Leaving your boat in different ports for month at a time.

[liferomp]

I joined the site as I am about to buy a outremer and sail it around the world in 7 years in 10 different ports. I have sailed for 5 years but this will be my first time owning.

My question is once I own the boat its like have a child you just feel unsafe leaving it, worrying about it so how do you secure for 30 60 90 days at a time. leaving it in Bahamas is different that Panama so does anyone have a check list on how to leave the boat with or what port so I do not come back to a striped boat or a service that says they will look after it and then it get possible damaged because they do not clean, secure or ? I assume most people have one place they get use too but in my case I want to move it around the world.

[Paul L]

It's s big world, and the answers to your questions are all local. Firstly you have to deal with hurricane/cyclone season in deciding where you will lay up the boat. What area will be acceptable to your insurance company. Will you want to layup on the hard or in the water. Then there's the issue of how long customs will allow the boat to be in the country with out importing.

If you stated a little more specifically where you wanted to keep the boat then you might get some good feedback. Trinidad, Curacao, Panama, New Zealand all have lots of boats laying over for extended times.

[liferomp]

Its not the place its how to secure the trip as I am a film maker and I am gone for months at a time. The plan is to start in New York for the summer 2017 , Bahamas for end of year 2018 , st martin for the spring 2018 , panama for fall of 2018 , acapulco 2019 , then I will bring it in to CA for 2020 - 2024. Things change but what i am looing for is the process of securing the boat since i will not live on it. I see that BVI people leave and come back like a condo on the water so how do I understand how to do this. Is there a book on it? I can not be the first person to leave there boat for months. I am just worried becuase it a 1m dollar boat and I don't want it to got to crap when it get delivered in June

[chuckr]

People stop all over the world and leave their boats for various reasons -- we have in a lot of places in the Carib, Med, and Black Sea - it is a matter of looking and figuring out where and for how long and safety -

[carstenb]

each boat would have to be laid up differently, depending on the boat, time of year, the marina and length of time you'll be gone - not to mention if you pay someone to keep an eye on it.

Never heard of a book about it - how well can you sail? I'm asking, because if you are a seasoned sailor (you note 5 years - but what have you learned during those 5 years), you'll probably know most of the answers to this already (assuming you've had a boat on the hard and done work on it yourself)

If you're not seasoned, I expect you'll have to learn by doing

as an aside - you say you'll leave the boat in the caribbean and then go through the canal and leave the boat in alcapulco and then CA. You might want to think aobut this - sailing up the coast of latin american on the western side is a tough slog. Most who come out the canal and want to go north sail to hawaii and then to CA.

the other is doable - but not very comfortable

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by liferomp

Its not the place its how to secure the trip as I am a film maker and I am gone for months at a time. The plan is to start in New York for the summer 2017 , Bahamas for end of year 2018 , st martin for the spring 2018 , panama for fall of 2018 , acapulco 2019 , then I will bring it in to CA for 2020 - 2024. ......

New York - plenty of marinas on the east coast. Find s reliable caretaker to watch the boat
Bahamas - not s lot of great places to leave a boat, especially in hurricane season. There is an excruiser who has a place on the canals in New Providence who has dock space and caretakes boats. Near airport. Would be OK for the shorter duration. Longer and I'd take it back to Fla.
St Martin - both marinas and dry storage. In hurricane belt. Expats available to watch boat
Panama - Shelter Bay Marina slip or dry storage. Pay to have it checked on. Dry yard is secure, but you are in the jungle humidity.
Acapulco - not a place I would leave a boat. OK for a few day stop if you are careful. Hurricane zone

[liferomp]

How to find s reliable caretaker to watch the boat in different ports ? This person also set the cleaning of the boat each week. How when i am so far away do I make sure the boat is not being robbed of the navigation? I am a working film maker and this is a 60 ft boat.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by liferomp

How to find s reliable caretaker to watch the boat in different ports ? This person also set the cleaning of the boat each week. How when i am so far away do I make sure the boat is not being robbed of the navigation? I am a working film maker and this is a 60 ft boat.

You will have to work that out after arriving in each place. You talk with other cruisers, marina managers, etc. Or perhaps leave one of your own crew onboard. In most places that store boats in the off season you will find people who have left their boats there before and will have recommendations and warnings.

[LagunaRed]

Hi. We bought a 52 foot catamaran and leave it on the East Coast (we live in California). We've been able to find caretakers to manage the boat while we're not on it with relative ease. Granted, we've had the boat in Annapolis and Fort Lauderdale which are likely two of the easiest places but I've found it easier than I expected. If you are buying a new boat, I would make sure you find someone really competent because you will undoubtedly have a bunch of projects that need to get done to get the boat ready for world cruising. We are in the final stages of prep for our big trip and will be moving onto the boat with the family in June for a 2-3 year cruise. Maybe we'll see you out there!

Christian
s/v Summer Kai

[liferomp]

I am not worried about the USA part, I am worried about the different ports were the boat will stay for months at a time. How long it will take when I come to port to find a marina for the 90 days, the company or person to watch the boat and how I will feel just leaving it. When you came back to your boat was it mostly how you left it each time?

[akprb]

We left our Cat all over the world for months at a time, never a problem. Be cool, make friends, trust and then just common sense as far as buttoning her up.

[hamburking]

If you are going to be doing this often, you may want to hire and train someone specifically to live on, care for, and maybe clean and maintain your boat when you aren't there. If you have a million dollar boat, this should be a reasonable expense.

I would do the same with my home if I were going away for an extended period of time.

When you seek or hire a local, you are also advertising the fact that you have left your boat empty.

You don't need to be in an exotic port for this to happen. My Hunter Legend 35.5 was robbed over the winter, on the hard, here in my hometown. They used my toolbox to remove some electronics. Every locker was opened and the contents pulled out. They took what they could carry, which was quite a bit.

[Shrew]

We leave our boat 6 months a year. We haul it out, have it blocked with stands. We wash and clean when it is hauled, then again before it gets launched. Many dry storage facilities available. Many marinas have provisions for dry storage. A dry storage contract typically includes one haul and block and one launch.

Most places have staff that watch over the boats. It's not in their best interest to have problems. This is their business and don't want bad word of mouth.

If you're concerned about security, find a gated storage facility. See if they have someone on staff 24 x 7. The more secure and the more staff, typically the more expensive for storage.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Maybe folks can offer up tips based on categories, like:
Buttoning her up to leave
Reversing the above
Equip layup
2-legged vermin
4-legged vermin
6-legged vermin
Maintenance
Officialdom
Caretakers
Weather
Moorage
Other/Etc.

[Hyrdflyr]

If it floats or fly's and you aren't around to take care of it, then rent. Lots more cost efficient. And less grief.