Blue Water Cruiser - What size

[TrentePieds]

Sigh :-)

TP

[andrei_ca]

PS: I've heard "impossible" before but I've also seen it proven wrong. So stop filling your head with limitations.

Lemme refference my acting coach on me. He said that when he first met met me that he thought I was souch a cocky little bastard full of **** and hot air and had doubts about spending time on coaching me. Then he addedd that after a while when he saw how hard I actually worked and how much thought and effort I put into what I was doing he changed his mind completely: he thought I was honest and direct in my approach. He's one of my best friends until today, although he moved back to US a few years ago.

I speak my mind. What I know, I know. It doesn't mean that I'm a block head - I also listen to advice and wisely weigh the situation. That's me; get over it.

Think about this. If Nicolai Tesla would've quit when he first met Edinson you would've lived with shitty standards: no AC current, no eletromotor for your appliances, Marconi would have not been inspired to research telecommunication (and anyway this is debated - but Tesla was the influence for sure), so probably no Tv and internet today. The 1800's baby, straight up. How nice would've that been. You get all that because one stubborn litte young prick refused to yield to the opinion of the "king of inventions". Are you even concious of what you're doing on a regular basis? Forget about me, I'll be ok, but in general interacting with humans: whether it's verbal or non-verbal. Food for thought.

And one more thing about the "research" naysayers. Because it seems most of ya think of this as spending time only with reading. It involves also practical experience. Until I get my ass onto something with a rudder, sails and winches, my research is not even half done. Some of you are worse than a mother inlaw .

[andrei_ca]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Sigh :-)

TP

I know I revel in failiure hah.

Meanwhile I found the perfect size motorboat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8vxFA-he5o

. I just need to figure how to get a 28cuft LG fridge on it. No need for solar. I'll crank the compressor by hand. Peace.

Andrei

[darylat8750]

Originally Posted by andrei_ca

I know I revel in failiure hah.

Meanwhile I found the perfect size motorboat:

. I just need to figure how to get a 28cuft LG fridge on it. No need for solar. I'll crank the compressor by hand. Peace.

Andrei

Actually getting the 28cuft fridge on it is the easy part. Powering it is the hard part.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by andrei_ca

Only where electric conversion is concerned, in this topic only mate. It's all for keeping discussions organized and fairly focused. Electric motors is not the point of this topic and it would be a waste of time because I'm using fringe elements. I don't wanna hear on solar pannels, acid batteries or expensive stuff like LiFePo4 because it's got nothing to do with it.
Andrei

It might help to tell us exactly what sort of propulsion and house power you are considering.

There are a lot of '70s-'80s Catalinas and CALs out there that can be had for next to nothing. Sometimes literally for nothing if you want a project boat. I grabbed my current boat for $2k cash, complete with transferable slip in a marina that had a several year waiting list. I actually bought the boat for the slip, tbh but then started tinkering with it and the rest is history. CAL 2-27 built 1976, upgraded rigging, 10 sails, non-running, at the time, Atomic 4. I moved in right away as I was between apartments, and I got to say, I am living a lot cheaper than paying rent on land. Space is an issue. I have hobbies and projects, and it can be punishing, to make space for everything. I have to step out on deck just to change my mind. If you like to "work on stuff" aboard, definitely don't go with anything smaller than say a Catalina 30. If you are single, definitely don't go with anything over 45'. Stay away from extremes. EVERY BOAT is a compromise. There is no perfect boat, except maybe the one you fall in love with and whose faults you conveniently ignore.

I have done a lot of work and modification to mine, and this can be tough when living aboard. I built a shower stall, unheard of on a 27' CAL. I fixed and upgraded the old Atomic, then when the fuel tank started leaking and I couldn't remove it without pulling the engine, I converted to Electric and it suits me fine. I will be doing some bulkhead modifications in the future, but I am under no illusions. It can be acceptable to cut a door in a bulkhead, but not to remove it, under any circumstances, IMHO, even if the boat will just be a dock queen / floating apartment. The level of unacceptability varies of course with the boat and the intended use.

My suggestion is to just get a boat. Get a boat. Get a boat. Stay cheap, and realize that your first boat will not be your last. It will be a learning platform and MAYBE a way to get out from under some of your housing costs. Learn to sail her, and sail her well. Learn about safety and safety equipment. Maintain the systems already in place for a while, before gutting everything and building from your dreams. If you get in a big hurry, I predict a great deal of unhappiness and disatisfaction. Your first boat will teach you a lot. Such as:

1. You can't have everything you want.
2. BOAT stands for "Break Out Another Thousand".
3. Forget Murphy's Law. Even if something CAN'T happen, it will, anyway.
4. There is NEVER enough room.
5. Your can opener will be extremely important, so choose it well.
6. There are leaks where the ocean tries to get in, and there are leaks where the rain tries to get in. Both suck but topside leaks are more irritating somehow because there is always a new one, and they wet up a lot of important stuff on their downward journey to the bilge.
7. Yes, apparently Joker valves actually do have a sense of humor.
8. Everybody you talk to about boats is an expert. At least, that's what the experts believe.
9. A little humility and patience will save you a lot of anger and heartbreak.
10. Sometimes running out of booze is worse than running out of fuel.
11. Never ask what anchor is best. Just get one, and don't EVER let anybody else see it.
12. Don't tell anybody you have a gun on your boat. Don't tell anybody you don't, either. Better to stay on safe subjects like politics and religion.
13. Your liveaboard neighbors are your very best friends in the whole wide world, even if you don't particularly like them.

Unless you are very lucky, your first boat will not meet your requirements and preferences after you actually form them, which believe me, you have not, yet. So a time will come when you decide to sell your first boat and get something more suitable. Any boat depreciates. An old boat, well maintained, depreciates less than a new one. So the trade-up hurts a lot less, when your first boat is a "good old boat". 60s to early 80s hulls are usually way stronger than they need to be, and can absorb bumps that would sink a lot of 90s and up boats. Yeah, an old boat comes with a collection of issues. But the dirty little secret is a lot of new boats do, too.

If you pay more than $5k for a boat, even if you think you know what you are doing, you have knowledgeable friends to help you look over the boat, and they seller truly is a totally honest guy, you need to see an actual survey. This is not an option. A good surveyor will find things that you don't know to look for.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by toddster8

"without compromises" = forget about boats.

Anyway, I've noticed an Ingrid 38 with electric conversion on Craigslist for $14K this week. Since this is less than half what others are asking for similar unconverted boats, I'm guessing that something has gone disastrously wrong.

I've always thought that I'd move up to a 40ish-footer to live aboard. But after actually shopping a few, I'm not sure that they offer all that much to a single guy, over a 30-footer, considering the expense. Each of the interior spaces is just a tiny bit bigger, without actually offering any more functionality. (Why does a single guy need a U-shapped dinette that takes up half the boat?) Well, I still might move up, but I think I'd try living on my 30-footer for a year or two first.

That Ingrid doesn't look half bad. Nice propulsion setup.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

My suggestion is to just get a boat. Get a boat. Get a boat. Stay cheap, and realize that your first boat will not be your last. It will be a learning platform and MAYBE a way to get out from under some of your housing costs. Learn to sail her, and sail her well.

Good advice. And here's another candidate. Its a good boat, the owner posted it in the wrong category on kijiji...LOL.

asking $7,900 cdn, but the owner sounds desperate:
Pearson 30 sailboat w/ volvo dielsel | other | Kingston | Kijiji

[TrentePieds]

Ah, Andrei - apropos of an earlier exchange of emails: What a pity we missed it ;-0) !!

1000 hours today it was blowing 5 knots out of the NW over McCall Bank. Hardly enuff to ripple the water. An hour later at 1100 it was blowing a steady 45 knots gusting to 55 [that's 100 km/hr :-)] out of the SSE, and it continued to do so till about 1600 hrs. It wasn't too bad tho', cause the tide was flooding and running SE to NW. Had the tide been ebbing it would have been a sail to remember.

The 20K ton ferries twixt "The Mainland" and "The Island" couldn't hack it, and all went home. I see that LIMITED service has now been resumed.

Oh, well - there may be another time :-)

As ever

TP

[GlennGee]

[StuM]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Hudson Force knows what he is talking about - but we've not been able to reach 1 amp continuous (24 A per day) Ours is a 250 liter fridge with a small freezer inside and it is well-insulated. We also have a keel cooled compressor (we're in the tropics right now) - we're looking a t closer to 30-35A per day.

Please don't confuse the newbie.

That's 24 Amp hours and 30-35 Amp hours per day, not Amps.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by StuM

Please don't confuse the newbie.

That's 24 Amp hours and 30-35 Amp hours per day, not Amps.

Dang - caught again.

AS usual I bow down to your superior knowledge

Having said the above - I think he is fairly confused to start with - but if he's as smart as he claims to be eventually he'll learn

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

1. You can't have everything you want.
2. BOAT stands for "Break Out Another Thousand".
3. Forget Murphy's Law. Even if something CAN'T happen, it will, anyway.
4. There is NEVER enough room.
5. Your can opener will be extremely important, so choose it well.
6. There are leaks where the ocean tries to get in, and there are leaks where the rain tries to get in. Both suck but topside leaks are more irritating somehow because there is always a new one, and they wet up a lot of important stuff on their downward journey to the bilge.
7. Yes, apparently Joker valves actually do have a sense of humor.
8. Everybody you talk to about boats is an expert. At least, that's what the experts believe.
9. A little humility and patience will save you a lot of anger and heartbreak.
10. Sometimes running out of booze is worse than running out of fuel.
11. Never ask what anchor is best. Just get one, and don't EVER let anybody else see it.
12. Don't tell anybody you have a gun on your boat. Don't tell anybody you don't, either. Better to stay on safe subjects like politics and religion.
13. Your liveaboard neighbors are your very best friends in the whole wide world, even if you don't particularly like them.

Andrei

There is more truth and wisdom in those 13 points than you will ever realize - read them carefully and take note