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Old 07-09-2007, 11:18 PM   #1
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I am hopeing some of you may be able to help me out.

I am a total newbie. I have boated all but 2 twice in my life and that was in a little fishing boat on a lake.

I purchased a 41 foot hatterus convertable. Well we close on it Thursday. The wife and I look so much to taking her out.

I have a slip rented for it in Clear Water Beach Florida.

Now what? I plan on using the boat to live on for 2-3 days a month while fishing and such. The thing is I know very little about the rules for open water operations. I know I can operate the boat, just I need to do it safe and legal.

The boat has what I am told are good electronics. How to use any of them is out of my mind. Some kinda 50 mile radar, VHF/UHF radio's, sounder and GPS with plotter.

No gen set is included. I am not sure if we will get one right now or wait till we think we need one. I am a green energy nut and had 10 deep cycle batteries and 4 solar panels installed.

No water maker as it has 500 gallons of fresh water. The slip also has water and power.

Now, I know this is dumb. What should I do now? I need to learn how to pilot this thing and such. Were should one go? I thought about hiring a person for a few days and haing them show me the jist of things.

I know I started out getting this boat before I have the experiance for it, but that is kinda the way I am.

To get a Profile of me. I am only 28. I have 1.7 million safe miles in my own aircraft and 1.4 million safe accident and ticked free miles in my own semi truck. I plan on being safe and want to earn what education I may need to operate this vessel. Any ideas are much taken.

Also, I am more a hands on guy.

Also, I need a decent shopping list if stuff I need, should have and such. It will be my wife our dog and my self on the boat.

I did have OPS-1 by pass oil filters installed on each engine with synthetic oil. This is what we use in our plane and in our truck.
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Old 07-09-2007, 11:57 PM   #2
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Welcome aboard Daytrader.

You seem very excited which is a good thing. Being on the water and owning a boat will if nothing else give you a better, clearer perspective on life and you'll meet a lot of great people. Make sure you're friendly to everyone at the marina.

First things first...B.O.A.T. is an acronym meaning Break Out Another Thou(sand). As a young day trader, this shouldn't be a problem

Now, learning to handle the vessel is something that comes with time and a lot of people grow-up on boats and learn from a very young age how to maneuver a bus without brakes. Hopefully you have purchased insurance. Your idea of hiring a professional skipper for a couple of days is an excellent way to start. I highly recommend it.

You will also need to learn the rules of the road, simple navigation and boating safety. I recommend enrolling in a Coast Guard Auxiliary classes:

Personal Watercraft: The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary's Personal Watercraft course is a very basic, one-hour introduction to the safety issues involved when operating a PWC. Because of its brevity, it is not approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) nor is it approved by most of the states which require formal instruction in order to operate a boat (the Auxiliary's Boating Safely, Boating Skills & Seamanship and Sailing Fundamentals courses are more appropriate for meeting legal requirements).
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Old 07-10-2007, 12:13 AM   #3
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Most of the ASA or RYA Fastrack Day Sskipper courses are pretty reasonably priced and would give you a good foundation in all or your ships systems... not that it sounds like you are too concerned about money.
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Old 07-10-2007, 12:46 AM   #4
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Most of the ASA or RYA Fastrack Day Sskipper courses are pretty reasonably priced and would give you a good foundation in all or your ships systems... not that it sounds like you are too concerned about money.
To say I am not "concerned" about money would be false. I do manage My money very well. I am kinda a tight but. I just have no problem paying for the best when I open up the dusty wallet. I like to not waste.

I need to take some grammar and vocabulary classes because that is my worst area. You will come to learn that.

OK, I have no problem taking a course. It would have to be worth it. I mean I look at some "schools" that give you this certification or that. Some give you hours and such. MOST TALK ABOUT stuff I have no clue what it is.

The insurance company will give me a 20% discount is I get some type of Coast Guard certification.

I wanted to buy a sail boat as we could have gotten much more boat for the money. The only reason we didn't. We do not know how to sail.

There is a course we are thinking about in Anapolis Maryland. It is about 3500 bucks. You sail for like 5 days to the keys or something like that. I was thinking that would be good, BUT would that help me in the power boat area?

Also, we do not plan on going any further then 20 miles out. I just want to go were the fish are and were the cell phone will not work and I can fish naked. If I wanted to.

You sailers have a vocabulary that isn't very straight forward.

Yes, I have insurance. It dosn't go into effect till we take possetion of the boat.

I used 3 differant survayers as I didn't trust any of them. These guys seem to have a great gig. The first two WAY over did them selves to help sell the vessal. The 3rd guy I got from Maryland and paid out the but for him to fly to Florida and do the survay. It was his comments we used as he was impartial. He was not local and had nothing to do with the broker or the boat yard as the other two did.

Using the guy from Maryland led to 15k in improvments to the boat and 20k off the price. It was well worth it.

I have learned one thing. DO NOT use a guy from the local area as he may have deals set up with brokers.
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Old 07-10-2007, 01:08 AM   #5
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Hi Daytrader,

Welcome to the Board.

Out of curiousity, I looked up Hatteras Convertible.

http://www.hatterasyachts.com/50about.cfm

To help other people giving advice, this is a seriously big power boat, not a cruising sailing yacht.

It looks like the 41 foot is not made anymore, but the makers say this about the 50 foot:

"What do most boaters expect from a mid-size convertible? It's simple really: good performance and comfortable accommodations in a boat that's small enough to operate without a full-time crew.

the 50 Convertible [has] ... a 36-knot cruise and 40-knot top end. "

I would recommend both a course or book to learn the "rules of the road", what all those red and green posts mean, etc

plus getting an experienced skipper to come with you to show you how to use all the gear.

Start out with short day trips in good weather.

Have fun.

ps I'm not sure about the 'convertible' - what does the boat convert into?
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Old 07-10-2007, 01:17 AM   #6
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'Convertible' is a euphemism for inshore, go-fast, shallow water, day tripping, testosterone soaked, shiela dragging, gas guzzling, noisy, stink making fun machine!

Cheese

David.
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Old 07-10-2007, 02:29 AM   #7
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'Convertible' is a euphemism for inshore, go-fast, shallow water, day tripping, testosterone soaked, babe pulling, gas guzzling, noisy, stink making fun machine!

Cheese

David.
From my understanding. The convertable is a twin use. It is to be a sport fishing boat and a cruiser of sorts.

Like it is decked out for heavy game fishing, yet has full head, shower, gally and all the stuff any live aboabord would want. Nice Plush inside and a quick to clean and fish set up out side.

At Least that was my understanding. It has a full tower on it with inside and top side controls. Out riggers and down riggers. Large fuel tanks and ample water. Not looking forward to the milage this thing should get. I have been told If I am lucky it should get 2 mpg or so.

If any of you are in The Tampa Florida area and would like to help me out. I would sure enjoy it. Nothing like playing with some one elses boat and not have to pay for anything.

From what I have seen and such. This is the boat that came recommended time after time. Maybe I was wrong. Is there something else I should have looked at?

I did look at other styles. I basically wanted a live aboard fishing boat. With plenty of power and comfort. We hope to keep this for a few years and get a feel for things. A few years doen the road if we enjoy this as much as we think we will. We are going to work on getting on a few sail boats and maybe go that way. Being able to take a long sea trip over seas would be awsome, but we need to build up time and experiance.
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Old 07-10-2007, 02:51 AM   #8
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I have been told If I am lucky it should get 2 mpg or so.

Power boats are more often rated as burning some amount of fuel per hour. Our work jetboat here on the Snake River (all aluminum, 28 ft long, 8 ft beam) has a 200 gallon tank, and burns something like 10-15 gallons an hour, depending on how hot and fast we run. The slower you troll, the better your "milage" will be!

Rules of the road aren't too terribly difficult to learn, and you'll find with practice, it will all come around pretty quick. And you're certainly right about hiring someone knowledgeable for a few days to kind of get you started. Probably one of the more difficult things to keep in mind is that you don't have brakes (seems like someone else brought that up) ... keep your head about you and your speed down when operating in crowded waters ... there's plenty of open ocean out there to let the hammer down on after you get clear!

Have fun with that puppy!! Nothing better than kickin' back and fishin' naked!! Woo-hoo! Just watch out for those spiny-rayed fishes - ouch!

Phil
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Old 07-10-2007, 03:00 AM   #9
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Sorry Daytrader, I wasn't having a go. I was merely informing a fellow Aussie in local idiom. A mate has a Hatteras 60'. It is a fine boat which he sails between Broome and Cairns as he chases billfish/sailfish. The Cairns-Broome trip costs in the region of $40,000 in fuel.

Your boat will serve you well I am sure.

Cheers

David.
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Old 07-10-2007, 03:08 AM   #10
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The boat (is the the right term?) will have to be moved from tampa bay to Clear Water Beach. I have found a guy that came recommended. He is going to take me and the wife out for 2-3 days (not sure about that yet). Move the boat for us and show us some basic things we need to know. It is not a far move as many of you are prob used to. For me it is. This guy moves boats for a living. I would think he should be able to help me out. His fee seemed kinda steep to me, but over all it seems very fair. His 17 year old son will be comming as well. We will even do some fishing. I have ordered some books on line to read over. I have plenty of time to read so I think I should be able to get the general rules of the road (wouldn't it be water way) from them. I think sailing will be what we really want in the end, but we have to start somewere. I do have a question. The sail boats that also have a large diesal engine. What are they called? I have seen them called many differant terms. What is the correct term.Also, is it just me. Dosn't it seem odd that a vehical this large and such can be purchased and operated for the most part by just anyone? I am supprised there isn't some type of lic required to purchase. I mean I could have purchased a large sail boat with multi sails and such and they would have just turned me loose. Dosn't seem very safe to me.
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Old 07-10-2007, 03:37 AM   #11
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Anyone who comes to this with the attitude that ignorance is an unsafe idea sounds like someone I wouldn't mind seeing come into harbor. Good for you.

Our family has a great story of a fellow who forgot he didn't have brakes when he brought his big baby into a harbor that had gotten a tad smaller with all the race boats rafted together. When he called for his wife to put out the fenders, she yelled, "The what?" He, of course, yelled back. She said, "Oh, you mean those white things that were in the way, the ones I put down in the cabin?" That's when he must have noticed he had no room to turn around. He threw the gears into reverse, revved the engine (s?) and screamed, "FEND OFF!!!" Every sailor dashed to keep him from bashing into them.

So, I think it's great that you're going to learn how to drive your boat as safely as you fly your plane.

Do be prepared to spend a little on fuel.

Blessings,

N
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Old 07-10-2007, 04:01 AM   #12
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Sorry Daytrader, I wasn't having a go. I was merely informing a fellow Aussie in local idiom. A mate has a Hatteras 60'. It is a fine boat which he sails between Broome and Cairns as he chases billfish/sailfish. The Cairns-Broome trip costs in the region of $40,000 in fuel.

Your boat will serve you well I am sure.

Cheers

David.
No problem. You didn't bother me one bit. See You have one thing over me. EXPERIANCE.

I know I purchased this boat before I should have. We did look for about a year. Just there are so many types. We are happy with this. Really getting excited.

We had to go with what we knew. WE LOVE FLORIDA. We live in St Louis Mo (moving to Florida end of month). So it was a battle of what to get, what we wanted, what we liked and what we could afford.

We found we could afford what we wanted, just didn't really know what we needed.

Then you go looking at boats. They do not make that very easy in Florida. You almost have to be a educated veteran sailer to even get to look at the boats. We liked the interior of some of the larger sail boats. The price was nice as well, but we do not have the time for a quick study on sailing a boat.

I also love to fish. So that is a major consideration. I did find some sail type boats that would have worked just fine. I also do not plan any real trips any were. Not yet. Maybe to the Keys.

See this is middle USA comming to the water. Also, to tell you the truth. I am kinda scared of sail boats at this time. I have no experiance with them at all. One thing about experiance. They do not teach it in any class. It takes time.

SO what type of items are must haves? Should haves and should look into's?

We have GPS, Plotter, VHF/UHF radios, sounders and such and seems a decent radar.

What about towing? Should I sign up for a "towing service plan". I am very mechanically incline and service is not a problem.

What should folks like me LOOK out for? Like scams and such.
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Old 07-11-2007, 08:01 PM   #13
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The Power Squadron has been educating power boaters for decades. http://www.usps.org/e_stuff/Basic.html

Do a Google search for "boating courses" and you will find US Coast Guard courses, Power Squadron courses, and on, and on. The Power Squadron does a good job, you might like that.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary also has courses. Check them out, too. They are in a town near you.
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Old 07-13-2007, 09:12 PM   #14
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Also, is it just me. Dosn't it seem odd that a vehical this large and such can be purchased and operated for the most part by just anyone? I am supprised there isn't some type of lic required to purchase. I mean I could have purchased a large sail boat with multi sails and such and they would have just turned me loose. Dosn't seem very safe to me.
No it is not just you.

Many of us now think a license should be required since there are a lot of folks that have more money than sense.

Nothing directed at you since you obviously are aware of your lack of knowledge and are attempting education.

It is just that there are a lot of them out there.

Tampa Bay to Clearwater Beach can be a matter of only few miles. Check a chart (or just a map). Out the mouth of Tampa Bay, Clearwater is only a few miles North.

I have spent a lot of time in Tampa Bay.

Like others said - take a course (or three).

Sail boats go slower and get you into trouble slower.

If you don't want to learn to sail -OK, but you can use the motor. Whatever type is called Auxillary since it suppliments sail power.
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Old 07-22-2007, 05:22 AM   #15
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I would think a sail boat could get you into more trouble. Maybe I am wrong.

Either way. Money and trouble seem to have a hands in affect.

I see very nice vehicals in slips sitting. I hang around a week or so. Come back the next month. The same very large boat to me is still sitting.

I would guess these monsters are taken out a few times a year. The operators can not be that experianced.

There is only one way to get experiance. They do not teach it in any class, but classes seem to help.
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