BCM Community
Bus Discussion => Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) => Topic started by: Sean on November 19, 2012, 01:04:17 PM
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Well, we've finally done it, and made an offer this morning on a boat. We're still a long way from having this in the bag -- we don't know if our offer will be accepted, and even if it is, lots of things need to happen before we can close. Probably the earliest we would move off the bus would be the end of January. Nevertheless, the time has come to plan for Odyssey's future.
I have mixed feelings about this, of course -- we love our bus. But there's not much we can do with it if we're halfway around the world on a boat. I'd sell it if I could, but I need to get at least 30 cents on the dollar for it to make any sense, and that's not likely to happen in the current market. Below that it makes more sense for us to put it into long-term storage for some future day when we either retire from boating, or (more likely) need temporary quarters land-side to deal with family medical issues.
At any rate, we are now in the market for a place to store Odyssey for the long haul. Given that we will not be aboard to notice leaks developing or anything else, we'd like something at least covered and preferably fully enclosed. Security of some kind, even just a pair of eyes on a regular basis, is a plus. Climate control would be nice anyplace where it gets too cold or too humid. Not mandatory, but we'd prefer someplace within fairly easy reach of a major international airport, although we are open to pretty much any part of the country where we can get a good deal. Our bus is 40' long and 13' tall.
Would love to hear your recommendations and suggestions. Not only places to try, but also if there are any we should stay away from.
Thanks!
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com)
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Why don't you just put it on the boat? ;D
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When you say long term, any idea of how long term? ???
What kind of budget do you have monthly or annually to store the unit?
What kind of money are you asking for the bus to get back your 30 cents on the dollar?
Several sites of various quality are available in the Sacramento California area. 2 hours from San Francisco.
Grant
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Sean, If I was you I would store it somewhere for a while. Whats the longest time you two have spent on a boat?
You might want that bus back !! Just saying. I spent 6 weeks on a sailboat many years ago 4 of them no land in sight! ( ended a relationship too ) Different world can't pull over and park at night, but knowing the person you are you got it figured out, but 30 cents on the dollar ain't much if and when you want it back.
Just my thoughts! What type of boat ?
ED
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When you say long term, any idea of how long term? ???
Yes. I expect we will be on the boat at least a decade. The bus will be stored for as long as we are on the boat, with the possibility that we will come back and use it occasionally, such as to deal with some sort of family issue land-side.
What kind of budget do you have monthly or annually to store the unit?
I don't really have a budget -- I am looking for the lowest-cost alternative that meets our needs. We are hoping to find something suitable under $100/mo, but that may be unrealistic.
What kind of money are you asking for the bus to get back your 30 cents on the dollar?
Uhh, I don't think I can discuss that here. Contact me off-list.
Several sites of various quality are available in the Sacramento California area. 2 hours from San Francisco.
Can you be more specific? Sac'to would be great, considering we lived in the bay area for two decades, and half of the aforementioned family is there. But my experience is that California is almost never the cheapest alternative for anything, and I would be particularly nervous about garaging a coach with South Dakota plates there. If we have to re-register the bus in CA to make this work, the tax implications alone would rule it out entirely.
Sean, If I was you I would store it somewhere for a while. Whats the longest time you two have spent on a boat?
It doesn't matter... we are spending a significant chunk of our retirement savings on this project, so we will make it work, even if we have to adjust our cruising plans somewhat. That said, I've spent a lot of time on the water, mostly in sailboats. By comparison, the trawlers we have been looking at are a cakewalk.
... What type of boat ?
Single-screw, full displacement, low speed, long range, blue water power boat. Commonly known in the boating world as a "trawler" but that word is ill-defined, in the same way that "bus" in the RV world means different things to different people.
Lots and lots of information on our blog about our boat search, going all the way back to '06:
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/search/label/Boats (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/search/label/Boats)
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com)
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sean if in your travels you get to costa rica your welcome to stop by and stay a few days john / lidia
ps. going to arcadia this year ?
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Sean, there is an enclosed rv storage yard off the 14 fwy in Acton, Ca. Near Palmdale/Lancaster. About 5 years old, cement, metal building, one climate controlled, security gate, not as expensive as LA, lvmci...
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A decade is a really long term plan! I will start to see what some places charge for annual storage. Given the heat in Sacramento inside storage would be best but most expensive as well. I will let you know what I find.
Grant
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One vendor just called back and has an indoor facility temperature controlled. He will charge $199.00 per month for your bus prepaid for the year! He does not have any outside options. He might also be willing to go lower if you committed to more than one year.
Grant
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Sean, yall are some adventurous folks. I always thought it would be be cool to sail the seven sea's. Your bus is the coolest one I have seen. If it ever goes on the open market I will count my nickles and see if we have enough.
We pay $78 a month here in Texas and that is uncovered. I think there is a place around us that has enclosed storage for around $200. If you are interested in storing it in this area (Spring/Houston, Texas) I can look up which place it was.
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Since you want an area that isn't humid or too cold why not consider some place like New Mexico? Prices have got to be cheaper than California and the building might not need climate control.
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Just to mention something that I'm sure you already know about - shrink-wrapping. Very commonly done to boats and aircraft etc when being put into storage - might help preserve the bus as long as regular access to the inside isn't required. Might even allow outside storage to become an option.
Jeremy
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Since you want an area that isn't humid or too cold why not consider some place like New Mexico?
Or maybe find space somewhere here:
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Davis-Monthan+Air+Force+Base+in+Tucson,+Arizona&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=22.594151,67.631836&ie=UTF8&hq=Davis-Monthan+AFB&hnear=Davis-Monthan+AFB,+Tucson,+AZ+85707,+USA&ll=32.152416,-110.827246&spn=0.015732,0.033023&t=h&z=16 (https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Davis-Monthan+Air+Force+Base+in+Tucson,+Arizona&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=22.594151,67.631836&ie=UTF8&hq=Davis-Monthan+AFB&hnear=Davis-Monthan+AFB,+Tucson,+AZ+85707,+USA&ll=32.152416,-110.827246&spn=0.015732,0.033023&t=h&z=16)
Jeremy
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Wow. I never thought this day would come. Crazy....can't help you with storage, but would love to hear your plans for boat life!!!
Sent from iPhone via Tapatalk
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Sorry, was shocked and bummed so I didn't offer any help, shrink wrapping can be good, but FYI my dad shrink wrapped his boat and a year later there was still mold buildup inside it. Wouldn't trust shrink wrapping alone. Also, your seals, tires, etc are going to take a beating with your bus just sitting for 10 years. I've seen cars in perfect tip top condition go into long term storage only to develop leaks an issues the day they are brought out of storage. Just my thoughts.
Sent from iPhone via Tapatalk
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Out of the box - there are several companines that offer inside climate controled strorage in old salt mines. Several in the Kansas City area.
JimH
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Nord Haven?
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Sean,
Sent you an email to your yahoo account.
John
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There is a place in Clackamas OR (Portland suburb) that offers indoor climate controlled storage for RV's. I'm going to be checking it out in person in the next couple weeks as the weather is starting to turn here and I don't want to winterize. They supposedly have on site security and escorted access. If you were to have to re-register, Oregon doesn't have sales tax. The fee is based on the length, and for mine DMV fees were around $220 for 2 years, I think.
Scott
'69 4107
Gladstone, OR
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Sean -
A fellow busnut here in Fresno recently sold his coach because he's getting too old to drive. But he has a nice bus barn that he kept it in, complete with a roll-up door.
I'll try to touch base with him this week and see if Odyssey might fit, and, if so, what he'd charge if willing to rent it out.
RJ
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Sean,
There are many options in the Reno area, cheaper than Cali but still close enough. I was all set to use this guy for the winter, until my plans changed.
http://www.forrestrvstorage.com/ (http://www.forrestrvstorage.com/)
Reno has, I believe the best selection of enclosed units on the West coast for the best price. We come and go from our '06 enough that we are always looking for somewhere to leave it.
Best of luck in your new travels,
TM
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Scott, even though it is climate controlled and you don't think you need to winterize your bus,....what happens if a winter storm comes thru and power is lost for a few days or a week? It does happen there every now and then.
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Seems to me like you would want storage close to a port we were over 400 miles from our boat that was one of the many reason I sold it
Long term storage may be a problem at the public storage places most require (AZ) all fuel and combustibles be removed if over 30 days
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Little late coming to the party on this one, but: "I am looking for the lowest-cost alternative that meets our needs. We are hoping to find something suitable under $100/mo, but that may be unrealistic."
When we had our bus in covered storage it was $128 per month, in the middle of Oklahoma, and it was as Clifford has pointed out, not so good being some 35 miles away. That was close to ten years ago, no telling what it costs now.
Just my two-cents on it.
BCO
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Ed, I think you meant "Sean"? :)
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Ed, I think you meant "Sean"? :)
Naw, I think he meant another Scott. HTH
God bless,
John
There is a place in Clackamas OR (Portland suburb) that offers indoor climate controlled storage for RV's. I'm going to be checking it out in person in the next couple weeks as the weather is starting to turn here and I don't want to winterize. They supposedly have on site security and escorted access.........
Scott
'69 4107
Gladstone, OR
Scott, even though it is climate controlled and you don't think you need to winterize your bus,....what happens if a winter storm comes thru and power is lost for a few days or a week? It does happen there every now and then.
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Try this link. I plan to store my coach there in 2 years for the summer and come back there next winter. The price is good.
http://centralrvstorage.ihoststudio.com/ (http://centralrvstorage.ihoststudio.com/)
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You have the property in North Dakota-build a thermostatically controlled building (just to keep it above freezing) on your property. If you have a power loss, you could also have an automatic stand by genset running on propane or natural gas (don't know if your property has natural gas). Freezing weather isn't that much of a big deal when everything is inside since you're not going to be starting the bus then.
In Beaumont, Ca is an RV Condominium that has power and they allow you to sleep in your bus. Good Luck, TomC
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Stand-by generators are not something you can just install and not look at for years on end. The last time I tested mine at home it wouldn't start because the battery had died due to old age. Most stand-by units will start and run once a week to keep everything dry and lubricated. If mine doesn't start it will trip a fault light that has to be manually reset.
Sean's goal seems to be to pay around $1,200 a year. $12,000 would be a tight budget for a climate controlled storage building. There would also be utility costs. Personally, I would not store in North Dakota if I had a choice. Too cold in the winter and humidity can be pretty high in the summer.
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First off, congrats for the new change in your life! Will be exciting and the envoy of many.
Anyone building a shop on a large private property? Add on a little for Sean and write a long term contract. In the end, you will have a bigger shop or a mother in law flat? Just thinking... Good luck Sean and Louise.
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Good advice all of it. With construction costs such as they are, I dunno, it might be the best route to find vacant property in some business district and rent an old warehouse. But that is going to be pretty tough to do on the monies being mentioned here.
BCO
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Sean, I have to agree with Tom. You have that vacant land in South Dakota.. A 12 x 48 pole building wouldn't be that difficult and cheaper in the long run. It would suck to get settled in on the 7 seas to have to come into port to move your bus because the place was sold or ???
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Thanks for the suggestions so far. It looks like I should clarify a few things:
First, just to be clear, we are not limiting ourselves to any specific area. Our families are on opposite ends of the country, so all locations are equally distant, on average. Proximity to an airport and overall climate are both more important than distance from either coast.
Second, waterway access is irrelevant. Our boat will have no "home port," and even if it did, with a boat that does 7-8 knots, once you get a hundred miles from where you start, it becomes an airplane flight to get back in a hurry no matter what. If the boat is in Gibraltar, flying to Fort Lauderdale isn't any better than flying to Atlanta, for example. For the handful of times we will do it (maybe once every 2-3 years), having to fly inland to get the bus is just not an issue.
Lastly, we do not own any property on which we can store the bus. The lot in South Dakota is inside the city limits and is zoned only for single-family residential homes. We can't erect a pole barn or anything similar, neither can we even park the bus on the empty lot unless we build a house there first.
From all the comments thus far, it is sounding like $200 a month or so is the best we can do for covered storage. I think we can find lots of places in that price range. I was hoping the group might have an inside track on something a bit better. In any case, we will set that as our upper limit and figure on around $2,500 per year in the budget, along with the non-op insurance and registration, to keep the bus at our disposal.
Thanks again, and keep the suggestions coming.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com)
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How are you going to register a boat without a home port ? yep at 8 or 9 mph it would take awhile good luck on your new adventure is it a trawler ?
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Sean,
Just to confirm, you got my email on the covered storage close to us, correct? That hits just about every tic mark that you originally had.
John
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Sean, I will contact you via email with a suggestion.
I no longer post here or on BNO due to all the crap going on.
Jim
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Oh my here it comes enjoy the show lol
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How are you going to register a boat without a home port ?
Our boat will not be registered with any state. It will, however, be "documented" with the USCG. Documented boats required a "hailing port," which is very different from a home port. For US documentation, the hailing port must be in the US, but there is no requirement that the boat ever visit such place or even that it be accessible by water. No reason why an ocean-going vessel could not have a hailing port of, for example, Phoenix, AZ. Our hailing port will be Yankton, SD, which happens to be the farthest upstream one can travel from the ocean on the Missouri River, but our boat's draft would preclude it from going any further upstream than Sioux City, Iowa.
yep at 8 or 9 mph it would take awhile good luck on your new adventure is it a trawler ?
Yes, we are looking only at trawlers, with trans-oceanic capability.
Just to confirm, you got my email ...
and
Sean, I will contact you via email ...
Thanks, I did get those emails, along with a few others. I am a little behind right now on answering everyone, sorry. Also, I am in the data-gathering stage right now. I probably will not get to calling all these places until after Thanksgiving.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com)
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If they only allow you to build a house on your lot, then build a house. But build it with one of the walls capable of raising hydraulically to allow you to drive the bus inside the "house". Who cares what's inside as long as it looks like a house from the outside.
I got that idea from a real life house in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. Right in the middle of multi million dollar homes, the owner likes his motorhome. So on his normal garage, you can just barely make out the outline of the much bigger door that opens disguised as part of the house. Pretty clever. Sean-you're clever-you could design the same thing. Good Luck, TomC
What kind of trawler did you bid on-length, etc?
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Duplicate post, deleted.
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Just a heads up. I was the owner of the Marina in Yankton, SD for some years and sold boats there. The state of South dakota and the coast gaurd are very friendly. You will receive a notice from the state requesting payment for sales tax and state registration upon documenting the boat in South dakota. There are ways around this I am sure but they are unknown to me.
Jimh
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I thought a hailing port had to be on the US Department of Commerce list for cities and territories I never heard you pick just anywhere you choose ?
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I thought a hailing port had to be on the US Department of Commerce list for cities and territories I never heard you pick just anywhere you choose ?
Clifford, you are correct about the list... CFR 67.119(b) states "The hailing port must be a place in the United States included in the U.S. Department of Commerce's Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 55DC." However, that publication contains pretty much every city, town, and county in the US, Puerto Rico, and outlying territories ("Named Populated Places, Primary County Divisions, and Other Locational Entities of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Outlying Areas").
Beyond coming from that list, yes, it can be any place you choose. There is no longer a requirement that the vessel spend any time there (or even have ever been there at all) or that such named place is even accessible by the "navigable waters of the United States." You can't just make up a name, but pretty much any named place in the US is on the approved list.
Once you've applied for documentation, changing the hailing port later requires more paperwork and fees. And the hailing port, including state or territory, must be clearly marked on the outside of the vessel, along with the documented name.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com)
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Who cares where you store the damn bus. ;D
The important question is what did you make an offer on?
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Yes, tell us more about this hull in the water you plan to see the world in!!!
Perhaps another alternative is a busnut host to care for Odyssey while you sail the seven seas?
I'd be thinking that the coach needs to have a committed caretaker. You will be returning to disaster without some level of maintenance as the years go by, unless you are planning to store it inoperative and pickled properly.
By inoperative, I mean batteries removed, engine pickled according to Da Book, dehumidifiers running inside...
Frankly, my good friend, you don't want to have to think about the coach when you embark on this magnificent ocean going journey.
happy coaching!
buswarrior
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You bus guys are not much on boats 7 to 8 knots a hr told me it was big trawler LOL that would be 8 to 9 mph for bus people
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Sean, call Steve! He might have room inside for another coach and he's near the water and he knows your bus! Just a thought!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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If you do get a trawler, make sure it has a staysail on it and she aint a roller! That slow roll under way could be a killer lol. And dont go for those retractable thrusters either. When those seals leak under way its amazing how much water squirts in on every wave. Congratulations on your new endevours. The gadgets should keep you busy as well as weather and route planning. awesome!
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They are living the dream that is something I always wanted to do, but like the old musician said to much music too play with so little time left for me.
If it wasn't for the thrusters Dave I would still be trying to dock the one we had those are neat bus people need those to park buses some places
Boat people are a different breed you don't here the stories about fuel mileage lol they just fill up from 800 gals to 4000 of blue fuel and say that will run me for a few days
Ours would use 51 gals a hour @22 knots cruising along the coast with 2- 900hp V10 Man engines not for the faint of heart when you got the Wright Fuel Card bill each month
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Several requests for Sean to share what boat he's looking at, but I guess it's a National secret. Good Luck, TomC
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He told us he was looking at a trawler at that speed probably in the 65 ft range not my bus it would be a parting of the way for me I would sell it he will never get 30 cents on the dollar but it not going up in value in 10 years you can place money on that
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I tried to talk Sean into a Hatteras 58LRC, but he felt it was to big for them. I'm guessing he's looking at in the 48-53ft range. Personally-I think the Hatteras 58LRC is one of the best designed boats of all time. Twin commercially rated 6-71's in a nice stand up engine room, cruise at 8knots at 1,400rpm-engines last forever. Heavy displacement (around 80,000lbs), plenty of fuel and space to roam around the boat and available for less then $500k.
But, I'm confident Sean found a good one. Good Luck, TomC
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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
I spent a half hour this morning typing a detailed response to the last half dozen or so posts, and then I hit a function key accidentally and it all disappeared. I had to quit to get Thanksgiving dinner started, and now the company is here. I'll type it all back in tomorrow or so -- I'm not ignoring you :)
-Sean
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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
I spent a half hour this morning typing a detailed response to the last half dozen or so posts, and then I hit a function key accidentally and it all disappeared. I had to quit to get Thanksgiving dinner started, and now the company is here. I'll type it all back in tomorrow or so -- I'm not ignoring you :)
-Sean
Man! I hate doing that!! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one!
TOM
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I have had that happen but generally only on relatively short posts. If one is going to do a real long one, it may be worth it to do it in Word and copy and paste it. I have done that other places to save double work.
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sean i am sure your looking for a used boat but if not there is a boat factory in costa rica that will custom
build they are sold all over the world you might get a great deal buying direct from factory / cut out the middle
man and dealer second i known people in the yacth club a lot of boats from the usa / canada come up for sale
after there owner decide to stay hear john / lidia from costa rica
ps. only 2 hour flight from miami fl.
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Boy Did I find I was not a sailor when I had to ride a Coast Guard Buoy Tender for 24 hr venture to relocate a buoy, That pig rolled as in a big storm, looked out very clam water, round bottom boat Called "Cow Slip". I was the factory service rep for ASCO and one of their ABT's had an issue, was asked to go along incase it failed, it never failed again, I slept about 20 of the 24 hrs in the Cheif's quarters. Got off, went directly to motel, slept another 12 hrs, bed kept rolling. That was the end of my dreaming of getting any boat and living on it.
Gave up on that idea and got the MCI in 1988 and never go sea sick again.
Dave
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I know a guy from CA that has a business and wants to move out of CA bad!
He has been here a couple times a yr since we moved to our new place close to I-40 and we showed him a "property" just down the road that the "owning bank" wanted a "grand slam" on when we were looking for a place.
It has a VERY large building and 11 acres of land with it and the building is temp controlled.
But the day we closed on the place we bought and now operate from, that bank called and told us they wish we would reconsider. (they said their counter offer to ours was "just a ball park" figure and they were VERY willing to negotiate!)
When we showed him the place his exact words were "I'd love to buy it, but I'd have to have someone rent it for a while until I could get moved out here and into it!"
So maybe.......
If you were committed to storing your bus there, and he was still interested in it maybe the two of you could work out a storage plan.
It's literally 5 mins. down the road from me and I'm sure I could be persuaded to stop in and check on things.
So you might touch base with "the Don" and see if he'd be interested in such a venture.
It's located exactly 1/2 way between BNA and MEM (about 2 hrs) and very easy access to I-40. Large enough it could store 20 buses inside an a whole bunch outside if someone were interested in starting a "busnut friendly" storage facility.
;D BK ;D
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Ok, sorry about the delay. Once more, with feeling:
... The important question is what did you make an offer on?
and
Yes, tell us more about this hull in the water you plan to see the world in!!!
and
Several requests for Sean to share what boat he's looking at, but I guess it's a National secret. Good Luck, TomC
Sorry about that -- until the offer was accepted by the seller and we had a signed contract, I was reluctant to post anything here (or anywhere else on the Internet) that the seller could find. It's amazing how easy it is, actually, and more than once I've used people's postings in what they thought were obscure forums to competitive advantage. Now that the contract is signed, I can be a little more forthcoming. When I typed this post the first time (before I lost it to the web gods), I wrote that I would be posting details to the blog in due time. That post got written yesterday, so you can read more about the boat here:
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2012/11/we-bought-boat.html (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2012/11/we-bought-boat.html)
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Perhaps another alternative is a busnut host to care for Odyssey while you sail the seven seas?
I'd be thinking that the coach needs to have a committed caretaker. You will be returning to disaster without some level of maintenance as the years go by, unless you are planning to store it inoperative and pickled properly.
By inoperative, I mean batteries removed, engine pickled according to Da Book, dehumidifiers running inside...
Yes, we are open to the caretaker option and I have at least one offer. We'd also consider "renting" or "leasing" it to someone who could use it in our absence. As far as pickling is concerned, we are on the fence between doing that or just stabilizing the fuel and coming back every few months to start it up and breeze it out. The latter would make it much easier to use it, should the need arise due to, for example, a family medical crisis.
Sean, call Steve! He might have room inside for another coach and he's near the water and he knows your bus! Just a thought!
I am in touch with Steve, thanks.
If you do get a trawler, make sure it has a staysail on it ...
Louise won't set foot on the boat if it has a sail on it. Long story, some of which is referenced in this post and the ones linked within:
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2012/05/boats-boats-boats.html (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2012/05/boats-boats-boats.html)
That post also goes into some detail about our search process, for anyone interested.
... and she aint a roller! That slow roll under way could be a killer lol.
All boats roll, and ocean-going boats generally are rollier than other types. This boat has hydraulically-operated active-fin stabilizers, very similar to what you would find on a modern cruise ship, except they are not retractable. A gyroscope commands the stabizers to counteract roll; they work a lot like ailerons on an airplane.
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And dont go for those retractable thrusters either. When those seals leak under way its amazing how much water squirts in on every wave.
I'm not sure what a retractable thruster is. This boat does have a bow thruster, but it is in a fixed tunnel. It's a single-screw boat, so maneuvering around the dock is made much simpler by having the thruster.
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Boat people are a different breed you don't here the stories about fuel mileage lol they just fill up from 800 gals to 4000 of blue fuel and say that will run me for a few days
Ours would use 51 gals a hour @22 knots cruising along the coast with 2- 900hp V10 Man engines not for the faint of heart when you got the Wright Fuel Card bill each month
This boat is a bit more fuel-efficient than that, one of the many reasons we went with a trawler and not a planing boat. She supposedly burns about 5gph at an 8-knot cruise, and at 7 knots she should get around 2 nmpg. With 3,300 gallons of diesel tankage, that's plenty to cross any ocean. Also we can do what we do today with the bus -- arbitrage fuel prices by buying in bulk when the price is cheap. And, with tanks that big, we can take advantage of bulk pricing by calling a heating oil dealer, and having them meet us at a dock with the delivery truck.
What's "blue fuel"? I have never heard that term. Marine diesel is typically red, from the same dye as heating oil and off-road fuel. Ironically, even though marine diesel does not carry the highway tax, it is often more expensive than road fuel just due to supply, demand, and logistics. Another reason why having the fuel truck meet you is a lot cheaper.
... he will never get 30 cents on the dollar but it not going up in value in 10 years you can place money on that
Just to be clear, I do not expect the value of the bus to increase, no matter what the market does. Anyone sitting on an RV of any sort right now waiting for the market to recover to pre-2008 levels, or really any recovery at all, is fooling himself.
Instead, what I am saying is that below about 30 cents on the dollar, the bus is worth more to me as a future asset than the money I would get for it. While there is some amount of gambling involved here, it's mostly simple math. With hotel rooms running $100+ per night, plus the cost of dining out, etc., it does not take many nights of using the bus, at roughly $10-$20 per day, to offset many of the costs of storing it. I figure an average of just four weeks a year of using it would mostly pay for the storage, and then we'd have it to come back to whenever we are done with the boat.
While four weeks a year in the bus sounds like a lot, we have five aging parents between us. It is only a matter of time before we will need to spend a few weeks here or there taking care of one or more of them.
Even if we only use the bus an average of one week a year, the worst case is that it will have cost us perhaps $30,000 to keep the bus for a decade -- no way will we be able to buy another similar bus for that then.
I tried to talk Sean into a Hatteras 58LRC, but he felt it was to big for them...
When we finally got aboard a 58LRC, it was really just too big in every respect. Subjectively, it felt lots bigger than the 60-footer we nearly bought in Seattle. Also, none of them was in our price range, and that's even considering they are already 30-year-old boats.
... there is a boat factory in costa rica that will custom
build they are sold all over the world you might get a great deal buying direct from factory
I will keep that in mind if this deal falls through. But frankly, even in Costa Rica or China, having a boat similar to this one built from scratch would be probably twice or maybe three times what we are spending used. Right now, Turkey is about the cheapest place to build a boat, and when I saw the pricing I stopped looking.
If you think about it, could any of us afford to build our bus from scratch today, from the axles up, even in Costa Rica, Turkey, or anywhere? Even if you get the labor nearly free, by the time you add together even wholesale pricing on all the pieces (engine, transmission, axles, wheels, tires, steel, aluminum, miles of wiring, instruments, windows, the list goes on), you'd be talking more money than a complete used conversion.
I know a guy from CA that has a business and wants to move out of CA bad!
... So maybe.......
If you were committed to storing your bus there, and he was still interested in it maybe the two of you could work out a storage plan.
...
Thanks, Bryce, I will keep that option in mind if more conventional means do not pan out.
Whew... long post.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com)
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2-1/2 nm to a gal not bad for a boat,any bulk dealer will deliver red fuel to you also as long as he can reach the boat most have a min of 1000 gals if the heating oil doesn't workout every time
You need to watch the heating oil some of the stuff is 50% Bio now days FWIW
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Fuel flow wise (hopefully the boat has a fuel flow meter), 3.5gph works out to be about 64hp, 5gph works out to be about 91hp. So that 300hp engine (that works out to be about 16.5gph) should last along time. I'll be curious to see the top speed of the boat-I'm guessing it will tickle the 11 knot mark. Good Luck, TomC
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We're getting a long way from Bus Storage here but something less than 1.2 x the square root of the waterline length is kind of accepted as the most efficient cruise speed. So assuming a 45 foot waterline gives something under 8 knots as the most efficient speed and Tom's right, 3 or 4 knots above that is likely all that is achievable absent Clifford's twin 900 HP engines. In our own case we have a 37 foot waterline and our sweet spot for cruising is 6.2 knots. I can do that pretty well anywhere from about 1100 RPM up to 1500 RPM (twin 120 HP Lehmans). If I'm really going balls out we turn 2500 RPM and maybe get an honest 9 knots. I can't do less than about 4.2 knots with both engines turning - that's why water freight is so economical - as long as you are content to stay under hull speed (1.2 x the square root of the waterline) you can move a lot of weight for very little fuel.
Curiously enough though, there is a woman in our club who has a Donzi - maybe 35 feet - with roughly 900 HP between 2 engines. She cruises at 35 knots and can go past 40. Her fuel burn PER MILE is actually less than mine. Obviously her fuel burn per hour is way more than ours but per mile she can do better than we can.
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Thanks Bob I was going and try and explain that point I figured it and Sean would best me my 1/2 mile more
I could get down to 42 gals per hr burn but it took longer to get where you were headed,if you got use it lol I could get up around 35 or 36 knots at 2200 rpm but the 2 -V10's loved the fuel at those rpms
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Sean, Just get the "130 Hatteras- Sacajawea", Its only money and you can put odyssey on it and take her with you!...
Dave5Cs 8) ;)
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I'd sell the coach now if it was me, even at 20 to 25 cents on the dollar. I'd be ten years older, fuel is going to cost a good deal more, batteries deteriorate, tires age, hoses and seals age, many of those components that comprise the coach systems will have a harder time repairing as companies disappear, replacement coach parts will be even harder to obtain, ten years of rent, storage insurance, different interests, and by then you can get a 2012 Prevost or other conversion cheaper by then to replace it. Invest the money for a future replacement. I realize it is your heart and soul building it, but it is only rubber, metal, wood, etc. What do YOU think it will be realistically worth in ten years?
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Thanks Sean for the update. I've seen the stabilizers on the big boats up close, i used to have a dive service (which sounds much better than "i used to scrape barnacles") All boats roll but those round bottom trawlers... but the good is that 7-8 knots constant will really eat up the miles. Even in Bermuda the fuel truck will come to the quay to sell fuel. Save your bucks for those port fees, its apparently a good source of revenue. i would bet with all the other stuff your good at you are scuba ready.To keep the hull clean, fins, light wet suit and mask/snorkle and get those Suction cups with handle, take one rubber off and save it, you'l move quicker with just one cup, 6'' plastic scraper for the intakes and props and lots of white/extra fine scrubbies to keep waterline clean. And nothing cuts line like a good cheep serated kitchen knife. Tie a light line to your weight belt and have at it haha. To keep this on topic, could you store it at a small airport under a canvas cover?
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Years ago there was an outfit that made barges that you drove your motorhome onto with the front wheels on a turntable and your drive wheels on rollers powering the propeller. By getting a large enough barge, and adding a pointed end to it, Sean won't need to store the bus. Just "drive" all over the world with stops where the bus could be taken off and travel that country for a few weeks. Gets you thinking! Good Luck, TomC
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Curiously enough though, there is a woman in our club who has a Donzi - maybe 35 feet - with roughly 900 HP between 2 engines. She cruises at 35 knots and can go past 40. Her fuel burn PER MILE is actually less than mine. Obviously her fuel burn per hour is way more than ours but per mile she can do better than we can.
You'd expect there to be less drag in planing mode than in displacement mode (and if you can get the boat up onto hydrofoils they'd be less still). The basic shape of the drag-versus-speed graph is more-or-less the same for all boats, with a big 'hump' when the boat is in forced-mode (faster than hull speed, but not yet on it's bow wave). Many boats never get beyond forced-mode of course, and in many ways giving those boats more power than they can use is just an exercise in wasting fuel.
Jeremy
PS - if you want to go fast, get a boat with sails. New sailing speed record set last week at 65 knots, and no diesel burnt at all (and, no, it wasn't a windsurfer)
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Congrats
"Hydraulic steering with emergency tiller" wow I don't know if I would want to dock that
with using a tiller. :)
Skip
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"Hydraulic steering with emergency tiller" wow I don't know if I would want to dock that
with using a tiller. :)
Probably easier to dock with a tiller than with no helm at all. I've wondered about this on our boat. The rudders are under the bed and it would be a major adventure to jury rig control if the helm ever failed. Its one of those things that you just kind of ignore and hope you never have to deal with.