So long, and thanks for all the fish!

[JediJD]

I want to give a huge thank you to the Club SeaRay community. You guys have been a huge part of my boating life now for almost a decade. I went from researching, to lurking, to posting, to contributing, to being part of the fabric of an entire community of enthusiasts...many who became friends. I have learned a lot, and hopefully passed a little along in return. Our beloved 380 is now in good new hands and we are moving on to a Carver 42 bridge. I'll keep an eye on the site and continue to contribute when possible. I simply cannot express how deeply I appreciate all of the accumulated wisdom, institutional knowledge, and repeated jokes in the joke thread. Y'all keep the shiny side up.

Charles Robertson and his occasionally adoring family.

 

[estoltz]

I would love to hear thoughts on the carver. It is one of the boats we are looking at for full time live aboard. Specifically the 405 or 406 ACMY.

 

[1956olds]

Those are nice looking boats,a dock neighbor bought a 38ss last season and loves it.I dont like the gassers in a boat that large though.What is the weight on yours?

 

[The Bill Collector]

Charles, happy trails and best wishes with your "new lady"..... And they are just too many jokes to check and see if it's already been posted :grin:

 

[chuck1]

Happy trails. Great getting to know you.
Chuck

 

[Henry Boyd]

Charles,

It's been a pleasure. Perhaps you can stop by from time to time. I know we can be a difficult group on non Sea Ray owners, but we are "mostly harmless". Sorry, I had to since you started with the reference to the five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy.

Don't be a stranger.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Big Island Lifer]

Without pics it didn't happen!!
Congrats on the purchase.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[carterchapman]

So long former dock mate. Lots of Carvers here in Chattanooga - Erwin Marine was one of their largest selling dealers prior to their (Carver's) bankruptcy.

Best to you and the Only Mate and Family. Are you going to Dock 11 With Cary? My former 340 is there now.

 

[JediJD]

Y'all are a funny bunch <g>. As for the 42SS...about 33k lbs with 8.1 Crusaders...it is something of a pig. However, it has a front thruster, and I sea trialed her in open water off Ft. Lauderdale and it could have been worse. Hell of a deal, probably for that very reason. We have decided though, as a family, that the benefit of the extra room provided by the bridge layout is important (as is the extra bathroom and separate shower for the thirteen year old). We are going to be a lake family and she will be a lake boat for the foreseeable future, so we pulled the trigger. The kids are growing up and marrying and another generation is on the way. As much as we loved Nauti, space was at something of a premium when you spend as much time aboard as we do. The curtained midberth that was gracious plenty when the princess was 7, was beginning to strain with a thirteen year old and a friend or two. We started looking a year or two ago, but a lot of things had to come together. I had pretty high expectations, and wanted more room and the wife wanted something "presentable" (whatever the hell that means) but company stock options aren't going to clear for almost two more years and I didn't want to be out a lot of cash. I can provide all the details, but basically we got a 2007, 350 hour boat, in spectacular shape, fully appointed, delivered, shiny to my dock, for about a buck seventy. As for being a liveaboard...we could do that. Solid as a rock, washer dryer, lots or room to get to stuff, big enough to find places to be by yourself...small enough to find somebody if you need them. 400 gallons of fuel, so even if gph are pathetic, its not like I can't go quite a while before fuel dock visits.

I don't think I'll lose a lot on the transaction costs over the next couple of years, and had a cash buyer in hand for Nauti and one backing up so it all seemed to work out. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, I was about out of projects on Nauti. She was in nearly as good shape as a Carter Chapman vessel (not completely, obviously, since that's one of those unobtainable goals) and now I get to work on engineering camper tops and backs and generally futzing about bringing the new family member up to standards. Two years of salt and a somewhat distracted owner left me some maintenance and upkeep issues, but meticulous survey, oil samples (actually got second opinions...first from CAT which I didn't trust and then from Blackstone, which I did), and a personal sea trial with a captain who brought beer...thinking, I guess, that I was there to look for dolphins or something, instead of spending three times what my first home cost. We are not happy to see Nauti go...the 380 will go down in our history books as one of the great family lake boats in the history of mankind (and now they are a helluva deal...good grief). But lurking about the CSR pages will help salve some of the wounds. I updated the signature picture, even though its just stock...More Nauti is still in FLL being taken apart and I guess put in a bottle so it can be Fedex'ed here and then I guess I add water or something...I'll have to figure all that out.

 

[Sea Gull]

Interesting that you picked that particular quote to title this thread. You have found the best new boat for your family, and, as it turns out, the answer is 42. (Ok, no more geeky references for me today) Congratulations and please keep in touch.

 

[LTD.330]

Wait, what was the question? You guys are killing me.

Congratulations to the OP. Going from a 38 Sundancer to a 42 Bridge boat will double your living space.

 

[KnotEasy]

Most of the 40 ft. Carvers with gasser's are "pigs" Especially the 406MY. That is a nice boat you bought, and a good price too. You will be glad you added the extra space for your family and friends.

 

[Southpaw II]

Charles,

Congrats on the new boat. Sounds like it would be a great lake boat, which is what I told my friends back in 1999 when the 380DA came out. More room is a good thing, and a list of projects will keep you on the boat. Thanks for the contributions to the Official 380 Thread. I was reading through it just yesterday looking for something....anyway, it's OK if you still post there, as you obviously qualify as a Charter Member.

"Don't make the water mad",

Don

 

[JediJD]

True that. I'm already envisioning some rerouting of one of the AC's to give cockpit air and redoing the bridge canvas to more intelligently maximize available square footage. Not sure where the theater room and pool table will go, though.

 

[carterchapman]

JediJD - I know Tom did a great job on your last canvas, but get Daymon to give you an estimate at Lakeside Marine Canvas in Buford. I was very pleased with the job he did for me on my new canvas...

 

[Bottom Line]

Congrats on new boat!

Do you have a humidor on the new ride?

 

[JediJD]

<chuckle> One of the quandaries that has consumed my attention is the propriety of using the current humidor on the new boat. Tossing, turning, sleepless nights...would it be a treasured piece of memorabilia carried forward as a connection to great cigars past or simply the first of perhaps a forthcoming avalanche of compromises and corner cutting where I take the easy step, carelessly plopping it as a function of convenience instead of having another one properly engraved and commissioned? Am I celebrating history, or fading into it? Tough question and one to which I yet have no definitive answer. Perhaps, after more thorough research and analysis, I can reach some conclusion...and then move on the the even weightier issue of Isinglass architecture.