Maryline Bossar: Hello and welcome back to Full Displacement, the podcast by Current Yachts. I am delighted to have two friends of mine today, Captain Chris and Alyse, whom I met many, many years ago. It was during one of those Troll-O-Fest events for cruisers, boat owners, or boat buyers that are exploring long distance cruising lifestyle. And so I asked Chris and Alyse to join the podcast to talk their experience as instructors as fellow liveaboards to their knowledge with us and our So today we're going to talk about bought the boat. Now what? What are some of the most commonly asked questions that boat or boat buyers come to Chris and Alyse for? So before we get started, hello Amanda, welcome back to the program.

AMANDA: I'm Marilyn. Thanks for having me today and joining us guys. We appreciate you being here.

Maryline Bossar: Chris, Alyse welcome to the show. How are you?

Chris Caldwell: Very well. Hello from Vero Beach.

Maryline Bossar: Love to have you here, Chris. It's been so long and you guys have lived that dream and you've been live aboard since 1995. I got that from the website. Is that still correct? You're like trusted, done it. You, you know, walk the talk and people might look up to you and you're a huge wealth of knowledge, which we're very grateful to have you here today.

Chris Caldwell: Yep.

Maryline Bossar: Tell us a little bit about you and how you got to what you're doing now and have been doing for decades.

Chris Caldwell: It's a strange beginning. We our careers in the year 2000. and went on a one year boat ride. Living in New Orleans, we figured we didn't have kids who I wait till 65. So we took a leave of absence and went on a one year boat ride. Leaving in May and then around New Year's, we were in Key West and we decided this is too good. We don't need to go back. So we cruised some more working out of our savings account and then we figured

Maryline Bossar: I know.

Chris Caldwell: we needed money. we started doing odd jobs and made an and were insured a service company, ⁓ Captain Chris Yacht And we were doing lot of service work, simple service work. And then we were approached we can teach people better docking skills. ⁓ So we started doing captain training people how to operate their boat or their new to them boat. And then some major manufacturers, Beneteau one, Katie Krogan is another, at factory level hired us to train ⁓ their clients that just bought their boats. ⁓ So figured that being a captain is a lot cleaner, easier crawling around our hands and knees in the bilge. So we morphed into training. But we trained them how to do some of that work too. ⁓ So that was of nice for them because some of it is pretty easy. It's not difficult and if you do the in advance, basic maintenance, you can keep like an apple day keeps the doctor away kind of thing. ⁓ So ⁓ we that were comfortable with what worked for and what kept us cruising for so long that we were able to share ⁓ with others. ⁓

Maryline Bossar: one more question. I wanted to ask how did you get into boating in the first place? Were you an adult already? Did you fall into it as a kid? Can you share with us what

Chris Caldwell: Two completely different ways. Two different stories. go. Okay.

Maryline Bossar: Go ahead. I want to hear them both.

Chris Caldwell: I was what we all know as a boat rider. I was the baby of the family. My parents had a boat up at the Jersey shore and it was a trailer boat to start with. And then we got a little bit bigger with what we called a cabin cruiser, you know, a big, what was it, a 24 footer, nothing huge, but big enough. And I still being the baby was always told to sit with your life jacket on and don't move. And my two older siblings were able to do it all. when I came to Louisiana met Chris, I loved boating. I enjoyed it, but I really didn't know a whole lot about the hands-on part of it. And I wanted to learn because ⁓ it's lot more fun. And what learned ⁓ as time on, ⁓ we wanted bigger boat and a bigger boat and a bigger boat. ⁓ And then how we ended up living aboard, even while we were still in our corporate jobs in New Orleans. And we would take the boat out every week. leave the dock at least once a week, sometimes more. And when we had three day vacations, we would go someplace off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, etc. And I finally said, you know what, I to learn to drive the boat. I don't to be the deckhand all time. And what I really learned is that it's easier driving the than it handling all those lines and dealing with the anchor and all that sort of stuff. you know, it's one of those where what you don't know, sometimes you're a little afraid of. ⁓

Maryline Bossar: Right on.

Chris Caldwell: And once you learn it, you realize, and was okay with it, but some people, it's difficult getting their hands pried from that wheel. They don't want to give up the driving. It's fear thing too for them because they don't really know how to handle lines. They don't really know how to run and down the decks and fend off with fenders and all that sort of stuff. it ended up a really fun thing for me. And he said, but first, before you learn to drive the boat, ⁓ you have to learn basic things like checking fluids. said, okay, I can learn how to do that. I mean, I've been ⁓ him tools for years. I could definitely be down to doing it. And I learned that, he said, great. Now we're gonna dock and we're gonna do fine with that. And one day I said, I'm taking it out without you. And he said, really? Because this where we lived. Everything we owned was on this boat. ⁓

Maryline Bossar: Yeah And what was the boat again then?

Chris Caldwell: This was a 44. It was a Gulfstar trawler. Full displacement, twin engines, thrusters. Okay?

AMANDA: Okay.

Chris Caldwell: And had, he said, who are going to use for your deckhand? And I said, all women in this marina have volunteered to be my deckhand. So I about eight ladies with me and we went out ⁓ and had lovely day on Lake Punch in New Orleans. And ⁓ from then it like, okay, I ⁓ felt really And was longer a, what I going to do if something happens to him? I was very comfortable driving the boat. and eventually ended up getting my captain's license as well.

AMANDA: So when you guys first started out, you said you took a year long trip. Was that on the Gulf Star? was it a different boat at that time? ⁓ was. ⁓ so, and hinted to maybe starting with something smaller and then working your way up and working your way up. ⁓ What you start with?

Chris Caldwell: yes, was on the Gulf Coast Well, as owning a boat, my history is a little bit different. I grew up working on farm in the summer, and I figured I'd go work on a shrimp boat, get paid more money. And then you don't catch shrimp, you don't get paid. So then I into the oil field. So I drove crew boats out to the oil rigs and in all three those jobs, if your machines don't work, don't work, you don't get So that's where I figured out that need to know how

AMANDA: Okay. Hey.

Chris Caldwell: to these things keep going. So to answer your first question about what was the boat that we started out with, built as a married couple, we built a 14 foot fiberglass skiff and then a bigger 14 foot aluminum skiff. And then one day we ended up with the 34 foot down east cruiser built up in East Booth Bay, Maine. Single engine, single engine, no bow thruster. And then we figured we're living in New Orleans

AMANDA: Mm-hmm.

Chris Caldwell: We only live five miles away from the marina we figured we're out here four days a week and we have to go home to cut the grass. So don't we buy a bigger boat ⁓ and get of the house? But even before ⁓ we that boat and traded up, we would 10 day, ⁓ day trips that. And the hardest part it is that it was originally a lobster boat that had been converted to something that was pleasure. So the shower was on

Maryline Bossar: Ha

Chris Caldwell: half deck. You had to shower in your swimsuit. You know, it was not a really good place to live on the boat and be comfortable. And today, 34 foot boats have been designed for pleasure. you can have a fully enclosed, comfortable and two staterooms, know, in that size. So ⁓ it was little different, a little rougher than than what today's 34 foot boats are. But we still loved it. And that was the whole thing is that ⁓ it was It was enjoyable. And what we learned very quickly is it wasn't fun, why we doing it? So you to step back and think about what did you do? Why did you go? Most of the time that when it wasn't fun it was because we had a schedule. and you were pushing to go when the weather was not great or boat wasn't in the best condition or something like that. you know, ⁓ they say the schedule is the most dangerous thing to have on a boat. And that's the It needs to fun. needs to stay pleasurable. And when it stops, you just step back a little bit and say, what did we do It started out so fun. So what did we do differently? And we had two dogs. yeah. We had a Chesapeake Retriever and Labrador Retriever.

AMANDA: Yes. The whole time.

Chris Caldwell: as time went on, we had a golden doodle and then we had two golden doodles. And we've got a rescue guy named Fergus. So we've always had dogs on the boats. And it's a little extra work, but that's your best friend. got to go on the boat. And also gets you off the boat. Because even we anchored a lot, we would dingy into shore and we would the town with the dogs. And people always come to you when you have a dog, right? look how cute. You know, and so you meet people. We would have the dog's name the life jacket and we'd be walking through town and would say, I was told to look for Fred the know, not Alyse and Chris, but Fred.

AMANDA: Yeah.

Chris Caldwell: the dog so yeah

Maryline Bossar: I'm

AMANDA: That's funny.

Chris Caldwell: As you cruise, you meet so many different people and it's so difficult. Now we're talking about before internet, before digital cell phones. So you became known as Fred's parents you became known as Sandy Hook, the name of our boat. So we've cell phones, we've MMSI, we've got boat cards. ⁓ So anybody out there you want to have a boat card made for

Maryline Bossar: Yeah.

AMANDA: Okay.

Chris Caldwell: your boat with your name and your cell number, maybe even your email. So don't use your business card because you don't want people knowing that you're a brain surgeon or a lawyer. You're just Chris and Alyse on Sandy Hook. And you don't need open up your business Yeah. Well, that's kind of how it morphed into what we do.

AMANDA: or a boat captain that can come fix it every time the boat breaks down, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Maryline Bossar: That too.

Chris Caldwell: Because people would ask questions and they would say, you know, can you help me? Well, sure. You're always going to help another boater right? then we said, ha, there's a business. ⁓ right. Yes. We did not go into it. We went towards savings. ⁓

AMANDA: But then you had to get paid. So that was the trick. We happen to know that liveaboard voters are notoriously cheap. At least, you know, ⁓ am a fellow liveaboard. And in the beginning, I every bit of information I could from the people that were willing to teach me for free.

Maryline Bossar: That's sailboaters, Amanda.

AMANDA: Yes, that is notoriously sailboaters too. And forgive me, I was one of those cheap to begin with, but now I'm paying it forward and giving back because I needed that learning experience. People would come over and help me ⁓ change throttle cable, ⁓ do basics of the fuel changes and oil changes and fuel filter changes, I should say. So I appreciate a similar story from you guys and this necessity that got you out there saying, well, we love this lifestyle. We want to continue it. How can we make money doing this? I can tell from your personalities that was just the next for you guys. It's something easy to do.

Chris Caldwell: boaters, cruisers, or liveaborts are not necessarily cheap. It's just that when you pick up the phone and the guy says, can be out there in three days. And you think, well, three days, I'll be 200 miles away. So do it yourself. And that's another thing we teach is DIY owner maintenance. We don't teach you how to become an engine mechanic, but we teach you how, like you said, change your fuel filters, maybe change your oil throttle cables takes to people to do that, but they're I use that word a lot, they're part-changing. It's not scientific and not difficult. And in a powerboat, part-changing is a lot more elbow space than in sailboat. ⁓

AMANDA: Yes. Yeah. Yeah, and the confidence you glean from being out there and doing that. And every time something breaks down, you get more and more confident that you'll be able to handle the situation, whatever it is, because you are able to figure out, the throttle cable or, this in the past. So you can open up that book and say, I can do this. I've got it. I remember when it clicked for me too, is I don't need that mechanic to have to call them all the time. I actually can do this myself. So cool that you guys figured that out too. Question for you, you both hold the title of 100-ton captain. What does that title mean and how does it help you and what does it matter to the people that are hiring you?

Chris Caldwell: It's... I can make it simple or difficult. Let's tackle the technical part first. 100 tons means gross registered tons the vessel as by the US Coast Guard. The formula deriving that ⁓ is extremely so we'll skip it. So 100 tons, boat, when you buy your boat, you'll get the certificate of documentation. ⁓ People call it COD, and it will give gross registered tons.

AMANDA: Okay. Okay.

Chris Caldwell: or GRT, and it'll tell you 36 tons, 55 tons, 95 tons. So that's where we're limited to less than 100 gross registered tons. It's not an exact science, but it's kind of sort of 65 feet is the ceiling, but not really. There's 100 foot boats that are less than 100 gross tons. So it's a technicality, it's a paper. issue. But bigger boats we work on are in the ⁓ category ⁓ of professional crew, ⁓ hired crew. ⁓ we do owner-operators. ⁓ that help? ⁓

AMANDA: Yes, absolutely.

Maryline Bossar: And as a follow on to that, when a new owner takes possession of their new to them boat, whether it's a trawler or a motor cruiser, what do you find is the number one mistake that these people do and that you help address in the few days of training?

Chris Caldwell: I won't call it a mistake, I'll call it a huge learning curve.

Maryline Bossar: Thank

Chris Caldwell: Because the kind of people buying the size or the price of boats that we deal with retiring and then buying their dream boats ⁓ and they're the dream and then when get on the boat the first thing we do is we teach them owner responsibilities. So we'll from the with the anchor locker ⁓ and we'll do what we a crawl through. So we'll crawl through the boat the anchor locker under the bilges in the forward cabin in the engine room all the way to the lazarette with the rudders. go back to the engine room and spend more time pointing out air water pumps, air conditioner compressors, the engines, the the shaft seals, and on and on on and on. So we believe that it's that a boat owner ⁓ operator know what's down there. second is not to that they know how to repair it, but they know how to recognize that a problem coming. So say it's noon time today ⁓ and got a problem, so it's not a catastrophe, but if get to a marina or an anchorage this afternoon, I can take care of it ⁓ or get a marina this afternoon and have a professional come out and take care of it tomorrow. ⁓ So we owner responsibility and DIY for of the things, ⁓ skill level might be.

AMANDA: Yeah, you know, it's so interesting when I first bought my boat and I learned about the acid washing of the AC unit. And I had no idea that barnacles would grow in the entire system. I knew it was a water-cooled system, but I didn't think through that process. And it's like, okay, this is seawater, barnacles are going to get in here. And in this warm environment that I live, they're going to grow in there too. And I remember the first time I got the high pressure fault on my AC in Florida, it's very important to have your AC when you're a live aboard, especially at night.

Chris Caldwell: That's my strap.

AMANDA: And I learned that it's a normal occurrence that every six months you're going to have to go through and acid wash the barnacles out of your AC system. These things that most live aboard and boat owners in general just really don't know until someone walks through and says, see this strainer right here? Yes, you're cleaning it every week, but did you know that you need to do this next step? ⁓ And creating a do-it-yourself acid wash bucket ⁓ and all those things. I mean, it's a lot you know I wanted to ask you guys ⁓ taking delivery, you've that you help a lot of people with their new boats. ⁓ People that that means here's the keys, know, here you go, that's taking delivery of a boat. How would help a client in taking delivery of a boat? You've talked about going from ⁓ you know the to the stern and going through those What else would you do?

Chris Caldwell: you. a lot of different things that we do, mostly because of our long experience of living aboard and cruising. And everybody asks, how many miles have you cruised? I don't have a clue. I don't know. But. We ask them so work with the broker, ⁓ do the sea trial and survey, they review the survey. If any gray areas, we can help them decide what to do about those gray areas if they should be fixed or repaired before they take possession. And then when do act of sale and then the keys turn over to them, then if they hire we can go aboard the boat. And the first thing we do is the crawl through the second thing we do we teach them dock lines, cleat knots and spring and cross stern lines, bow lines. And you think, are you starting there? ⁓ Because when we back, got to tie the up. So we can't teach them ⁓ we come back. We need teach them before we leave. And one of the best ways for people to learn is let's say they bought the boat Miami and they needed to go to Charleston. have them come aboard and a training delivery. ⁓ So training delivery allows them every day to build on the day before. And the day they are truly drinking through a fire hose. They're just so much information ⁓ and ⁓ some it sticks, right? So every day a little bit more sticks, a little bit more sticks. And of course you can definitely by ⁓ starting in your Port Marina and going out and coming back every day. You can learn that way. But really, if you have the opportunity to go on your delivery, your boat is being purchased from and where your home port is going to be, ⁓ on that delivery and learning, there's difference between a delivery captain and a training captain for sure. Delivery captains will get the boat there, ⁓ and really good at what they do. ⁓ But most them, and that's how we fell into the training. ⁓ We somebody say to us, can I go? And I said, it's your boat. Why couldn't you go? And they because the last time I bought a boat, the captain told me, I asked you many questions.

Maryline Bossar: Hahaha!

AMANDA: Thank

Chris Caldwell: it's your boat. many and you know, we all have different strengths. Many captains say, I don't want to have to answer all those questions. Just like a mechanic sometimes doesn't want you breathing over their shoulder to learn. There's a certain way learn a certain way to teach and different people learn different ways and we have to figure that out too. You know, how do you learn best? ⁓ Are you a, you know, you catch the ball this way or do you catch the ball overhead or you know, or you person that reads everything and believes everything that you read because you can't. not all accurate. like everything. Internet is not accurate either, but it's that if you can do a training delivery, you can benefit so much and learn so much. ⁓ And days where you're just ⁓ overwhelmed, there. it's okay. know, it's not like your boat's not going to move. ⁓ We'll just take a little slower with you ⁓ on those days, we'll tell you this is the day we're not going out. This is not good for you.

AMANDA: Right.

Chris Caldwell: is it's not good for your boat. know, the weather is not good or there's a problem that we identified that you may not have realized if this was your first time aboard the boat. So ⁓ a lot that building day, ⁓ that's great way for some people to learn. And I'd like to add to that building each day. So you talked about going from Miami to Charleston. So you down south. So you got bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge,

AMANDA: I I do.

Chris Caldwell: So you learn radio protocol, you learn how to call the bridges and open the bridges. learn how to hold position. Hold position, station keeping. when you get above Palm Beach, we don't have too many bridges after that. But we start getting into areas with sandbars, tidal currents, tides being or shallow. So training delivery is good. And we sell as being captains, ⁓ whenever you're comfortable,

AMANDA: Yeah.

Chris Caldwell: As long as we're in a place that we can get a rental car or an airplane, we can step off the boat. it's not like you have to have us come the whole way. We we can plan on doing the way if that's what you want, but maybe you only want this for five days. Maybe that's all your insurance requires at at day or Sometimes we've had people say, ⁓ can you stay a longer? ⁓ we will if we We'll see if we can get like my brother's also a captain and we'll see.

Maryline Bossar: We're

Chris Caldwell: if he can come up or or we maybe give them a break for a week and they stay because maybe they stopped in don't know some Savannah or some place where it's a fun place to be for a couple of days get a breather and then we can come back. ⁓

Maryline Bossar: And Alyse, can you speak a little bit more to your typical client? First of all, are they generally new boaters experienced? And then it sounds like you're mostly dealing with couples. Can you talk to us about who your services have been really for and what you're seeing a lot?

Chris Caldwell: A few years ago, I would have told you it was new boaters who never, never had boat, ⁓ not even little boat, never had a boat and they were couples. Now it's all the place. And it used to be if they had a boat, this is a much bigger boat. And now sometimes it's a smaller boat and people are still not Or maybe when they had the larger boat, they paid somebody to do all the maintenance and now they want to do it themselves. So it's all over. It's all over. ⁓ just shocked me the first time that we met loopers ⁓ many years ago, who, because what we started out, we were going to be doing the loop, you know, and we been boating for years. At that point, could dock my So it was not like I was brand new at any of this. And we would meet people that never had a boat, had a boat of that size if they had a boat. And now going to go out into the loop. And then they on selling the boat when they're done. And I said, but you're going to it. And they looked at me I had six heads and said, well, yes, I'm going to love it. But that's why we're doing it. But we also know that there's lots of other things we want to check off our list and do later on. So when done with we're going to sell the boat. So maybe we'll have it for a year. were some boats that we trained people on boat, different people, four different because they would do the loop, sell the boat, do the loop, sell the boat, do the loop, sail the boat. And it was shocking to me because I had been boaters. I had only been people who had boated all their life and worked their way up. Now that's not the case. People all the board. And that's why I say we have to how you learn because everybody's starting out at the And when it's a couple, sometimes we have a woman that's come maybe 10 years ago she lost her husband and now she's met person that she wants to go travel with and she the boating experience and ⁓ he may And so, you we're starting at two different levels and that's okay, you know, we all learn differently. And the question of insurance. A lot of insurance companies want to know your experience, your boating experience. So there's a word that we hear in the boating community called 10 foot IDIS. So if you've got 20 foot boat, they'll only go up to 30 unless you hire a training captain. And some of these insurance companies might want 20 hours, 30 hours, or maybe even 50 hours of training with a licensed captain. And we provide that training.

AMANDA: Yeah, what I just.

Chris Caldwell: provide that letter of competency the end of the required time frame. So way they get a bigger boat. ⁓

AMANDA: Yeah. That's great to hear. We actually have been helping a lot of people buying boats lately. And this is one of the stipulations that insurance is putting on them. you are a ⁓ couple ⁓ a great resource for a lot of our listeners and boat buyers here.

Maryline Bossar: And Chris, the other day when I called you up to prepare this podcast recording, you had told me you just finished off your training off of FaceTime with a client. And I was really surprised by this. It sounds like your support goes beyond the, you know, at the helm knowing your boat type of courses and education and hands-on training you provide. So how that come about? Is Hey, ⁓ I need to... call my boat doctor, I need to call Captain Chris because I'm stuck. Tell us about that.

Chris Caldwell: Well, we've got a new phrase up there, Ask Captain Chris, and... We can talk on the telephone ⁓ you can describe it well enough or if got an i-product, an iPhone or an iPad, I like do FaceTime more so than because Zoom requires Wi-Fi and usually when the in the marina way out at the end of the dock ⁓ the Wi-Fi doesn't do well ⁓ or if you got in marina watching movies the bandwidth gets crowded. So do FaceTime and the thing that I ask is when you're holding up your camera or your phone to hold it steady so I can see better. ⁓

AMANDA: Yeah.

Chris Caldwell: But we last time when I was speaking with you, was working with a fellow up in Beaufort, North Carolina, or is it Beaufort, North Carolina? Anyway, he had bought a boat last summer and as soon as he bought it, it went into winter storage. Now he's getting ready to splash the boat. He's forgotten everything. So we're going back and reviewing everything with his iPhone and we'll just go around through the engine room. What's that? What's it do? What's the

AMANDA: you

Chris Caldwell: maintenance. that? What's that? What's that? And Amanda, you talked about the strainer for the air conditioner and how to clean the strainer. Depending upon where you are in warmer weather like us in Vero Beach or you further down south, ⁓ your probably needs cleaning once a week. Is that about right?

AMANDA: Absolutely. Once a week, every Sunday.

Chris Caldwell: There you go. things like that and then we'll coach them through changing fuel filters. Just anything they've got questions about. Last ⁓ I a phone call from a client I've been working with in Knoxville, Tennessee and he's two 30 amp shore power cables ⁓ and one of not working. So I talked him how to test it and then change the wires from here ⁓ to there to find if the problem is the cable if it's the boat. ⁓ we found out the problem was bigger than just something I could handle over FaceTime. So referred him to an electrician that I know and he's to meet with him this morning and hopefully solve the problem. But FaceTime's a tool. Seeing ⁓ is believing.

AMANDA: Absolutely. And a lot of the times you've seen a lot more on other people's boats than the owner has the luxury of just seeing his own boats. You bring so much more knowledge to the table because of the fact that you've been on these different types of boats. ⁓

Maryline Bossar: I was gonna add one other thing is in addition to that, it gives the person more confidence because if they know Captain Chris is a phone call away, it makes them hesitant to go ahead and do the thing. They're not gonna break but they may wonder about something and they Google it and they can't find the answer. mean, ask Captain Chris, that's awesome. You guys are a phone call away.

Chris Caldwell: Thank you. Communication has gotten so much easier. We had somebody in the Bahamas. And they used. About a month ago. used. Starlink. Starlink. And it was better than our cell phones are sometimes in our own house. It was amazing how easily we could communicate with them and allay their fears. Because again, it's some of those things where if you've never been, if you don't know what to expect, it's a little fearful. My dad used to always say, all you need to do is swim on the top of the. You don't need to worry how deep it is, but you know, it's still a mind game that gets played with you when you're over crossing in the tongue of the ocean, etc, etc. So it was it was kind of nice to be able to bring them down a few notches, let them see a little clearly, not have it be as stressful. I mean, the starlink that people have now is amazing. And this boater in particular, he's a checklist kind of guy. So we made an appointment for two days in the future.

AMANDA: you

Chris Caldwell: time and date I said make your checklist. So we're on FaceTime Starlink for two hours and he in Georgetown, Bahamas. ⁓ And here the USA.

AMANDA: Yeah. With your expertise, long does it usually take ⁓ a client fires you? I here you're talking about seasonality that call you back. mean, literally, how do you think it takes for someone to feel confident that they say, you know what, thanks, guys. I really your help, but I'm not going to be needing you anymore. Does that ever happen?

Chris Caldwell: Yeah, that's we hope happens.

AMANDA: That's the goal, right? How long does that take? Is it years? Is it months? Is it weeks? Yeah. Yeah.

Chris Caldwell: You mean to train somebody that just bought a boat? It depends upon the person, their background. And what they're going to do with it. You know, if they're going to go and stay coastal ⁓ a long time, then they get into too much trouble, providing they have towing insurance a good radio and, you know, form of communication and know how to anchor. You know, that's always important, too. But ⁓ if going go cruising around the world, that's something that I don't somebody that just bought a boat should try to do in the first couple of weeks. know, we need to learn a lot more build and get that confidence. But ⁓ happens when every you're ⁓ something ⁓ and it muscle memory. Right? You don't think tying your shoe now, but try to teach it to a three-year-old ⁓ how to tie their ⁓ I know everybody has now, but it's the idea that you even about things that you do. You don't think about driving ⁓ home from work in your don't remember half of the trip when you get to your house because you just muscle memory. ⁓ knew there was a yellow light coming up and you ⁓ you to stop. You didn't say, now I must do this. But when you first start out on your boat, you're thinking about every little step. So ⁓ practice, practice, practice a big difference. And ⁓ when you a the first time, you think, God, this is awful. And the second time you think, isn't such a bad storm. I can handle it. My boat can handle it. I know what to do. ⁓ I know what not not to do better second time around, third time around. So it's a lot of you your and you don't resources as quickly the more practice that. the reality is we get calls from people from four years later. All of a they'll say, I had this question. ⁓ I didn't even that I had this or I got a new something or other gadget. I don't know how is interacting. Is this interfering with my radio? Is this causing a problem? that the problem? So just sometimes picking up the phone and calling Chris happens no how long it is. I don't know we've ever gotten actually fired, but no. ⁓

AMANDA: I was teasing on the fire. I was trying to be funny about the fire. You know, it's interesting though, the US Coast Guard, in order to get the credentials you have, they require 720 days at sea to get your 110 license. 720 days. Yes.

Chris Caldwell: Well, 360 days. to get an inland license and 720 to get a near coastal, a near coastal is 200 miles offshore. there are two different levels and then you've got the tonnage factor. But answer question a little bit more, four hours on boat underway makes one day. Now, eight hours on boat day is still one day. You can't, you know, ⁓ can't fudge and divide it like that. ⁓ But that is,

AMANDA: correct postal right And yeah. Please. Correct. Yeah. Yep.

Chris Caldwell: is important and that's what the Coast Guard is hoping for is that all your time that able to document on your boat or other people's boats will then some of that experience to you and that that confidence and that muscle memory etc ⁓ and they want to know that you've had no recordable snow no issues no you know crashes no problems ⁓

AMANDA: And it's a reality check. mean, you're spending a week or two with a couple on their boat to develop confidence. But you can say, hey, the US Coast Guard says proficiency 360 days at least. And that's not offshore waters. ⁓ I think it gives people a reference ⁓ two with an expert being by my side all the time and cleaning as much as I can to this is what is to have a license. ⁓ So it's pretty guys. ⁓ Very cool.

Chris Caldwell: five years you to do it again. ⁓

AMANDA: I just renewed mine. I had to fill out all those forms again. Easy, because I live on my boat. you know.

Maryline Bossar: wanted to touch on next the topic of choosing the right boat for you. And obviously, as yacht brokers, Amanda and our team, this is what we do. We support new buyers, whether they're looking for a new boat or a pre-owned boat. We call them new buyers. are helping them make the right decision for their intended purpose. And that can take, as you know, many different shapes. whether they want to sail, they want to cruise, they want to do weekend trips or long distance and live aboard dreams, all of those things again exist. And we're trying to help people in the best way that we can, ⁓ which is to share our experiences, our knowledge and tell people where to So now we're excited because we obviously have a resource to send them to when they also want to do, you know, a pulse check on, hey, I'm thinking about this idea. Does that make sense to you and what would my onboard training look like if we hired you, you know, me and my wife say to on the wheel training. Now you have created ⁓ so many great videos on your YouTube channel is like a wealth knowledge. It is so much. It's super exciting also. So we're happy to share this with our listeners so they can take a look at what is on on your channel. Long-winded way to say you've created a lot of resources around how to choose the perfect boat for you as cruiser and I wanted to ask what is your advice for someone who is just starting out and shopping for a boat? What do you tell them? Where do you send them to again do their due diligence and figure it out?

Chris Caldwell: First of all, corporate phrase is, establish the mission. So, you a day boat, a weekend boat, a vacation boat, cruising boat? ⁓ Do you want to go fast? you want to go slow? discussion of a single engine or two engines, that's an easy, ⁓ cost anymore to operate a twin engine boat than it does a single engine boat. That's a fact. But one stateroom, two staterooms, one head, two heads, wet head for a shower or a shower stall. If anybody's listening to make a list of that, those are some things that you want to think about first and then work with your broker, tell them what you think you want. And then your broker can point you in the direction of a couple of sample different boats. And then you can get more involved in that with the broker and with the online advertisements for those boats. the next step is to make an appointment ⁓ the broker to go step foot on the boat. And foot on the boat means you go into the boat, make sure it's tall enough, you got enough elbow room, lay down on bed. Sounds strange, but lay down on the bed for the bigger people. ⁓ Get in the and wash your hair. Again, elbow space. So got to figure of those kind of things. But going back to establish your mission. Do you want to do the Great Loop for 6,000 miles for one year do you just want a boat to put around with on weekends or you want to go on a one week or two week vacation? ⁓ We in Vero Beach so if you want to go up to St. Augustine Florida ⁓ visit oldest city in the USA or if want to go down to Miami Biscayne Bay for Columbus Day Regatta ⁓ or you want go to the Keys or to the Bahamas. A lot of boats do all of that but some boats might have desirable features to that for a one week, two week or a term. So it's a and error thing, but we want to get you pointed in the right direction and then you got to pick out this or that. And ⁓ we also that find the broker that you're going to ⁓ be able to work ⁓ Who's going to listen you, who's going to understand what your needs are. So that when all of sudden a boat comes up, wasn't on their list, but you know it meets all their needs you can say hey ⁓ found this boat for you and gonna believe you and trust you and you know, it's there's a great rapport There are brokers who are order takers They sit in office and they wait for you to come to them and then there's others who will go out and and find the boat for and having had boating experience whether from the manufacturer inside of or the living aboard side of it you guys have good leg up from of these others who we've ⁓ met.

Maryline Bossar: Thank you.

AMANDA: ⁓ We your compliment on that. And we do know there are a lot of good brokers out there that will listen to your needs and wants. But that brings up my other question. ⁓ In opinion, is there question that buyers ⁓ often mistake ask, the seller or of their broker, Is there one that you would say, hey, you know what? This is one you should remember.

Chris Caldwell: There's so many different that we haven't even thought about yet. But the biggest issue have is a makes an appointment for buyer to visit the boat. And sometimes the buyer will me to go visit the boat before they buy a plane ticket to go visit the boat. ⁓ I'll go on the boat and I'll do FaceTime with and I'll show them things. And maybe they don't need to a ticket to go visit the boat because they saw things that weren't online. ⁓

AMANDA: Yes.

Chris Caldwell: Or sometimes he'll say, get here immediately and if you can make an offer even before you see the vote, because it's so good, you don't want to lose it. And that's a fact. I worked with a couple out of Wilmington, North Carolina. We're not making this stuff up. I'm just trying to remember. Wilmington, North Carolina, they looked at a DeFever 44 trawler, failed the survey. They looked at another one, failed the survey. So then they saw one online that was in going to Charleston. they me to go look at it, so I tried to go over to Fort Myers. They said will be in Fort Pierce in a couple of days ⁓ near my So I went the boat in Fort Pierce ⁓ and I was there for 30 minutes and I called him up. I said make him an offer. Now I'm not in broker side. I'm not in the money side. I'm in the consulting side ⁓ that boat was worthy of making an ⁓ so they made. an offer on the boat the boat never made it to Charleston. They bought it in Jacksonville. ⁓ the sailors had to rent to U-Haul to get all their stuff off the boat. ⁓

AMANDA: You

Maryline Bossar: Wow, and- And Amanda, can you explain to our listeners who may not be familiar with contingencies, what is the contingency that you would typically add when a boat is, you know, sight and scene and there's an offer being presented?

AMANDA: When an offer is made sight unseen, I will also add contingency of buyer's personal inspection. Now, like you boats are everywhere. And sometimes you do have to take a plane trip to find that perfect one that's just for you. And if you can have someone who is qualified, ⁓ go and visit that for you, whether it be your broker, whether it be someone like you guys, ⁓ to go and do that look. for me, the way boat smells when you first walk into it, I give it this smell test, right? It's like, and then it's like, within an instant, know, mold or you know, like head, ⁓ or you know, has been sitting for a long time, ⁓ or diesel. I love the of diesel, but that's just me.

Chris Caldwell: Thanks.

Maryline Bossar: Or diesel. Yeah.

Chris Caldwell: Yeah.

AMANDA: I don't want the whole boat to reek like it, of course, but yes, there are certain smells that you just, someone steps foot on the boat, you don't know. So it is worth weight gold. ⁓ Sure. ⁓ They're deal breakers. ⁓

Chris Caldwell: And some of those smells are easy to fix. It's amazing to me how many people don't know that they do need to change their from their heads. Yeah, all that. that so you also need to take all your soft goods, your curtains, ⁓ seat cushions, your mattresses, put them out in the sun all day long ⁓ the UV could sanitize all of that. But back to earlier, you talked about all the different stages of the survey. You said mechanical survey. I want touch on that. Very, very important hire an engine surveyor independent of the general ⁓ And people think

AMANDA: Yes.

Chris Caldwell: Well, the general surveyor can take the oil samples and send them off. Yes, he can. the general surveyor doesn't ⁓ and breathe with that engine for his entire career. So can at an engine. was FaceTime a couple of days ago with an engine that's smoking out of the intake. And you think, why is smoking coming ⁓ ⁓ of the air Something's Another engine was running little heart. different boat, an engine, the oil pressure was up to around 90 when it should only be 40. You need a proper engine surveyor in addition to a hull surveyor. And you also need to be prepared. This is really hard. I tell people do not fall in love with your boat until after you've signed the check You need to be able to walk away from a bad survey and that, you know,

Maryline Bossar: Yeah, that's super important.

Chris Caldwell: A few people that have done that boldly stand up and admit it and say, ⁓ it was the best thing I ever did. ⁓ if I had hung on to that boat, ⁓ would have been a money pit that didn't even realize how much. not all surveys are failures, but for reasons, you need be able to walk away from it. Call it education to issue. Yes.

AMANDA: Yes.

Maryline Bossar: and we've talked about this before with Amanda, the number one thing you want to avoid if you can, whether you call Chris and he can go look at a boat for you, but a lot of the time by even reviewing the listing properly and asking the right questions from the listing broker, we will save you the trouble of traveling far to go see a boat. And by looking at it closely when we're together, we ensure that you're not going to take this boat to survey. If we suspect already there's some major issues that that buyer will not want to deal with. So Again, it's to your point Chris, asking the right questions. What kind of boat do you want? Are you willing to do a little work? No, you want a pristine boat? Okay, well this may not be the boat for you. We try to get ahead of it. There's no need to pay for that tuition on many boats. Now you could have a survey that didn't turn out the way you thought it would and that's going to happen. It's really unavoidable, especially things under the waterline, right? Amanda, this happens pretty commonly and you just got to deal with that level of risk. Do you want to take this project on or not? And are you ready to move on? I had another question because I think what you hit on Chris as far as the mechanical inspection or the engine inspection very specifically, are the things have you seen buyers do wrong post survey during survey? What are some of the findings and lessons learned that you could share us? I'm sure you got great stories, but can you pick one and tell us?

Chris Caldwell: If they've had a mechanical survey, one of the things that bothers me is on a twin engine boat you're doing the survey, the mechanical survey, and say the starboard engine is running a little hot, so the will pull back on the throttles and it cools off. That's good. You want to the engine. So they'll write into the starboard engine ran a little hot, it checked. I've got an answer for that, but I've got another question first. you've got twin engines, twin and one a little hot, the other one's do the same thing. So that might mean that your heat exchangers are fouled. Amanda, you're talking about your air conditioning condenser is fouled with barnacles. the heat exchanger on the cooling of the engine might fouled. So if fouled on the starboard engine, it is going to be fouled on the port engine also. It's just that showed up earlier on the starboard. So now when you into the negotiating phase of ⁓ the surveyor said, have looked at ⁓ and then the buyer will either discount or have it looked at, but you won't do anything on the other engine because never ⁓ as overheating, but twin engines. ⁓ So them both, do maintenance on both of them. So that's of the bigger deals. Another simple thing is surveyors will write electronics powered up. hate that. Powered up. What does that mean? ⁓ It's so easy ⁓ turn on radar see, is it seeing anything? You can be right in the marina and

AMANDA: Yeah, power to break.

Chris Caldwell: still see is the radar working or not. No, it powered up. That's all they tell you. then you come to the boat and you find out that none of the screen is ruined it's not properly. And you say, why didn't this? Well, I told you it powered up. That's all it did. And they do same thing on the Marine radio. Technically, with the FCC, against the law to do a radio check on channel 16. That's fact. But. You can call the Marine and say, how much is fuel today? And they'll switch you to a new channel. And now you've checked radio. So you've done a radio check without announcing you're doing a radio check. Or to take all the anchor chain out. that's something else. They only put out about 10 feet and then bring it back in. So if got 300 feet of chain ⁓ and you that you only use about ⁓ a half that chain, so the other half stays down there for 10 or 15 years, it's rusted into to a big old clump and it's a mess. So surveyors, most of the surveyors do not deploy 100 % of the anchor road or the anchor chain. Or if the boat comes with a great dinghy. mean, dinghies can be expensive. And they also come in varied sizes and speeds and comfort levels, you know, and they never lower the dinghy and they never try to run the dinghy. And you think, well, That's part of the deal. You're selling this boat with part of it, you know, that's, and they'll say, well, don't do that. Well, yeah, you do. ⁓ ⁓ I've had people with the dinghies is ⁓ want to lower the dinghy to prove that the davit works. want to put it in the water. I don't need to go anywhere, but I want to put it in the water and make sure that the motor starts and run a circle around the boat and then lift it back up. ⁓ And a lot of surveyors will say, well, ⁓ that's part of the survey. and you say, it's part of the purchase and it's part of my insurance policy. So if you've got a dinghy with the 20 horsepower on it, you need to put it in the shop. It might be in there for two or three weeks and it might cost you a thousand or $3,000 or a new motor. So even if you've got this contingency amount of money, it's your time. And now I'm excited. I've got this new boat. I want to go play with my new boat and I can't play with it for x Y, Z reasons. And are the kind of things that if knew about it in advance ⁓ and accepted it, that's one thing. But if you didn't even know about it, then ⁓ shatters of that dream that had.

Maryline Bossar: Absolutely. This is now officially my favorite question. In fact, if you have more questions for Captain Chris and Alyse, put your comments below as you're watching this. We'll probably do a round two with these two because this is just so fun and important. mean, I mean, there's so much more we could dig into. We're not going to do this in this particular episode. mean, this is gold. Love it.

AMANDA: A lot of the times people will ask about surveyors and what they will do. And we'll say, call few surveyors and actually ask them if they're willing to go up the rig, if they're willing to check the dinghy. I agree with you. Are they willing to out all of the anchor chain? And maybe this is something that you use decide, I'm going choose this surveyor over this one, depending on how they answer those questions. So that's, that's a really good insight. you're offering there because I've seen this on surveys. surveyors will not do those things. So good insight.

Chris Caldwell: We have a... ⁓ a pretty long on what to expect of a marine survey. So if you've never gone through a survey before, this is a good primer to at least coach you on the kind of things that should be looked at. And all people have to is send us an email and we'll send them that PDF so that they can learn. Yeah, it's free. And it's got a lot of photos, too, to look at. And it's certainly not teaching you how to be surveyor. you be a better boat buyer, look at a boat with a ⁓ eye, to be more open to the possibilities and such. And one those things is ⁓ we that you ask any prospective surveyors for a copy of their work. ⁓ Many of will give it to you, some of them won't. ⁓ They get defensive about it, but some of them will give it to you so that you can see what do they It may be a completely different kind of boat than you ⁓ are looking at, ⁓ you ⁓

AMANDA: Yes. Yep.

Chris Caldwell: you at least can get a flavor for what you get. Now there are, we are still seeing some surveyors today, which shocks me in this day of everything that not provide photographs for you. ⁓ And think that's insane there will be no photographs on the survey. That's the easiest thing. You don't even have to print it out anymore. You used to have to print out a survey and mail it to somebody, cetera. Now ⁓ everything's online. it's so cheap and easy to do something like that. the more questions ask of your survey, just like, questions you want to ask of your broker. What you me? We really encourage to get a broker, not do a FSBO not to do a for sale by owner because it is, there's too many things you know about that even as many times as we boats we've been involved in stuff, there's things that I don't know about. So I'm gonna use a broker because there's expertise you bring to the table that people don't know. ⁓ I've got two more things I'd like to add. Okay? you're buying a sailboat, ⁓ a sailboat.

Maryline Bossar: Go for it.

Chris Caldwell: Surveyor you're buying a sport fishing boat get a sport fishing surveyor If buying a boat in between those two then a general surveyor can pretty much handle it ⁓ But want a specialist in the sailboat category ⁓ or the high speed high horsepower fishing boat and the other we we monitor a lot of forums online and the last couple of weeks There's a big question about wide open throttle ⁓ WOT so So people with older boats are afraid to run their older diesel engines at wide open throttle for a survey because think it might fail or up. So they just old refuse to do that. So we tell people ⁓ when we go to are we going to do open throttle survey? And if they say no, walk. even start the survey. We sold our boat, it was an older boat, 1980 boat. We did wide open throttle tests and our engines passed fine with 6,000 hours on them. I did all the maintenance so I trusted the engines and they did fine. But other people run their boats at maybe 1200 or 1400 RPM for two and three thousand hours and that's technically damaging the engine. And if you do a wide open throttle test, then that damage might show. up. be aware, ask they to do a wide open throttle test. The seller agreed to do that. ⁓

AMANDA: Good tip.

Maryline Bossar: Very good. That's all really good if I can ask you one last question from all of your years on the water ⁓ and teaching others, what's the single thing that you believe separates those who actually go on and cruise the world or the Great from those who turn around after a week on the water?

Chris Caldwell: confidence, comfort, and desire. I didn't think about those words before, but confidence, comfort, and desire to do it. There's a bit of adventure to it, whether it's just adventurous to leave your dock.

AMANDA: Absolutely.

Maryline Bossar: Alyse, think?

Chris Caldwell: I mean, that's a big adventure for some people. You see many, many dockwits just stick around at the dock and they go every weekend and party and have a good time. And that's fine if that's all you want to do with your boat. But ⁓ you want to do more, I tell you that it was very, very helpful for my ⁓ level comfort that I Chris a lot more than I did. But. If I really wanted to learn more and as time went on, I realized I had to learn more in order to be comfortable. that sounds crazy. know, sometimes ignorance is bliss, but sometimes it's not. And just some of the basic things, anybody can it. If you want that's the whole thing. Anybody can learn it. Chris can teach anything to anybody. ⁓ if he doesn't how something works, he researches it himself or knows who to call and do that. question so that he's more of a confident teacher teach them. ⁓ And you sometimes have people that I see with couples, as much as I used to, but I see this with couples where one will say, I got the inside the boat, I the galley, I got the provisionings, and he's got everything else. if that works for and if you have a to deal with that, that's fine. But if you don't or if that's not your comfort level because sometimes on the 4th of July is when you're in Florida or in the Chesapeake when it's you know a record of 100 degrees or something right you want to that air conditioning works and then you find out after you got somebody if you're lucky to come out on the 4th of July You're paying them an exorbitant rate because it's a holiday and then you see how easy it was it was not hard for them to fix it so You think, well, shoot, I could have done that. And that's what I try to get people to learn is that you want to learn, if there's a desire there to learn, you learn it. Then there's so many ways that you can learn it. ⁓ Certainly can be one of those ways, but there's lots of ways ⁓ that can learn to do it and build that confidence. And then practice. Practice when it's not weekend. Practice when the weather is ⁓ perfect. Practice ⁓ don't have aboard. ⁓ When there's nobody You're not the show to watch. Practice, practice, practice so that you get comfortable and this stays ⁓ pleasurable for you as doing your Whatever your adventure is, whatever level that adventure is.

AMANDA: Great advice.

Maryline Bossar: Chris and Alyse, thank you so much for sharing your insights today and for your time. I'm certain our have found terrific amount of knowledge packed in this episode today. So We've added Captain Chris services in our Marine Directory and I'll put the link below. And this is where you can also email Chris and Alyse and ask them about the overview of what to expect on a survey day, which I hear is a very guide. And if you'd like to get a copy, Captain Chris and Alyse can send that to you. We hope to have you back for part two. If you have any questions for Chris, Alyse, please post them below. Thank you guys so much and we'll see you next time. Fair winds!

AMANDA: Fair winds, guys. Thanks for coming.

Chris Caldwell: Beautiful, thank you.

Maryline Bossar: what is the best piece of advice you've ever gotten on the water?

Chris Caldwell: patience.

Maryline Bossar: What is one piece of gear or system that every boat owner should know inside and out according to you?

Chris Caldwell: the anchoring system, to deploy it, and proper scope ⁓ and proper type of anchor for the seafloor. ⁓

Maryline Bossar: What is your best advice to cruising couples who are preparing for a journey like the Great Loop?

Chris Caldwell: as much as you can about what you're interested in and realize that we all have different strengths to bring to the table.

Maryline Bossar: can you share with us how many nautical miles you have spent underway together?

Chris Caldwell: No, we have to go back into our log books and even that doesn't ⁓ cover as much no.

Maryline Bossar: The answer is no, I love it.

Chris Caldwell: We got married in 1984 and we're still boating so...

AMANDA: How many of those married years have you been on a boat?

Chris Caldwell: We were years, we had no land ⁓ no unit, no car. of those We lived aboard before after where we had land base. we were only gonna do it a year. ⁓ And then another year, and then another yeah. ⁓

AMANDA: You

Maryline Bossar: What do you see long-term transient cruisers, deliver boards ⁓ use as a service for their mail when they no longer have a home address? What do you suggest your clients use or your fellow cruising friends, what do they use?

Chris Caldwell: It's a mailing service than a post office box. The federal government will not allow you to use a POB a for voters for driver's But you get a personal mailbox and then you can that as personal residence for boating, driver's license, insurance. And a lot of states, a lot, but few states, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and one of the Midwest states are zero income tax. So that's where those personal mailbox companies are. of them here in Florida up near Jacksonville, Green Cove Springs is, I remember, Brendan's Isle. St. Brendan's Isle offers service ⁓ where all of your goes there. Then they have different programs or packages where they can either open it ⁓ for you they can ⁓ the envelope and what to do with it they can bundle it up and send it to your next destination ⁓ or five days down the road. ⁓

Maryline Bossar: Okay, really cool. And are you guys still living aboard today?

Chris Caldwell: Nope, we bought a dirt house. We're called Clodz, living on dirt. ⁓

AMANDA: ⁓