What happens to all the wannabees?

[got seashells?]

Well the trip to Florida and the 10 days living on the boat and taking all of the classes was very well worth the anticipation. Not as much wind as one would like but still worth every second. Have had a few people look at the house and took notes on their likes/dislikes. Made a list and getting ready to make some small changes to the home so we can sell it. We have also started to inquire about some of the boats that have caught our attention. ( any advise here would be great) hubbie has listed a bunch of his garage, shop, attic, and out building contents and selling that off. Oh and did I mention the 322 day countdown? We have also spent time with our dentists making sure we are in prime shape prior to saying goodbye to our good insurance. Trying to reaserch insurances, making a Christmas list that includes nautical things that we will need.... Oh and still reading here a lot.

[got seashells?]

Just got our financing in place, now how do find the boat? I know there listed all over but how do you know your not about to be taken for everything you have worked for? I am not going to lie, up until this very moment I have been excited but now find myself scared of making a choice that kills our dream. Almost a feeling of dread. Help

[DSDman]

That all usually depends on price. For 300+ k you can buy a large newer boat like a 50 + ft bene or a nice tayana. In good shape and easy to determine seaworthiness. Go older and cheaper and the harder it gets and the more risk you assume.

[zeehag]

you know your exact budget. go look at EVERYTHING and sail everything and what you fall in love with and cannot live without is the boat you will get.
walk docks.
go on wild goose chases a lot...
most of all...have fun in this adventure.

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by got seashells?

Just got our financing in place, now how do find the boat? I know there listed all over but how do you know your not about to be taken for everything you have worked for? I am not going to lie, up until this very moment I have been excited but now find myself scared of making a choice that kills our dream. Almost a feeling of dread. Help

Just don't lust after too much boat.
Leave yourself room for maintenance and supplies to get you underway.

[The Garbone]

Originally Posted by got seashells?

Just got our financing in place, now how do find the boat? I know there listed all over but how do you know your not about to be taken for everything you have worked for? I am not going to lie, up until this very moment I have been excited but now find myself scared of making a choice that kills our dream. Almost a feeling of dread. Help

With the shape of the used boat market these days you can most likely pay cash for the boat. Financing a boat scares me, even a new one takes money to get it in shape and then more money to maintain, that is enough to pay out every month.

[Annie in WA]

Get a boat that both you and your husband love. It took two years of searching for us.... I liked traditional, he liked modern. We looked at a lot of boats, walking the docks with an illustrated guide to boats to help us identify them. We finally went to look at one that we thought we couldn't really afford but we both said, as we stepped onto the dock, " now that's a really nice boat". After negotiations with the owner and a small boat loan we bought her twelve years ago. It is a double-ender and we started our offshore cruising life this past September. And another thing: we didn't have everything done and weren't entirely ready to go but we did it anyway. It has worked out just fine.

[mgstich]

I am a newish wannabe, my hubby has been a wannabe for years. We bought the boat this year, put it in charter because we have a few years of work left and want the learn the boat but having it in charter helps it pay for itself.

Now that I have the cruisers itch, here are the lines that bind me:
1. Children - almost independent, but not quite.
2. Culling, selling, storing the years of "stuff" I have accumulated. (Ugh, the attic alone renders me inert.)
3. Actually selling my home and committing to life aboard without a "fall back."
4. Judgement from others that we are "selfish" for leaving our family and friends.
5. Fear of the unknown or rather the not yet experienced.

That said, the water, the adventure, the independence, new friendships all call to us.

[got seashells?]

Oh how much I hate that part, "how can you leave? It's not fair that you won't be here if your needed"....I am pretty sure that translates into who is going to host all of the birthday, Christmas , thanksgiving whatever party's and now who is going to pay for it all and clean everything?

That sounded bitter..... Better hurry and get that boat!

[DumnMad]

Just go visit a retirement home. Its a revelation.
One day you will have to downsize to one room and take only the laptop and a few trinkets.(In fact, one day you will be dead.)
None of your children will want your old stuff in their house unless its very valuable. Get free of the stuff and live on a boat.
The children, after the initial shock will be proud their parents are a little unique.

[Sailnguy35]

To all the wanna bes. Do what we did. Sell everything you own, buy your boat, inspect, update and install what stuff you need. Retire early and kiss the kids an grandkids and leave. The only thing holding you back is fear and gravity! This was a dream we have had for years. We finally had to draw a line in the sand and then light the fuse. No regrets so far.

[woodymr]

FEAR.....False.....Evidence....Appearing......Real ......I am always a "wanna be"..... somewhere or something else.....with more or less stuff......with someone else.....I just wanna be......lived aboard now going on 4 years, trying to deny health issues and set off cruising the high seas, but still accumulating gear, been using and enjoying CF all the way,,,,/),,,,

[Canibul]

We basically did everything we said we were going to do. Timing slipped to the right on some t'ings, as timin' do. BUT, we took an intensive week of ASA courses in the BVI on a Leopard 42. We chartered the whole boat, i.e. no other students. We wanted to learn about two people sailing a 40 ft. boat. Not about 8 people sailing a 40 ft. boat. It was intense. We learned a lot.

We shopped around for a couple years, and last year we bought an older catamaran. We sailed it a thousand miles to get it to this little island where we live. It took us 40 days, with all the boat problems we had. We got struck by lightning in the Bahamas, which fried every single bit of electronics that was plugged in on the boat. From the Alternators to the radar and vhf. All gone.

Now we are stripping out old stuff and remodeling and upgrading the boat while living in one of the most expensive countries in the hemisphere. We have very limited resources here, but are charging ahead with turning this boat into a floating home for two. I am definitely accepting and taking advantage of some of the excellent help available here from experienced cruisers. And there's a lot of it.

[Rock Knocker]

Hey All,

I had never posted to this forum until recently but have been reading it for a long time. While there are certainly dreams on this board that go unfulfilled there is probably also a lot like me who where inspired and assisted from all the "dreamer" posts.

I have just completed my first season sailing. I bought a Hullmaster 27. Had no prior experience and managed to make pretty good purchasing decisions in a large part from reading advice posted to the other "dreamers" on this site.

I did my homework, found what I wanted, had a good reputable surveyor give it the once over thanks to you all. Then I bought the boat.

I read through this forum a great deal on; sails, rigging, dinghies, chartplotters etc, etc. Anyways I bought my boat from Kingston and un-stepped the mast (looked that up here to because I had never done it before). Then brought it back up the Severn Waterway via 41 of the 44 Locks.

After that I spent the year sailing and acquiring new skills. I had a riot and did everything without making (IMO) any real blunders.

Can't wait till the sailing season comes around again next year.

The point of my post is ALL the information so generously provided is probably been much more beneficial than you know.

[Therapy]

We may have to end up with an RV.

Any good RV forums?