Hey y'all!

[Dreamliving]

Hey y'all,

So I just bought my boat, a '72 Marine Trader 33. This is my first time as a "big" boat owner and first time posting here. Any advice for a newbie? My plan is to do the Great Loop starting in January so I am trying to get everything in order now with the boat. I look forward to checking out the forums as I'm sure there is a ton of great information on here. See y'all on the water!

Brent

 

[Old Sea Dog]

Welcome aboard. Where are you starting from?

 

[slowgoesit]

Brent, welcome to Trawlerforum! You've gone down the rabbit hole now. Best of luck with your new boat.

 

[Dreamliving]

I am starting from Pensacola as that is where I bought the boat. I have owned a restaurant for the past 6 years and have worked my butt off so now I am ready for an adventure and believe me I know a boat this old is definitely gonna be an “adventure” ��

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard y'all. FIRST thing!!!!! Buy tow insurance.

 

[Dreamliving]

With like Boat.US??

 

[psneeld]

Or Sea Tow on the East Coast, whichever has the better presence.

 

[High Wire]

Well you came to the right place to start reading. Good luck and welcome aboard!

 

[HopCar]

Welcome aboard! What ever you do, don’t ask about anchors! You’ll start a never ending battle on this forum. Suffice it to say your anchor is too small, it’s the wrong kind and you don’t have enough chain.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[janice142]

If I may be so bold, if underway on a journey of that extent I would purchase both BoatUS and SeaTow insurance. Having the dual coverage can be helpful.

Add a Stop Anchor (something you can deploy from the cockpit in case the worst happens and you need to stop the boat immediately. I lost power (bad fuel) and without the stop anchor Seaweed could have been in trouble. Instead, it was a minor issue. My spare had only 10 or 15' of chain and the rest (fifty feet) of 1/2" three strand. That stopped my boat before I ended up on shore. It was scary at the moment however, that anchor saved my bacon. I believe everyone needs a stop anchor.

This is my stop anchor, a 13 pound Hydrobubble (not a well-regarded anchor due to electrolysis (stainless point with an aluminum shank) -- before I had a locker built back there:

Regarding the stainless/aluminum issues some have experienced, I attached a zinc to the shank of mine. It is only used as a lunch hook or that one time as a stop anchor.

And yes, I could have dropped the main anchor on the bow however having one at the transom was fortuitous.

 

[Gulf Comanche]

Tow Boat US or Sea Tow, greats insurance as I have learned. Twice in the past month in the new cruising grounds, Western Gulf Coast ICW. Seems like the ICW gets narrower the further south you go, or maybe less maintenance.

 

[janice142]

Twice in the past month in the new cruising grounds, Western Gulf Coast ICW. Seems like the ICW gets narrower the further south you go, or maybe less maintenance.

I've run aground in the middle of the channel on the G-ICW just after the bay east of Panama City... there is a narrow stretch of river then an opening into a smaller bay. That channel, east end (about 2/3rds of the way through) and I kissed the bottom.

Drawing 3', I anchored in 5' of water and only turned with the tide once part way (west end of that same bay) ... I did wait until high tide to leave as I didn't want all that muddy water in my engine. Ugh.

On the other hand, it was beautiful and I had the place almost entirely to myself with little boat traffic.

 

[Darlin]

Read all you can. Be fanatical about maintenance and don't temp the weather gods. "If its blowin I'm not goin." And never let schedule override safety.

 

[Roger L]

I am starting from Pensacola as that is where I bought the boat. I have owned a restaurant for the past 6 years and have worked my butt off so now I am ready for an adventure and believe me I know a boat this old is definitely gonna be an “adventure” ��

Take a few shake down cruises. Make a list of everything that needs fixing by priority and take care of them as you are able before you make the big trip. All the little things add up and you discover other issues while you are fixing the known issues. It also helps you learn about your boat and the systems as you go helping you trouble shoot in the future.

 

[Slowmo]

I agree with Roger L about taking a shakedown cruise. We did this after purchase and found some things, like loose clamps on the fresh water system. We also tend to do this at the start of each season since things that worked in the fall don't always work in the spring. The most important thing, at least for me, was learning a new boat.

 

[Comogene]

Climb all over the boat and engine room - every cabinet and cubby hole. Know what switches operate what components and how both 12-v and 110-v lines run. If you do not leave some blood on the engine or transmission, you have not done a thorough enough investigating job.


Make a list of all accessories (mfg, #, size, etc) so you can obtain a replacement when necessary. Verify the accuracy of the keel depth and air height. Carry spare fuel (water separator) and oil filters - they are always out of stock when you need them. Learn how to bleed the fuel system of air.


No matter how many fenders and lines you have, they are all too small or not enough.


If you haven't already, take a safe boating course. Then take another, you will always learn more from the 2nd class. Skip the 6-8 hour courses as they only tell you what you do not know, not what you need to know.



Oh ya, keep your favorite wine or libation handy so at the end of the day, you can kick back and say "Life is good!"


Enjoy!


Gene

 

[PhilPB]

Enjoy your new ride. Pack a lot of patience (and $$$), you will be fine and have a great time!!!
Keep coming back to this forum, the knowledge base is incredible. The only problem is NOBODY ever has an opinion.

 

[SeaDogAK]

Spend a lot of time practicing slow speed maneuvering and docking before you set out.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Re: Post #18...

 

[Dreamliving]

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions! I have been going through the boat with a fine tooth comb trying to learn as much as I can. Haven’t even taken it out since I bought it because I want to know everything before then. I did sign up with SeaTow and I will with BoatUS in the near future. My biggest issues now are understanding the toilet and plumbing in the boat and also some of the electrical that I haven’t gotten to check out yet. Nothing better than sitting on the back just relaxing tho