Bluewater Yachts info please?
Tom K
Yacht houseboat. I would like to learn more about them.
I had been advised that they were not well built. I have not heard, what in
particular is wrong. I imagine, if you are expecting a Feadship custom
yacht, this is clearly not one. One thing I heard, is the beds are as
useless as those on a cruiser, with their odd shapes. Is this true?
I have not been aboard one yet and have seen no reports. I saw one recently
on Lake Lanier. They look so slick and elegant, though relatively
inexpensive, well.... at least for the looks.
I also notice that Bluewater Yachts depreciate quickly. How come?
Where were these built? and are they still in business?
What sizes were they built? What draft?
I'd appreciate any information.
Tom K tk...@cetlink.net
Patrick McCrary
Bluewater Yacht's address is:
Bluewater Yachts
811 E Maple
Mora, MN 55051
Al Hagen
612-679-3811
Three words: Save your money! They are very poorly built, (the main reason
that they depreciate quickly). They have made "corner cutting"
state-of-the-art. Believe it or not they build these hunks of junk up to
68'!! Cosmetically, they fall apart within a year without constant
maintenance and baby-sitting.
Their website is: http://www.creativemk.com/bluewater/index.html , (even cut
the corner on getting their own domain).
Regards,
Capt Patrick McCrary
Admin/Webmaster
USA Marine Group
http://www.usamarine.net/ Your internet
Boating and Fishing Resource connection!
Who is USA Marine Group? Find out at:
http://www.usamarine.net/USA_Marine_Group.htm
Visit the Captains' Corner at:
http://www.usamarine.net/cc/lead-in.htm
Tom K wrote in message ...
Tom K
Can you be specific on what may fail. If these go down in value so swiftly,
is there a bottom value? And at that low retail value, would these be a
good fixer upper and restore to better than new condition?
People complained about the Lesharo motorhomes to no end and finally
abandoned them. I have a fabulus mechanic who made many modifications that
were made standard on new models when these were in production. Just had
another rebuilt and we'll enjoy that terrific vehicle for many years to
come.
I'm simply saying, that if you have the know how of the design flaws and
ability to modify as needed, what is the big deal?
Unless of course there is a major flaw in the hull like that of those poorly
built Holiday Mansions of the 80's. Obviously, It would be impractical to
re-fiberglass the whole boat. Is this the case? What specifically is
wrong?
Trim being loose, is really no big deal. I could make all of it permanent
in a day.
I work regularly with old 1970's vintage steel houseboats, where nothing is
really all that good anymore, but re-work the design flaws and remodel
whatever is needed for the next guy. The end result is a bit better than
when it was new.
Tom K tk...@cetlink.net
Patrick McCrary wrote in message ...
Harry Krause
> Patrick, are you saying these are like a Bayliner or worse yet as a Yugo.
> Can you be specific on what may fail. If these go down in value so swiftly,
> is there a bottom value? And at that low retail value, would these be a
> good fixer upper and restore to better than new condition?
Whatever their virtues, "Bluewater Yachts" are mis-named, in my opinion. Not
enough hull depth or freeboard for their length and too much glass to be
spending much time out in "bluewater," if, by that, you mean cruising way out
there in the Atlantic or maybe even the Pacific. Find one berthed next to a real
offshore yacht and compare hull forms and dimensions.
Tom K
imagine this is what they were going for. As I understand these were built
and marketed as a houseboat. Good hevens no-one should take a houseboat out
in the ocean.
In their defence, they merely have developed a catchey name for their entry
level yacht looking boat. Got to admit they look slick at a distance.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Again, I have not been aboard.
I sincerly want to learn more about them. Would it have ben better named
"Looks just like a yacht" or "yacht - NOT" If they called themselves say,
"Elegant houseboats" would they still have the same insults?
There have been many poorly built houseboats manufactured over the years,
but has never seen this kind of spitting on. Is the hull so thin like some,
that you can see through the hull? Others you could not even think of
actually using the chocks. There was one, I had to wrap a rope around the
whole cabin and pull from that to load on a trailer, for fear of ripping the
side of the boat off.
As far as I know, Bluewaters have not been built with big engines. Just
enough for typical houseboat cruising speeds of 10 ~12 mph. Obviously with
a single V8 it is only suitable for puttering around a lake. Again correct
me if I'm wrong.
I'm in the Charlotte NC area, where can I see and board one of these gems?
Is there a website? I've only found listings for sale.
Thanks for all your opinions.
Tom K tk...@cetlink.net
Harry Krause wrote in message <3661A6AE...@erols.com>...
Harry Krause
> No one has ever suggested to me that this was a real yacht. I do not
> imagine this is what they were going for. As I understand these were built
> and marketed as a houseboat. Good hevens no-one should take a houseboat out
> in the ocean.
>
> In their defence, they merely have developed a catchey name for their entry
> level yacht looking boat. Got to admit they look slick at a distance.
> Please correct me if I'm wrong. Again, I have not been aboard.
>
> I sincerly want to learn more about them. Would it have ben better named
> "Looks just like a yacht" or "yacht - NOT" If they called themselves say,
> "Elegant houseboats" would they still have the same insults?
>
> There have been many poorly built houseboats manufactured over the years,
> but has never seen this kind of spitting on. Is the hull so thin like some,
> that you can see through the hull? Others you could not even think of
> actually using the chocks. There was one, I had to wrap a rope around the
> whole cabin and pull from that to load on a trailer, for fear of ripping the
> side of the boat off.
Hey...I didn't "insult" the line. I just said that they appeared "misnamed" to
me, because they didn't appear to be real bluewater boats.
a$
Here's some info on an older Bluewater I considered for a
liveaboard...
www.stanford.edu/~awelenn/bluewater/yachtforsale.html
I found the boat to be extravagantly comfortable. Heating, A/C,
full galley, even washer/dryer. It is more Bluewater than the new
Bluewaters. I talked to a USCG Auxilary member and he told me
about a promo video he saw featuring a modern Bluewater cutting
through the "Potato Patch" off the N. California coast.
This boat would be a good liveaboard, but it's a 46' w/ gas engines.
So cruising is $$$.
I'd rather have a Grand Banks, personally.
On Sun, 29 Nov 1998 15:36:15 -0500, "Tom K" <tk...@cetlink.net> wrote:
>No one has ever suggested to me that this was a real yacht. I do not
>imagine this is what they were going for. As I understand these were built
>and marketed as a houseboat. Good hevens no-one should take a houseboat out
>in the ocean.
>
>In their defence, they merely have developed a catchey name for their entry
>level yacht looking boat. Got to admit they look slick at a distance.
>Please correct me if I'm wrong. Again, I have not been aboard.
>
>I sincerly want to learn more about them. Would it have ben better named
>"Looks just like a yacht" or "yacht - NOT" If they called themselves say,
>"Elegant houseboats" would they still have the same insults?
>
>There have been many poorly built houseboats manufactured over the years,
>but has never seen this kind of spitting on. Is the hull so thin like some,
>that you can see through the hull? Others you could not even think of
>actually using the chocks. There was one, I had to wrap a rope around the
>whole cabin and pull from that to load on a trailer, for fear of ripping the
>side of the boat off.
>
>As far as I know, Bluewaters have not been built with big engines. Just
>enough for typical houseboat cruising speeds of 10 ~12 mph. Obviously with
>a single V8 it is only suitable for puttering around a lake. Again correct
>me if I'm wrong.
>
>I'm in the Charlotte NC area, where can I see and board one of these gems?
>
>Is there a website? I've only found listings for sale.
>
>Thanks for all your opinions.
>Tom K tk...@cetlink.net
>
>Harry Krause wrote in message <3661A6AE...@erols.com>...
>>Tom K wrote:
>>
>>> Patrick, are you saying these are like a Bayliner or worse yet as a Yugo.
>>> Can you be specific on what may fail. If these go down in value so
>swiftly,
>>> is there a bottom value? And at that low retail value, would these be a
>>> good fixer upper and restore to better than new condition?
>>
>>Whatever their virtues, "Bluewater Yachts" are mis-named, in my opinion.
>Not
>>enough hull depth or freeboard for their length and too much glass to be
>>spending much time out in "bluewater," if, by that, you mean cruising way
>out
>>there in the Atlantic or maybe even the Pacific. Find one berthed next to a
>real
>>offshore yacht and compare hull forms and dimensions.
>>
>
>
Bud Feuless 14
very low to the water. I'd never take one into open water, myself. Given
that, in sheltered waters, I personally feel that SkipperLiner offers a far
superior product (a houseboat, but looks more like a yacht on the outside
and your living room on the inside and they custom design interiors).
SkipperLiner regularly advertises new and used boats in HouseBoat magazine.
If, however, you are more interested in open water cruising, I think Boating
did an article this year in with a Bluewater and a SandPiper going to
Bimini. If I recall correctly, the BlueWater had to slow to displacement
speeds to handle rough seas and did not fare well, while the SandPiper,
having substantial freeboard and being much more a real seaworthy boat,
handled the snot with ease. I'm looking at their ad, showing the 5000 (50')
for $351,995 (that's about $7000/ft, which is really low in this size of
boat) and the boat will be showing at Annapolis this year.
Other makers that might interest you, not to recommend them specifically,
would include HarbourMaster, Holiday Mansion, and Gibson.
Regards, Bud