T&T: Getting ready to retire..........

[Scott Bulger]

(Long posting, if you don't like my opinion, page down about 20 times or hit
^D)

 

Jim,

 

While I'm a few years younger than you, I have taken the route you are
considering.  I'd be happy to share my perspective on your questions, for
what it's worth?

 

You asked:  I'm in good health, 64 now, & wondering how many of you people
out there started doing something like this so late in life with very little
experience?

 

Scott:  I'm 48, in poor health, but realized every day of life on this
planet is precious and I'm not going to the grave saying I whish I'd have
done this or that.  I'm fat, clumsy, blind in one eye, can't see out of the
other, have a paralyzed diaphragm which makes walking up a hill or doing
strenuous activities almost  impossible and to top it all off I rarely get
more than 3 or 4 hours of sleep because of my diaphragm problem.  What I do
have is:

a.   A spouse that said she was willing to go on this adventure with me (the
single most important aspect of the entire equation).

b.  A family situation that allows the two of us to be gone for 2 or 3
years, a "window of opportunity" so to speak.  This means the daughters are
recently married, parents are ok, or being cared for by others.

c.  There is a "kitty" of money that allows me to take 2 or 3 years off,
generate the income necessary to cruise and get us back into a house when we
return, assuming I don't sink the boat.  

 

Jim:  Last time I owned a boat was in my early 20s & it was only a 17'
runabout.  

 

Scott:  At age 14-18 I lived in Ft. Walton Beach FL.  My dad bought a 17'
Cobia cathedral hull bowrider with a 115hp Evinrude 2 stroke motor.  I'd say
all my basic boat handling experience was gained on this craft.  Dad would
let me drive and pull skiers and when I turned 16 he let me take the boat
out on my own.  We took the USPS boating safety course and probably put 600
hours on the boat over 4 years.  It was the best time of my life.  This
experience allowed me to later in life purchase a 17' Arima in Washington,
operate it for 4 years and then move to a 31' Camano trawler.  The only new
thing I had to learn to operate the trawler was Back and Fill.  With a bow
thruster and predictable turning performance, any trawler is reasonable to
handle.  By the way, the 3 years of operating the 31' Camano was all I
needed to move up to a 40' Nordhavn.  If you understand that a boat is
operating in a fluid environment, is subject to other forces, wind and
current, and develop the skills to use appropriate thrust and control to
counteract these forces, you will adapt to any boat you choose.  Smaller
will be easier than larger, and newer will take less maintenance than older
(if you buy a quality product).  

 

Jim:  I know nothing about electronics or engines for that matter.  

 

Scott:  You probably know more than you are giving yourself credit for.  You
know a motor needs good clean fuel, you know you have to change the oil in a
motor, you know if it doesn't start it's going to ruin your day!  There are
two ways to deal with this issue, learn to take care of the motor and
systems yourself, or pay someone to do it for you.  There are lots of people
that keep their boats running by paying a maintenance person to do
everything necessary.  On the other hand there are people who start to ask,
"why am I paying him to change the oil when I can do it?".  They open the
manual or ask a buddy to them them, and before they know it they have
advanced to changing belts, thermostats and changing fuel filters.  

 

Now, here is where you get to control how big a challenge this is.  You
didn't say where you live, or what you mean by "getting into trawlering".
There are lots of varying levels of commitment to trawlering:

 

Level 1:  You buy a trawler and use it as a condo.  It rarely leaves the
dock, but has all the nice things to make it a comfortable place to spend a
few days or nights.  This is VERY common in California.  

Level 2:  You buy a trawler and use it 100 hours a year on local waters,
perhaps lakes or inland waters, close to shore only in good weather.  

Level 3:  You get a trawler, add some neat navigation and distance
capabilities to it and start to take it on larger bodies of water and make
trips of 100 miles or more.  

Level 4:  You find out you love this stuff and can't get enough of it.  You
start to go to every boat show, every public boating event, soon your
purchasing multi day passes at the boat show and are calling in sick for
work.  Your 2 week vacation every year is on the boat and it is without
question or discussion that a 3 day holiday means at least an overnight on
the boat, the fever is really starting to kick in.

Level 5:  You seriously consider trading your house and spouse for the
largest boat you can handle or afford and start to read everything you can
about taking the boat long distances, crossing oceans or perhaps cruising to
the Caribbean or making the Great Loop.  At this point you have probably
owned a few boats to get to this point, but possibly not.  

 

So, your going to get lots of people telling you to "go for it!", don't
wait, get started now, DO IT and on and on.  No one here is going to say,
"gee I wouldn't do that if I were you, better go to school and learn it
first".   The truth is there are probably a few things you should focus on
to make this work:

 

1.  Try to define what kind of trawlering you want to do.  If your in the
Pacific NW, your in the best cruising grounds in the world.  Try to define
how many consecutive nights you want to spend on the boat, anything from an
overnight to live aboard.  This will dictate the size boat you need.  Now
someone will tell you " I got me, my wife and my 200lb St. Bernard in our
24' Sea Ranger Tug!", to which I'd suggest, would your wife enjoy that?  Try
to include her in saying what she wants her cruising experience to be.  My
wife went at the experience like "elegant camping".  A friend had her wife
say "this is worse than camping".  Attitude is everything.  Once you define
how many nights your willing to be aboard, you will be able to focus on how
far you want to go.

2.  If you believe you want to go long distances, say to Alaska from the
Puget Sound, or perhaps to FL from the North East, or perhaps the Great
Loop,  then that will help define the boat you need.  The longer the
distance, the more boat you will require, again based on the comfort level
you hope to attain.

3.  Finally, be safe.  Make every decision you can to emphasize safety, but
don't let it paralyze you.  When you walk out of your house in the morning
you take a risk.  Boating is going to up your risk a bit, but it's all
manageable.  

 

There are lots of people who will criticize every decision you make.  It's
like buying a boat gets you in this club that allows you to comment on every
other decision another boat owner makes.  I hate that aspect of boating.
I'll say, I did this or that, and someone else will say, you should have
done this, or I wouldn't have done that.  Sometimes it's good advice, but
more often that not it's crap.  There are some people who's opinion you will
come to respect greatly, because they are out there doing it and they speak
from experience.  People like Bob Austin, Mike Maurice, Peter Pisciotta,
Dave Cooper, Larry Z,  Bob Senter, Rick Redfern, Kevin Redden, Rich Gano,
Less Dobbe, Al Golden, John on "Seahorse",  Keith on Anistasia3 and many
others. 

 

In closing I can only say, go now, don't wait, do it as quickly as you can.
Two days ago my brother had a Pulmonary Embolism.  It should have killed
him, but God must not have finished his work here on earth with him yet.  I
lost my little brother to a hang gliding accident 27 years ago and it still
hurts, I can't imagine loosing my remaining brother, or my spouse or one of
my children.  Life is precious, make EVERY day, EVERY minute, EVERY second
count.  Tell the people around you that  you love them, if in fact you do,
and maybe one or two that you don't?  Get your wife involved, because the
truth is if she isn't enjoying it your ability to advance the effort will
suffer.  After all, it is her life as well, she should be equally invested
and enjoy the experience as much or more than you do!  

 

Good luck, I'm sure you going to enjoy this experience as much as so many
here on the list have.  Be smart, be safe but by all means move this
activity forward with gusto!

 

Scott and Marian Bulger, Alanui, Nordhavn 40II, Seattle WA

Currently moored in Brookings OR 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would also add that Larry's has provided sage advice indeed!