[wpdesmarais]

Hello all. I'm new to the board but not boating. I've owned a 28 Bertram FBC cruiser for 15 years (for sale by the way, updated soup to nuts..aluminum fuel tank etc.,great deal...never thought I'd be selling the boat) and now I own a 31 Blackfin Combi with diesels. Our family are day boaters, fishing, cruising, some tuna, lobster traps etc. We use the boat 100-150 hours/year and boat out of the Merrimack River Newburyport.
Before the Blackfin I seriously considered having a 31 Duffy built. I now have the Blackfin, great fast heavy fishing boat, great lines, perfect for the family except pulling traps. (2 props in water for lines to snag).I'll own the Blackfin for 10 years or so.....BUT...
I still have a nagging obsession for owning and running a downeaster. 31 to 36 feet. Stable, protected running gear, not so fast, nost down compared to a planing hull and ONE engine/ running gear to wrench! Not luxury yacht quality. We USE the boat. Fishing, cruising, lobstering, lrage ****pit with access etc.
I've studied the posts, talked to other downeaster owners, Duffy, BHM, H&H, RP. The posts on the "Flowers" project is great. I love the bow thruster....if you boat in the Merrimack with a single screw, a real nice addition to have, boaters there will know what I mean!
What's new out there. Who are the builders you'd use, whose hull, what length and why?
Thanks, Bill D.

 

[STRIKERTHREE]

I think its more of a Novie hull than a down eastern but I love the Wesmacs always told my wife and father if i ever have the money I would like to own one

 

[powderpro]

About a month ago I ordered a 34' Calvin Beal Jr. hull. Boat is 34' long by 13' wide. I had very specific requirements, 34-35 ft in length, efficient running and speed potential were very high priorities. I probably talked to 30 different people who owned 35 RPs, 35' Duffys, 34' Wayne Beals, 35' Mitchell Coves, 34' H&H, 35' H&H, 34' Calvin Beals, 36' Flowers (Ken was willing to shorten his to make a 35'). When I took speed potential, efficient use of horsepower, price, looks, and what owners had to say about their boats, the Calvin Beal 34' was the clear winner for me. Every single person I talked to who had the Calvin Beal 34' really liked their boat. Personally, I think all the popular downeast boats are really good, but the Calvin seemed to fit the bill best for me.

Brian

 

[wpdesmarais]

Both, thanks for the replies. Brain, with all the "Beals" building hulls/boats, where does one look for a Calvin Beal Jr. 34 ?? Is the boat being built by Beal or some other shop?
Any pics you can post??
regards, Bill

 

[wpdesmarais]

Brian, answered my own question. The "Lori Morgan" a 34 Calvin Beal Jr. built 05-06 by Sargents Boat Shop is docked across the river from me on the Merrimack River Newburyport, Ma.

Now I know why the lines and the boat itself were so appealing to me. The problem is when, at least for me, when I see downeasters out and about on the water it's difficult to figure who's hull and what boat shop finished the boat.

I'll have to get on the Zodiac and take a ride over and chat with the owner.

Good luck with your boat, keep me (the forum) posted on the progess. What are you putting in for power? I think the Lori Morgan has a D9 Volvo. I've got twin Cummins 6BTA 370's Diamonds in the Blackfin. After watching/helping the mechanics bring the diesels up to spec, the Cummins are good simple engines,relatively cheap on parts and simple enough to repair. The engines run great.

Of course you with a new boat will have to bolt in a Tier II or Accert engine I believe. Are you bolting in Volvo, Cummins, Cat, Yanmars or other?

Regards, Bill

 

[powderpro]

Bill-

The "Lori Morgan" is the best looking Downeast boat I've ever seen, in my opinion. Wbyrnes on this forum owns that boat, I believe it has the 500hp D9 Volvo.

I'm planning on installing the Cummins QSC 8.3 500hp with 1.75 gear reduction. My boat will be built for commercial salmon fishing in Alaska. My father and I will be building the boat; we build our boats light, simple, and fast. I'm expecting a top speed of 28-30 knots. I will be picking the boat up in about 2 weeks, trailering the hull to Kansas City to finish it at my house, and shipping it to Alaska in May or June of 2010. I'll keep you updated with pictures when I get started on it. If you search through various topics, you will find many pictures of the 34 Calvin Beal and many other nice boats. I bought my hull by calling Calvin and mailing a down payment to him. Calvin is a gentleman and a pleasure to talk to, he's also knowledgeable of the various downeast designs. 'Course he likes his boats the best, but that's to be expected.

Brian

 

[wpdesmarais]

Jeeze, quite a project!!!!Are you and your dad boat builders or will you and your dad use the boat in Alaska. Speaking of the Lori Morgan, I've had my boat in since 5-9-08, haven't seen the boat yet on the river. I'll take a spin up river a couple of marinas to take a peek and see if the 34 is in the water.
When the Blackfin was trucked up to Mass from Florida in April, I had it brought to Bridge Marina. I met a lot of "commercial" serious tuna/lobster boat owners with various hulls. 36 BHM, 30 Sisu, 35 Duffy and quite a few I haven't learned what "hull design" the boats are. Yes, keep me posted. You MUST be a member of boatdieselforum.com A great site for diesel info, in particular the Cummins line of power.
Regards, Bill D

 

[powderpro]

The transporting of the boat is almost as big of a project as the building of it. We are doing everything ourselves; the transporting, building, etc. The boat will be for us to use commercially in Alaska. My father has built about 15-20 boats for use in Alaska; although he hasn't finished one in about 10 years, so we both may be a little rusty to begin with. I've enjoyed watching the many boats take shape on this forum, the stories and pictures are great.

Brian

 

[wpdesmarais]

Very interesting lifestyle, bravo!! There's not many who live in the heart of the country and then fish in Alaska!! Very nice.
Brian, I saw in an earlier subject post you had requirements to limit the width of the boat for "trailering"? Is that trailering from Maine to Kansas and then Kansas to Alaska?? yikes, I had my BF trucked from FL to MA. $4K ++ ! You doing the hauling yourselves?

I'd love to buy a kit boat and build it out. Problem is I think it would turn out looking like a joke! Mechanically I have no problem with the systems. It's the carpentry and glass/gelcoat. It's a pretty expensive and BIG learning curve. Plus the engine would be 2-3 years old before the warranty started.

But, it IS the least expensive way to get "on the water" with a great boat!

Are you & your dad installing a bow thruster?

Regards,Bill

 

[powderpro]

I have a Chevrolet Dually with the Duramax diesel, so it will pull the boat just fine; the boat will be hauled on my tri-axle fifth wheel boat trailer. It's a lot cheaper than hiring someone to move it. Maine to Missouri to Washington to Alaska. It's still cheaper than buying a used boat in Alaska that would probably require a lot of work to get it up to the condition we like our boats to be in. I have my family on board fishing with me, so I'm a little picky on the layout and condition of my vessel.

There are a few midwesterners that fish in Alaska, not many though. On "Deadliest Catch" one of the captains of the FV Time Bandit lives in Indiana; Andy Hillstrand is his name. I'm sure you've seen Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch series.

The nice thing about the salmon season in Cook Inlet, Alaska is that it's only about 3 weeks in length, so you can still have a "normal" job where you live and go fishing without missing too much work. I have my own business; so it's still hard to get off, but I can manage it with my employees.

New engine warranties do not start until the sea-trial, so even if we buy the engine 1.5 years before the boat is ready to float, the warranty will not have started. No bow thrusters on our boat, we don't have to manuever in tight marinas with million dollar boats all around us Although a bow thruster would be nice, we manage without one.

Brian

This post edited by powderpro 04:14 PM 06/22/2008

 

[wpdesmarais]

Brian, very interesting posts! Keep us posted.
Bill