So what has been going on with the boat? Well its been a little while since I’ve done a post and I thought I’d have very little to post about honestly as it seems that for the most part the marine industry moves at a pace just slightly faster than a herd of turtles through a field of peanut butter. That being said stuff has happened since the 16th just that typically it’d be 1 or 2 small things a week. Well that changed this week. So to keep things simple here’s the bullet point version:

• Banking: I’ve investigated 2 banks to get a loan/mortgage (yes you can get a mortgage for a boat with some banks).
• Banking: Scotia is very picky about WHERE a boat is registered for their Marine Financing to be applicable. It has to be a registered Canadian Ship before you buy it. I tried talking to them that it WILL be a registered ship in Canada once I get it here but they weren’t going to budge. However, with my credit rating with them (I don’t have an account so it’s all based off of bank statements etc) I could have easily gotten a loan for $93,000. Good to know for the future but they are out of the race at this point.
• Banking: There are ways to secure a loan for a boat with other banks but they’re a bit… funny about it. Essentially you have to back up the loan amount with the same amount (or greater) somehow. This could be with say a lean on a house, or a bank account with that much money in it in some shape or form. This is rather difficult for someone looking at a boat as a house since you clearly wouldn’t have both (unless you’re loaded), and the other option of having the amount of money in existence already in some form beckons the question “Then why would I need you Mr.Bank?” Still there is hope.
• The Ship Itself: My Dad took a few days and went to investigate the ship directly. He came back with an impressive assortment of photos and data. Now that I have a better idea of what exists in the ship (the 65′ US T-Boat from 1954) I’m fairly confident that this is THE ship. The sheer size of the ship makes for great interior space. THANKS DAD!
• Docking: This is still an on going investigation but in a quick nutshell it’s not hard to find docking at the moment,  partially in thanks to the economy, but many docks are a bit… mmmmm… nervous about a ship of my size floating there. The length is fine naturally but the tonnage is a bit high up there. Another option is to dock it with the other commercial vessels but I have to contact the Toronto Port Authority. Funny story was that I was warned that sometimes those ships knock about a bit and damage each other. Which would be amusing to see since their ships are built to standard commercial grade whereas mine was built for war… Bring it on.
• Ship Names: A few more to add to the list:
  • Hot Spur (another ship name from the Horatio Hornblower series.)
  • Equinox (probably not the most original name but I kinda like it.)

I’m sure I’m forgetting some stuff that has gone on but I’ll list it later in another post when I have time.

I really think in the end of all this I should write a book about my experiences as a live aboard captain right from start to finish because I have yet to find somewhere that lists out all the financial considerations and technical ones for this sort of lifestyle.

Yes I’ve been neglecting my interblag for a bit. Things have been unusually busy at work, at home, and with the boat. I’ve opted to go with Plan C out of the plans I listed earlier… Of which I haven’t described yet… Ya…

So Plan C is to buy a ship from the US and have it converted. Sounds like I’d end up getting a rather boringly typical ship of which I could for crazy prices thanks to Repo’s down there currently. However, the prices that are equally nuts for some of their more unusual wartime vessels that are currently for sale. I don’t want to spoil the surprise about which ship I’m looking at (partially in fear that someone may steal it before I buy it via the intertubes), but needless to say I may have it as soon as 1 or 2 months from now and 3 to 4 at max.

However, that means I have to come up with a name for her. Currently she has a fairly common name registered to her in the US and since I’ll need to re-register her in Canada it’s an opportune time to give her a new name… Which is proving difficult… So below is a list of names I’ve come up with for ships and I hope to either add to this list or select from it soon enough:

• Great Atuin (from the book series Discworld. It’s the name of the giant space turtle that the discworld is more or less on)
• Tres Petite Hermine (Jacques Cartiers boats when discovering parts of Canada were the Emerillon, the Grande Hermine, and the Petite Hermine… Mine is a bit smaller)
• Otter or the latin version Lontra Candensis
• Peregrine
• The Witch of Endor (name of a fictional boat from the Horatio Hornblower series… although the nerd factor is kinda strong with the whole “Endor” thing)

So ya. As my friend from Scoopmedia said “man this is hard, it’s like naming your kid”

Too true.

The radio silence on this blog recently is mainly due to a new development that has manifested itself (along with the usual work whackiness getting in the way of things). I still have yet to send off my plans to the Aluminum guys (something I hope to do this week) to get an estimate but I have a sinking feeling that it’s going to be very expensive as in well north of the $100k range. If that’s the case I’ve been recently looking into a bit more radical of an option. I’ll go into details a bit more later on but suffice to say that it’s buying a used/antique hull from Denmark and having it shipped over here. Sounds like it would be expensive but it could very well be cheaper than having a new hull built. Again I’ll post more details in a few days and possibly some photos and graphs showing cost comparison but in either case it’s very exciting.

Here is a summary of the plans essentially:

Plan A: New Aluminum Hull

• Pro: New Aluminum hull built from my plans.
• Pro: Aluminum doesn’t rust.
• Pro: The hull is basically ready to go and needs an engine etc to get it moving to a location I can complete it at (most likely Midland)
• Con: Is VERY expensive to build initially
• Con: Smaller than what I could get for less money with a used empty hull from Denmark

Plan B: Old Hull from Denmark

• Pro: The hull is very cheap and in good condition (under $30k CND)
• Pro: The hull is VERY big (nearly the same width as my plan, 10 feet longer)
• Pro: Lots of character in the hull itself (My designed one is designed a bit boring intentionally to save on money)
• Con: The hull is steel and old (114 years old in fact) so it may not be suitable for transportation
• Con: It’s in Denmark without an engine or running lights so I’d have to trust people I’ve never met to do work on it and get it to the ship on time to ship here.
• Con: In addition to the hull base cost when I have to factor in shipping costs, and repainting costs to make a comparison between the 2 plans.
• Pro: Regardless of the additional costs this plan could end up being significantly cheaper and end up with a larger space than Plan A (Significantly cheaper in the order of several 10’s of thousands of dollars).

Anyways once I find more out and price etc I’ll have a better idea of which to go with.