Off Topic - Cabin Cruiser

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

Recently someone told me that there were no more cabin cruisers up on blocks with marina owners offering them for the hauling.  Yet, they pop up.

https://annapolis.craigslist.org/boa/d/glen-burnie-chris-craft-free/6919950842.html

[Joseph Patterson]

Definition: Boat; a hole in the water in which money is tossed.

             Great definition, Ty and funny - also sad but true.
  Doug

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

My uncle and his friends sunk a rebuilt cabin cruiser for use on the Chesapeake Bay in the 1950s.  Obviously, the boat and its safety gear were even older.  When people complain about modern comm (cell phones), I mention that they had a lot of difficulty calling for help when she slipped under.  Ultimately, my uncle swam to shore, cut his feet on muddy shells on the shore, then had to knock on two house doors to get the use of a phone. He was a football lineman, and I can imagine a homeowner being apprehensive at the situation: A frantic, wet, bloody lunk raising bloody hell in the middle of the night.

[goozgog]

Hey Peter,

  In my "other" life, I have been involved
in the building and commissioning of boats
and I have worked in and watched the
leisure marine industry ebb and flow for
forty five years ( Yikes!)
Lots and lots of blue water sea time too.

  Back in the 1980's the demand for pleasure
craft was booming and we couldn't build
them fast enough. Now, the marinas and clubs
are jammed with plastic boats that just refuse to
rot away. The monthly  mooring fees usually far
exceed the value of an aging boat, so good boats
can now be got for a song and sometimes free.
  At my club, we're cutting up good boats for
the dumpster.

   Here are some outlines for buying a cheap old boat.

- Organize a mooring first and know the expense of it.
  Winter storage and Insurance too !

- An old fresh water boat has much more value than a comparable salt water boat.

- If it's diesel , that is a very very good thing unless it's an old Volvo.

- If it's outboard, all of the value is in the new engine you MUST get.
  A good engine makes a good boat.

- If it was built before 1978 then osmosis probably isn't an issue
   If it was built between 1978 to about 1990 then be careful to
  check the below water surfaces for blisters.

- Stomp on the deck and make sure it isn't soggy and soft
  from water permeating into the balsa or plywood core.
  This is very difficult to repair.

-   Be prepared to drive that 20 knot power cruiser like
  it's a trawler. That means 7 knots off the plane. No wake.
  I know wealthy people who run their 45' Sports fisherman
  at seven knots because they are appalled by the
  cost of fuel.

   The good news is that a coat of Rustolem is a cheap way
to look good.  There are places where salvaged parts are available
such as Dons Boat Salvage in Clearwater FL or The Sailor's Exchange
in St.Augustine FL.

  The old joke about boats being a hole in the water where
you throw money isn't always true. For technical people like
model aircraft types, keeping a boat is just more of the same.
Do the work yourself and don't be over ambitious.

  I've had my boat 35 years and after 48,000 nautical miles
I can honestly say that she hasn't cost me a nickle she didn't
deserve.
  Gooseberry is like having a big dog.
Not always convenient but always a pleasure.
She's part of my family.

Cheers! - K.

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

Keith,

Thanks for sharing boating info as well as the coaching at Brodak's.  The tip to not hit the beginning of the wingover too hard was really helpful.

No plans to buy that cabin cruiser, though I do search the used boat classifieds every day, for fun.  Mostly, I practice stunt on Saturday, then ride my bicycle on Sunday, so I don't see that I have any free time for boating.  Below is a boat that looks good.

Peter

https://annapolis.craigslist.org/boa/d/severna-park-2007-maxum-1900-sr3/6903191079.html

[Mike Haverly]

We've had this boat, the big one, since 1992.  You can't see the whole name in the picture but it is Money Pit.  The little one, a 14' Boston Whaler is named Mini Pit.  I've lived in the Pacific Northwest all of my life and can't imagine life without a boat. 

[Dan McEntee]

   I believe the whole quote is:
     Pleasure Boat: A hole in the water, surrounded by wood and/or fiberglass, into which you pour continuous sums of money."

   Another favorite of mine is:
      B- Bust or Break
      O- Out
      A- Another
      T- Thousand!

   Boats are OK I guess. I just have difficulty trusting something driven by and engine and having a steering wheel, but doesn't have any brakes! Sail boats do interest me, just another hobby I wouldn't have any time or money for.
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Mike Haverly]

There are lot of good names in Puget Sound.  AMCI: All My Children's Inheritance,  EMPTY POCKETS, 401K, ANOTHER BILL, POCKET CHANGE, B.O.A.T. (like Dan explained), DONE FLYIN, DONE DIGGIN, SPARE CHANGE and of course MONEY PIT.  All of these are power boats of course.  Sailboats have names like, WIND SONG, WHISPER, RED WING, monikers not referencing noise, expense or wakes.  Kind of like the difference between slimers and electric stunters.

[wwwarbird]

 The two happiest days in a boat owners life, the day you buy one and the day you sell it. 

[Ara Dedekian]

 For technical people like
model aircraft types, keeping a boat is just more of the same.
Do the work yourself and don't be over ambitious.


Cheers! - K.

    My 1998 Searay owes me nothing. I paid once to have the main bearing in the outdrive changed, otherwise all rebuilds and repairs were done as if they were overgrown model projects.

    Goozgog, who's design is Gooseberry and who built it? What's the hull made of? The Robert Derecktor yard on the Hudson built a series of 'Goose' named sailboats; Grey Goose, Salty Goose etc. Is Gooseberry one of them?

    Ara

[peabody]

I had a modest boat on the Hudson 15 years ago.... doing the math, I realized that I was spending over $1600 annually on dockage, winter storage and insurance. Boats depreciate pretty quickly.

Sold it.

Joined the Freedom Boat Club in Florida in 2009. Gave them $5000, Since I pay $129 monthly.
They have 190+ locations and over 2000 boats around the US and a couple in France. I select a boat and location on the Internet. Use it, and pay only for the fuel used. They maintain and clean the boats (oldest is 5 years old). I find it a terrific deal....In Florida we used boats as frequently as three times weekly, but generally weekly. The boats are mostly in the 20 foot range, with offshore, pontoon, deck and sail available.

It works for us

[goozgog]

Hello Ara,

  Gooseberry is a Bayfield 40 built in Clinton Ontario 
for me in 1984. She's 47' overall and is solid
glass.

   The named "designer" was a character called Ted Gozzard.
    I have been gunnel to gunnel with the Francis Herreshoff boat
that Gozzard plagiarized. Gooseberry is a Herreshoff rip off
and a good boat thanks to Francis.

  I have crossed the Atlantic in her four times plus two
trips to Central America for a total of 28 countries and
territories.

  The expression " Two is company. Three is a crowd"
explains why the third person is the "Gooseberry".
To the British, "Gooseberry" means the chaperone
of two lovers.
   British children use to call the bitter green berries
"Goozgogs".

Cheers! - K.

[FLOYD CARTER]

Lucky for me I wasn't in the navy!  Being on water, out of site of land, makes me very nervous.  I can swim, but not that far.

As a civilian contractor, I had to transit from San Diego to Pearl Harbor in an aircraft carrier TWICE!  6-day transit, and I was nervous the whole time.  I'm surprised I could function in my official capacity.

[Mike Scholtes]

Hi Keith:

That Herreshoff design is a beauty! I showed a picture of her to my father in law at dinner tonight. 92 years old, he just recently and reluctantly sold his Baja Cruiser 36 and his final sailboat. He knows all about Herreshoff and most prominent marine architects. Former hydroplane racer, blue-water sailor, power boater, a life in boats. Ran a boat shop for  years. Devours each issue of Latitude 38. Too unsteady on his feet these days to manage floating docks and piers. But I can appreciate your love of boating if you are anything like him. He still has not given up the dream of single-handing around the world, even if we recognize it will remain a dream.

[Chris McMillin]

This wooden 1966 Fairliner 32 made in Washington was Jerry McMillin 's. He bought it with our next door neighbor, Jack Doyle was a PT boat skipper in the same squadron as JFK. They had it through the 70's and 80's. It had twin 327 Chevy's with typical controllable straight drives.  Since it was gas with only 200 gallon capacity it wasn't designed as an ocean going boat but a river and lake boat. Even still, it was slipped in Newport Harbor, Newport Beach, CA and made many trips to Catalina Island which in early morning flat sea runs made Avalon Bay in less than an hour. It was fast, being a shallow V nearly flat bottom at the transom and planed easily to max out about 28 mph.
Chris...

[Ara Dedekian]

Hello Ara,

Gooseberry is a Herreshoff rip off
and a good boat thanks to Francis.

         Even as a lowly power boater I guessed from her lines that she had a pedigree.

          Ara

[Bob Heywood]

Not exactly a cabin cruiser. My brief foray into boat racing. S Class with a 2 litre Pinto. Even won some money with it.

[Fredvon4]

Do they still hold slew races in Washington?