I Just Fell Off the Turnip Wagon

[tuffr2]

This is how most sailboats look here in Kings Bay at Crystal River Florida.
This one has its keel buried in 2/3' of silt. Below the waterline is nasty looking algea growth. All the boats have this nasty looking algea growth.

I know fiberglass is porous but there has to be a way to keep algae off the bottom of the boat. Plus somehow to get into the dingy to wipe the outside of the boat down. Even get into the water to scrub the bottom.

Does a moving boat have algea growth on it?

How hard is it to keep your boat from looking like crap?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

This is how most sailboats look here in Kings Bay at Crystal River Florida.
This one has its keel buried in 2/3' of silt. Below the waterline is nasty looking algea growth. All the boats have this nasty looking algea growth.

I know fiberglass is porous but there has to be a way to keep algae off the bottom of the boat. Plus somehow to get into the dingy to wipe the outside of the boat down. Even get into the water to scrub the bottom.

Does a moving boat have algea growth on it?

How hard is it to keep your boat from looking like crap?

for starters that's damn near an abandoned boat....no sails, no lifelines, etc.....The bottom of the boat stays clean when you're using it actively cruising or paying a diver.......but if this is what you're looking at for used boats you need to look a little further, this is not representative.

[Moosemiester]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

Having owned both, my experience is the operating cost while cruising is slightly less with a sailboat than a trawler. Basically, this difference is eaten up in fuel costs. But outside of fuel, as long as you can handle you own maintenance, trawlers are pretty trouble free. You need to start with a platform that is in good nick otherwise it will be an uphill battle in both cases. Deferred maintenance will be a problem that will bite you in the ass eventually.
Trawlers are much more roomy, easy to handle and make great liveaboards. Sailboats are almost mystical in providing you with quiet, serene and self fulfilling experiences but they are more work, physically, to manage. As the years creep up, trawlers were a great alternative for both to cruise and live aboard. good luck with jumping back onto your turnip truck... cheers, Phil

Thanks Phil you are spot on. Having been an avid sailor for 17 years - and trawler guy for 15 - I can tell you this:

With a sailboat it's more fun getting to your destination, but once you're there the trawler is more comfortable.

Admirals prefer trawlers unless they are very, very salty. If you know of one of those who's not already attached to sailor, let me know, I have found them to be extremely rare. So if you want a sailboat, do not show the admiral a trawler.

If you have a sailboat, you go out for the day with no particular place to go. In a trawler, this rarely happens. It is the one thing I miss most about being a sailor.

Trawlers have a snap roll that many people find uncomfortable. One gets used to it.

If you spend 80% of your time boating, and 20% at the dock, a sailboat will cost less as Phil says. If you are like most folks and it's more like 50% at the dock 50% out running the boat they are the same, assuming you don't push a trawler faster than six, six and a half knots - and you have a "real" trawler, not a trawler hull with a 400 hp engine in it.

A lot of sailboats spend more time trawlering than they do sailing.

Inside steering - with great visibility - once you have this, you'll wonder how you ever got along with out it.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by Moosemiester

Here's a little game you can play. Search Yachtworld for boats listed in the last 30 days, pick some "favorites" that you think are great deals, wait 30 days, see if they sell. I've been playing this game 10 years now during the Winter months and have gotten pretty good at it.

Thirty days is too soon. I don't check on my targets for at least 90 days. Most are so overpriced by brokers, that it will be at least that long before the owner sees the handwriting.

[reefhunter]

Originally Posted by Moosemiester

Trawlers have a snap roll that many people find uncomfortable. One gets used to it........assuming you don't push a trawler faster than six, six and a half knots - and you have a "real" trawler, not a trawler hull with a 400 hp engine in it.

My next one is going to be a power cat which will use half the fuel of my present personal vessel (not the one in sig). My only request is that the small Cummins engines will power electric motors.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

..................... How hard is it to keep your boat from looking like crap?

It's near impossible to keep your boat from looking like crap when your dreams exceed your means. I would suggest that you not focus on failure. Plenty of people have not been successful for various reasons. Others, with fewer resources than you, have done well.

[tuffr2]

My thought is I would get into the water and scrub the water line and bottom of the boat myself. I like to swim and snorkle so it would be my exercise.

But then I bet none of the owners of all the crappy looking boats that I see thought their boats would end up like they did. Trying to be accurate I would say there are 150 various boats for me to look at. I would say only 10 look clean and well cared for. Even the boats under cover stick out past the roof. Pelicans sit on the edge of the roof and deposit their droppings, usually on the back of the boats.

Now Kings Bay is mostly fresh water and is shallow and very warm. I am thinking this adds to algea growth on the boats.

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[tuffr2]

Update - most of the bad looking boats are from Hurricane Katrina. A business man bought a bunch of totaled boats. Then brought them here were he can keep them 'for free' anchored in the bay.

And just like I have been told on this forum. I have to pound the pavement to get the stories behind boats. I will start hanging around boat yards when I can.

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