Blackcreek34
New member
Hey guys - what a great community! I have been a long-time lurker and finally decided to join. My wife and I (and our 20 y/o daughter) live in Bellingham, WA and after a lot of research and looking at a lot of different boats have decided that a used Tomcat is #1 on our list. A little background: my wife grew up boating in the San Juans, Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound, etc. We have an old 17-foot aluminum outboard we have used for crabbing and have used my brother in law's 22 ft Alumaweld for camping in the San Juans and Gulf Islands. It has been my wife's dream to have something with a small cabin, so we do not have to schlep camping gear.
We decided on the Tomcat for several reasons. One, we are impressed with the quality of C Dories (and highly recommended from our boating friends). Second, I am prone to sea sickness (mostly in the open ocean) and was really impressed with the stable ride of the Tomcat in some choppy conditions (some great folks selling a Tomcat who already had a buyer were gracious enough to take us out). Our plan for the boat is for 2-4 night trips in the San Juans, Gulf Islands, and lots of day trips for crabbing and getting out to Lopez Island where my wife's family has a vacation home (with a buoy). If we ever become competent enough, perhaps we will one day go further North.
We have so much to learn, and I have too many questions to ask in one post. While I am not completely new to boating, I feel I have a huge learning curve in front of me. We don't even have a boat yet (and it seems used Tomcats don't come up for sale that often) but I would love to hear any general advice for boat shopping and becoming a competent boater.
Thanks in advance!
We decided on the Tomcat for several reasons. One, we are impressed with the quality of C Dories (and highly recommended from our boating friends). Second, I am prone to sea sickness (mostly in the open ocean) and was really impressed with the stable ride of the Tomcat in some choppy conditions (some great folks selling a Tomcat who already had a buyer were gracious enough to take us out). Our plan for the boat is for 2-4 night trips in the San Juans, Gulf Islands, and lots of day trips for crabbing and getting out to Lopez Island where my wife's family has a vacation home (with a buoy). If we ever become competent enough, perhaps we will one day go further North.
We have so much to learn, and I have too many questions to ask in one post. While I am not completely new to boating, I feel I have a huge learning curve in front of me. We don't even have a boat yet (and it seems used Tomcats don't come up for sale that often) but I would love to hear any general advice for boat shopping and becoming a competent boater.
Thanks in advance!