Can a couple sail a 64ft FC yacht around the world?

[Weyalan]

2 adults + 2 kids certainly don't need 64 foot of boat to live aboard. A modern 40 footer will provide a stateroom for ma 'n pa and a small cabin each for the kids. A 40 footer will cost a fraction to maintain compared to a 64 footer, a fraction of the cost to insure (if you can even get insurance on a FC boat, which is unlikely), a fraction of the cost to stay in a marina berth, a fraction of the cost to slip...

Hell, for 4 people you don't really need even 40 foot. Don't ask yourselves how big a boat you can afford, ask yourselves how small a boat you could be happy with... you'll thank me one day!

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Weyalan

2 adults + 2 kids certainly don't need 64 foot of boat to live aboard. A modern 40 footer will provide a stateroom for ma 'n pa and a small cabin each for the kids. A 40 footer will cost a fraction to maintain compared to a 64 footer, a fraction of the cost to insure (if you can even get insurance on a FC boat, which is unlikely), a fraction of the cost to stay in a marina berth, a fraction of the cost to slip...

Hell, for 4 people you don't really need even 40 foot. Don't ask yourselves how big a boat you can afford, ask yourselves how small a boat you could be happy with... you'll thank me one day!

speaking from current experince here, i live on a 63ft yacht with 2 teenagers and a wife...........it is not big enough!
i reccomend the OP just gets a shed in the boat yard for himself

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by Weyalan

2 adults + 2 kids certainly don't need 64 foot of boat to live aboard. A modern 40 footer will provide a stateroom for ma 'n pa and a small cabin each for the kids. A 40 footer will cost a fraction to maintain compared to a 64 footer, a fraction of the cost to insure (if you can even get insurance on a FC boat, which is unlikely), a fraction of the cost to stay in a marina berth, a fraction of the cost to slip...

Hell, for 4 people you don't really need even 40 foot. Don't ask yourselves how big a boat you can afford, ask yourselves how small a boat you could be happy with... you'll thank me one day!

Yep, 45ft max i'd say and keep it simple. The more you have the more you have to look after. Insurance is easy on a good ferro down here because there's plenty of good ones around.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by atoll

if you like hard work,paying $150 a night in marinas,using $200 dollars worth of fuel a day when motoring,$5000 on a haul out,taking out a bank loan every time something breaks!
go for it,but it won't be cheap!

You forgot that when you are finally burned out on all the money you threw at it, the damn thing will be worth less than when you bought it.

Originally Posted by pingrossouw

Let me first just clarify a bit. We are looking to buy her for a live aboard firstly and grow into her as we go along. Our cruising will only start in a couple of years so we do have time to learn the ropes....
We have come to terms with FC as a hull material, and as strange as it might sound we actually prefer it to GRP

Once you have "learned the rope", you will have the knowledge that you should have gone GRP to begin with and like Weylands quote below, a much smaller vessel.

Originally Posted by Weyalan

Hell, for 4 people you don't really need even 40 foot. Don't ask yourselves how big a boat you can afford, ask yourselves how small a boat you could be happy with... you'll thank me one day!

Sound advice. I wonder what the OP's budget is.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I'm going to say NO because the original poster had to ask the question, which probably means it is a no for their level of experience

Lots of times the question provides the answer. But there have been examples of folks who many of us would predict would not get off the dock doing a lot more than that.

FC is not the most popular material but there are examples of good FC boats. My guess would be the OP is biting off more than he can chew.

[stillbuilding]

So really depends on character, competence, funds and reality assessment. Not so much about the boat.

[boatpoker]

I suspect the OP has little experience with boats and I'm suggesting two links to give her just a hint of what an inexperienced person will be up against. These links do not pertain to FC but to the many and varied systems she will have to deal with. A backyard built boat of that size will be a complex animal, not for the novice.

Marine Survey 101 & Stoopid Boat Tricks by Owners

The only way to be sure of an FC boat is to X-ray the hull so tack that exhorbitant cost on to the survey and lift fee's. As has been said, chances of a novice getting insurance on a vessel like this are as good as Richard Nixon being re-elected.

[delmarrey]

And speaking of insurance, most marinas in the USA will not let you in unless you do have, at least, the liability binder. So I'd be checking to see if the boat was insurable before anything else.

[justjohn]

The dream of the family can be overcome by the design of the vessel if she is sound.

[justjohn]

Originally Posted by justjohn

The dream of the family can be overcome by the design of the vessel if she is sound.

. They can only sail as good as there captain can lead. But a good crew can sail only as good as the boat they have 30, 40, 60 and so forth makes no difference. It is the crew AND the boat that matters. Captain ... How good are you? Will you trust your kids and wife as your crew???

[poiu]

Yes is the answer to the question.

Bigger is in most ways easier, but everything will or needs to be powered and with back up. Motion is much more gentle and high inertia helps control and manoeuvring.

The kids won't be able to do too much without powered aids and you may need more than you have. Winch operating will be too dangerous for the kids. Helming too heavy often too. For kids involvement, the smaller the better. For comfort, the bigger the better.

Get the best boat you can easily afford. Size should be just one thing to consider.

[Lauriesail]

Originally Posted by pingrossouw

Hallo everybody.... We are looking at buying a yacht to go cruising in in the next couple of years. We came across a very good deal on a 64ft FC yacht. It sounds very big and with lots of space too. Question is, on something that size, what size of crew are we looking at, or can it be sailed by just two people (a couple with two young kids, 6 and 9yrs)? All answers would be appreciated.

I sail mostly alone with my wife, over the past five years, a 54 foot Jeanneau and handle it very well. The Med is more difficult, as you often moor in marinas, not all have assistance and can be a bit tricky, but with a bow thruster, you always get by. I would have no qalms about sailing around the world in a 64. A bigger boat is safer in big seas and you mostly anchor in bays, which is a cinch short handed and the extra space is great. The kids will also come in handy. Do it.

[JPA Cate]

But, Lauriessail,

The 64 ft. ferro will be soo much massier, the winches will have to be electric, or HUGE for a normal size woman to sheet in the jib at 20 k. The forces will just be too big for normal people to handle.

Also, the insurance issue is a real one, even if NZ is an exception. Marinas require liability insurance for haulouts, some, simply for a berth. Goodness knows what size travelift the 64 ft. FC would need. And the big babies aren't exactly cheap, or common.

No, I think it an unwise purchase for a family of four; and I would second Weyalan's sagacious suggestion, to ask themselves how small a boat would suffice. The art of living well beneath one's income level leaves you $$ to spend on other *stuff* you want to do or spend on--like uni for the kids! or safaris in Africa, or a side trip to Machu Picchu....

Ann

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

But, Lauriessail,

...or safaris in Africa, or a side trip to Machu Picchu....

Ann

Ann... Just wondering if you and Jim have saved enough money to take me to Machu Picchu yet...

[Wand]

Originally Posted by Lauriesail

I sail mostly alone with my wife, over the past five years, a 54 foot Jeanneau and handle it very well. The Med is more difficult, as you often moor in marinas, not all have assistance and can be a bit tricky, but with a bow thruster, you always get by. I would have no qalms about sailing around the world in a 64. A bigger boat is safer in big seas and you mostly anchor in bays, which is a cinch short handed and the extra space is great. The kids will also come in handy. Do it.

This is the best response yet, clear and positive from current personal experience. The OP seems keen to embark on the venture and the boat is likely very sound, being launched a little over a decade ago, and there is no sensible reason to dissuade them. They will the living aboard for at least a couple of years and that experience in itself will help them decide whether they want to continue that lifestyle out on the blue yonder. My suggestion is that, while living aboard, make sure to also buy a 26 footer as a daysailor and throw the ropes off every weekend. It'll accelerate the learning and teach teamwork. And don't throw cash at the ferro until you're able to set a departure date, just in case things don't work out.