Hi~Little info help needed about boats =)

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Yani

Ya that is nice. And you keep it with in the budget I put down. Someone told me to look at Trawlers. Looks like Trawlers have a bit more room? Again have no seen them in person. So Im just going off pictures.

Here you go:

Trawler Forum
https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/

[Yani]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

Being a whiz at remodeling houses and condos is not really going to prepare you for what you are considering. Boat systems are just similar enough to land residential systems to make you think they are the same.

I suggest you take this in small bites. First, you need to know something about boats, least of not which is whether you actually will like boats or not. Wife, too. Or whoever will be living aboard with you.

Start with taking a basic boating class of some sort, like the Power Squadron course, since you did not grow up on boats, and buy a dinghy. Buy a used one. When you are ready to upgrade, you can sell it for nearly what you paid for it, if you take care of it. Learn the Rules of the Road and I do mean really learn them. This is extremely important. LIVES ARE AT STAKE, make no mistake about that. You can download the Rules, both International (COLREGS) and Inland US. Additionally you need to be familiar with a lot of laws and regulations, and safety procedures. Then there is piloting and navigation. Basic maintenance. Rigging and seamanship. A sailing dinghy is a good first baby step and it's a lot of fun, too. And you don't need to keep it in the water! That cuts your expenses way down.

When you are feeling the need for something bigger, you can either go with a trailer sailer so you can still duck the cost of keeping the boat in a slip, or get a small-ish boat like a Catalina 27 or similar built in the 70's when they hadn't yet learned how to make more prifit building flimsier boats. You might see boats in that category selling for as little as $2k or even less. You will get plenty of opportunity to fix stuff! A smaller boat is less expensive to keep in a slip than a bigger boat. Make your mistakes on a little mass produced fiberglass boat with a proven track record and a big user group. Spend some overnights on the boat, both out on lake or bay or sound, and also at the dock. Cook a few simple meals. Develop your routine for personal hygeine and waste/trash disposal. Learn how to avoid big fines for spilling tiny amounts of fuel in the water. Learn how to care for and troubleshoot inboard and outboard engines, and how to keep from blowing yourself up with gasoline vapors as well as asphyxiating yourselves. A lot of those cheap little boats still have elderly Atomic 4 gasoline engines, or have retrofitted outboards. If you have a diesel then you can island hop right past the Atomic Bomb phase. While you are in the 30 foot and below bracket, your fun to expense ratio is higher than it will ever be while you are messing about in boats.

I lived on a very similar boat to the Catalina 27 mentioned above, for 7 years, a Cal 2-27. I was single for most of that time, but it is do-able for a couple to do overnights on such a boat, though maybe not permanent living aboard. Coastal crusing is definitely a thing, with such a boat. You will be spending a lot of time at the marina, making new friends and learning from folks who been there, done that. There will be beer can races, pier parties, all sorts of fun stuff.

When you are ready to buy your "forever boat", you will know enough to be able to make a lot of decisions that will narrow down your choice of boat. Will you be cruising? Racing? Will your boat be a perpetual dock queen? Floating apartment? Will you know enough by then to be able to take on big projects, and more importantly to decide whether each project is practical and you can do it yourself?

A 36' boat will cost about twice what a 26 to 30' boat will cost to maintain. A 44 to 55 footer, about triple. You will have a hard time getting insured with a bigger boat, and without insurance most marinas will NOT lease you a slip. With a few years experience with smaller boats, maybe some classes as well, you will have an easier time of it.

But, before buying your forever (so you think) boat, chartering is a great idea. A crewed charter is something you can do without any certificates. If you want to bareboat charter, you will have to demonstrate competence by having taken some classes. And that is definitely something worth doing and worth paying the bucks for, if you are planning to drop several tens of thousands of dollars on a boat. You might even decide you would rather charter for a couple weeks a year and let someone else have all the ownership headaches.

By this stage, knowing a lot about boats will help you make an informed decision on your purchase, and help you keep your upkeep costs down. And yes, it is "possible" to "remodel" a boat, within reason. Experience will tell you what "within reason" means. For instance, my last previous boat did not have a shower. I tore out the port side berths and built a shower stall, and moved the head into it, then converted the old head and vanity area into an office. At the same time I got rid of the dinky little sewage tank and put in a 20 gallon one. I never got around to putting in a hot water heater but it was on the list. The thing is, I did it in such a way that it was not going to scare away buyers ever, or cause problems. I know another guy who loved to watch TV. He didnt care about anything else. He also had a small sailboat. He knocked out the bulkheads, removed the entire galley including table and cabinets and sink, and all the berths, and put in a Lazyboy recliner and a great big TV. Oh, and a fridge for his beer. Dinner was domino's. Breakfast was cold leftover pizza. Since he didn't sail, and the halyards made a lot of noise, he took down his mast and was not too careful in labeling and keeping hardware for re-rigging the boat. When he went to sell the boat a few years later, no takers, at ANY price. Literally, nobody wanted it, even free. No engine, no mast, no place to sleep except a recliner, no place to cook, no place to store anything except a shrimp basket of clothes. He turned a $10k boat into a worthless derelict, "remodeling" it into something nobody but he could ever love or even tolerate.

If you can learn to live with a standard, typical cabin layout, you will have a much easier time of it.

If you only want a dock queen, you might find a houseboat just the thing. Bonus points for a running diesel genset, extra bonus points if the main engine or engines run, too, so you can take the boat to your friendly neighborhood pumpout station . Water heater? Marine stove? a good head and maybe a full type II MSD? Central heat and air? Houseboats are a little less about going places, and a little more about just being somewhere and being comfortable. That's more like the RVs you are used to. A trawler makes a good liveaboard but it is also relatively economical to run as a cruising boat. Mostly, if you like to go places, a sailboat is what you want. A sailboat with a running diesel and a genset, too.

One thing I can virtually promise is that a hasty purchase will be a deeply regretted one.

Awesome Information. Thank you for all that! Wiz at tearing out and Remodeling RVs too. Small and Large. I get everything is different. But if one man can do it. So can I.

[Manateeman]

There are several good boats near Jacksonville Fl. Green Cove, St Mary’s. All under 50 $ . Try to start with a trawler and a sailing dinghy.
Go for it brother. ! Don’t go outside the ICW and you can have a great life.
You will figure it out. Find some coast guard auxiliary guys to help .
Nobody came down from heaven knowing everything about boats.
The manatee crew likes your spirit.
Just stay coastal. No children. Buy big anchors. Be polite to the water police.
Do what they tell you.
Read everything you can about safety. Fire, carbon monoxide, lights, ..it’s a long list but just remember, you can’t walk away . The forum will provide a long reading list...if you are serious, please read them all.
This isn’t brain surgery BUT it requires intelligence and hard work and study.
Happy trails to you.
The manatee crew.

[Yani]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

There are several good boats near Jacksonville Fl. Green Cove, St Mary’s. All under 50 $ . Try to start with a trawler and a sailing dinghy.
Go for it brother. ! Don’t go outside the ICW and you can have a great life.
You will figure it out. Find some coast guard auxiliary guys to help .
Nobody came down from heaven knowing everything about boats.
The manatee crew likes your spirit.
Just stay coastal. No children. Buy big anchors. Be polite to the water police.
Do what they tell you.
Read everything you can about safety. Fire, carbon monoxide, lights, ..it’s a long list but just remember, you can’t walk away . The forum will provide a long reading list...if you are serious, please read them all.
This isn’t brain surgery BUT it requires intelligence and hard work and study.
Happy trails to you.
The manatee crew.

Thank you for that info! Im going to take some classes first. Im not in a rush. Im am going to stay coastal. I live in Caly. But dam those are super cheap prices. Maybe to much fixer upper for me? When I do buy, Going for 30 footer, Then 40 Trawler, then a 50 Trawler or Sail. As I do want to learn to sale over the years. But once I hit the 50 I ll live on it full time. Baby Steps.
Thanks Again!
Cheers!