Episode 1!-The journey to a 44' Defever Trawler-Living Aboard
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- čas přidán 29. 07. 2017
- The journey to owning and living aboard a 44' bluewater trawler by the age of 33, and what Aqua-Cultured is all about!!
Opening Music: The Hip Abduction, "Someday I'm Going Away"
Oh Lord! You and Amira are living my dream and I can't wait to follow your travels! My Dad was a tow boat Captain so I grew up on the water too and will someday sell this big ole house, everything in it, say goodbye to my corporate life and join you guys.... Bon Voyage you two!
Thank you so very much Lori. We look forward to seeing you on the water when you make the dream a reality as well!
Lori Rhae cool sounds like me im from Norway and alot of the men in my family has been either sailiors and fishermen , personally i only have a little experience at sea but i love the ocean (and also lakes) and i know that my dream aswell is to live aboard a trawler , so bless you!
Thanks for sharing !
Terrific storyteller--we all want to live-a-board and are naive about the work involved. Respect you, man.
I very much appreciate that. It certainly is a journey that doesn’t come easy
Looking forward to sailing along on your adventures!! Thx for sharing.
beautiful boat and great engine room. have fun in your travels.
I appreciate your discipline and knowledge
Thank you for sharing my friend
Nice seeing you guys living your dream ! Bless you !
Thank you! Still feels like a dream
Excellent communicator.
Thank you, I always think I can do better! I appreciate you
What an awesome story. I love trawlers. I look them up all the time
Thanks so much Peter. We are hoping to continue the story when Irma clears our latitude!
I love you guys- looking forward to following you 2!
Thanks Vinny! Welcome aboard!
you are a lucky man the boat is beautiful yes you have worked hard on it and it shows and that girl of yours is incredible good luck to you both have earned it
Really appreciate the kind words curly!
Great video
I'm looking forward to seeing your boat and adventures. I have a 1978 Prairie 36 that I'm fixing up so I know what you mean about blood sweat and tears bringing a boat back. Good luck with your channel!
Thanks kevbjork1! The Prairie 36 is a great boat. Hope to see you on the water sometime.
Glad to find a power boat travel adventure!!! Looking foreword to following along.
Thanks Kirk! We are happy to add another powerboat channel to the mix!
Looking forward to watching more from you.
Thanks I. Paul Saltzman, very happy to have you along.
Great channel looking forward to the experience you bring.
Thanks John!
Stumbled onto your video as a CZcams recommendation and what a wonderful backstory. I own a 44’ Marine Trader (86) I bought in Madeira Beach and brought up to the Chesapeake Bay 6 years ago and have lived aboard since 2016. I do the majority of my own work and can relate to so much of your video, thanks for inspiring me to push on. I singe handle her all over the bay and hope to return to St Pete within a couple of years and fulfill my dream of going to Bahamas, keys and gulf. Thanks for this great video if you’re ever heading this way give a shout out. Keep the vids coming, cheers!
Hey Tony, so sorry for the late reply! I took a bit of a hiatus from the channel but am back at it now! Thanks so much for the sentiment and for tuning in. That's awesome that you brought your boat all the way up there from Madeira. There is a good chance I saw it down here. Best of luck, and definitely let me know if you make it back down here.
Nice to hear your story.
Thank you David! Glad you were able to appreciate an early video that was quite rough around the edges
Son you have a wealth of knowledge! 👍👍🍺🍺🇺🇸
Just came across your channel and wanted to say hello. Lived aboard a 44 Atlantic Sundeck with my wife for 6 years in NY (during summer months :)). Just moved from Largo to the east side of Tampa Bay in Wimauma, near Sun City. Very familiar with the waters around Mad Beach. Will be following your adventures closely. Nothing better than living aboard!!!
Ah yes the 44 Atlantic, I am familiar. Great boat. Thank you so much for joining along. And you betcha, nothing like living aboard!
great trip guys
Thanks Jim!
I lived in St Pete back in the 80's. i was 4 or 5. spent a little time in 95 for a few months. Pinellas Park area. I still have family and friends there. Looking to visit soon. my wife and I are thinking of living aboard as well.
Holy smokes, so sorry for the late reply! I stepped away from the channel for longer than I hoped, but I am back and refreshing things. Hope to see you tuning in! St. Pete sure has changed since the 80's to say the least!
Look forward to your vids
The boat I have now is an Ed Monk design 32' salmon troller...Ed Monk was the naval architect that designed the DeFever trawlers too. Classic Pacific West Coast workboat trawlers.
Yea happy to be aboard❤️❤️❤️😆😆😆😍😍😍
Happy to have you aboard lee deetz!
I just came across your channel, (liked and subbed) :-)
As a former NC Marine Fisheries officer I share your love and appreciation of Marine Science and Biology.
Also, My Dad and I shared a love for restoring old wooden Chris Crafts (36' & 46') and spent many enjoyable years on these "project" boats.
Our last boat was a 30' Sea Ray Weekender, but unfortunately it fell to Hurricane Irene a few years back, (the whole Marina got pretty much destroyed).
After losing this boat we located a 50' Marine Trader Trawler (single screw diesel) in Wrightsville Beach, NC.
We put in an offer which the owner accepted, and got an initial approval from our bank, but upon further scrutiny by the bank they changed the aggred upon terms (APR, etc) because the boat was 1 year older than allowed for them to give us a more manageable rate, which increased the payments to the point of us having to pass on this opportunity.
Sadly, both my Dad and I now have too many health issues to enjoy the boating adventures we once loved. But, I am excited to find and follow your channel and adventures to come.
All the best Capt... :-)
Thank you very much ChronicPain Gardener. Were you based out of the Cape Fear/Wrightsville area when working for the NC Fisheries? I go up to that area about 4 times a year. I am sorry to hear about the Sea Ray and then not being able to swing the Marine Trader. I know very well about the difficulty of trying to finance an "old" boat. Thanks so much for the kind words and for tuning in. Take care of yourself!
Aqua-Cultured hey guys, my assigned Duty station was actually at Carolina Beach but my area of responsibility consisted of the Intercoastal Waterway from Snow's cut, North to an area called Hewletts Creek, and then back over to the Cape Fear from the mouth of the river near Bald Head Island, heading up river toward Wilmington, past the battleship and then up the Cape Fear River to Lock and Dam number 1.
I was also responsible for offshore waters out to the three-mile Limit, and on occasions I would be responsible for an area as far south as The Little River Inlet near Calabash and as far north as Figure 8 Island, and even occasionally up to New River Inlet (covered by sea plane).
Thanks again for responding and please be safe out there... :-)
Captain Butch and First Mate Amira, Your story on youtube is great, my only wish is I was 30 years younger.
Thank you John! Looking forward to seeing you again next season
Good video, thanks. Looking forward to following a trawler yacht for a change.
Thanks so much Gogs, we're excited to share some hopefully original content!
...Yep add me to the list of future boat living. Sold the RV and the house is next. Looking at a 70ft all steel tug and I'm up here in the Great Lakes. Probably will not make it into the southern sunshine with it but I'm more of a freshwater guy anyway. Good luck
Doesn't matter if you are salt or fresh, you are Aqua-Cultured! I would love to seem that tug if you make that happen!
Hey man a shoutout for my hometown Cape Coral/Ft Myers area! Right on!
Right on indeed!
Ok Capt. You have my attention. TRAWLERS...looking forward to follow your vids
Welcome aboard nerissea! Glad to have you
Aqua-Cultured kk
Good story and video, you have another new subscriber. I look forward to tagging along on your adventures. Thumbs up from Canada.
Thanks again Kevin! We would love to be up in Canada with you right now.
I wish you and Amira all the best Butch, not just now in the face of Irma but for all the adventures ahead.
Cool boat, my wife would love it. We are thinking about getting a trawler and doing the loop. Would love the 44 but draft may be tight and so is our budget. I also like the K-K 42 but again too deep for my pockets, may shoot for an old Monk 36. Look forward to more episodes- thank you.
The monk 36 is a good option, also check out the Hatteras 42 LRC, I have seen several of those at an affordable cost, and they are a great vessel to take you around the loop. Thanks so much for tuning in!
Had a marine trader Sundeck 40 for a while. What a headache that boat was. Hopefully the defever is a better constructed. The look and layout was pretty similar to yours, but I had a single Lehman 120 and a bow thruster. Thankfully you don't have teak decks on yours. They leaked on the MT which in turn rusted out the steel fuel and water tanks bellow.
I am very familiar with the Marine Trader, as I originally planned to purchase one. They can be a great value of a boat if the previous owner took care of the common issues they were built with. DeFevers are very well built boats, but if not properly cared for, can have similar issues. Luckily, this vessel has been well cared for by previous owners and has served the DeFever name well.
Thanks for the reply. I definitely did not get one that was well cared for - and my surveyor was asleep at the wheel. Also had a leaking shaft log, rotted hard top over the sundeck and a few other issues. Lesson learned. Thanks for posting your adventures. I will follow along vicariously - much more affordable and a lot less work. :)
Hi Like your channel. We currently have a 40' cruiser with twin diesels and plan to cruise starting next fall when I retire. Plans were to cruise over to florida and then down the Bahamas etc. Will be following the channel and hope to meet ya out there!
Thank you csranch2000! We definitely hope to tie up or anchor next to you sometime.
I love travel in my RV, but a trawler is a dream. Give me a 60ft Outer Reef, Kadey-Krogen or Selene and I'd be set 😜👍🏻 I need too buy some Lotto tickets. Cool story! Safe travels...
Thanks so much Fat Guy Travels. We have been playing lotto so we can get a Krogen, Nordhavn, Selene, or Outer Reef ;) ! One day! Thanks for tuning in!
I'm excited about a trawler series. Me and my wife plan on picking one up soon. Looking forward to retirement. Thanks for the video.
Thanks so much M mc. Let us know if we can answer any questions when you go on the trawler hunt.
I am also looking to get a trawler myself ! Looking forward to your video's!
Thanks so much Mitch, glad to have you along.
And by the way, I just watched episode 1 and I am already in love with the channel.
Thanks so much Michael! Would love to hear about your friend you mentioned.
Awesome! My wife and I (retired!) are looking for the same boat. Ugh. Hard to find a good one. Just missed a great one. Ugh. If you hear of one, please let us know.
Otherwise, we’re looking forward to seeing more videos!! 😃😃😃😃
Hey Robert! So sorry for the late reply! I have been away from the channel for quite some time but am getting things revived now! Happy to be back. I hope all is well with you and look out for new videos coming soon!
Just found your videos .
I really like the Defever 44's and have several friends with them
We have a 40 Mariner Sedan
They certainly are a great make and model! Sweet, hope to see you on the water sometime
We are on the Tennessee River this summer, but will be back down to Bradenton later in the Fall.
I'm fixing to put my house up for sale and buy a boat to live on. Can't wait to get the adventures started.
We fully endorse that plan, make it happen! After living aboard for 7 years, I don't miss living on land.
I've been living aboard since 2000 and have positively no desire to move back on shore. There has been times that I never slept on shore for well over a year. It's not for everyone but if it's in your blood don't just dream about it, do it ! When I first moved on my 43' SeaRay I thought it would be no more than 6 months and I would buy another house. As time passed I realized more and more I didn't want to be back in a house. Being retired I'm doing exactly what I want. My boat is in excellent condition and anytime I wish drop the lines and away I go. I would like a command bridge trawler but I can't do steps very well so what I have is more suitable for me. What I learned is when you live in a house you may not have anything whatsoever in common with your neighbors. When you are at a marina you share one common interest with all your neighbors and that's the love of boating and the water. One neighbor may have a boat worth over a million and the next neighbor has a older boat that is worth less than 20 thousand. So you meet people from all income levels from blue collar workers to CEO's that you may never meet when you live in a neighborhood. This video is great !
Found your story interesting. I actually own an aquarium maintenance business in Tampa. We don't live on a boat yet though!
Hey it's great to hear from you. We sub'd to your channel a bit ago as we saw you were from the Tampa area as well. We will have to get together some time and talk boats and aquaria! The aquarium world is quite small, so I imagine we have alot of mutual acquaintances.
just found your channel. looking forward to following yall in yalls adventures. and im sure i can come up with some pretty good questions along the way if yall dont mind to much. one day i would love to get there, but for now ill survive through other peoples adventure until i can achieve mine. and keep doing my research
hope all is well and sunny
Thank you Colt W! We love having questions sent our way, let them rip! Keep your mind on the goal and you will make it happen.
Had just watched BoatFam's retirement announcement video (third kid on the way so selling their Albin) when up popped a recommendation for a new related channel - Aqua-Cultured. Thrilled that you are online and love your expertise, story and vision/purpose statement of education and inspiration.
With spouse nearing end of working career it's time to get serious and big time add to the tiny bit of knowledge we have from a couple of Southwest Florida Yachts charters on GB36 and Krogen 42 models. Although long time trawler dreamers fixated on the first one we were ever on ... a DeFever 49 RPH ... your tour of the 44 was an eye-opener especially the cavernous walk-in engine room.
The complexity of big boat systems operation and maintenance, navigation etc. is overwhelming so we are really looking forward to you sharing the wealth of experience you have. Let us know when you are on Patreon so we can reallocate our Patreon dollars from our favorite sailors to Aqua-Cultured.
Ken Ferguson, thank you very very much! How serendipitous is that!? I have to say, we really do love the 49RPH as well. There are two big compromises I made on this purchase, one was not having a raised pilothouse, and the other not having a cockpit. But hey, life is always a compromise, especially when on budget. But, the 44 has so many pros that outway the cons. I went on my first 44 about 4 years ago and it certainly opened my eyes! Definitely a hard vessel to beat in the size class and value. We will definitely make you aware when we decide to jump in to the Patreon world. And let us know if you come to the Tampa Bay area sometime, in which we would love to have you aboard and share some experiential knowledge!
Thank you for the invitation Captain! How did she weather the storm?
I really enjoyed a short trip to Tampa for business this past May and specifically chose to stay at the Mansion House in downtown St. Pete for three reasons:
1) check out the St. Pete City Marina as a live aboard location,.
2) sunrise swim in the 50 meter pool at the awesome North Shore aquatic center and
3) sunset run along the beach at Ft. De Soto .
I'd been to the St. Pete beaches several times but had no idea that downtown was so nice now. Felt like a combo of old Key West neighborhoods and mini South Beach night life. I do fear the high rise developers have found it too.
Understand those compromises on PH versus sundeck versus double cabin. I wonder what it would be like to load groceries up to the sundeck from the dinghy in a rolling anchorage. But you did get your covered side decks and your U-shaped galley up and a massive salon, flybridge and master stateroom. Perhaps in a video you could walk through your decision process between the 3 choices you mentioned you looked at.
Hey Ken, the boat weathered the storm like a champ! St. Pete really is a gem, and is hard to find the same quality of life elsewhere these days. I travel alot for work, and nothing else compares in my opinion, hence why I am born and raised here and still have not moved away. It has improved immensely over the last 10-15 years. I like the suggestion about producing a video based around the decision making process in selecting this vessel over the other two models. Stay tuned!
Glad to hear that Aqua Cultured weathered the storm. Just as you predicted your bigger concern was water getting sucked out of the bay which it did from the photos I saw. Check your LI for the message I sent off CZcams.
Next time you have calcium clogging your pipes try pouring vinegar in it should help dissolve it.
Vinegar is a great preventative measure, but once you get past a certain point, vinegar is futile. In fact, I even tried muriatic acid one time to see if it would do the trick, and even it had a hard time with a significant calcium blockage.
I like how you show us the map
Hey hey! New friends here. We are also in a trawler. Ours looks so similar. 47 foot marine trader. Same engines too.
We are in the keys currently. Yall take care
Hey there! I have actually been following you guys on Instagram. Thanks for reaching out, hope to see you out there sometime! -Butch
@@AquaCultured thanks man! Where are yall currently? We are in the keys, waiting for hurricane season
This is the same boat we had when I was a kid in the early 80's, a DeFever 44'!
That's so great! Have any old photos?
I DO, I just don't know how to attach em here.
Sounds good! Intro was a bit long, but its nice to know your background, plus I'm intrigued by trawlers;so, subscribed.
Thank you! And agree, intro was way too long. Thanks for subscribing!
Cool Intro Song THA !!!!
Yeah buddy!
I have Defever fever! I have a 1967 31 ft Chris Craft commander that we have owned for 21 years. Hate to sell it but I recently retired last year and thinking how cool it would be to have a 44 Defever. I live up in Tarpon Springs and I see one 1989 for sale in long boat key. Would be great if we could get together some day and talk boats. Jim&Chris
Gotta love an ol' Chris Craft! But definitely recommend taking the leap up to the next level, you won't regret it. We will definitely have to get together. We have actually been talking about cruising up to Tarpon Springs for a weekend.
And that 1989 for sale in Long Boat is this very boat! Haha. Curtis Stokes for some reason has not taken the listing down. Cheers Jim & Chris!
super
I'm coming along as well...
Delayed thank you!!
Hi capt! This channel suggested to me after I've asked to a seamans forum for which trawler to buy between 40' to 50' (wooden GB 42-44 replicas to be more precise)... Defever's aft-cabin looks much more specious as it uses full beam but GB is also OK 4 me cus I'm not gonna live in 7/24... We've a lack of options here in Turkey for the 2nd hand American boats, specilally in every kind of full displacements and trawlers.... I wonder if there's any special reason for you to pick DEFEVER over GB or it was just an occasion matter in market?
Thank you Sedat! I love the GB's, but for full time living and cruising, I just find the DeFever more comfortable and suitable for my type of use. The large covered aft deck is a huge plus. You can go right out the aft salon door under cover in case the weather is not nice, and easily make your way up to the flybridge. I also prefer the full displacement hull as well. I did come very close to purchasing a GB though! Thanks for joining! Feel free to send any other questions our way.
Nice resume.
Thank you! Definitely proud and thankful for it
Hey great videos! Orlando Peeps here! Hey out of curiosity did you finance the boat and so who did you use?
Thank you thank you! Financed through USAA! Only one I could find to finance an ol' boat
See ya out there. The Mary Sue....2016 76' Azimut Megellano
We will definitely keep a look-out for you! Hope to moor near you sometime
We truly need to talk!!! I have someone that you would love to link up with because I think that she and you both would both benefit from getting a meeting set up.
This is my dream.. I'm planning on getting a 30ish foot sailboat in Lake P. New Orleans and playing poker while I learn to sail .
Hey guys! Love the boat, I have been looking for a live aboard and really like the defevers but was wondering what the headroom is like aboard? Havent found one locally to go aboard yet. Asking for a 6'4" sailor Haha.
Hi John B, thanks so much. The headroom is quite good aboard these DeFevers. I believe the headroom in the cabin is right at about 6'6 or so. Engine room is about 5'8 I think.
@@AquaCultured Awesome, thank you! Headroom is the top requirement for the boat search and it's difficult to find objective information about it, "standing headroom" doesn't cut it for me. Hope to see you guys out there one day!
do you have a link for the apparel?
Close! We will be getting our website up and running hopefully soon! Keep in touch, we will have apparel available
We finally have the website up! www.aqua-cultured.com/
12:34 😢
Gee an old boat is a hole in the ocean to pour money down until ou finally go to sea! Then it was all worth it!
You betcha! The hole in the ocean is still there and accepting my money on a regular basis!
Are you really a captain in the sense that you have a captains license?
Yes, that is correct.
Review your boat
No problem, there is a boat tour video. But I am also in the midst of doing an update tour and review of what I hate and love about my boat. That video will be coming soon! Thanks for watching
This hurricane Irma is not going to help your awesome coral. Bummer.
jack nimble, you got that right. Hurricanes can help the long term for coral in a healthy state, but in the state they are in right now, it certainly doesn't help. :(
You like Mexico or na?
I have had some enjoyable visits to Mexico
No
You should name your boat after yourself...The Rambler
When does the EBEGGING begin?
George, I do understand why you might make a disparaging comment like that about Captain Butch's motives given all the young people who have taken to CZcams/Patreon to finance their travel dreams. The ebegging can get annoying.
While a very few do make good enough videos to attract and sustain a paying following of any size the vast majority do not. I'm a very happy voluntary supporter of Delos which is appointment viewing for my wife and I every Monday night. I actually had to look for a way to pay them when I started feeling guilty for enjoying them so much for free.
In the case of Aqua Cultured you might have first noted some of the information shared in the video before casting shade. He works full time in sales with an costly product, has saved enough to purchase a well kept $300k DeFever (you can check Yachtworld for current listings), maintain it and berth it at a nice marina, and rebuilt that Californian and has a 100 ton captain's licence. Those facts should have made it clear to you that this is a hard working, accomplished young man who gives no hint of entitlement mentality.
He's just not the begging type and doesn't need to sweat over hours and hours of video editing to pay for his boating dreams.
However if he builds a nice series of educational videos that provide high value lessons I'd happily pay to keep them coming. You can only begrudge him for that if you don't monetize your time and effort.
Your attempt to disparage Captain Butch has boomeranged George.
Ken Ferguson In your opinion. You must really get a life
George Mulligan wow hyper fast reply. Again disparaging. Is there anything else to know?
stopped watching after 1 min cause the intro was taking to long
Well, I think the video as a whole was too long, but we are just starting and are video-producing novices. We have shortened up the intro on the later vids and will continue to fine tune things. Thanks for the comment, feel free to let us know what you look for in videos that you enjoy. Cheers my friend.