Shay La Vie! YouTube channel,70' Hatteras CMY. First boat,fixer-upper no experience.

[MarioG]

Here's an interesting channel of a lady that has purchased a 70' CMY with zero boating experience. she hopes to fix it up and cruise the Bahamas. I wish her all the luck in the world. god knows her learning curve is about as vertical as a ballistic missile right about now!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcWZudNlZCc

[Sandiego]

I watched one of the episodes and it was painful. She is starting with a boat in poor condition and has no idea what she is doing. I think sometimes she has gotten qualified mechanics. And but when they give her the bad news, she fires them and brings in another mechanic from what I've observed that new mechanic usually has no clue. When they arguing, some type of repair were refurbished. Now they seem to really take shortcuts. And they just get it working but they're really don't fix it. I have decided not to waste my time watching this. Because I can't learn anything from it.Even if she gets it ready to cruise I cannot imagine how she will handle such a large boat. Hate to be negative but I will be shocked if this ends well.

[SEVEN]

I’ve watched all her videos. She has the desire to bring the old girl back. I’ve given her a few ideas and suggestions. I asked her to join Sam’s and start asking advice here. She said she plans to.

[Timeless72]

Time will tell. Most of these channels come off as really disingenuous. People looking for views and clicks instead of actual interest in the boat. She seems to really like it though, even if she has a tough time accepting valid input.

[Jims43DC]

She is a member here and has asked a few questions, She has said she will have a Captain and crew, I have also thrown a few helpful comments her way. There is no reason to discourage her with negative comments. I hope nothing but the best for her and the boat. None of us were born with the knowledge we have learned over the years. You Rock Shay.

[Freestyle]

Shay and the Hatteras YouTubers should all be celebrated by the rest of us antique boat owners. We want them to show the world every way to enjoy and care for these boats. This is our legacy and someday we, or our families, will have to sell these boats to their Youtube fans..

I knew a little more than Shay when I bought my first Hatteras but in hindsight, not that much. I enjoy watching Youtubes and learning all the things I have learned. Then I see something new and learn to be a better boater and friend to other boaters.

Let's give Shay and all of the Youtubers our encouragement and support. Shay could use a ride on one of our better operating boats to keep her enthusiasm up and give her some perspective. Maybe someone in South Florida can help her out.

Alternatively, if Shay quits, she has a great slip on the New River.

Bruce

Freestyle
1986 62 CPMY (64 MY with ext)
Tampa

[whoover]

I have watched also, some of the things even discourage me. The boat is a project, a bag of garbage in the engine room, really! Last video looks like progress is being made, I hope she has the money, the will to learn and courage to continue.

Walt Hoover

[scottinsydney]

I have been in touch weekly with Shay. Similar boats.

What you see on the videos is weeks/months behind where the boat is at. Little difference between her boat and mine 8 years ago. The boats's condition is a reflection of the previous owner, not Shay.

I think its wonderful someone is giving this a go and documenting it for us. Go for it Shay!

[madhatter1]

After watching some of the one in Miami (forget the name) and another with an Ian boat where the guy goes below to video while on auto pilot with no one at the helm I had no interest in looking. Based on the posts here I am going to give it a look.

[Hat4Shay]

Hi All.

I am the crazy lady that bought the 70' boat. Thanks for all the kind messages here... and for those here that have been helping in the background! You guys have the patience of Job and it amazes me how you share your time and valuable information with me.

I started the channel for my friends, so it's not very good. I'm sorry. I'm trying to get better at shooting and working on the boat at the same time. It's not easy to film because as you know, the work moves fast and I'm always the helper. In the beginning I'm just filming and handing tools, but as you'll see, a lot of times I'm in the bilges making repairs and pulling hoses. (I hope you can tell the difference between my hands and Jim's in the videos!!! Hint, mine are smaller, less hairy and less sweaty!) I'm very hands on as I want to learn everything about the systems on this boat. I am very determined to be a good boater (and hopefully captain) and I do like working on it and seeing the progress.

She is a project. I knew that when I took it on. And, honestly, it can be really overwhelming, but all the nice messages and encouragement really do help keep me going, especially on the days when I'd like to take her out and sink her myself! She does run and the hull is good. It was mainly a lot of little crap and people not fixing things when they happened and I swear, they couldn't throw anything away. lol The videos are about 6 months behind, and there's been a lot of progress on the boat and a lot of progress in my knowledge and confidence about this project! I did post a progress report a couple weeks ago on YouTube... it doesn't cover all the progress, but some major stuff. =-)

I have never owned a boat, so the learning curve has been vertical and extremely challenging, which is to be expected for anyone stepping outside their knowledge base. It's also fun! I am a problem solver by nature, so I thrive in these conditions. However, I don't have issues taking input at all. I just don't take bad input (like the guy that said I needed to rebuild the old ap pump to make my steering work on the flybridge.) Or, if I can't afford to do what is suggested, then I keep looking for alternatives. =-) Like the windlass... several people said to rebuild it, but I just couldn't swallow spending 9-10k without being sure that was really the absolute best thing to do when it appeared there were good alternatives that cost less. So, I stepped back and asked around. Luckily, I found someone that can rebuild my existing gear box for considerably less money, but in exploring all the options, I learned a lot and now I'm confident in my choice.


Exposing myself to the vitriol of the internet has been scary. People make comments without caring that they are insulting and/or hurting the person making the video. That part has been hard, but I'm so glad I did the channel if for no other reason, I'd probably still be trying to fix the steering in the upper helm and I would have spent thousands of dollars fixing an old, obsolete Automatic Pilot pump because that's what the "pros" said needed to be done. I posted it on youtube and many messaged in saying that old pump was not the issue and one person messaged and said they'd had the same issue as me and told me how they fixed it. I now have steering at both helms!


Anyway, thanks again for the kind messages. They mean a lot! And, if you want to follow the journey, or even help me along the way, please do! I have a long way to go to fix her, but I'm almost ready for the third sea trial and I should be able to start my driving lessons in late January. If you need experience on a larger boat, I'm open to sharing the fun and the costs of the lessons! And while my boat isn't dead in the water, I am absolutely up for a ride or a visit to other boats in the area! I'm not from FL, so I don't know a lot of folks yet. It would be nice to make some new friends who can empathize and commiserate about boat pain!

Cheers
Shay
MY Shay la Vie