34' Trawler- Not sure what we're getting

[dobieg]

Buying a house off the Chesapeake Bay and the sellers are graciously giving us their 34' Trawler in on the deal. It's been 20 years since we lived near the water and no experience with anything close to a boat this size. Not sure about the condition of the boat but were told it was seaworthy and fully equipped. Owner is an active 83 years old and was a former commander of a US aircraft carrier and if the boat is anything like the home, it should be pretty darn nice. We're so lucky we found such a wonderful couple to deal with.


If there's anyone who knows about these boats, we'd love to hear about it. Also if anyone has fished off one, we'd like to know how it went. We see using it mostly to take visiting family for a few hour trip on the rivers off the Bay until we get more comfortable with it.

boat 2.jpg

[Mark Deeser]

Welcome to the form, congratulations on the home and the boat, life is good when it’s good. Sounds like a great place to enjoy both. If that boat proves to be problematic please let me know, I will be glad to come and get it (absolutely non charge] . Hopefully the PO kept up with the maintenance , it will make your life much easier,

[Norseman]

Congrats!
Shoot a few pictures and post right here, then we could tell you right away if the “free boat” has a bunch of deferred maintenance, or not:
Engine room, Electrical Panel, bridge/fly bridge, teak trim, etc.

[dobieg]

Thanks for the warm welcome. Can't show anymore pictures as we're still 500 miles away and have a long month wait ahead of us.

I do know the owners used the boat regularly so hopefully that's a good sign and they are pretty meticulous people. Wish we had taken a better look at it when we were there but didn't know they were including it and we were paying more attention to the house.

Any recommendations for a good boating school to get up to speed? A little intimidated by the size of the boat but it's suppose to have something that makes small adjustments as you're docking so hopefully that will make the learning curve a little easier.

[Ron222]

Welcome and congratulations on acquiring your 34’ “freebie” ! My wife and I have owner Paumanok (1986 34’, aft cabin, full fly bridge, soft main cabin, Hull #3) for over 10 years. Ours was not free. However, I wish it was given the cost, effort and time it has taken to bring her back.. I can almost guarantee that your free boat will be a project too but well worth it. It is a great coastal traveling boat. As retirees we now stick to seas 4’ or less. Our 210 hp Cummins turbo moves us along nicely at 9.5-10 knots burning 4.5- 5.0 gph and we can reach 13 knots, if necessary. Over the years, it seems everything that can happen has happened and I would be happy to share our experiences. BTW, fishing is v difficult because of the deck space and aft cabin. I have used the swim platform. We have made many modifications for living exclusively at a mooring and at anchor.
Ron A34, Paumanok
Cape Cod, MA

[dobieg]

Ron,

Thank you for the welcome and information. I have to be honest and say after reading your post and mulling it over for a bit, we are not sure we are getting the right boat for us. I think the boat we are getting is better suited for a more experienced boater and someone perhaps more handy fixing things. I think our ownership of the Albin will be regrettably short lived.

[rebuckley]

I wouldn't let the "handy at fixing things" scare you off - - I have become a pretty decent "youtube diesel mechanic" and with the help from this forum - even the tasks I was scared to take on - seem to be relaxing!! I also have a couple of retired military buddies who own boats - just like the owner you are getting this from - and they tend to keep everything very nice - you may have quite a diamond there!

[WillieC]

The WillieC is our first boat, we are old, in our 60s, and the first time we actually ran the boat by ourselves we came to a similar conclusion about whether or not this whole thing was going to work out. Take your time. Pick perfect weather for starting. Ask lots of questions. Find locals by walking the marina.

We ran into (unfortunate use of words, sorry) a couple last year at Pleasant Harbor near us who had just purchased a twin engine Bayliner mondo condo cruiser (at least to our thinking). Brand new boaters WAY over their heads, but still game. We got to talking and the Starfleet Commander told the story of a recent docking incident where one of us (who shall remain unnamed) did a perfect approach in tricky currents at LaConner on the Swinomish Channel and only needed a little bump in reverse to walk the back end over to the dock. INSTEAD, she (who will remain unnamed) neglected to put the transmission in R (FOR REVERSE!) and proceeded to run the boat almost onto the walkway. The other party, who will also remain unnamed, asked a few pointed questions about mental health and whether or not the boat had a reverse gear and other light topics of conversation typical of docking procedures, which just about ended our marriage. Picky, picky, picky.

The nice couple we met had recently done almost exactly the same thing and were seriously rethinking their purchase and questioning their sanity because they were sure they were the only ones who did such careless boating. We had a great laugh and commiserated over the learning curve that comes with boating and lived to boat another day.

Don't quit now, you're just getting started. I wish I had started much younger but life was busy back then. Sounds like you have a great boat to start with which puts you at great advantage. You will learn if you are at all curious and willing.

[Mark Deeser]

Yea, what WillieC said, don’t be so quick to throw in the towel.

[dobieg]

Thank you all for trying to calm us down a bit. Yes, we started feeling in over our heads. Especially after doing a little more reading on here. We don't need to be in a rush to figure things out right this second but we are anxious to enjoy the water.


To be honest, I'm just over the top excited that I we're getting a place on the water and will have our own dock. Something I never imagined possible when we were younger and lived in Annapolis.

[WillieC]

We also live on the water on Hood Canal. We bought the place from my siblings after my mother passed. My dad was a machinist by trade and a putzer by birth. He liked working on stuff and didn't really care about what the stuff would do. Thus he had a project boat. Not a boat he would ever go out in, I honestly think he sabotaged it more than once just so he could putz some more. I inherited a fair bit of that gene, but I love getting out there. We are up to 12 hours on the new(ish) engine, and I couldn't get out until after 8pm today. Still got two hours in.

My point? When we took ownership of the fambly compound, we knew we had to get a boat, otherwise why would you live there?

Good luck in your new adventures. Living on the water, especially with tides, is a thing of beauty and amazement. Something new every day.