markpierce
Master and Commander
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2010
- Messages
- 12,557
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Carquinez Coot
- Vessel Make
- penultimate Seahorse Marine Coot hull #6
John - You have my vote! I really like reading your thread/posts. You two went about choosing a boat in very similar way me and mine do also. Lots o' persons are not too impressed with our choice of boat... and, that's OK with us. Each to their own! But, I do like reading everyone's opinions; keeps me refreshed in different perspectives.
If any boat owners' have such thin skin that they become offended by your choice/desire/needs/impressions/admissions stated in a post... well then... IMO they should not be on a boating forum! That's a whole other discussion!
John;
I am enjoying reading your posts that share your thoughts and decision making for your new boat. Oddly enough much of what you share is exactly what I went through in making my choice to purchase my Helmsman 38, "Knot2Fast". Since my boat is moored at Waterline Boats I'm sure you have had a chance to be on her several times and of course are welcome to look at her whenever you are in Seattle.
I can tell you that I fell in love with the boat several years ago but am also someone who does a fair amount of research ahead of a purchase and since I was skipping 2footitis and going directly from a 24' SeaSport to a 38PH you can imagine I had a fair amount of trepidation. The point is that Scott and his team at Waterline has followed up on every single promise they made to me both in purchasing and the commissioning of the boat!
These boats are both very seaworthy and comfortable and no matter what dock I have tied up to, people stop by to look and talk about her.
Since I'm not much of a blogger, poster or tweeter feel free to ask me anything you think might be helpful for you to know since I have a new boat but do have a few hours on her now.
Jamie McPherson
Knot2Fast
Build time, which would include shipping time as well, is hard for me to tell since my boat already had some work done when I ordered it about 3 months ago My guess would be to figure about six months but you could call Scott Helker at Waterline Boats for a better estimate. It's worth the wait.
Hi John & Marie,
Just found this post for the first time,,, (we've been kinda hanging low for the past few weeks after Harley's passing). -- anyway, CONGRATULATIONS! Finally pulled the trigger eh? Well done,,, some wonderful & exciting times ahead for the both of you!
Is this the main thread for your newbuild?
What machinery do have you specc'ed for the man cave? (I understand you want a simpler boat this time)
Andy, great to hear you found us. Yes, this will be the thread for the new boat until we figure out how to build a web-site. Amazing the issues I'm having (I need a little kid around the house who can tackle this for me). ,,,,,,
It is a struggle (but fun) to build a simpler boat while still demanding the best and playing the balancing game of comfort versus system complexity versus safety. I spent a lot of time comparing N4050 (a relatively basic equipped Nordhavn) against N4061 (fully loaded) and concluded we didn't need or use many items on N4061 but we still paid for and needed to maintain them. Time will tell how this all will work out but so far we are very pleased and confident with our decision process.
When do you cast off for New Zealand?
John
John T: Any pictures from the builder you can repost?
Thanks for the great posts; especially since we are considering a similar trawler, (also thinking San Diego) in the next year or so. Have not decided on a boat yet. Will likely go to the show in Seattle at the end of January.
Pay special attention to the process he went through. Before we ever had a boat built we went through similar, perhaps even more formal based on how I evaluated things in business. We did a written list of requirements. We then noted those things that were preferences vs. deal killers. We created spreadsheets on which we compared boats. We compared all the objective things like LOA and Beam and air draft and draft and speed and fuel usage at different speeds and many more but then we also gave our subjective thoughts. We even color coded good, ok, and bad. It's an emotional choice and some things are difficult to quantify but in forcing ourselves to write them down and rank them it became obvious.
It all was a matter of our tastes and choices. There's one boat too that at the very start of the process in late 2012 we considered and it stayed near the top all the way till recently. It was consistently in our top two choices and the others kept changing. The fact was that it met our needs well and yet we didn't want it. We could never pull the trigger and order it. We could figure out things we didn't feel great about on it but nothing to eliminate it. I still believe a new boat (same with a new used boat) should excite you. It just didn't and we realized how much it didn't when a different boat came into the picture that we really felt excited about.
If in the process it doesn't draw you to it, then it's not the one. It's like the man or woman you meet who is really perfect in every way but you don't feel any chemistry.
Exactly! Often it is said... "The boat choses you!" That is why I believe many, but maybe not all, boats have virtual waterborne souls.
It's great to follow your journey - Thanks! - Art