Final Thoughts and The ABCs of Trawlers

 I am a retired English teacher with 37 years of experience teaching students from the 16 years of age to 70. For 13 ½ years, I taught adults and recent high school graduates at a community college. Most of the other years were devoted to sophomore, junior and senior high school students.

My husband has also served as a teacher. He taught at vocational-technical schools. One of the subjects he taught was report writing so he is very familiar with grammar and usage. He will also freely admit that correct spelling has plagued him all his days.

With our background, you will understand that we noticed the imperfections in Captain Bob’s book. Nevertheless, the diagrams about trawlers and explanations about hulls, sizes, layouts, and engines are useful.

Still, the book has not been updated since 2009; thus, pages 32-51, consisting of lists of trawlers for sale, and many of the duplicated forms that follow page 51, are suspect. Some or all of the information therein may be inaccurate and certainly cannot compete with Yacht World online.

The fact that this book has not been updated annually is further evidence that Captain Bob’s operation may be cruising on its past glory rather than building upon it and enhancing it.

We cannot recommend the book, especially at a cost of $25.00 if sold separately from the charter. Captain Bob will provide a copy at no additional cost if people put down a deposit (50% of the total cost) for a charter.

Caveat Emptor because

·      Neither of the contractual captains may show up to teach aboard and captain the Miami Mermaid.

·      Mechanical failures may interrupt the itinerary or prevent you from completing the charter. Remember, at least one other couple, referenced on the Living Aboard Forum, received a settlement, but not until they took Captain Bob to court. He settled the day before the Court date. Furthermore, log entries and posted on Captain Bob’s web site refer to mechanical failures.

·      The Miami Mermaid is not what it appears to be when viewing Captain Bob’s web site at http://www.trawlerschoolcharters.com. Be sure to compare his photos with the few we have been able to include with this blog.

·      Because Captain Bob chose Captain Brian as his substitute without notice or contractual agreements, we assert that Captain Bob breached his own contract.

·      Captain Bob’s choice for a substitute captain did not have broker experience, something that Captain Bob’s charter promises. Indeed, learning to buy the right trawler and how to negotiate is at the heart of Captain Bob’s educational program.

·      Captain Bob did not deal fairly with us. We received information about only 4 of the 41 items listed as instructional topics, yet he contends we received nearly $2,000 worth of education. In addition, information printed in The ABCs of Trawlers and related to other topics from the list of 41 is dated, having been originally written in 2001 and last updated in 2009. The book is not worth $25 much less nearly $2,000.