Thinking about buying a boat

[Peter Guy]

My wife and I have a severe case of the diving bug. When I first started to dive my family got a 21' Thunderbird and I thought it was a great platform for diving. With its hull design it was extremely stable in our Puget Sound waters and had a lot of room in the cockpit for gear and people.

The boats were made from the mid-60's through the early 70's and then fell out of favor because they didn't look as "boaty" as a deep-V boat. (Or so it is alleged.)

Anyway, I've found one for sale not too far from me and I'm hoping to go look at it today or tomorrow. I don't care too much about the condition of the engine or the other electronics -- I'm really only concerned about the condition of the hull. (This particular boat does not have a working engine but any of the ones I've seen would have the engine/stern drive rebuilt or replaced anyway.)

Here is a picture of a 19 footer that is for sale:

So, questions:

1. Are any of you familiar with the old Thunderbird cathedral hulled boats? If so, comments?

2. What things do you think are good and/or necessary for a diving boat? (Of course things like ladder/platform, GPS, VHS, tank ranks -- but what other things? In particular, for those of you with I/O's, do you have a small outboard as a backup engine? And, of course, in Puget Sound, you are hardly ever more than about 5 miles from some land.)

 

[matt_unique]

....

2. What things do you think are good and/or necessary for a diving boat? (Of course things like ladder/platform, GPS, VHS, tank ranks -- but what other things? In particular, for those of you with I/O's, do you have a small outboard as a backup engine? And, of course, in Puget Sound, you are hardly ever more than about 5 miles from some land.)

I always run with a small outboard in case my primary I/O fails. I keep my boat on a mooring so the engine also powers my dinghy. I also have a Tow Boat US Master Plan that will tow you out to 25 miles out. This covers all my diving sites. This is CHEAP insurance compared to the cost of needing any help without it. In MA, it's $300 for them to say hello.

I always operate with 02 on board. I also created written instructions (laminated) for those doing topside duty. Instructions on communicating with the USCG in case of emergency, GPS coordinates for my favorite dive sites, emergency engine start, etc., etc.

--Matt

 

[Hank49]

I remember those boats and in the Ohio River valley they called them tri hulls. They supposedly had a rougher ride because the indent caught the waves instead of pushing it out, like a V hull would.
My advice on your first boat would be to think about what you're really going to do with a boat before you buy. I made the mistake of just getting "a boat" on my first one and soon realized it wasn't what I needed. (in my profile picture you can see my "new" boat. I had to get that type because I pass through some really shallow water at medium and low tide. I'd prefer a V hull for these waters but gas is really expensive here and I'd get stuck)

 

[cool_hardware52]

My wife and I have a severe case of the diving bug. When I first started to dive my family got a 21' Thunderbird and I thought it was a great platform for diving. With its hull design it was extremely stable in our Puget Sound waters and had a lot of room in the cockpit for gear and people.

The boats were made from the mid-60's through the early 70's and then fell out of favor because they didn't look as "boaty" as a deep-V boat. (Or so it is alleged.)

Anyway, I've found one for sale not too far from me and I'm hoping to go look at it today or tomorrow. I don't care too much about the condition of the engine or the other electronics -- I'm really only concerned about the condition of the hull. (This particular boat does not have a working engine but any of the ones I've seen would have the engine/stern drive rebuilt or replaced anyway.)

Here is a picture of a 19 footer that is for sale:

So, questions:

1. Are any of you familiar with the old Thunderbird cathedral hulled boats? If so, comments?

2. What things do you think are good and/or necessary for a diving boat? (Of course things like ladder/platform, GPS, VHS, tank ranks -- but what other things? In particular, for those of you with I/O's, do you have a small outboard as a backup engine? And, of course, in Puget Sound, you are hardly ever more than about 5 miles from some land.)

Peter,

I can't really comment on how well these boat hull age. I can say I spent many a happy weekend at Catalina on one in my youth. Never had any aux motor, but did have a meticuliously maintained I/O, and never left the dock without the mechanic (my dad)

I've crossed from Catalina to Newport beach (20+ km) many many times in one, ocassionally in some pretty nasty conditions, and never felt threatened.

Many of these earlier FG boats were pretty ruggedly built. You might want to buy a couple hours of time from a surveryor and have him go rap on the hull.


Tobin

 

[H2Andy]

be prepared to spend a gizillion dollars on that toy

you know what boat stands for, right?

bring out another thousand

or as everybody and their dog says, a boat is just a whole in the ocean down which you throw cash

 

[Darnold9999]

Be very cautious, once a boat gets past a certain age rebuilding/repowering can be more than the cost of a new boat. Made that mistake once ended up with a real lemon. Rebuild the leg, rebuild the motor, new deck, new canvas, the list became endless. Great hull, took a pounding but the odds and ends were a real drain on the pocketbook and took away alot from the enjoyment of the boat - never knowing what would break next!

OTOH - I am contemlating buying an older wooden boat as I contemplate semi retiring just to have something to tinker with.

 

[Peter Guy]

BTW, this will not be my first boat -- just my smallest one! I've owned three sailboats over the years -- one with an outboard and two with inboard diesels.

I'm very familiar with the notion that a boat is just a big hole in the water into which you pour cash.

Tobin, I've been debating having the hull surveyed (I know the engine needs rebuilding). I'm hoping to see the boat tomorrow. In any event, I'll talk with the owner and one of the conditions of sale would be to haul it to a local marine shop and get their estimate of work.

I'm hoping to get buy with less than $10k of work -- which if done, would still be a great deal.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

My Boston Whaler Montauk is a cathedral hull.

EVERYTHING about boats is a trade-off. More so than anything I've ever dealt with.

The cathedral hull will be more stable at rest and get better gas mileage, but the ride
will be rougher, esp. when there's a short interval chop.

I don't carry tow insurance -- nine years and haven't needed it. The one time I've
come close we jury rigged and got home. And I have a buddy who had it, and they
wouldn't come get him even though he was in range the day he needed it. And I have
plenty of friends, some of whom have gotten a jump start or a tow.

O2 on board is a must, as is GPS and VHF radio. Take your cell phone in a little
Pelican, but the VHF is your lifeline. Holler for help, and everybody else hears you.

Tank racks: I've had great success with the Roll Control system.

Here's what I've done: http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/whaler/

 

[Wildcard]

Think about pulling the I/O and bolting on an OB. And old boat with a new engine is a good was to go to save money and still have reliability.

 

[Nemrod]

I appluad your interest in boats and your idea of a reasonable and tralierable size is smart also. Getting a big boat (twenty five feet plus) sounds great but the money and storage and maintenance and gasoline/operating cost take a skyward leap for every foot much beyond twenty feet. I also have owned boats off and on and my parents always had boats and we dove from them--a lot.

That said--I DO NOT LIKE that boat you pictured. I would avoid that type boat entirely. Since you have cooler weather up where you are I would look for a small cuddy cabin in the 20ish foot range. Preferably a unsinkable type hull. Now, as Chuck points out, there is only one "Unsinkable Legend" and it is the Boston Whaler. We love our 19 foot center console Boston Whaler, dive from it, ski from it, trailer it from the Great Lakes to the lakes of Missouri and down to the Gulf for some diving and fishing this coming summer.

If your in the market for a trailerable boat then I would stay with outboard power. The new outboards are exceptionally efficient and reliable. This is not the 50's.

Up and over the transom, small swim platform and dive ladder located to this side:

The console with side scan sonar and marine VHF and space for a seond sonar:

Making way at a about 30 MPH, dad in back and wife at helm:

See you on the bottom:

Like sensable shoes, a good 20ish foot boat will serve you well and not eat you out of house and home. Quality and dollars spent up front save hundreds down the road--but--some people will go to any expense to save a dollar.

"be prepared to spend a gizillion dollars on that toy"

This is a tired cliche. A gizillion dollars is a lot of money. I had no idea there were so many gizillionaires around.


N