Our first boat is a boat built by the Admiral’s dad. He built it in the late 60’s. We made the mistake of stripping the deck to the wood. After 15 coats of varnish we decided that we only sand and add more coats of varnish from now on. Good experience for the bright work on the big boat.
The next boat (designated the Big Boat) will be the Great Loop boat. The Admiral and I have been negotiating the type and size of boat we will spend the next year or two or three on as we travel this great country. I wanted a boat less than 40 ft. She wanted a boat greater than 50 ft. We have compromised and settle on a 48 ft boat with a cockpit. The cockpit is necessary for line handling during docking and locking.
So far we have spent about a year in these negotiations. We expect to have a boat purchased before the end of this year to prepare for a Spring 2017 beginning of the journey.
Did I mention we are beginners as far as the Big Boat is concerned. The 18ft wooden boat with a 50 hp outboard motor does not qualify as boating experience for one that weighs in excess of 40000 lbs with enough horsepower to move a medium size house. I am a bit apprehensive and the Admiral, well let’s just say that I will be in deep hot water if anything goes awry.
It is not that I don’t think I can captain a boat this size, it is that I do not have the experience to feel confident that I can captain this boat. To this end we have taken the Boaters Safety Course offered by the Power Squadron as well as first Piloting Class. We also spent 4 days on the Miami Mermaid learning from Captain Bob about the basics of living on a trawler.
We also have spent 6 days on board a Mainship 430 with twin engines at Southwest Yachts Schools. Two engines are better than one for docking etc. I have always read that but now I can say that from a little experience. The experience of all of these schools has qualified us to be officially qualified as novices.
Bye George 