Oh give me a break! It is a very rare person that can afford $650,000 (500 + outfitting) to own a boat free and clear plus another chunk of change in the bank so they can go cruising full time. The alternative is a hefty mortgage payment which anchors the boat to a better paying job than the vast majority of the  population. That is, unless you're a trust fund baby.

This kind of "gotta spend a half mil minimum for a decent boat" is exactly the kind of attitude that drives my nuts about the current "trawler craze".

Jim McCorison
M/V Maana - 38' DeFever, Hull #2
Seattle, WA

At 09:57 AM 11/21/2001 -0800, Jim McCorison wrote:

the kind of attitude that drives my nuts about the current "trawler craze".

REPLY

Right on!  How come we don't hear  more about  conversions  of former
fishing boats and  other work boats.

One of my clients has  an old wooden trawler  which he spent  about 8 years
cleaning up and making into a very nice  boat.

The original Gardner engine sits in the middle of a sparkling  white engine
room.  No  fancy equipment, just the basics.
The  steering gear is new Wagner hydraulics, the original hydraulic anchor
winch is still  installed and there is hydraulic take offs available  in
the engine room.

The interior panellling is  nic wood but not fancy  teak or  expensive
mahogany.  What I call  good fisherman finish. Easy to maintain.
Ther are many more such boats at this yacht club.

One of them is an old  Ex Forestry Service boat.    Slow turning  Gardner
diesel with air start.  Built in 1927 the boat still has a lot of old age
charm.

Cheers

Arild

Hello

Alrid wrote :

Well, I have one for you, listees, and I need your help. I finally bought
the 42' hull I've been turning around for months. It's my first "big"
powerboat, I had sailboats before.

It is 42' by 11', with a nice little 6 cyl. Turbo Diesel in it, 1800 hours.
The boat was built in 1987 to carry passengers for a "promenade" on the
St-Lawrence river.

Actually, the inside space is an empty floor of about 23 ft (9 ft wide) from
the helm (right side) to the back door.  The ceiling is about 7 ft high.
There is no flybridge. There is a patio with a roof (balcony, terrace, what
is the name?) of about 5 feet deep, which I want to keep. It will be my
office (laptop, cellular, all set!)

We will be 2 adults most of the time, and 2 kids a week-end here and there.
There is a double berth forward in the bow. It will be the "guest room".

The question is : where to put everything else in the space of 23 ft by 9
ft? The galley, head (and shower), salon, bedroom and "walk-in". Actually, I
have in mind to build the bedroom (no much bigger than the double bed) in
the back, the galley right behind the helm, and have the
"living-room/dining-room" built over the engine hatch.

But : is it better to have the bedroom built over the engine, for comfort
purposes, noise control and heat in cold weather? Then, the living space
would be in the aft.

In a powerboat, where do most of your visit stands while cruising? Besides
you at the helm? In the aft, on the "balcony" (what about muffler smoke
then...)? Over the table in the dinette?  On the deck? Is it too
uncomfortable to spend a day in a living-room with the engine running?

Is it better to separate the helm and navigation space from the leisure
space?

Finally, one other consideration : I want to be able to see outside on my
right and left without interference. Same thing for looking in a straight
line at the aft. What are the dead angles you consider acceptables?

Please do not refer me to web sites or books. I have the feeling that I've
read many of them. I would rather have comments from real-life moments...

The boat will have 150 gal fuel, 75 gal water and 50gal holding tank, plus
15 gal hot water tank (heated by engine). It cruises easily at 7,5 kts in
calm waters, 9,5 kts top speed.

Zodiac(9,9hp) and windsurf will be on the roof. I'm still trying to find
space for the bikes and a scooter.

And then, i'll finally visit you on the Great loop...

Thanks in advance for your help

Bernard
In Montreal

At 04:40 PM 11/21/2001 -0500, bv wrote:
I finally bought the 42' hull I've been turning around for months.
It is 42' by 11', with a nice little 6 cyl. Turbo Diesel in it, 1800 hours.
<snip>

    < snip>

ft?

REPLY

Reminds me of when we started a new coach conversion.  After we ripped out
the original interior we used tape lines to  mark off walls  dinette and
galley  partitions.  For vertial clearances and  cabinetry we used either a
couple of thin ply sheets or big cardboard. to  draw on or cut  to shape to
see if  head and  knee clearances were adequate.

If you  do not plan on sleeping in the forward cabin while the boat is
under way, by all means  use the forward cabin as your master stateroom.
You didn't mention if the  helm station is at the same floor level or
raised a bit.  If raised you can have a  window facing aft overlooking the
roof of the salon  which will give visibility astern.
For docking I would prefer to have a dooer either side and level with the
wheel.
That way you can always step to the side as you  make your approach and
you can also  get access to a midships spring line.
A midships spring line will enable  you to single hand you boat in nearly
all conditions.
That is how I managed my 50 footer by myself right from the beginning.

If you keep the galley near midships it wil get the least amount of motion
even when underway. A great convenience for the cook  while making  lunch
or dinner while the boat is still going and  encountering wakes waves etc.

I would be inclined to have the galley down one side and the  dinette on
the other.  Visually it will leave the interior  open but still divided up
for groupings.  Leave enough  room behind the helm  for visitors to
gather  when underway without  interfering with the helmsperson and navigator.
Since your helm is to  the right  ( stb) I assume your nav station will be
to the left ( port side)  Give yourself the  luxury of a decent size chart
table with storage underneath.  The storage  only has to be about 4 " deep
to carry  most charts you will need.
You can always  use it  for other things when docked. Just don't clutter
it up with permanent things like a TV.

Bob Austin has some good ideas, but much  depends on  how you plan on using
your boat.
Given your area I would assume it will be mostly daysailing  with
occasional overnight trips.  A  Flexisteel pullout couch  would be quite
adequate  for  ocasional guests.  I have one in my motorhome and  can
attest to the comfort of sleeping on it.
We also used Flexisteel  products  for the coaches I was involved in
converting.  I only did the electrical work but saw the  whole process of
designing  an interior since I had to provide the nifty recessed lighting
and other  electrical  gadgets.

Have fun!  Sounds like a marvellous project.
Hopefully  I will have my own to do some day.

Cheers

Arild

At 05:56 PM 11/21/2001 -0400, Rick Kennerly wrote:
But mostly what I dislike about the constant drumbeat of the high end is
that it discourages new folks who

1. can't afford to buy in at that level yet and
2. get hoodwinked into thinking that if you can't have the best and the
   latest gizmo, then they're not safe on the water.

rampant in the discussions here.

REPLY
Rick,  I disagree with this last point.
I see your post on lv-ab list and  notice the differnce in attitude
exhibited  on the two lists.

I suspect the  reason for such differences has more to do with motivation.
Many sailors  are looking for the lowest cost way of escaping the  rat race
ashore.
Quite ofen they are  very anti materialistic and  espouse a minimalist
lifestyle.

Trawlerfolk  by contrast  are more likely to be looking for an extension
of their previous lifestyle ashore byt now they are retired they want to
spend full time what they could only do on week-ends before.

Trawler people are for the most part not  recluses who want to escape from
the world or  ardent  alternative lifestyle proponents.
They are more often  retired people who cashed in  the  house mortgage  for
a boat mortgage.

There are enough  people  on TWL  who are not rich, retired  or living
aboard full time on a gold plater to disprove your contention.
Myself included.

Cheers

Arild

I don't know exactly where to come in here.  My wife and two children just did a small five day trip along the West coast of Florida.  At some of the places we were at $500,000 + was the norm.  Not all these boats of course were trawlers.  Many different types of boats as you can imagine.  We like our little boat , its in pretty nice shape and we are proud to be able
to own it.    On the other hand, when I pulled up next to some of these"ships"  I felt like I was in an  84  Ford Escort at the Oscars.

One place we like alot. Its clean and has nice accommodation etc., They does not even want  you to clean fish there.  I had caught a few trolling in the Gulf and was happily cleaning them off  the stern when the dock hands said they would not say anything.
(how is that for the old salts?)

One nice fellow we talked to admitted he was embarrassed that he knew nothing about his boat , and could not operate it himself.  He has a full time Captain and crew.

I must say some of those boats sure look nice.

I think it depends where you are on the food chain.    I know I could be a meal at anytime.......

Lynn
1991  34' Marine Trader-Tampa

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