Cruise on $1700C/Month?

[Allan S]

This thread is just a means of clearing the clutter in my mind. So pardon the rambling.

Daily, our dream of sailing from cove to cove, anchorage to anchorage is getting closer and more within our grasp.

In 7 years when I turn 55 and the wife 46, we put the sails up and pour the drinks and meander with or without schedules until we are too old to pull a rope.

We won't have a big income, $1,700 a month Canadian. after healthcare and friggin' taxes are paid. Not sure if we will have a house to rent off or not as we are putting our daughters education first and foremost.

But if we can't do it on that, then we are just idiots. Already I am practicing. No ice in my drinks.

Yes, two small pensions are a lifesaver. when I turn 65, Old Age Security kicks in also. Unfortunately for me, I can draw Canada Pension Plan after all I have been paying into it since I was seventeen but the federal government has deemed tht since I am drawing a military pension, they will claw back the C.P.P.!! Doncha just love the Feds Jackboots standing on the back of your neck at any opportunity?

So, when I turn 65, I should be able to draw over 2 grand a month!

Now our retirement boat is something else. It won't be the Coronado 25 we are currently using as our training vessel. Oh the things I have learned about fiberglass repair!!! Actually, I am quite pleased with my work so far. Only one project was a 'Must Do', the cabin headliner was delaminating. But fixing the deck cracks was a breeze, Thanks to Don Casey and his books! All other projects are, and will be "See if I can do them" projects.

Our new boat will be at least 10 feet longer. We were looking at a lovely Whitby 42 ketch that needed a lot of cosmetic work but another marine engineer bought it for 50 grand. We decided to go smaller for $$$$$ reasons like docking fees, equipment costs etc.

Wifey want 35', I want 37 to 40'. If history tells me anything, we'll be buying a 35' boat. NOT NEW of course. Our budget won't allow us new, and we won't sail with a debt payment eating away at our income so it's the slow slogging fix to up the big one and sail the small one to death. I'm not sure what I am looking forward to more, retirement, or the boat work leading up to retirement! I better not be one of those types that just love re-building boats!

Ahhh, that feels better....later....Allan

[skipmac]

Sounds like you've got a good plan set up. Nice you can start sailing while still young. That $50K Whitby would have been a great deal, assuming no major structural problems but you are quite right about higher dockage, parts, maintenance, sails, and on and on. I wrestled over that issue and decided to go a little larger, for a couple of reasons. One a larger boat does have an easier motion at sea. Then for the layout I wanted I just couldn't find anything under 40' that I liked so ended up at 42.

What kind of deck cracks did you have to fix? Were they structural or just crazing around fittings, stanchions and the like? I will have a bit of that to do and am interested in the best solution.

[Allan S]

The cracks were at the 4 bases of our aft stanchion rail. The deck got compressed after I dropped the mast on the rail, then a swimmer pulled herself up with them and made it a bit worse. So I reinforced the deck with 1/4 inch ply glassed in underneath and ALL through fittings now have homemade alumnium backing plates.

If your cracks are just crazing you can laugh all the way to the bank. Remove the stanchions and bases. Sand the crazing away with a small sander and lets say a 80 grit paper. Now here is the relatively inexpensive part....go to a auto parts store and buy their Bondo body repair stuff, but get the one with a picture of a boat on the can. It will be like 1/3 of the price of a 'real' marine filler.

Apply as per the directions and in 10 minutes you can sand again using a 150 grit paper. The very last sanding job I used a 220 grit. Repeat as necesary (sp?).

Prime and paint. I cannot match existing paint with new paint so I live with the blotchiness. I have to admit Bondo does a great job and looks great when the sanding is complete. You can see the fill but you can't feel it with the proper sanding.

Hope that helps and good luck....Allan

[Greenman]

Allen

You plan sounds pretty much like mine. How many years will you have served when you hit 55? I ask because your $$$ numbers are not even close to what I had come up with for a Military Pension.

You are a step ahead of me in that you have a training boat already and I am just looking for mine. I have looked at a couple Tanzer 7.5s in the past couple weeks, so who knows maybe soon, maybe not (LOL depends on the Admiral). For now it's courses and waiting patiently for the Wednesday night races to start.

[Equinox]

Allen
Sounds like a good plan. Keep looking at boats. We looked for over a year and found the following. In our budget there were a lot of really bad boats out there. We ended up getting a center cockpit boat which we have been happy with. Be prepared to spend about 30% additional on upgrades. We sometimes wonder if we had spent more to get a boat with more up to date systems it might have been better. A new autopilot, and instruments will set you back quite a bit but will not add much to the price of a boat. If you can find a boat that was set up for long term cruising it will be a major advantage. There were lots of cruising boats for sale in Trinidad where folks left them for one reason or another.
The center cockpit does not have the lines of an aft cockpit but it is drier sailing and engine access is wonderful.
Things to look for:
1. Big anchor and a way to handle it.
2. Aux Power and house battery bank - solar panels and wind generator.
3. Water - at least 70 gallons of water/or watermaker.
4. Strong autopilot and/or windvane.
5. SSB
6. Sea berths
7. Storage for 2 tons of food, water, spare fuel, dinghy, tools, clothes, sails, anchors, spare parts, and books.
The boat will never be ready so when its good enough let go the lines and leave.

[skipmac]

Hi Allan,

Thanks for the tip on the Bondo. Have found that you can save a lot buying auto or RV products to use on boats IF you know which ones are safe/effective to substitute. Putting that little label on the can that says "Marine Grade" sure does add a lot to the cost.

Since my main issue is crazing around the stanchion bases I think the Bondo should work. I had envisioned marine epoxy with microballons for the bigger cracks. Bet the Bondo is a little cheaper.

Regards
Skip

[Allan S]

Greenman, I served 18 years in the Navy then was offered a buyout with a pension in 1995. I served on the Athabaskan, the Protecteur, Preserver then finally Protecteur again. It was actually 16 years but I bought back my pension from the reserves to bring it up to 18 years. I won't be 55 for another 7 years. I will have another small pension from the hospital by then. Things will be tight but we are so looking forward to shoving off.

What ships/base did and are serving on?....Allan

[Allan S]

Equinox, thanks for the tips, we'll take them to heart for sure, I especially like the part about the boat will never be ready and just shove off...lol....Allan

[Greenman]

Allan, sorry for the long absence, I have not served on any Ships I am green through and through, this Navy stuff is killing me

I have worked on the Athabaskan and Preserver though, inspecting their weapons and security containers. I am a weapons tech (land).

Good luck with your "shoving off" I have another 5 years to go until I have 25 complete. I am not certain I can wait that long, so I will begin to take stock in 3 years and go from there.

I am still looking at Tanzer 7.5s but havent pulled the trigger yet. Maybe this weekend if the boat looks great and the seller is willingto deal.

[Weyalan]

Sounds like you have a good plan and a good attitude. Good luck with it all. Don't be afraid of winging it a little bit... if you wait until every "i" is dotted and every "t" crossed, they will carry you on board in a pine box! My girl and I plan to cast the lines in about 5 years... I'd do it tomorrow if I could!

[VERTIGO]

New to the forum but also Military (US) about 7 years to go, should leave me with $2700-$3300 as long as boat is paid for in cash. Working on just getting the house paid for to sell it and pay cash for boat. My plan anyway.

[dana-tenacity]

The smaller and simpler the boat the easier it will be to stay in budget. A lot of cruisers carry a lot of unnecessary stuff. That's their decision but every bit of stuff needs to be bought, serviced, maintained, and replaced. For everything you look at ask "do I need this?"