Dunno if this is relevant ... anecdotal evidence ... every once in a while
launching or returning from a day out, I see my "buddy" from the shop with
his truck (3500 diesel ... mmmmm) and trailer at the ramp. He's waiting for
the mechanic to finish the trouble shooting of yet another new boat with yet
another new problem. His opinion (the anecdotal evidence) ... these new
boats with their frikken electronic gadgetry etc etc are back in the shop
more often than not. I said yep ... gimme my simple old carburated engine
anytime.

To sum up, it could be that a new boat may in fact be less reliable than an
older boat ... which is important if you're a few miles out.

maintenance costs increase for a used boat?

Having said that, I'm 100% in agreement with others on diesel ... can't wait
to make that move to the coast ... trawler, mmmm. And when I need some help
getting through the workday I visit this site ...
http://www.alaskaboatbrokers.com/powerlistings.asp ... to look at the pics
and do some reading and learning and pension calculations :-)

"Bowgus" wrote in news:p8OdnYwc38zuE3_fRVn-
:

gimme my simple old carburated engine
anytime.


I agree....one you can fix yourself when it stalls 20 miles from the ramp
and just drive it home....


--
Larry

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 22:23:09 -0700, "H. David"
wrote:

Thanks for the info. The reading I have done so far has made me aware of all
of the additional costs, the $50K is for the initial purchase of the power
boat. So, do you have any suggestions there? And what about new vs. used, do
maintenance costs increase for a used boat?

Thanks.


I'd give the Willard 30 a look.
http://www.yachtworld.com/ is a great place to look over boats. You
can do a special search and just imput your requirements. It'll give
you lots of boats to look at and compare.
Mark E. Williams

I prefer boats.com to yachtworld.com. Revising your search criteria is very
easy at boats.com while you have to reenter everything at yachtworld. For
the boats I was searching for, I got more hits at boats.com and nearly all
of the hits at yachtworld were included.

"Maynard G. Krebbs" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 22:23:09 -0700, "H. David"
wrote:

Thanks for the info. The reading I have done so far has made me aware of
all
of the additional costs, the $50K is for the initial purchase of the power
boat. So, do you have any suggestions there? And what about new vs. used,
do
maintenance costs increase for a used boat?

Thanks.


I'd give the Willard 30 a look.
http://www.yachtworld.com/ is a great place to look over boats. You
can do a special search and just imput your requirements. It'll give
you lots of boats to look at and compare.
Mark E. Williams

Thanks for the advice, I have perused the USPS site for my region and they
look to have some helpful information. The class I wanted, the Squadron
Boating Course, isn't offered for a while so I found it on video and have
ordered it, not as good as a live class, but it will do for now.

Have you tried using travelnewsgroups.com to access this newsgroup, its
available directly from the web and will also alert you when your post has
been replied to?

H. David

"Nomen Nescio" ] wrote in message
...
H. David wrote:

I am just beginning to explore getting into cruising, am
newly retired, and want to cruise on the waterways of the
Pacific Northwest doing regular overnight cruises for two
people and occasionally 4.

Skipper replied:

Take the Coast Guard Auxillary course on boating safety.
You'll learn about lights, rules of the road, navigation,
locking through to Lake Union, and general safety.

Since the Coast Guard Aux gets their materials from the U.S.
Power Squadrons, might I add to this by advising you to take
the course offered by, and tojoin the U.S. Power Squadron as
well?

You say "Pacific Northwest" which would be either District 16
or District 32. Since we don't know exactly where you are, you
can go to the following two websites, and find the local chapter
(squadron) closest to you.

http://www.usps.org/localusps/d16/

http://www.usps.org/localusps/d32/

Now, some people here might discourage you from joining the USPS,
but I have found the people there to be a wealth of knowledge.

Some people might also take you to task for paying attention to
people who "post anonymously", but they refuse to grasp the fact
that I don't have access to newsfeeds from my ISP, having to read
from Google Groups. Since my ISP doesn't offer Usenet, and I have
had so much spam from signing on to Google Groups, this is the best
method for me to post. You can take my advice with a grain of salt,
but I am glad I joined the Power Squadron. Worth investigating, at
the very least, IMHO.

---
-
Those who complain about others not being "team players"
are the same ones who never give up the ball.
-----

"H. David" wrote:

I prefer boats.com to yachtworld.com. Revising your search criteria is very
easy at boats.com while you have to reenter everything at yachtworld. For
the boats I was searching for, I got more hits at boats.com and nearly all
of the hits at yachtworld were included.

I have been using yachtworld for many years, and I have not had to
re-enter everything. I just bookmark the search and it comes right up
without my having to enter anything.

I just now did the same search on both sides, and got 22 on boats.com
and 27 on yachtworld.com

"Maynard G. Krebbs" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 22:23:09 -0700, "H. David"
wrote:

Thanks for the info. The reading I have done so far has made me aware of
all
of the additional costs, the $50K is for the initial purchase of the power
boat. So, do you have any suggestions there? And what about new vs. used,
do
maintenance costs increase for a used boat?

Thanks.


I'd give the Willard 30 a look.
http://www.yachtworld.com/ is a great place to look over boats. You
can do a special search and just imput your requirements. It'll give
you lots of boats to look at and compare.
Mark E. Williams


grandma Rosalie

On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 21:40:06 +0200, Nomen Nescio wrote:


Some people might also take you to task for paying attention to people who
"post anonymously", but they refuse to grasp the fact that I don't have
access to newsfeeds from my ISP, having to read from Google Groups. Since
my ISP doesn't offer Usenet, and I have had so much spam from signing on
to Google Groups, this is the best method for me to post. You can take my
advice with a grain of salt, but I am glad I joined the Power Squadron.
Worth investigating, at the very least, IMHO.

If your ISP is just not providing access, not blocking the port, you can
sign up for a news feed.

Around $12 per year:
http://news.individual.net/

Free but slower:
http://news.aioe.org/en/index.php

I advise people in your situation to take a boating course and rent for a
while. See if you and the family like boating. There is more to it than just
driving a boat around.
If you want to get a feel for maintainence, make friends with someone who
owns a boat similar to what strikes your fancy and help him/her work on that
boat. Change the engine oil, paint the bottom, clean the bilge. For some,
the personal satisfaction of a job well done; for others, a living
nightmare.
The second group usually gets sick of $70/hour bills for services and sells.
MMC

"H. David" wrote in message
...
I am just beginning to explore getting into cruising, am newly retired,
and
want to cruise on the waterways of the Pacific Northwest doing regular
overnight cruises for two people and occasionally 4. I have a boat budget
of
about $50,000. Any recommendations as the best boat to buy would be
appreciated. I am open to new or used and will moor the boat at my local
marina. From the reading I have done so far I know I want a craft that is
first seaworthy, then reliable, and reasonably comfortable.

Thanks very much.

H. David

David -

If you haven't received an informative response yet, you should check
out DiscoverBoating.com. The site is set up to help answer questions
for people who are new to the boating world. If the answer is not on
the site they have a "Discover Boating Guy" that you can e-mail who
will answer your questioin directly.

Hope this helps.

Dan

H. David wrote:
I am just beginning to explore getting into cruising, am newly retired, and
want to cruise on the waterways of the Pacific Northwest doing regular
overnight cruises for two people and occasionally 4. I have a boat budget of
about $50,000. Any recommendations as the best boat to buy would be
appreciated. I am open to new or used and will moor the boat at my local
marina. From the reading I have done so far I know I want a craft that is
first seaworthy, then reliable, and reasonably comfortable.

Thanks very much.

H. David