Affordable Power Cruiser?

[Cruiserwannabe]

Hello, this is my first post. I retire in about 2.5 years from Active Duty Air Force and the wife and I want to buy an affordable power cruiser under 100K. We understand we have loads to learn but we want to know prior to making such a purchase if we are getting what we want out of the boat. We want to be abe to hug the shores without venturing too far away from any main land but still be able to take it out on the ocean/and main rivers such as the james river in virginia. A common trip for us would be to New Bern NC from the south Richmond Virginia area (Prince George) Also we want to be able to use it in Florida and Houston TX areas depending if we relocate where we could follow the coast line and just visit main coastal citys in the US. Being able to put the boat on a trailer is also something we want to do.

I guess Im asking is this possible or should i take up another retirement hobby? What kind of boat should I be looking at where we could sleep on it (2 of us).

As you can see im asking the newbie questions to get some sort of idea what is possible, after all military folk dont get paid that much

[James S]

Are you thinking that this boat is trailer able?

Do you intend to live aboard full time, or is this for extended weekend trips?

If you’re staying fairly close to shore/services, I'd think you'd have lots of boats to choose from in the 100k range.

I had a lovely little Riva 34ft twin 350s that I bought in Monaco (not the cheapest place to by a boat) for about 30K a few years back.

It would have been a reasonable live aboard for two.

Even had a bidet in the head.

But 350s are thirsty!

[feelsgood]

Alot of things will help you make the right decision. In the present times where money is hard to come by I would go for something that has a cruising speed of around 10-12 knots. This will keep the fuel bills down and this type of boat is idealy suited to costal cruising as you will be inshallow water with more chop. The type of boat we live on is in our blog and is ideal for 2 people. The blog site is
theguerns.blogspot.com

[JerryF]

You would find that a Catamaran would be ideal for your retirement. The shallow draft (3 to 3-1/2 feet) lets you stay close to shore when you want to. As an example, a 30 foot cat has approximately the same interior room as a 40 foot monohull. You can easily take it out into the ocean and into coastal areas. Cats are much more stable with regard to rolling (rocking left and right) than monohulls. Others may add a few more things here. To see some prices for used cats, GOOGLE "Power Cats for sale" or "Power trawlers for sale."

[3350885]

I just bought a used bayliner 42 ft with two caterpiller engines. Obscene horsepower but it will make 2 milrd per gal at 10 knots andcan go 20 knots if needed. Made 1700 miles from Panama Cityto NC with no big problemsLook carefully and use a really good marine surveyer when you find one. If the running gear is OK then you can expect to still invest in alot of other maintnance. That's just part of boating.

[Hud3]

Welcome aboard!

You've picked a great area to begin your sailing career. The Chesapeake and it's tributaries are a super place to learn the ropes in protected waters.

[Craig Harlamoff]

Read Sid Stapleton's "Powerboat Bible".

Also, take every chance you can get to ride on different boats and find what pleases you..

Some of the old time rules:

"Buy the smallest boat that meets you needs"

" What are you planning to do with it?"

" Welcome to the dream"

I started with a used $15k Bayliner. We trailered it everywhere, attended raft ups, cruised the bays visiting the different cities. Fished in the Bay. Now that I have some experience, I'm looking at getting an older diesel trawler.

[Little Otter]

Welcome Aboard sir, you should try looking a www.yachtworld.com and www.boattrader.com they have listings from all over, but the main thing with a power boat is that they can have more comfort than a sail boat so you can have more "creature Comforts" that sailboaters don't need

[slomotion]

Welcome

Probably the most popular style power boat for extended liveaboard cruising is a trawler. Eg.:

1983 Marine Trader Sundeck Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com=

There are many different manufacturers, but in general this style is strong and suitable for off shore use. You see them all over the Bahamas. With older boats, it's all about condition. You will need a professional surveyor or other experienced person to evaluate any boat you are serious about buying.

[slomotion]

Oops - I missed the part about the trailer. You won't be putting a trawler on a trailer you can pull with anything built by someone other than Mack, Peterbilt, etc.

[anthon]

Originally Posted by slomotion

Welcome

Probably the most popular style power boat for extended liveaboard cruising is a trawler. Eg.:

1983 Marine Trader Sundeck Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com=

Wow, that's a real tardis isn't it

[LtBrett]

Your goal of trailerability conflicts with your goals of seakeeping and liveability. There are plenty of powerboats that are under $100k and sleep 2 comfortably. Let me further divide the universe of powerboats into two types: full displacement and all others. Full displacement offers the best seakeeping and perhaps the best fuel economy, but they are slow and not trailerable. Others mostly have planing hulls and big thirsty engines. You can run at hull speed, 5-7kts, while getting close to the efficiency of a displacement hull. Now here's your tradeoff: planing hulls that can be trailered don't handle rough seas well. That may not be an issue if you plan carefully, plus you have speed if you need it. The other thing to consider is that trailerable power boats are not designed to be lived on for more than a week or so at a time. If your intention is to spend long stretches onboard, perhaps you should reconsider the requirement of trailerability. That would open up a huge world of very liveable, economical power boats. My best advice, however, is to start spending time around boats and ask a ton of questions before you decide which route to take. Sounds like a perfect retirement hobby!

Brett

[GDFL]

I've seen pictures of Willard 30's on trailers. I love the salty look and some of their layouts. The trailer was a big 3 axle transport trailer, but it was pulled by a superduty pickup. Technically trailerable, but definitely not a trailer boat.

[Cheechako]

wannabe, there are probably a few that might fit your bill, like the 27 albin trawler here:Powerboat for sale, 1984 27ft Albin Trawler trawler boat. Seabrook, TX. Sell boats
These are older boats so you would have some maintenance challenges. But not much money to start. I agree, look at the ads for 27-30 foot trawlers, get a little familiar with them. Walk the docks if possible. I assume you could tow with a diesel dually pickup..... another option would be a boat like the ACB aluminum boat. But these are beyond your budget. They are unsinkable as they have built in air chambers. They build mostly with outboards but do some inboard diesels also to 38ft. and military craft.

[Cheechako]

ACB: ACB (no relationship)