We took the Plunge

[RiseUp]

Hello all, new members to this esteemed group. My wife and I did it, leapt from a 26' center console to a Kadey Krogen 48 North Sea Widebody. Retirement planned two months from now, planning on training on the Chesapeake for a year and then attempt the Great Loop. Right now thinking we will move aboard next Spring. We have little boating experience so the system familiarization is daunting, trying to figure out the 'routine'/chores associated with a large boat, line handling, ship handling... Needless to say, we will likely lean on you all heavily to get us up on step...sorry in advance for being info needy.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. A hint: Wait at LEAST a year before you make any large changes/modifications to your new vessel.

 

[psneeld]

Aside from what you have already stated...unless you cruised your center console for thousands of miles or trailered it to far distant locations.... in addition to what you know...if you plan on cruising your big boat more than a couple hundred miles or so or only brave a loop or two......

There are PILES and PILES of regulations, weather and oceanographic issues you need to brush up on as well as dealing with supply chain issue for parts and BIG maintenance needs.

RTF is absolutely correct in don't jump into mods until you really understand the need and practicality of them. Just gave the same advice to my son yesterday.

As far as ship handling... better plan on visiting grossly different areas you have gotten used to. Unless your center console was a single inboard with no thrusters... a single/dual outboard handles completely different than a big Kadey. In some ways it will be easier and someways WAY less forgiving with beginner mistakes.

Not trying to deter you in any way...but after 35 years in the boater assistance/training business, for every person that says "don't worry about it...I had no problems" there are way more with shattered dreams and high costs that could have been avoided with the slower/better preparation for a major life change.

 

[MVTara]

Welcome. You have a great boat. Taking some lessons maybe helpful.

 

[FWT]

Welcome aboard.

Across the Bay from you on Kent Island. In Bay Bridge Marina. Hope to see you on the Bay.

 

[socalrider]

Welcome. You have a great boat. Taking some lessons maybe helpful.

I second/third this. Hiring a captain for a few hours will bring you up the learning curve quickly & without stress. We did this when we got our first big boat, a 41' sloop. Practicing docking & marina maneuvers was invaluable to bringing up my confidence and lessening the anxiety of the first months of ownership.

 

[Blissboat]

Hello all, new members to this esteemed group. My wife and I did it, leapt from a 26' center console to a Kadey Krogen 48 North Sea Widebody. Retirement planned two months from now, planning on training on the Chesapeake for a year and then attempt the Great Loop. Right now thinking we will move aboard next Spring. We have little boating experience so the system familiarization is daunting, trying to figure out the 'routine'/chores associated with a large boat, line handling, ship handling...

Welcome to the TF, and congratulations on a wonderful cruising yacht. Think of such a boat as a series of systems, and as you get oriented, consider each of them one at a time. They will make sense soon enough. Boat handling will also come with time. Practice never makes "perfect," but practice definitely makes "better." Run your boat in various conditions, and not just when the weather is fine.

Spending time aboard either your own boat or someone else's with an experienced boater is a good way to talk through things you're wondering about. Try to avoid the guys who beat their chests about how all-knowing they are and recite their exploits to convince you of their god-like expertise. A little humility goes a long way in the boating game.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[slowgoesit]

Welcome aboard, and WOW, that's a huge step up in boats!

 

[PineyCreekCove]

Hello all, new members to this esteemed group. My wife and I did it, leapt from a 26' center console to a Kadey Krogen 48 North Sea Widebody. Retirement planned two months from now, planning on training on the Chesapeake for a year and then attempt the Great Loop. Right now thinking we will move aboard next Spring. We have little boating experience so the system familiarization is daunting, trying to figure out the 'routine'/chores associated with a large boat, line handling, ship handling... Needless to say, we will likely lean on you all heavily to get us up on step...sorry in advance for being info needy.

Congrats and welcome to TF. Question for you as we have a 28’ bowrider and are thinking about bumping up to a 42+ trawler. We’ve heard that you can have “issues” with insurance companies if you go up in length more than 10-15 feet at a time. Did you have any problems securing insurance? Thanks.

 

[Comodave]

You should contact an insurance broker. They can look at your personal information and determine what companies will work best for your individual situation. I use Peter Ricks at Novamar. He has done an excellent job for us. He is Pau Hana here on TF. 206-350-5051

 

[Mana Kai]

Hello all, new members to this esteemed group. My wife and I did it, leapt from a 26' center console to a Kadey Krogen 48 North Sea Widebody. Retirement planned two months from now, planning on training on the Chesapeake for a year and then attempt the Great Loop. Right now thinking we will move aboard next Spring. We have little boating experience so the system familiarization is daunting, trying to figure out the 'routine'/chores associated with a large boat, line handling, ship handling... Needless to say, we will likely lean on you all heavily to get us up on step...sorry in advance for being info needy.

We own a Kadey Krogen 44AE. You have purchased a wonderful boat. There is a very active Kadey Krogen Owners Group on the east coast (also one on the west coast). You can get an enormous amount of information from this group. Plus, you will meet many other cruisers who own Kroger’s. Lots of get togethers. Enjoy!

 

[Captain DJ]

Welcome aboard. You have one of my dream boats for sure.

 

[Av-eight-or]

Hello all, new members to this esteemed group. My wife and I did it, leapt from a 26' center console to a Kadey Krogen 48 North Sea Widebody. Retirement planned two months from now, planning on training on the Chesapeake for a year and then attempt the Great Loop. Right now thinking we will move aboard next Spring. We have little boating experience so the system familiarization is daunting, trying to figure out the 'routine'/chores associated with a large boat, line handling, ship handling... Needless to say, we will likely lean on you all heavily to get us up on step...sorry in advance for being info needy.

Your story makes me smile, but in case you haven't noticed you will never get 'up on step'. (You knew that already...)
We did the same thing, very little boating experience having never owned one and purchased a Krogen 42'. We took a couples class to learn to coordinate our efforts and see if we could do this thing, but that was pre-purchase. It also enabled us to get insurance. You are past this point, so a captain for a couple of days would be time well spent. Maybe the most important thing for us was simply to grow our skills with ever increasing exposure to the boat and the challenges of weather, navigation and all the rest. For the first year we didn't venture far honing our roles, cross training and using HEADSETS. The boat won't let you down.
We eventually logged about 15,000 nm and a couple of trips to SE Alaska along the inside passage. You are in for the time of your lives. Way to go...
www.mbvoyager.org for stories.
Keep us informed as your story develops.

 

[Cargile]

If you haven't already, join the AGLA. I would guess there are a boat load of gold loopers around you with whom you can network

 

[salish]

Hello all, new members to this esteemed group. My wife and I did it, leapt from a 26' center console to a Kadey Krogen 48 North Sea Widebody. Retirement planned two months from now, planning on training on the Chesapeake for a year and then attempt the Great Loop. Right now thinking we will move aboard next Spring. We have little boating experience so the system familiarization is daunting, trying to figure out the 'routine'/chores associated with a large boat, line handling, ship handling... Needless to say, we will likely lean on you all heavily to get us up on step...sorry in advance for being info needy.

Good for you.

My wife, and I are doing a similar upgrade (from a 34' American Tug, to a 46 Nordhavn) in order to have room for help aboard as we age, and cruise.

 

[Mac2]

Great move! Fantastic boat. First-get the headsets before you head out. Second. No one gets hurt. Get it in your head that it's not the end of the world if your new boat gets damaged. It's all repairable. Third-mother nature will always win. Spend an extra day somewhere instead of trying to beat a deadline. That Krogen buys you a lot of leeway. I went from a single screw Krogen Manatee (my first boat) to a 65 Real Ships with twins. About 160,000 lbs difference. It's definitely a learning curve, but it turns out the bigger boat is actually easier to helm. Enjoy.

 

[Kit_L]

Welcome to TF! You have purchased a lovely boat, one I would be very happy to own. Pity is we see hardly any of these over here.

The advice to look at, and try to understand, one system at a time is good, I think—trying to think about all systems at once will be overwhelming. And the suggestion to hire a captain (who knows these boats) is an excellent one, too. If he/she is a local, I'd suggest a couple of ours a day only, though—information overload is a real thing. Last is the "marriage savers": small two-way radios are worth their weight in gold. Best of luck, and please do report back.

 

[CapP]

Congratulations and welcome to the Kadey Krogen family. I'm the owner of Althea, 2005 KK 48 North Sea Widebody. Sounds like you purchased one of our sister ships.

First thing I'd suggest and it join your NE Kadey Krogen group. You can Google them. Your fellow KK owners will be your absolutely best resource. After that just fix what your survey says needs to be done asap, and then enjoy and learn your boat. You will find lots of things you want to do once you're on the water.

Paula

 

[bumpkin]

Congrats, and what a wonderful time you have ahead of you. Lisa and I went from no boating to a 40 footer going around the loop. The biggest help was hiring a trainer. I got the name from the marina manager, who knew the person.

We found boating very easy, anchoring was hard, currents mystifying and docking terrifying but boating was easy. The trainer was a good move for us as we hired him intermittently as we grew our skills.

If you haven't signed up with AGLA and gone to one of their conventions; do it sooner rather than later. It will help you prioritize what needs to be done.

 

[La Sirena]

Congratulations on the new boat and retirement! I went from a Nordic Tug 32 to a Selene 57 when I retired. My wife and I have cruised 13,000 miles from Maine to the Bahamas. It's not easy, but very rewarding. You will have days you will question your sanity. Press on past those times and look at it as the challenge it is. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Jeff F]

Welcome. I think you'll find a supportive community here. Nice boat.

Lots of good comments. The only thing I'd add is that there is nothing wrong with doing the east coast snowbird thing for a few years before heading out on the Great Loop. Stay flexible and don't make overly ambitious plans

 

[Moon]

Congratulations! I’ve jumped sizes more than once and can tell you it can be intimidating at first but with patience you will gain confidence quickly. Get large inflatable fenders and always keep one or two accessible on deck to act as a cushion if you have the need. Go slow when maneuvering in tight quarters. Learn how to steer with your engines and not the wheel. Hydraulic steering systems are very reliable but can fail when you least expect it. Every minute you can spend onboard learning the various systems will dramatically increase your confidence, peace of mind and save you thousands of dollars. Join the KK owners group! I’ve got a Hatteras LRC and the owners group has been a fantastic resource for me. So has TF and YouTube. Have fun!

 

[rgano]

Welcome. You have come to the right place. I went from owning a canoe to a 42-foot Grand Banks. However, I had over 20 years of experience as a "ship driver" in the Navy. Handling the boat was a breeze for me, but getting a handle on "normal practices" for maintaining a boat of this size was all new. I took a page out of the Navy Planned Maintenance System (PMS) practices and read every manual on each piece of equipment to extract the routine maintenace items for input into a spreadsheet with automatically calculating field to cue me when something was due. I added to it over the years including things beyond the normal engine and generator chores such as flare replacement, life jacket light battery changes , anchor rode reversing, etc, etc. For a couple of years after purchase I kept a notepad and pen on me when underway to note the things I was unhappy with. One day, several years later, I realized I was no longer carrying it - success!

 

[Jklotz]

A KK 48 is a really nice boat. We are a little behind you in terms of timing, but our path is similar. I'll be following your progress with interest.

 

[amapola]

Welcome aboard from SW Florida!

 

[hollywood8118]

Congratulations on the new boat, one of my favorites!
Good luck on your future loop adventures
Hollywood