[Paddlewise] The Best Equipped 25-foot, 37-year old Cabin Cruiser in North America

Since traffic on the list is so low I thought I'd write this for both
Paddlewise and my blog. It's applicable to kayaking in that the muthah-ship
is designed as a platform for kayak adventure in the Pacific Northwest of
North America.

While we're using it now, when our muthah-ship, a 1972 Carver 2565 Santa
Cruz, is finished in the Spring of 2010 it will be the best equipped
25-foot, 37-year old cabin cruiser in Puget Sound and possibly all of North
America. And it will be done for a total cost of just under $11,000 (US)!
Now eleven grand may sound like a lot of money but it's less than one-tenth
the cost of a new boat which would come with far less equipment and almost
none of the teak and mahogany that are trademarks of older boats (with
fiberglass hulls). It is also about the cost of three new high-quality sea
kayaks (or two in kevlar!) or a couple of Feathercraft folding kayaks.

This was not my original ambition for Add Hock, my "muthah-ship". Originally
all I wanted was a safe, clean, dry, comfortable place from which to explore
the Pacific Northwest of the USA and the West Coast of British Colulmbia,
Canada by kayak. Two things fueled the plan: 1) I have a business from which
I cannot spend unlimited time away; and, (2) I'm over 65 years of age. The
business is a network engineering firm and is depended upon by a dozen high
profile customers in Grant County in central Washington State. We do a lot
of work in Linux and Unix and there simply aren't a lot of people with that
expertise around here.

The second speaks for itself. Although I was officially disabled when I was
49 in an accident while returning to my tanker in a crew boat off Santa
Monica, California I had managed to work myself up to a point where I could
again function physically with help from crutches and canes. One of the
reasons I returned to kayaking was that it was again possible to be athletic
while still sitting comfortably on one's butt. But as I got older the longer
paddles and the contrary conditions of Puget Sound became less and less
attractive. I still wanted to adventure paddle the islands and islets and
rock gardens but I no longer wanted to endure the 15 nm paddles to get
there; not to mention the 15nm paddles to get back.

So in 2007 I started exploring the possibility of using a powerboat for
basic transportation of me and my kayak into the areas where I wanted to
paddle. I discovered that newer boats were not exactly cheap. In fact, a new
boat in the 24 to 26 foot range would cost somewhere between $100,000 and
$160,000 (US)!!! Unfortunately for me my bank account was nowhere near that
well endowed. Fortunately for me there was a plethora of older powerboats
being offered for sale on a new-fangled thing called the Internet.
Specifically, an advertising venue named craigslist.org was chock full of
bargain priced boats. Some of these boats were crap, of course... little
more than scrap on a trailer. But others were good boats whose owners had
either died and left them to disinterested relatives or who had moved on
into other interests. And as the economy of 2007 became the economy of 2008
and 2009 there were even more good values available.

My choice, in December of 2007, was a 1974 Carver Santa Cruz 2565 with a 350
cubic inch (5.7 liter) Chevrolet engine coupled to an OMC "stringer"
outdrive. The power train was not ideal but it had just had a $5,000
overhaul by a respected group of mechanics in Portland, Oregon. The owner
had also had the decks replaced and recovered but had purchased a 28-foot
boat while the work was being done and no longer was interested in
completing the project. Purchase price was $3,500 including an EZ-loader
trailer. Susan and I towed it home the next day and I began working on the
boat right away. Fortunately I had built a sailboat in the 1970s and still
had a good deal of mahogany and teak left over from that which had somehow
not gotten lost or stolen or sold off in the intervening 30 years. I also
had craigslist which provided much of the parts including the Mercury
outboard, the Zodiac dinghy, and the Webasto furnace. Another source for
gear was Second Wave of Seattle which provided the KVH digital compass, the
VHF radio and the propane safety solenoid and sniffer.

The single engine was both a requirement and a concern. It's a 37 year old
engine and even though it's overhauled and runs well there is some concern
over its reliability. But twin engines offer, in my opinion, twice the
problems and more than twice the chances of something expensive failing. The
solution was to find a decent outboard motor and install that as a "kicker".
It would provide the safety of a "get home" power source (and charge the
batteries) and also do double duty as a trolling motor. Originally I wanted
to be able to use it on the Zodiac but the weight of the Mercury 9.9 hp
4-stroke outboard was way too much for safe transfer. We'll make do with
rowing; after all, the Zodiac is mostly going to be used for safe entry into
the kayaks.

The result so far is fantastic. My wife actually likes the boat and helps me
with maintenance and even goes along. She doesn't kayak much (she was never
that hot for kayaking anyway) but just having her along is a plus and a
serious advantage for a solo paddler in Puget Sound. Two of us can live
comfortably out of the weather for a week at a time. We don't have the
storage capabilities of a larger cruiser but all that means is we pack light
and move stuff around a lot. The LED interior lights make for a pleasant
interior after dark and comfortable reading in a dry bunk. Portable radios
and ipods provide music and our laptops and the occasional DVD provide
entertainment when we get tired of reading books.

The boat can do double-duty as a fishing boat (we've got downriggers) and
scuba diving platform (although we don't do that any more). I can install
amateur radio and antennas (already have those) if I want. There is room for
bulkhead-mounted LCD television if we absolutely have to have that. The
enclosed head can be used to hang drysuits and fleece and wet gear.

Best of all, the boat is towable so we can take it to northern BC and launch
at Prince Rupert to cross and explore Haida Gwai (the Queen Charlotte
Islands) or down to Guaymas to re-visit the Sea of Cortez or to the Great
Lakes or even Florida. And we can store it at home where I can work on it
all winter. Here is a rundown on costs so far.

Original Equipment: Engine and outdrive with zero hours since overhaul; fly
bridge with full controls, inside steering with full controls, a Bruce
anchor and chain and rope rode, an older VHF radio but no antenna, teak
exterior trim, mahogany interior trim, 120vac refrigerator in working order,
Princess 2-burner propane stove but no propane tank nor locker, porta-potti
in an enclosed head compartment, beat-up dinette table, incandescent running
lights (disconnected and in a box), incandescent interior lights (4), newer
upholstery on interior cushions of the dinette and vee-berth, one
disconnected cockpit flood light, assorted removed trim pieces, broken
fly-bridge plexiglass, trailer with incandescent lights, non-functional
electric winch on the trailer, bare plywood floors, and a piece of plywood
nailed over the fore hatch (but with an unfinished frame to fit the hatch).

*Installed and servicable summer, 2009: *

*Electrical:* LED interior lights ($150), LED running lights ($150), LED
trailer lights ($89), LED cabin lantern ($5).

*Electronics:* Sony VHF Radio with DSCC and new 6db gain vertical antenna
($225), KVH digital compass with NMEA0183 output ($175), Garmin Colorado GPS
($400 including all US charts), Acer netbook computer with US/Alaska charts
and GPS ($400), Digital and paper charts for B.C. ($250).

*Mechanical:* 12vdc fuel priming pump ($110), Garlick stainless steel
outboard mount ($90), Mercury 4-strong 9.9 hp outboard with charging cables
($900), 10'2" Zodiac inflatable sport boat ($700), lightweight propane tank
($89), propane controls and solenoid ($89), propane locker and regulator
($20), rebuilt forward hatch with lexan and teak (on hand) ($5).

*Miscellaneous: *marine exterior paint and varnish ($150), folding aluminum
director's chairs ($65), fenders ($50), cooler ($49), dishes, pans, eating
utensils, etc. ($50), paper and digital charts for BC ($250).

*Purchased and ready to install winter, 2009:*

Webasto 4000btu diesel furnace ($400), Garmin 3006 GPS plotter with 3 chart
chips covering Puget Sound, Outside Vancouver Island (B.C.) and Olympia to
Prince Rupert ($700) plus depth sounder modules and network adapter, trailer
load guides with LED lights ($90), Scotty downriggers (2 _at_ $50 each).

*Planned for installation spring, 2010 (not yet purchased):*

Garmin GMR radar unit with ARPA capabilities (used with KVH digital compass)
($900), teak and holly cabin sole ($200), mahogany and teak laminated kayak
rack ($200).

Photos and more stories on my blog, www.nwkayaking.net. :)


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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