Bluewater Yachts

[RaySea Lady]

Originally Posted by larkinja

This is great help. Thank you for sharing your experiences! These are the types of things we like to do as well. We made a trip from Holland to Ludington over Labor day, and it again reminded me that we need a bigger more comfortable boat.

So given a typical day on the big lake, how does she sit in what I would call an average day? My express cruiser bobs all over the place on anchor. We always throw an aft anchor to keep her facing into the waves, but still, no one can sit on the boat as they would be throwing up over the sides eventually. This happens even in slow 1 foot rollers. The only time we anchor directly in the lake is when we spend the day on the beach. We have a dinghy with a 20hp on the back but rarely can we launch it due to the boats movement. My outboard is scratched all to hell from trying to tie it up to the hoist while the boat is moving about. We end up hauling all our crap to the beach including grills for lunch because of the bobbing around. My wife is hoping for something that sits more comfortably so we can just go the boat to make lunch, or warm up in a warm shower, etc..without getting seasick. Given the boats weight, length and beam, I am hoping this solves the issue or at least drastically improves it. I realize any bigger boat will help with this issue, but how would you compare the Bluewater to comparable size Carver, Searay etc.. when anchored in mild waves? My mind says the lower center of gravity would help with this. Not to mention the cost factor. I simply can't nor do I want to afford a 52-58' SeaRay or Carver.


Thoughts?

Hi Again,

Anchored and facing the waves you will be ok to be playing cards upstairs in anything less than 3 footers unless you have a wind that pushes you sideways to the waves and then you will need your stern anchor.

I have a hydraulic TNT platform for my dinghy and have never had an issue getting it back on with probably 2 foot waves ws the most we experienced doing that. if we are just going back to the mainship for lunch etc... we dock the dinghy at the end of the TNT and depart from there without docking it on top of the platform, doing this also allows us to use the TNT platform as sort of a verandah...

As for a Carver or SeaRay, i have never been in really rough weather on either, but i was out in 2 to 3 footers in a 50 searay in Lake Erie and did not enjoy that at all. I think it is primarily with most of the weight being aft that lifts the front and makes it more susceptible to side wave action, the Bluewater's engines are almost midship making the vertical center much lower and subsequently less susceptible to wave action.

I have all the original brochures that explain the design of the bluewater if you are interested just send me your email address.

Or, better yet, you are not that far away, why not make arrangements to come to Windsor this weekend and we can take it out and you can see for yourself and then you will not be getting anything second hand, assuming the weather is good of course.

[larkinja]

Originally Posted by RaySea Lady

Hi Again,

Anchored and facing the waves you will be ok to be playing cards upstairs in anything less than 3 footers unless you have a wind that pushes you sideways to the waves and then you will need your stern anchor.

I have a hydraulic TNT platform for my dinghy and have never had an issue getting it back on with probably 2 foot waves ws the most we experienced doing that. if we are just going back to the mainship for lunch etc... we dock the dinghy at the end of the TNT and depart from there without docking it on top of the platform, doing this also allows us to use the TNT platform as sort of a verandah...

As for a Carver or SeaRay, i have never been in really rough weather on either, but i was out in 2 to 3 footers in a 50 searay in Lake Erie and did not enjoy that at all. I think it is primarily with most of the weight being aft that lifts the front and makes it more susceptible to side wave action, the Bluewater's engines are almost midship making the vertical center much lower and subsequently less susceptible to wave action.

I have all the original brochures that explain the design of the bluewater if you are interested just send me your email address.

Or, better yet, you are not that far away, why not make arrangements to come to Windsor this weekend and we can take it out and you can see for yourself and then you will not be getting anything second hand, assuming the weather is good of course.

I think you are very right about the SeaRay. Ours rocks fore and aft so bad it drives us crazy. The lack of weight up front makes total sense.

I actually prefer to motor slower, but our SeaRay doesn't like to go slow. It's either idle or plane. Anything in between puts the bow uncomfortably high even with the tabs down. At idle, it wanders. And it's just not comfortable enough for me to do an 8 hour trip in. So it's throttle down and watch the fuel gauge go into action. I enjoy the speed at times, but honestly not sure I would miss it that much. It's just something the wife and I have to discuss. Now we can cruise from Holland to Chicago in 3 hours. With the speeds you are talking, we would be at 10 hours.

That is SO generous to offer the ride. I would absolutely LOVE the opportunity. How long do you keep in in the water? This weekend is already booked, but if the offer stands, we could look to another weekend.

I will shoot you a PM with me email.

Thank you again!

[Capt Phil]

Originally Posted by larkinja

This is great help. Thank you for sharing your experiences! These are the types of things we like to do as well. We made a trip from Holland to Ludington over Labor day, and it again reminded me that we need a bigger more comfortable boat.

So given a typical day on the big lake, how does she sit in what I would call an average day? My express cruiser bobs all over the place on anchor. We always throw an aft anchor to keep her facing into the waves, but still, no one can sit on the boat as they would be throwing up over the sides eventually. This happens even in slow 1 foot rollers. The only time we anchor directly in the lake is when we spend the day on the beach. We have a dinghy with a 20hp on the back but rarely can we launch it due to the boats movement. My outboard is scratched all to hell from trying to tie it up to the hoist while the boat is moving about. We end up hauling all our crap to the beach including grills for lunch because of the bobbing around. My wife is hoping for something that sits more comfortably so we can just go the boat to make lunch, or warm up in a warm shower, etc..without getting seasick. Given the boats weight, length and beam, I am hoping this solves the issue or at least drastically improves it. I realize any bigger boat will help with this issue, but how would you compare the Bluewater to comparable size Carver, Searay etc.. when anchored in mild waves? My mind says the lower center of gravity would help with this. Not to mention the cost factor. I simply can't nor do I want to afford a 52-58' SeaRay or Carver.


Thoughts?

I have had diesels in my two most recent boats but have delivered many gas driven vessels from Mexico, Canada and around to west coast over about 20+years. If you are sensible(careful), you shouldn't have an issue with gas engines but they need to be cleared of gasoline fumes before starting AND underway. Many folks turn off their blowers once they are away from the dock but even a small leak can cause problems with sparks in the engine room.
My opinion is you might be comparing apples and oranges in looking at the characteristics and comfort in a seaway between Carvers and Searays and Bluewaters. Very different hull configurations and designed for different sea conditions.
I delivered a Bluewater 52, if I recall the length correctly, from Shilsoe Marina in Seattle to Sooke, British Columbia during winter a number of years ago. We had to drive into a head on buck for several hours in the Straits of Juan de Fuca and I recall being surprised at how dry and comfortable the Bluewater was! The water line is quite long which I'm sure had quite a bit to do with the comfort level and probably matched up with the wave moment to give a smooth ride.
I have been aboard a couple of other Bluewaters which I found roomy and fun to be aboard but traveled no distance at all in them.
I have found Bluewaters to be fairly well built, well powered from the factory and would be a great liveaboard. I would not take one offshore, however. They are not designed or intended for that use.
Cheers, Phil

[larkinja]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

I have had diesels in my two most recent boats but have delivered many gas driven vessels from Mexico, Canada and around to west coast over about 20+years. If you are sensible(careful), you shouldn't have an issue with gas engines but they need to be cleared of gasoline fumes before starting AND underway. Many folks turn off their blowers once they are away from the dock but even a small leak can cause problems with sparks in the engine room.
My opinion is you might be comparing apples and oranges in looking at the characteristics and comfort in a seaway between Carvers and Searays and Bluewaters. Very different hull configurations and designed for different sea conditions.
I delivered a Bluewater 52, if I recall the length correctly, from Shilsoe Marina in Seattle to Sooke, British Columbia during winter a number of years ago. We had to drive into a head on buck for several hours in the Straits of Juan de Fuca and I recall being surprised at how dry and comfortable the Bluewater was! The water line is quite long which I'm sure had quite a bit to do with the comfort level and probably matched up with the wave moment to give a smooth ride.
I have been aboard a couple of other Bluewaters which I found roomy and fun to be aboard but traveled no distance at all in them.
I have found Bluewaters to be fairly well built, well powered from the factory and would be a great liveaboard. I would not take one offshore, however. They are not designed or intended for that use.
Cheers, Phil

Thank you very much for your input. Granted these are all individual opinions, but glad to hear it from people that have actually owned or captained one.

I am actually hoping that I am comparing oranges to apples. I am actually hoping that if I currently have oranges, that apples will fit me better. I have no intention of going offshore in terms of the open ocean. Lake Michigan can get nasty, there is no doubt, but I also don't go if the weather is bad. Holland to Chicago is about 80nm which is the furthest offshore we would even go, and still we only do it in nice weather with no chance of a major change. Even in our searay we only do it in no more than 2's. If we were to go up to Mackinaw Island, Traverse, etc....which is further, we are never more than 10 miles offshore. Of course that whole trip could be done at .25 miles from shore with many ports along the way.

These discussion have been about the 58. Do you guys think the 52 would have pretty much the same characteristics? While the idea of owning a 60 ft boat, I'm not sure if that is to ambitious. I do like the boarding ladder on the bow of the 52!

[RaySea Lady]

Originally Posted by larkinja

I think you are very right about the SeaRay. Ours rocks fore and aft so bad it drives us crazy. The lack of weight up front makes total sense.

I actually prefer to motor slower, but our SeaRay doesn't like to go slow. It's either idle or plane. Anything in between puts the bow uncomfortably high even with the tabs down. At idle, it wanders. And it's just not comfortable enough for me to do an 8 hour trip in. So it's throttle down and watch the fuel gauge go into action. I enjoy the speed at times, but honestly not sure I would miss it that much. It's just something the wife and I have to discuss. Now we can cruise from Holland to Chicago in 3 hours. With the speeds you are talking, we would be at 10 hours.

That is SO generous to offer the ride. I would absolutely LOVE the opportunity. How long do you keep in in the water? This weekend is already booked, but if the offer stands, we could look to another weekend.

I will shoot you a PM with me email.

Thank you again!

Hi again,

I have forwarded you information, please confirm receipt to make sure i got you address correctly.

In my experience, SeaRay, Carver's, Marlow's etc... main attributes is that they are best at Marketing, making a boat look good at the lowest cost. I prefer a boat that is different but made to meet a purpose and do THAT well.

My other boat in Florida is a Novatec, semi displacement hull and all the techs i have had work on it say they have never seen a boat built so sollidly, sides of that hull are over 2 inches.

As you can see, i prefer the boats that are built for a purpose and not built to sell.

By the way, The bluewater bow has layers of Kevlar to allow the boat to be beached and there is a bow ladder to disembark from the bow, i took mine off because i never used it. I have seen one where the bow was compromixed, ie. fiberglass crushed, but no water had entered and the boat was able to get to a repair marina on its own hull.

[larkinja]

Originally Posted by RaySea Lady

Hi again,

I have forwarded you information, please confirm receipt to make sure i got you address correctly.

In my experience, SeaRay, Carver's, Marlow's etc... main attributes is that they are best at Marketing, making a boat look good at the lowest cost. I prefer a boat that is different but made to meet a purpose and do THAT well.

My other boat in Florida is a Novatec, semi displacement hull and all the techs i have had work on it say they have never seen a boat built so sollidly, sides of that hull are over 2 inches.

As you can see, i prefer the boats that are built for a purpose and not built to sell.

By the way, The bluewater bow has layers of Kevlar to allow the boat to be beached and there is a bow ladder to disembark from the bow, i took mine off because i never used it. I have seen one where the bow was compromixed, ie. fiberglass crushed, but no water had entered and the boat was able to get to a repair marina on its own hull.

I received your emails. Thank you so much! Lots to look over. I read about the kevlar and boarding ladder. I LOVE this! It was one of the features that caught my wife's eye. We have several places we go and beach the bow a little, but of course still have to swim to shore or unload the dinghy.

[RaySea Lady]

Originally Posted by larkinja

These discussion have been about the 58. Do you guys think the 52 would have pretty much the same characteristics? While the idea of owning a 60 ft boat, I'm not sure if that is to ambitious. I do like the boarding ladder on the bow of the 52!

I had tried a new 52 in Sarnia at the mouth of lake Huron and had decided against it, I did not feel as safe as i did in the 58 and the 58 ride was more comfortable ... i don't swim so i want to make sure i feel safe on a boat.

[larkinja]

Originally Posted by RaySea Lady

I had tried a new 52 in Sarnia at the mouth of lake Huron and had decided against it, I did not feel as safe as i did in the 58 and the 58 ride was more comfortable ... i don't swim so i want to make sure i feel safe on a boat.

Good to know. I guess 6 feet does make a difference! Thank you!

[Capt Phil]

Searaylady and Larkinja... Glad to exchange opinion with fellow Cancks although I have lived stateside since 1981. I have no experience on the Great Lakes with all of my travels at sea commercially in Alaskan and northern BC waters as well as delivering vessels from Alaska to Panama and back running my own delivery business out of San Diego for about 15 years.
I can certainly recommend Bluewaters for coastal and inland waters for their comfort, space and seaworthiness but not for offshore. I cannot compare the Great Lakes sea conditions to the Pacific in winter but imagine it can get somewhat challenging on the Lakes during a storm. Fair sailing, following seas and sunshine ine your travels! Cheers, Phil

[Stumble]

Even though you can beach the Bluewater I would recommend against it. We did it once, and scrapped all the anti-fouling off of the bow. Had to do an unscheduled haul to have it repainted.

[RaySea Lady]

Originally Posted by larkinja

I received your emails. Thank you so much! Lots to look over. I read about the kevlar and boarding ladder. I LOVE this! It was one of the features that caught my wife's eye. We have several places we go and beach the bow a little, but of course still have to swim to shore or unload the dinghy.

So, how did you make out?

My boat is going into winter storage this wednesday so it will have to be in the spring if you still want to go for a ride...

[RaySea Lady]

Originally Posted by larkinja

I think you are very right about the SeaRay. Ours rocks fore and aft so bad it drives us crazy. The lack of weight up front makes total sense.

I actually prefer to motor slower, but our SeaRay doesn't like to go slow. It's either idle or plane. Anything in between puts the bow uncomfortably high even with the tabs down. At idle, it wanders. And it's just not comfortable enough for me to do an 8 hour trip in. So it's throttle down and watch the fuel gauge go into action. I enjoy the speed at times, but honestly not sure I would miss it that much. It's just something the wife and I have to discuss. Now we can cruise from Holland to Chicago in 3 hours. With the speeds you are talking, we would be at 10 hours.

That is SO generous to offer the ride. I would absolutely LOVE the opportunity. How long do you keep in in the water? This weekend is already booked, but if the offer stands, we could look to another weekend.

I will shoot you a PM with me email.

Thank you again!

Just rereading the posts and noticed a comment about trip time etc...
You say that you make it to Chicago in 3 hours and at slow speed it would take 10 hours.

Understand that 80 NM can be done in 4 hours with the Bluewater 58, but you will be watching the fuel guage as well, as it will take around 170 gallons to get you there in 4 hours. At 15 miles per hour (normal cruise speed), you will take 5.25 hours but take 100 gallons to get there. Of course, at idle, 7-8 miles an hour you will take 10 hours and use 40-45 gallons of fuel. So, you do have choices and all of them under 3 foot waves will be comfortable.

Same choices you make on your Searay, but on the Searay you make the go fast decision for comfort while on the Bluewater you will make the go fast decision based on time available to get there.

Hope this helps.

[Harv1941]

Originally Posted by dc9loser

Thanks! Good info. I suspect that a bluewater is appropriate 99% of the time, you just need to be near safe harbor to hide that scary 1% of the time...

New guy here, so this thread is probably quiet. But, we recently bought a 54 foot Blue Water aft cabin motor yacht. This is not like the majority of boats described. She draws a minimum of 4 feet, has stabilizers and sports twin Cat 3208 TA diesel packing 375 horses in each engine. We have a 500 gallon fuel tank, 150 gallon freshwater tank and in line charcoal water filters at the source. She has three cabins, two and a half heads and four air conditioners. These boats, there were only 24 of them built, used a set of Viking molds and were custom built for each buyer. Our forecasted gpm is @ 10 - 12 gallons per hour at cruise. She is reputed to be very stable in moderate seas and could handle rough waters as well. She is not recommended for long range cruising due to fuel constraints. Our yacht was built in 1988 and has much of her original equipment, including the Cat diesels. There are just over 1000 hours on both engines and marine engineers tell me that we will have many solid years of cruising the East coast with this power. We have a friend who owns one of the newer 65 ft Bluewater cruisers and they love it, but travel Florida to Cape Cod for the majority of their cruising. We just bought out boat from the folks who owned her for nine years as live a boards. We will see if our experience is as solid as theirs.

[Star0210]

Originally Posted by Harv1941

New guy here, so this thread is probably quiet. But, we recently bought a 54 foot Blue Water aft cabin motor yacht. This is not like the majority of boats described. She draws a minimum of 4 feet, has stabilizers and sports twin Cat 3208 TA diesel packing 375 horses in each engine. We have a 500 gallon fuel tank, 150 gallon freshwater tank and in line charcoal water filters at the source. She has three cabins, two and a half heads and four air conditioners. These boats, there were only 24 of them built, used a set of Viking molds and were custom built for each buyer. Our forecasted gpm is @ 10 - 12 gallons per hour at cruise. She is reputed to be very stable in moderate seas and could handle rough waters as well. She is not recommended for long range cruising due to fuel constraints. Our yacht was built in 1988 and has much of her original equipment, including the Cat diesels. There are just over 1000 hours on both engines and marine engineers tell me that we will have many solid years of cruising the East coast with this power. We have a friend who owns one of the newer 65 ft Bluewater cruisers and they love it, but travel Florida to Cape Cod for the majority of their cruising. We just bought out boat from the folks who owned her for nine years as live a boards. We will see if our experience is as solid as theirs.

Do you have a picture?
Here's my 1981 47' Bluewater

[Harv1941]

Yes I have tons, both of the boat profile, the holes in the galley floor where they replaced the starboard Cat diesel, through the twilight shot of her stern with her official name. Just don't know how to add a picture from my picture directory to this forum