I will readily admit that it was the upkeep to the exterior that decided the sale of my 80' steel trawler. However, I miss the quality and quantity of the engineering equipment. Every system had one or two backups that came on line with the turning of valves or switches. Every bit of plumping was pipe, not a hose anywhere nor a hose clamp to come undone or rust out. Every bit of it was color coded as to which system it was and all of it was visible and easily worked on in the 20' x 25' x 12' engine room. Sure it was a bit daunting to deal with the main engine, which had a 130 gallon oil sump, 45 gallon oil filter with 12 elements that weren't cheap paper towel rolls, but it was easier to work on it with everything being man sized than it is to work on the little Yanmar buzz bombs; you got to use real tools on real tempered fasteners whose heads never rounded. Not to mention the reversing gear that held 30 gallons of oil, that reduced the engine rpm, 1200 max, six times and turned a 72" wheel, very slowly. Luckily she came with full diesel tanks, 12,000 gallons, and I didn't have to add any in the year I owned her, but with 9000 mile range I could have "popped" down to Venezuela and loaded up with inexpensive fuel and paid for the trip by selling a bit. Commercial vessels are usually easier to maintain than "yachts", with systems designed to go years of continuous use. It's why I shop anywhere but a marine store whenever I can and have accounts at commercial supply houses instead of chandleries. You may believe that all commercial vessels have "engineers" on board that maintain equipment 24/7, but the truth is that on working fishing vessels, like my 80', the engineer got everything running at the start of a trip and then visited the engine room rarely. I spoke to the engineer that delivered that boat from the UK to Miami and he said he "stuck" his head in occasionally during the day and topped the main engine sump with a few gallons of oil every third day or so, but he said that when they were working there wasn't time for anything other than a cursory check. I think back to my youth hanging out with the shrimpers in the Keys and I don't remember any trained engineers; there was always someone in the crew who had a working knowledge of the mechanicals, but they were usually more at home under a hood. Do it once, right! Bob Phillips, Another Asylum, 60' custom trawler