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Okay, so /u/pho_king_fast was on the money with Trawler Forum.

Here you go...

But before you go there, in order to not get totally flamed, figure out some things first. Notably...

1. How much money do you have to spend on the actual cruising itself. Go fast boats can cruise at 15-30 knots while completely munching fuel and full displacement trawlers sip it, but cruise at between 6 and 8 knots.
   
   
2. Where are you going to be going and how long are you going to be away from land? Are we talking day cruising along the coasts? Great loop cruising? Or are you going to make an Atlantic passage?
   
   
3. What is the level of comfort you desire? Do you need TV and hot showers or can you live with less amenities? Can you deal with 4-8 ft seas without stabilizers or do you need a comfortable ride?
   
   
4. Are you going to live aboard all year around? Or just a few months here and there?
   
   
5. What's your experience with fixing stuff? Can you handle oil changes and basic engine maintenance?
   
   
6. What's your comfort level with the sea? Do you need to feel like you're in a tank or are you willing to trust your boat and be the weakest link in the chain?
   
   In the end, you're looking for the same things. You need to start off with a solid boat. A good solid hull that's in great shape. Steel or fiberglass that isn't blistered and doesn't have a bunch of wonky through hulls. Like sailboats, a lot of people use powerboats as live aboard boats and as such treat them poorly and ignore the sea worthiness of them. So pay attention to homemade fixes and alterations. Make sure the wiring is marine wiring and hasn't been "fixed" by the owner. You'll obviously need to get a survey eventually, but you can simply look at the state of things and get an idea if anything is obviously botched.
   
   Most, not all, but most diesel motors require major rebuilds between 6K and 10K hours depending on the make/model and age. That's pretty much re-powering at that point so it gets expensive.
   
   But really, powerboats are just like sailboats. They need to float, first and foremost.
   
   The bible of motor yachts seems to be Voyaging under Power by Robert Beebe and revised by Dennis Umstot, now in it's 4th edition. That could help you on the subject if you're a reader.
   
   Here's the book on Amazon
   __
   
   Sound like I'm about where you're at I think. A few years away from leaving the land and getting on the boat. I think we'll end up on a trawler. Most likely either a Kadey-Krogen 44-48 or the Nordhavn 46. They seem like the most capable/dependable boats for what we think we need. Cruise at 6-8knots, 3600nm range @ 6.5 kn, both built well and both have stood the test of time. Solid hulls that are constantly making huge passages. Amazingly, they seem to hold their value over time and they look pretty good too. (after the initial depreciation anyways)
   
   Anyways, good luck!
   
   

Would-be naval architect here (turned aerospace engineer, they're surprisingly similar fields). Our dreams are not so different.

You absolutely need to read - and understand - Heavy Weather Sailing by Adlard Coles. This is regarded as the Bible of ocean-crossing small craft design and has been in print for about 40 years. It's quite heavy text, but you don't need to be a scientist to understand it, just remember not giving up on this book and reading as much as you can will keep you safe.

It starts off talking about the meteorology of storms, the physics of wind & wave formation, and once you understand how these things work it explains how competing designs and different charecteristics of the rig and hull cope with extreme weather, e.g. breaking waves pitchpoling a yacht, as well as fair-weather performance. I read it purely for interest, but I was 15 at the time, so it's really not too hard to follow.

I was going to put key points here, but it is absolutely impossible to tl;dr summarise everything your situation needs. If you can't do it yourself, do the smart thing and hire a designer with a good reputation to help you realise your dream - if going it alone, this book is mandatory required reading.

Overengineer things. Rigging wire a size or two larger than manufacturers' recommendation is more likely to come out of extreme situations unscathed, it's not unusual for blue-water sailors to carry an anchor a size or three over to be certain it will grip in a storm, etc. Read up on safety gear - EPIRBs and satellite radios are, imo, a must these days but it's not all flashy electronics - several spare 600-yard warps are useful in everything from drag in a storm to jury-rigging a rudder to towing someone else to safety. Consider different scenarios and how you'd cope - "the mast falls down and you're asleep", for instance, or "the fresh water tanks leak and there's none left in the middle of the Atlantic". Can you fix it alone? Tools - and the knowledge to use them to repair everything you own - will keep you safe.

Finally, I recommend an xpost to /r/sailing, they're a bit more active. Also find some forums dedicated for sailors (I like Scuttlebutt on yachtingmonthly.com, but there must be communities dedicated to blue-water sailing and self-builds) - you'll get much more detailed advice there. Good luck and don't give up!

For the exterior, here is a copy and paste of a previous post of mine. Everyone may give you slightly different advice as there are many valid ways to do this. This routine has worked very well for me for many years.

• Clean well with soap and water and a good microfiber cloth. (removes all dirt and oil build up.)
  
• Dry it with another cloth. I like a big cotton towel.
  
• Clean with a good oxalic acid based cleaner such as Star Bright hull cleaner, or The works tub and tile cleaner(NOT THE TOILET CLEANER) Applying with a one gallon pump up sprayer works great for me. Rinse well. This removes any rust stains.
  
• Dry again.
  
• Buff with an oxidation remover. I like this one. I apply with a 10 inch random orbital buffer and application bonnet, and remove while still slightly wet with the same buffer and a wool bonnet. In heavily oxidized areas you may need to do this more than once. If you do not have oxidation, feel free to skip this step.
  
• Next buff again with a cleaner wax. I like this one same process as above, but let it dry to a haze before removing.
  
• This will leave you with a clean hull and a nice shine, if you want an even deeper shine, make one more buffing pass with a nice marine wax. I like this one
  
  It sounds like a lot of work, but once I got the process down, I found I could do all of these steps on a entire 23' boat in less than 4 hours, and it leaves it looking like new.
  
  Edit: I forgot to mention, for the outside of the windows I like this stuff. It cleans as well as a normal glass cleaner, and causes any water that hits the windshield to bead up and run off. This is a nice bonus for many boats as they often do not have windshield wipers.

If you're serious about that, first off I applaud your dream. :) All of the other comments are showing excellent advice, I would add some study as you begin this planning process. The first step in something like this, is education.

You'll want a few things.

The single most important thing for you on any boat is get the absolute best life jacket you can afford. Personally I use this https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019YDWO0M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Like you, I can't swim, but I spend my summers on the water. This is the type of lifejacket used by professionals. Get one, it's not optional.

Read this https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0071808280/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You're going to come upon a thousand words you don't yet know. Every time you do, google it, wikipedia it, and study it. Vocabulary is the pathway to new knowledge, and the depths of what you don't yet know, will drown you. Take your time, don't get discouraged, and realise that the most important tools for your survival at sea are your wits and your confidence. Don't Panic.

Get this, it's your new bible. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0688148921/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Memorise it, really. If you have to pick any single book to have as a new boater (especially a sailboat), this is it.

This is also one you'll need. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0071829326/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And to begin your engineering education (you'll need it), get this. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0071446443/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I own all of these books, and as we begin the winter this is an excellent opportunity to study and learn and wait for warmer weather.

Keep dreaming. :) You're on the right path. You'll find that most boaters are happy to talk and answer questions. Ask LOTS of questions, listen to everyone, and in time you'll have enough of a collection of knowledge to sort out the good ideas from the bad ones. The more you can learn from other people's mistakes, the easier your boating life will be. The problem with wisdom is that you don't get it until about 5 seconds after you really needed it.

Stay safe, but live dangerously. :)

1. Wire wise - Amazon - look up Anchor Tinned Wire and get a 25' section of 8ga 2 wire red/black at biggest (radio, plus lights, plus accessories ) but 12ga with 2 wires should be fine for small electronics.
   
   
   Example:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Ancor-121510-Marine-Duplex-Cables/dp/B000NUYBW0/
   
   
2. Lack of a Switch or Disconnect - don't do this. A) Danger Will Robinson ! B) is not approved by coasties/inspection most places. Get a proper battery switch. Put this switch between the battery Positive and the motor positive and your accessories positive. The ground/black from the motor, from the accessories etc can all go right to the negative terminal on the battery. We're only switching the 12+ Positive side.
   
   
   Example:
   
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Perko-8501DP-Marine-Battery-Selector/dp/B00144B6AE
   
   
   
   
   I say these things for the following reasons:
   
   
3. you'll eventually wanna sell the boat and upgrade to something bigger. When I as a buyer see things like accessory wiring going right to the battery instead of a battery switch - I use items like that to lowball the fuck out of the seller. It also says "if they did this janky to save $20, what else did they do janky" ?
   
   
   
4. Safety - you always need a way to 100% disconnect electronics. This can be because of a fire, a mystery battery drain, long term storage etc. We want a disconnect from the battery. Now that said - plugging and unplugging a quick connect/ disconnect versus a proper battery switch is a GREAT way to blow yourself up depending where the gas fumes are, where your gas tank is, etc. It's one more possible thing to corrode as well as ignite. Make sure when you do your charging etc you are careful (connect the tender first THEN plug it into the wall outlet)
   
   
   
5. Long term usage - the more correct you do it now, the more money you save in the long run making small repairs later.
   
   
   
   Wiring Example:
   
   
   https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRrykWkGL7Y6N6zwAiDNcYPNvgQglOC4aJx0ntB9qn2Iv_INk1TUQ

Get a copy of this:

http://www.amazon.com/Marine-Diesel-Engines-Maintenance-Troubleshooting/dp/0071475354/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415398133&sr=1-1&keywords=marine+diesel+engines

My own boat is gasoline-powered, but I do enough reading about powerboats in general to be aware that this book is the Bible where caring for marine diesel engines is concerned. The author is the technical editor at PassageMaker magazine.

West Marine carries it, but you could get it cheaper by ordering a used copy from Amazon.

EDIT: You're welcome. Appreciate the upvote. /sarcasm

Depends on what you want, I have a 16' SmokerCraft and didn't really want to install speakers into the sides or floors because in most locations it would take up the little storage space I have.

I ended up ordering two pairs of these speakers and mounting them on the deck (two on the stern deck on each side, and one on the bow in deck in the center)

Then I mounted this Kenwood bluetooth amplifier under my dash and installed the remote on my dash (I actually made a custom dash to rearrange gauges and support a Lowrance unit, so I added a spot for the remote)


I don't have any good pictures that show the speakers, so I will try and snag one or two when I get home from work if you'd like. This setup has been awesome so far and for the price of the speakers they actually sound perfect (for the use case). You won't be able to hear very well while driving, but for trolling/floating/etc. they are perfect

Not sure I can tell exactly where your leak is from the photos, but I would recommend a weld if you have access or JB Weld (an easy epoxy) if you don't. The JB Weld might be the easiest option anyway. I have used on boats and my automotive engines many times.

J-B Weld 8272 MarineWeld Marine Epoxy - 2 oz
http://amzn.com/B000KKPFFA

So I bought a used 2008 pontoon last year, and decided to do a budget update to get her ready for the new season. Tried to keep it under $1000, but the last minute decision to get a new Bimini put the project over that.
For those curious, here are the materials I used.
60' of .030 black aluminum paneling: $295 from Pontoonfence.com

Nav Lights:$20
Docking Lights: $30. I'm keeping an eye on these. Some reviews complained of them not being waterproof. I ran a bead of silicone around the lens and where the wires enter the body. Hoping they hold up.
Waterproof LED Strip Lights $40 for two sets. I'm really happy with these.
LED RGB control wires $9

Polk DB651 6.5" Speakers $118 ($59/pair)
Kenwood Marine Bluetooth Amplifier $135
Pyle Marine speaker wire $9
Engine Parts (Plugs, Impeller, Lube) $40
Power wash rental: $30

Misc expenses (mounting tape, nonskid tape, screws, bolts, etc) ~$100

Replacement Bimini and boot from restorepontoon.com $219
Total: $1,045

Chapman Piloting and Seamanship is a great resource. At times it is almost too thorough and might be a little much to carry with you. I recommend taking someone with experience with you instead of relying on a manual for the first time or two though.

Please buy and read this. Too many people on the water with zero knowledge. This is the bible of boating. In addition, a Coast Guard Power Rangers course is a great idea.

https://www.amazon.com/Chapman-Piloting-Seamanship-68th/dp/1618372432/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Chapman Piloting Seamanship & Boat Handling - My grandfather made my father read this book front to back before he let him operate a boat and my father did the same for me and my brother. It's a great book to teach you the basics of boat handling, navigation, weather, etc.

OK, we are going to try to get one of these. How to I know which one is the correct one?

https://www.amazon.com/Perko-8501DP-Marine-Battery-Selector/dp/B00144B6AE/ref=lp_2598388011_1_1?srs=2598388011&ie=UTF8&qid=1554134911&sr=8-1

I suppose the cables go on the same way?

​

I suggest you find a wiring schematic. Sounds like someone has made a mess of things. You can order the rebuild manual for the motor on Amazon. Mine had already been winterized and covered up otherwise I would take a peak and see what I have for wiring.


Evinrude/Johnson 85-300 HP... https://www.amazon.com/dp/0892878576?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

303 Aerospace Protectant, I use it on everything

http://www.amazon.com/303-30306-Protectant-Trigger-Sprayer/dp/B000XBCURW

If you plan on using something other than a sailboat, then read Beebe's book: Voyaging Under Power

I use this : http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-M4916-Marine-Oxidation-Remover/dp/B0000AY4YX

https://www.amazon.com/Intex-Explorer-2-Person-Inflatable-French/dp/B000051ZHS/ref=sr_1_7?s=boating-water-sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1465784581&sr=1-7&keywords=inflatable+boat

you probably want a cruising guide for the 'thorny path'. I would try crusingforum.com

there are many varieties , just get a current one. https://www.amazon.com/Gentlemans-Guide-Passages-South/dp/0944428797

You likely have a battery selector switch. You only need 1 battery. The other is a backup. If you run your trolling motor, livewell, stereo, etc you might kill the battery. In that case you would just switch to the other battery.

This is not the technically correct fix, but I've used J-B Weld on my 1993 fiberglass boat that had similar damage. It's not a pretty fix, though it would look better on your grey boat than my white one. It's a marine epoxy that I mixed up and "patched" the area. If it's on the bottom of the boat no one is going to see it anyways. It's 20 years old - it's not worth doing the proper repair. I'm on my second season and it looks the same as the day I did the patch.

My boat came with the damage and the previous owner drove it without it spreading as /u/LikesGladiatorMovies suggested. I wouldn't guaranty yours will hold up the same but that is my experience.