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Newbie question on anchorage and live aboards

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Northwind, Dec 8, 2015.

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  1. Pascal, Dec 9, 2015
    #21
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    I can't see such a boat run with just a captain and occasional day workers. Unpractical for a whole bunch of reason like the time and energy wasted trying to find competent day workers or temporary crew in various places, making sure they know what they re doing and know the boat, etc... Will end up costing more in money and aggravation than at least one qualified mate.

    I doubt you will find a captain will to run a boat that size without a crew.

    A common mistake many people make is to buy a boat based on requirements for long term plans they may not ever do. A 110' expedition trawler with an 8.5 draft is pretty much the wrong boat to cruise teh east coast and the bahamas. The draft alone will prevent you from visiting at least 75% of anchorages and marinas between Long Island sound and the Turks n Caicos.

    Another issue is boat layout. Expedition trawlers are designed and layed out to handle rough conditions with high freeboard, sheltered decks, etc which are not necessarily adapted to normal conditions especially in the bahamas and caribbean

    A somewhat simplistic analogy would be to buy a big military grade hummer because one day you may want to go off reading somewhere and use it first for years as a daily driver in a big city. Will it work, yes... Is it ideal... No!
  2. Beau, Dec 9, 2015
    #22
    Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    Northwind

    Do you own the boat yet? If not you may think about coming down a bit in size for moreaccessibility. Never been on one but I sure like the look of the 62 Nordhaven's
  3. Northwind, Dec 9, 2015
    #23
    Northwind

    Northwind Member

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    I appreciate that you get a number of inexperienced people asking questions about plans they will never pursue. Not my history. My interest is in cruising well beyond the east coast. I am asking about the east coast because I know this will be one of the more challenging areas for a boat this size. And, I appreciate the advice the forum has given.

    The crew configuration is something that I will need to work out. I do not have a lot of experience with salt water corrosion. But, my current living situation involves many more motors, pumps, valves, networks, and systems than the boat. If I have time (which is much of the time), I make the repairs myself. I enjoy doing it. So, I am not looking for the typical owner/crew configuration.

    I am sure this is not the setup that many captains will want. But, I am pretty easy to get along with and I will make sure that every captain understands what I expect before he accepts the position. I would hope that I can find a good fit.
  4. Northwind, Dec 9, 2015
    #24
    Northwind

    Northwind Member

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    No. I have not purchased the boat. I am still going through the survey process. I am open to suggestions. I looked at a 75' at the boat show and don't think I could live on it for an extended time.
  5. olderboater, Dec 9, 2015
    #25
    olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    No, we were docked. Did not mean to confuse.
  6. ranger58sb, Dec 9, 2015
    #26
    ranger58sb

    ranger58sb Senior member

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    Geez...

    But anyway, can you say whether that was only because of over-all size (or lack thereof)? Or instead, maybe that specific layout? Or some combination..?

    -Chris
  7. Beau, Dec 9, 2015
    #27
    Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    Northwind

    What's your thinking on an annual repair/maintenance/operating budget and a travel and living expense budget?
  8. olderboater, Dec 9, 2015
    #28
    olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    How many people are going to be living aboard? Is there a specific brand you've seen that caught your eye?
  9. Capt J, Dec 10, 2015
    #29
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Unless you enjoy spending 2 days washing the boat, the Captain is not going to do it after running the boat. You're going to really need a full time crew of 3, Whether it be Captain/Mate/Deckhand, or Captain/Mate/ Stew-deck-chef.
  10. RER, Dec 10, 2015
    #30
    RER

    RER Senior Member

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    LOL. Who says it's going to get washed?
  11. Ward, Dec 11, 2015
    #31
    Ward

    Ward Senior Member

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    If you're interested in long times at anchor, offshore capability, and low maintenance, and if you can afford it, you could look at one of the Dashew FPBs. There are a few currently for sale.
  12. RER, Dec 11, 2015
    #32
    RER

    RER Senior Member

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    I assume you mean Hell Gate. Hell's Kitchen is mostly brownstones and asphalt.
  13. Oscarvan, Dec 11, 2015
    #33
    Oscarvan

    Oscarvan Senior Member

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    Senior moment. I sit corrected.
    stillwagon69 likes this.
  14. saltysenior, Dec 11, 2015
    #34
    saltysenior

    saltysenior Senior Member

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    Recent threads bring back haunting memories from my past career ......some one wants to cross oceans in a 50 footer, while some one else wants to puddle jump w/ a 110 footer that draws 8 1/2 ft......
  15. Northwind, Dec 11, 2015
    #35
    Northwind

    Northwind Member

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    Thanks for the input -- most being constructive.

    Obviously, the crew issue is something that I will have to work out. I'm open to a number of different setups.

    Again, I appreciate all the comments regarding overly ambitious newbies. Reminds me of what I was told when I bought an old 800 acre farm with an antebellum house. I lived on the farm 18 years, restored 100,000 sq ft under roof, and never had an employee. And, in the last 24 months, the house was featured in two national home and garden magazines and my state named the farm as one of the great gardens in the state. Not everyone with grand dreams is incompetent.

    I'll work through the boat idea in the same fashion. I'll consider your warnings but, in the end, I'll come up with a plan.
  16. Creedence623, Dec 11, 2015
    #36
    Creedence623

    Creedence623 New Member

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    I wouldn't take the constructive criticism/feedback as skepticism. The proposal has a host of complexities which you may well have considered, but that level of consideration just wasn't immediately apparent. To be honest, I am really impressed with how reasonably your inquiry has been answered by the folks here, especially when the first post suggests someone is interested in/capable of incurring such a sizable capital expense for a vessel only to seek creative workarounds to save on water and crew expenses. Were this virtually any other boating forum, I think the consensus and the answers you received would be quite different. I only say this because one could only expect to receive cautionary tales and hard questions when posing an inquiry that does not suggest at least a cursory amount of self study has been done. For instance, a couple minutes on Google provides some entry level insight on the hidden costs of ownership, technical considerations for evaluating yachts, how to staff a yacht, etc. (a couple links provided):

    http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-it-costs-to-operate-a-luxury-yacht-2013-3
    https://www.luxyachts.com/sales/how-to-buy
    http://www.******************.com/ownership/how-staff-yacht

    Obviously this forum is a wealth of information on its own, but it takes the right questions to really benefit from the collective knowledge. I don't think anyone is saying you can't realize your goals, I just see a lot of interest in learning more about the particulars of your plan. I'm sure everyone would love to see you succeed (and read updates on your progress).
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2015
  17. Opcn, Dec 11, 2015
    #37
    Opcn

    Opcn Senior Member

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    So I'm a little curious; what your current living situation is that has more motors, pumps, valves, networks, and systems than a 110 foot boat? Do you live in the basement of a hotel?

    Edit: I will throw in that the definition of "yachting" on this forum is narrower than the definition used in some other places. It's certainly possible to own and operate a large vessel for personal use without washing it down completely every week, especially if it was built with that in mind and all sensitive systems are protected. I do strongly suspect that the OP will be much better off and save time, money, and headache with 3 professional full time crew aboard.
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2015
  18. RER, Dec 11, 2015
    #38
    RER

    RER Senior Member

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    No one said you're incompetent. You came on here asking questions and at the same time your posts have a decidedly peremptory tone. So what gives?
  19. Northwind, Dec 11, 2015
    #39
    Northwind

    Northwind Member

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    I live on a farm much of which is off grid. 12 diesel motors, 3 large electric motors, 4 hydraulic systems, 3 gensets, 6 septic systems, 4 wells, 6 electrical services with 1400 amps, 6 buildings of 100,000 sq ft, fiber optic main, buildings connected by directional antenna, Wifi within buildings networked to Cisco hubs. Been doing it since 2001. Located in the northeast with occasional severe weather. Low ph well water that contributes to corrosion. Two boilers feeding a hydronic heating system. 1 oil furnace. 2 Lp on demand domestic hot water supplies. 16 acres under irrigation with various pumps and 26 actuated valves.

    Living in a hotel basement sound like a vacation.

    I do use professionals to handle much of the work. And, I pickup day labor during June and October. But, I have never had a full time employee. And, in most emergency situations, I can't get help for several days. So, I do 40-60% of the work myself.
  20. Northwind, Dec 11, 2015
    #40
    Northwind

    Northwind Member

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    Understood and appreciated.

    I didn't set out to clear an entire plan with this one question. I have many other questions.

    The initial question is just: what are the challenges associated with cruising the east coast of the US with s 110 ft boat with 8.5 draft? Can you find good anchorage? What are the challenges that one typically encounters?
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