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Don't know how I got the other photos in there.
They're the lower salon, generator room looking towards engine room, aft deck, and back of the bar thats in the upper salon
They're the lower salon, generator room looking towards engine room, aft deck, and back of the bar thats in the upper salon
That's a whole bunch of boat. Maintenance on those babies is steep, along with mooring and fuel. I'd guess many owners log more time entertaining on their yachts than running them. Where does Pacemaker build its crafts? What was the power plant(s)? Was that your principle residence?
They were built in NJ. Ceased production in 1980. This one is a 1978 model, has twin Detroit 12V71 N's, V-12 engines, each rated at 475hp. N is for natural - not turbo charged. Cruise at 12 - 15 kts. About 35 gal/hr burn rate at cruising speed.
Imagine driving from south Florida to Rhode Island at 15 mph!
At the time of her build it was one of the largest production yachts made, that's certainly been eclipsed now when yards are making 200'+ yachts on spec.
I lived on board for 14 years, so I was pretty much homeless. We were never in the place for more than 4 to 5 months.
That's a huge boat! Very cool! Did you do charter cruises, Gilligan's Island style? Do you still live on a boat currently?
Years back I worked at Campion Marine in BC making boat hulls, but the biggest we made at the time was 32' IIRC, with twin 502ci gas V8s.
Years back I worked at Campion Marine in BC making boat hulls, but the biggest we made at the time was 32' IIRC, with twin 502ci gas V8s.
A look at one of the engines. The hatch is in the lower salon deck. Here we're cleaning and painting it, something I did at least once a year. About a week's work on each engine.
No charters, it was privately owned. I worked for 2 owners on this boat. The first owner was famous and it was his families get away place. I was hired on as mate, I'd never worked on boats before. The captain was great, he taught me everything! in 4 years I took over as captain when the boat sold and the new owners hired me. A nice husband and wife. They semi retired and spent a lot of time aboard. We got along well and they treated me better than family. We did lots of things together.
I left the boat when the recession hit in 2008 and the boss put her up for sale.
I'm happy to say thar she's now owned by a great husband wife team in Sarasota, Fl. and they do charters. They're taking very good care of her.
I think Pacemaker built 12 66 footers and I guarantee that she's the best of the ones that are left. Maybe 6 or 7 left.
When I was working at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego back in the 70's I lived on a 35' ketch at San Diego Yacht Club. I was a "boat sitter" for an Air Force pilot who was in Viet Nam. There is nothing like sleeping in your berth with the sound of water lapping against the hull.
It wasn't bad as a bachelor pad either. I rarely let on that it wasn't mine.
Lovely boat!
It wasn't bad as a bachelor pad either. I rarely let on that it wasn't mine.
Lovely boat!
Edger, that's the best way! Somebody else is paying those bills!
I really miss living aboard, your'e right, there' nothing like the sound of the water lapping at the hull and the gentle constant rocking. When I moved on land it took me months to get used to not moving.
As for bachelor pad, your'e right again. If the owners aren't around, it's "your" boat. the women don't know any different!
As they say-you get more *** than a toilet seat.
I really miss living aboard, your'e right, there' nothing like the sound of the water lapping at the hull and the gentle constant rocking. When I moved on land it took me months to get used to not moving.
As for bachelor pad, your'e right again. If the owners aren't around, it's "your" boat. the women don't know any different!
As they say-you get more *** than a toilet seat.
I think I would have loved that lifestyle when I was younger.
hard to imagine that. In my mind I see cosmic at age five looking precisely the same only really short.
My late uncle (dad's brother) was a landing craft officer with the Navy at the first major amphibious landing during WWII, at Tarawa, which was a gory "learning experience." Many years later after a career in sales, he became licensed skipper of a river cruise boat in Florida. He was well-suited to it, a leadership personality, but sociable and a good talker too. He went through all the licensing with the Coast Guard. He was a gifted mechanic. Eventually, he got disgruntled with the owners and went back to sales, but was rebuilding his tractor engine into his eighties. A friend also abandoned his career as a school principal in Alaska to skipper yachts for wealthy owners, and also spent a lot of time as a sailboat bum all over the world. The most nautical I ever got was as a radioman on a minesweeper off Vietnam, and the trans-Pacific return voyage. That ship, USS Gallant MSO 489, had a Washington spruce hull, and in the late 90's was sold to Taiwan and renamed. Now the Navy uses multi-purpose Litoral Combat Ships of two different designs. The crews have to be trained for the various uses, but the ships sure look new-age compared to my boat. We were mostly patrolling for weapons smuggling and warning merchant ships out of the so-called demilitarized zone, which wasn't so demilitarized. Saw a similar sized landing craft ship nose down in the harbor, mined by a swimmer-sapper. Our deck watch was assigned to throw concussion grenades over the side at irregular times to warn off a similar fate. If you were asleep below, you could hear those babies pop.
Beautiful ship!
I mentioned in your other thread that I’d quite like to live on a boat for a spell. I’ve dreamed of having small quarters on a shipping vessel of some sort, spending my days reading and smoking and wandering the deck- certainly not a realistic vision, I realize, but it’s as close I as I can imagine of a life of smoking and reading all day.
I mentioned in your other thread that I’d quite like to live on a boat for a spell. I’ve dreamed of having small quarters on a shipping vessel of some sort, spending my days reading and smoking and wandering the deck- certainly not a realistic vision, I realize, but it’s as close I as I can imagine of a life of smoking and reading all day.
You can book passage on a lot of container ships for a reasonable cost. Room and meals incliuded. The quarters are pretty nice and the food is usually very good. That's the easiest way to cruise.
Yacht charters can run tens of thousands to a couple hundred thousand a week.
While I was mate the captain took a weekend off for personal reasons. It was my weekend with my girls (I was divorced from #2) so my youngest came down for the weekend. All okay'd by the boss.
The boss called Saturday morning and said he got some time off and wanted to come to the boat. I told him it was ok with me and reminded him that Capt. was gone and one of my daughters was on board. He said great, we'll have fun.
We got everything ready and we're standing by when they arrived. We were off the dock in minutes and out in the Chesapeake cruising when he called my 10 year old daughter to the helm and told her to take over. He had her run it for a couple of hours, up and down the area, changing speed and even doing a close circle around an anchored frieghter. They guys on the ship were having a great time waving at the kid running the yacht.
She's 32 now and she still talks about that weekend.
The boss called Saturday morning and said he got some time off and wanted to come to the boat. I told him it was ok with me and reminded him that Capt. was gone and one of my daughters was on board. He said great, we'll have fun.
We got everything ready and we're standing by when they arrived. We were off the dock in minutes and out in the Chesapeake cruising when he called my 10 year old daughter to the helm and told her to take over. He had her run it for a couple of hours, up and down the area, changing speed and even doing a close circle around an anchored frieghter. They guys on the ship were having a great time waving at the kid running the yacht.
She's 32 now and she still talks about that weekend.
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