An introduction of sorts

The setting sun on Sunday, 23 October 2011 was both the sunset for another boating season, as well as the sunset for our first month of trawler ownership. Permit me to rewind the story a little bit.



The idea for Dar and I to own a larger boat began in the summer of 2009 as a plan to buy a 'cabin cruiser' instead of buying a cottage. The rational was that it would be cheaper, more convenient, and would provide a never-ending variety of scenic vistas to be viewed from our floating 'front porch'. Checking out marinas in August resulted in us taking a 1991 Sea Ray 310 Sundancer for a spin, which ended up being our first boat. Hurst Marina near Kars Ontario, where we had purchased the boat, ended up being our first home on the water.

Our Sundancer at Hurst Marina (15 Aug 2009)

Immediately both of us realized that the boating life was for us. We found peace and contentment while aboard, and a sense of escape while underway. Each time out we found ourselves wishing we could just keep going rather than having to return to the marina, then home and to that 'other' life.

Another realization we came to that summer was that in order for us to fulfill our nascent dream of a cruising life we would need a different boat. While the Sundancer was a fun and comfortable boat, it wasn't well suited to long term living aboard due to the arrangement of the living space, as well as the limited storage space. An even bigger issue came in the form of two large and very thirsty V-8 engines, and a crowded engine compartment that was difficult to fit my six foot frame into.

The next couple of years involved a lot of reading of books and boating magazines, following an ever increasing number of blogs, and searching through boat sale sites like yachtworld.com researching what would work for us as our long term cruising boat. Economy of operations was a priority, as well as ease of handling. A modest purchase budget also helped shape the selection of boats we were looking at. The economical aspect led us to look at sailboats, but we decided that, while we (I? :-)) enjoyed sailing, we would look for a single engine trawler as our cruising boat.

Fast forward to 03 September 2011 and Dar and I were on our way to the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Marina in Kingston Ontario to view a 1984 Mainship 34 Mk III. Right from the first time Dar saw the listing on yachtworld I could tell she was smitten with this boat. It was in great shape, well kept, and most importantly for me, 'systems simple'.

Let me explain briefly what I mean by that. I wanted a boat with as few complicated systems as practical, so if possible, no marine generator or air conditioning. While these are great (and pretty much essential) luxuries, the marine versions are expensive and complex, and require at least two holes in the hull for each. I decided I'd rather go with a portable generator, such as the Honda 2000eu, and with an inexpensive apartment air conditioner.

Back to the viewing. As soon as we arrived, stepped out of the car and saw the boat for the first time, both Dar and I looked at each other with 'that' look on our faces. I think the boat spoke to each of us as soon as we saw it. Viewing the boat only sank the hook in deeper.

Our first look (03 Sep 2011)

A price was agreed upon, an engine inspection was performed, a sea trial and a successful survey followed. The boat passed with flying colours and with many compliments by the surveyors on finding such a gem. On 23 September 2011, two days after our 20th anniversary, Dar and I became trawler owners.

Pretty happy Chief Engineer (25 Sep 2011)

Equally happy Cruise Director (25 Sep 2011)

 We arranged for a slip at Collins Bay Marina for the remainder of the season. We did this for two reasons. First, this would give us some different waters to get some experience in; much bigger waters than the river cruising that we were used to. Secondly, to get the boat to our new home marina, Pirate Cove Marina in Kemptville Ontario, we'd have to bring it up the Rideau Canal system, and the Rideau season was rapidly coming to a close. With only being able to travel on weekends, and with only three weekends left in the Rideau season, we decided not to take a chance on getting delayed by weather and not being able to get the boat all the way home.

This worked out pretty well for us, and while there was some sketchy weather in Kingston in October this year (including a gale on Lake Ontario that lasted for more than a week) we still managed to get three weekends on the boat, and out cruising for two of those weekends.

October Sunset (02 Oct 2011)

The biggest challenge came as a result of the week long gale. We were due for haul-out at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Marina on Sunday, 23 October 2011. We had planned on moving the boat on the weekend of 15-16 October from Collins Bay to Portsmouth. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas, and demonstrated her mood by delivering 3-5 metre waves and 30+ knot winds blowing in off the lake all weekend. This gave us a little bit of worry, and I began watching the weather like a hawk, looking for any window of opportunity to get the boat moved. We lucked out on Tuesday, 18 October and had a few hours late in the afternoon where the winds and waves dropped down and allowed us to get the boat moved to Portsmouth. With the help of our son and our daughter's fiancee (the Cruise Director being unavailable) I docked the boat at Portsmouth just after 18:00 and just before dark, in fairly calm conditions. That night, the gale, having just taken a little breather, came back in force for 3 more days. The 'Luck of the Irish' prevailed. :-)

Our last weekend of the season with the new boat involved packing stuff up and winterizing all of the systems. Our haul-out was Sunday, 23 October at 09:00, and by 19:00 Sunday night we were done with the last of the packing, winterizing and wrapping up of the boat.

Video of our haul-out from my smart phone - was it shaky because of using the phone or because I was nervous? ;-)

All in all, while we only had a short first season, we learned a lot about our new boat. We learned how it handles (including transitioning from a twin screw boat to a single screw boat with a bow thruster), and discovered the blessing, and curse, of prop walk. We spent many hours just simply sitting on the boat, almost not believing that it was ours and that we were really here, just drinking in the feelings of being home. We discussed many ideas we had for next year, as well as dreaming a little of sitting in some warm bay someplace south, anchored out and enjoying some tasty adult beverages.

We found that this boat seemed to fit us like some perfectly comfortable old sweater, that you can wrap yourself up in it's warmth and security.

It was sad to put her up for the winter. She'll spend the winter on the hard, snugly wrapped up and winterized, dreaming about the season to come, and the waves that will pass beneath her hull. We'll spend the winter counting the weekends, dreaming about the opportunities and adventures the new season will bring to us on our new boat, and eventually how we'll free the lines and begin our new life of chasing the sun south and north with the seasons.

Tucked in for the winter (23 Oct 2011)