Hello to All: We would appreciate all advice and opinions!
Wife and I have looked on and off for over two years and feel certain a Trawler suits our needs. Our priorities are comfort and room, no need for speed, and a good used well maintained boat. We plan on keeping her relatively near our home which means the Miss/Ala/NW-Fla gulf coast. Our present interests are to relax/fish the Chandeleur Islands over toward the mouth of the Miss. River, and will also do flexible/no schedule ICW cruising on down to the Keys. We also love just spending time in the Florida panhandle area, and given the price of beach condos this appears to be such a better option offering more advantages for enjoyment of this particular area. .
We have come close to pulling the trigger, and have learned quite a bit from reading here as well as speaking with several of you who have been so generous to discuss any questions we had. We have also watched in amazement during our initial learning period at :
(1) the amount of Boats sitting in marinas hardly used;
(2)overpriced Boats on the market just sitting unused for well over a year since we started our search, with little realistic price reduction;
(3) wondering what market affect the recent boat carnage due to hurricane/storms will be on boat values.
We have also wondered why shared ownership doesn't appeal to more people on several fronts. It seems to certainly provide multiple owners with expense participation and perhaps newer/larger/nicer vessel options. There seems to be quite a few people who like their Boat for seasonal use, and even more who because of jobs/family commitments etc. are limited to sporadic use. It seems to us that relationships on shared usage would be very beneficial, and would open up additional areas for enjoying the Trawler Life. For instance in our case, it would be wonderful to spend time up in the PNW each year without the need to "cruise" there or maintain a vessel there. Perhaps it just doesn't work out?
We do not see ourselves living aboard for extended periods, and are not presently interested in the Great Loop. We love the boating lifestyle, and are struggling to make our final decision. We do plan to take a few charters in several areas, but family, grandkids,etc realistically requires us to stay mostly close to home. We still know so little but are eager to learn, but do know we are not the first to discuss these issues. Perhaps if similar discussions are on the board I may have missed those threads. Thanks to all as always...would love some thoughts on these areas of interest
Wife and I have looked on and off for over two years and feel certain a Trawler suits our needs. Our priorities are comfort and room, no need for speed, and a good used well maintained boat. We plan on keeping her relatively near our home which means the Miss/Ala/NW-Fla gulf coast. Our present interests are to relax/fish the Chandeleur Islands over toward the mouth of the Miss. River, and will also do flexible/no schedule ICW cruising on down to the Keys. We also love just spending time in the Florida panhandle area, and given the price of beach condos this appears to be such a better option offering more advantages for enjoyment of this particular area. .
We have come close to pulling the trigger, and have learned quite a bit from reading here as well as speaking with several of you who have been so generous to discuss any questions we had. We have also watched in amazement during our initial learning period at :
(1) the amount of Boats sitting in marinas hardly used;
(2)overpriced Boats on the market just sitting unused for well over a year since we started our search, with little realistic price reduction;
(3) wondering what market affect the recent boat carnage due to hurricane/storms will be on boat values.
We have also wondered why shared ownership doesn't appeal to more people on several fronts. It seems to certainly provide multiple owners with expense participation and perhaps newer/larger/nicer vessel options. There seems to be quite a few people who like their Boat for seasonal use, and even more who because of jobs/family commitments etc. are limited to sporadic use. It seems to us that relationships on shared usage would be very beneficial, and would open up additional areas for enjoying the Trawler Life. For instance in our case, it would be wonderful to spend time up in the PNW each year without the need to "cruise" there or maintain a vessel there. Perhaps it just doesn't work out?
We do not see ourselves living aboard for extended periods, and are not presently interested in the Great Loop. We love the boating lifestyle, and are struggling to make our final decision. We do plan to take a few charters in several areas, but family, grandkids,etc realistically requires us to stay mostly close to home. We still know so little but are eager to learn, but do know we are not the first to discuss these issues. Perhaps if similar discussions are on the board I may have missed those threads. Thanks to all as always...would love some thoughts on these areas of interest