Horizons

More research has revealed finally, some helpful information. Apparently in this world of political correctness, no one wants to come right out and say this or that boat really sucks. I guess I can understand the reluctance; no one wants to be sued. So barring lack of real facts, everyone (even most reviews) shy away from the it sucks ruling.

Well that attitude makes it very difficult for newbies, such as myself to get a grasp on what to look for in a boat. Sure, I know how to estimate how much room we might need. I have an idea of how we might use the boat (and thus the types of boats we are looking at). But barring that I need a 40+ foot semi displacement or no displacement boat, that is really all I know. And guess what, everyone making boats about make boats that fit this class. Sure there seem to be a few big players out there (eg. carver, Brunswick, SeaRay and they are sold all over the US. But what even distinguishes these boats from one another. How do we know which one is the Honda and which is the kia?

Finally one website I found stepped out completely on a limb. This guy, David Pascoe, speaks the plain truth and lots of it. He is a surveyor. Surveyors are used to review the boat, after the buyer is ready to purchase. Sort of and odd way to do things, but there it is. The buyer pays the surveyor to review and assess the boat, only after the seller has decided on the boat.

Anyway David has been collecting data over the last 20+ years about the boat surveys he has been conducting. So, his reviews accomplish 3 things for me, 1) he rates used boats, 2) he gives an indication of quality boats construction, and 3) which manufactures are concerned at all about quality.

I have only read through a portion of his website, but this is what I have learned thus far. Now mind you, his reviews are for used boats, and the information on his website is about 5+ years out of date, but here is what is there.

1) Carver of the 1990s was a Ford of the ’80s. The quality and consistency sucked, big time. These boats would not last a few years seaside. Most were freshwater buys and even then, after years of sailing, they were leaky, moldy, barely fixable messes.

2) This class of boats seems similar to the compact car set. No one gives a damn about how shabbily is constructed because they know the users will rarely put the boat to any use other than a floating barge just off the beach.

3) trawler class (semi displacement and displacement hull) boats inherently seem to be better built, since the manufacturers know the boat may actually be sailed somewhere. 

4) modernization and style in the boat world (for this size boats) seems to equate with cheezy construction. Best looking boats, have worst ratings. They value flesh over form and additionally think the buyer will not know the difference.

This is a big blow for us. We are back to square one, on boat choice. Since we can not obviously pick a boat that suits our comfort needs, but wont sail. LOL. That makes no sense, and in this boat world. That is they way things seem to be shaping up. Back to more research.

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There are a lot of models of boats out there. You might recall me doing a cost analysis on a particular Silverton yacht. The Silverton is one of many out there. In fact, for yachts in our size range (38-47′) there are over 50+ manufacturers. This page details a list I found out there.

Some are manufactured outside of the US, a lot are here. Either way, some come here. The fact that we are looking for a used boat means that if some diligent soul has already ordered one of these beauties and managed to get it to the mainland, we can evaluate it for our purposes.

Main brands we have lately been discussing are: Carver, Meridian, Silverton, Formula, Silverton, Cruiser and Four Winns. All of these guys are made here. We also like a few other brands not from here Absolute, Cranchi, Sealine, Lagoon Power ( a cat). We keep being drawn to boats with 3 criteria: flybridge, aft cabins, pod drives. While we are sure we want a newer boat (since 2002) and sure we prefer a fly bridge, the other stuff might just be gravy. We like the aft cabin idea, but also know we are not going to be using that extra room much. But the aft cabin boats tend to have wider beams and more room throughout the rest of the boat as well

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A cameraman is the best of worlds for a live-aboard boat. It is comfortable, fuel efficient, and stable. AND EXPENSIVE.

I ran some numbers the other day. Which by the way is an excellent idea for figuring out your potential expenses. More about that in another episode.

What we did was select a boat and run its numbers. A few of the books I have talk about how to estimate your expenses. It includes things like periodic and unexpected repairs, fuel costs, docking and registration fees, etc.

Well with Cat specs looking like the data below and monohulls like previous specs I have provided, one might think a Cat would surely balance out. And potentially, how do you estimate comforatablity (I guess its a lot like drinkability, LOL - you cant).

So, Cats are lighter and as a result use less gas with smaller engines. And gas is a huge deal, when most boats are getting only 1mi/gallon (if you are lucky and then only at bicycle speeds -15mph). The Cat can ride to the rescue at 22mph and 3mpg while doing it. Gas of 6000 mi goes from costing $10k/yr for a mono hull to $6k/yr for a Cat.

Average cat specs for a 37-48ft, 2004-2008, Cat:

• beam: 16-22
• LOA: 36-47
• engines: 250-300 twin diesels
• water: 200 gal
• gas: 400 gal
• draft 2-3ft
• top: 28-29
• cruising: 17 22kn
• weight: 22,000-29,000

So, the fuel really is a big deal. BUT, the CAT is a large boat. So large in fact, that it might need special slips at some harbors. And of course, you will be charged for the privileges. The figures I have seen say 1.5x cost of fees for a monohull in the same class. Additionally, the Cats cost more. So your principal payment is more.

What this boils down to in my spreadsheet was an extra $400 per month due mostly to the extra slip and mortgage that was not then offset by the savings in gas. Too bad, I like the Cats. Even if modern taste doesn’t seem to have impacted this particular class of boats. But even bad taste doesn’t impact comfortablity. At least I don’t think so.

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A cat, as a catamaran, is affectionately known is a multihulled boat. Pretty much up until now our research has centered around monohulled 35′+ yachts. These boats have specific characteristics. The list of them might look something like:

• beam: width of the boat
• Loa: total length of the boat
• engines: typically 2 either diesel or unleaded running from about 225HP each
• water capacity: the amount of water the boat can carry
• gas volume: the number of gallons of gas the boat can carry
• draft: how much of the boat is below the water line.
• top speed: often expressed in knots, this is the speed the boat would do if you floored it
• cruising speed: this is the sweet spot of the boat for cruising.
• weight of the boat

The way it works then is that for most monohull boats of cruising class A or B made from 2005-2009 of this size (35-45′) these are the generalities (if you will):

• beam 13-16′
• LOA 36-47′
• engines: diesel 250-400 hp twins
• water: 100 gallons
• gas: 300 gallons
• draft: 3-3.5ft
• top speed: 28-29kn
• cruising: 17-22kn  (not including Trawlers)
• weight: 25k-44k

Now as to classification, there are ratings that say what the boat is good for. However, most Americian produced boats, seem to not list this information readily. Im not sure why this is, but all the Euro boats have this info up front.

• A- is a blue water boat, can go anywhere and do anything
• B - coastal cruiser
• C- fresh water only, rivers…

The other D and E, I cant recall and don’t much look at those boats.

Even to the casual observer, you might note then that A class boats, might be a bit more costly. In fact, that is the case. Specifically, there are a number of specific types of boats that easily fit this class.

Now people buy boats for lot of different reasons. Here are some of the classes then of the boats by purpose:

• Fishing
• Cruising (sport and motorboat)
• Blue Water
• Speed

Now, what we are looking for is a live-aboard. In fact, some of the cruising, fishing, blue water boats, all fit the live-aboard category.  However, when one comes to space our opportunities are getting limited. Refer back to the definitions above for beam. Beam (along side LOA) basically indicates just how much room you will have when you want to use the spaces below deck. Like how much storage, how much bathroom space, how much bed room space. So, the holy grail is mucho beam.

BUT.. think back to your rubber duckie days. A monohull can only be so wide before it becomes too heavy, too deep, or requires more more length. All of which, are not good. BUT.. a multihull, well we can do things there. We can add a hull, put a bridge bridge between the hulls and resulting in more BEAM, while keeping a similar draft, and the same boat lengths. The result is a more stable boat in calm waters, more roomy cabins, a shallow stable draft; this oddity of the ocean is a catamaran.

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Ok, so I dont know when we got the idea, or really who it came from, so no date on the blog. But I wanted to talk about the whole reason I am here and doing this.

My BF and I traveled south for a wedding recently, and while that is a long story (not to be told here) we returned with one idea on our brains. We went in late November 08, just in time to exit before the snow and the cold really took hold in Chi. Upon our return it was here. It was here in all its glory, the snow, the cold, the works. 

Then it was born. The idea. How do we escape this. The temp in ST was 85, the temp in in Chi sunk that next month to -15F. Prompting my BF to text me about the 100F swing in temp. For those of you who dont know, -15F is so cold (not including the windchill) that when you breath the air is too cold. It catches in your lungs causing you to cough. Your face is numb after only a few mins in this cold, and it goes all the way down to your bones. 

Our answer at the time seemed simple -we have to move. Forget all of the whys we are here.. and what not, right now we have to plan an escape. But, during our weeks stay in ST, we saw the price of paradise and we were not amused. If we thought the price of NY or even Naperville for that matter was high we were sadly mistaken. The place we saw were more than pricey. We could maybe afford a 2 bedroom hovel way in the mountains someplace, no beach, no view, no city water, for about $400k. OUCH.

Then we got an idea. An ad for the boat show was on a billboard. Hell if we had a boat, we wouldn’t have to decide right away what island, what price, what 2 bedroom. We could boat, live on the boat, and decide later.  The boat show being 2 weeks away gave us an opportunity to live with the idea, swallow it a couple of time. Bounce it off the walls to see if it stuck or came back. It stuck. 

We hit the boat show in Jan 14th hard. We did a 5 hour tour about. Before even before then, we were already hooked…

Ok, I been thinking about this for a bit. But I couldn’t figure out how to execute, now I think I have a way. With the mental help of my BFF KG, I have started this blog. This blog will let me capture my thoughts about this experience I am embarking on, and be able to later, put these experiences into a book. The journey starts now. Hang on, if you can.