across the street has a Carver 28 Express. These are average to fair quality boats that can give you a lot of bang for the buck. He's got twin 6's with I/Os. It's slow to plane & won't stay on plane under about 28 mph but only maxes out in the low 30's. IMHO inboard/outboards don't belong on a boat that stays in the water so I would be looking for something with straight shafts. You might want to take a look at trawlers like Marine Traders. Single diesel instead of gas, big improvement, & much more room for a live aboard. You'd be surprised how reasonably priced they can be but, as with any boat, condition is key.

[SV Bacchus]

Try typing this into your search line, lots of hits on some good sites:
what to look for when buying a used boat

When using a search engine remember that the term yacht is mostly used when describing sailboats and larger powerboats, at least that is what I have been told. Pull that word out of your search queries and you may have better luck!

[Cadence]

I was not sure? Do you have a First Officer position secured. It could come down to location, location, location as said about real estate.

[Hawkeye0914]

Thanks for the replies everyone! As for where I will be based, I won't find out for sure until January 19th, but it's looking like New York (LGA). I would be interested in keeping it in that area, or I am considering keeping it in the Miami area and commuting back and forth.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye0914

Thanks for the replies everyone! As for where I will be based, I won't find out for sure until January 19th, but it's looking like New York (LGA). I would be interested in keeping it in that area, or I am considering keeping it in the Miami area and commuting back and forth.

Jump seats don't sound appealing but then again keeping a boat in NYC? I'm guessing if you can keep a car at LGA, Long Island may be your best bet.