Skipper / Tutor Required

[Mike8446]

Old chap (63) wants to make his life's dream come true by buying and sailing second-hand seagoing motor sailer. Needs help to choose the boat and tuition (from scratch) in sailing. Is there anybody out there qualified to help, with a couple of (paid) months to spare?

Mike

[Vasco]

Mike,

It might help if you told us where you live. This board has members all over the world.

[Mike8446]

Thank you Vasco...

I am located in the UK but will travel anywhere in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and eastern US to buy the right boat. My skipper/tutor could come from anywhere, so long as he/she is prepared to travel to wherever the boat is located.

Mike

[Boracay]

Have you thought about a budget for this enterprise?

[Mike8446]

Hello Boracay,

From the little I have learned so far it seemed to me that running and maintenance costs are probably as important as the purchase price.

As I want to be able to spend a long time on my boat, I thought comfort and space would probably take priority over performance.

I looked over some catamarans and was impressed by the interior size and the fact that even large ones seem to be set up so that they can be sailed single-handed. As the cost of recent examples is quite high, instead of buying a cat myself and leaving mself short of cash for maintenance and other costs, I thought I might be able to buy half of a nice boat for c$250k.

Then I looked at monohulls and became very interested in ferro concrete hull construction, which looked as if it had ideal qualities for a cruiser. Although I know they are not popular which, of course makes them attractively cheap, I couldn't find any evidence that they aren't good if they are made correctly. I thought I could probably get a very nice ferro boat and change out of $200k.

What do you think, Boracay, am I thinking along sensible lines?

[Vasco]

Mike,

You can outfit a good used 45 ft boat for $200k. I would stay away from ferro. get a glass boat. For example look at this one that was recently sold.
1991 Custom John Alden C C Cutter Sail Boat For Sale -
Boats are cheaper in the States than in UK/Europe. I would seriously think of going to Florida, rent a condo for a couple of months (fairly reasonable and lots of availability nowadays), get a good broker and start looking. I'm sure someone on this board will steer you to a good broker. The broker will be able to find you a good tutor but if he/she can't I have a few friends in FL that just quit cruising this year and they may be able to help you. Start in Florida. PM me if you wish to proceed this way and I will give you a contact.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Mike8446

Is there anybody out there qualified to help, with a couple of (paid) months to spare?

Mike

The simple answer to that would be yes (not me though ) and IMO you have landed in a damned good place to find that someone.

In your shoes I would look to a couple of folk for differing experiances and opinions - and putting in some extended time onboard, even if not exactly the vessel you are thinking of will help refine (and increase!) the questions you need to decide on..........plus "being on the plot" will provide first hand social access to others, not just "your" captain cum guru

And having a good trawl through and following this site will IMO also be very worthwhile........

Some problems in life are nice to have

[Mike8446]

Thanks Rick and Dave,

What is it that people don't like about ferro Rick?

Mike

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Mike8446

Thanks Rick and Dave,

What is it that people don't like about ferro Rick?

Mike

There have been many threads on this. Mainly they were mostly home-built and the integrity of the hull is an unknown.

[Rhosyn Mor]

Mike,
if you are serious, I have a spare berth on Rhosyn Mor. We are leaving Annapolis, USA on or around October 24th. HEaded for Florida/ Bahamas and points south. If you PM me and we think we might get on, there could be a spot for you. this way you could get yer sailing in ( other crew has extensive experience also), learn to cruise, and we could discuss sailboats along the way.
Rhosyn mor is a British 38 foot ketch .

[BlueSovereign]

Originally Posted by Rhosyn Mor

Mike,
if you are serious, I have a spare berth on Rhosyn Mor. We are leaving Annapolis, USA on or around October 24th. HEaded for Florida/ Bahamas and points south. If you PM me and we think we might get on, there could be a spot for you. this way you could get yer sailing in ( other crew has extensive experience also), learn to cruise, and we could discuss sailboats along the way.
Rhosyn mor is a British 38 foot ketch .

Upon reading your post, my immediate reaction was "Wow, what a thoughtful and generous offer!".

As we say down here: "Good on you mate, Well done!"

[fareweather]

This might be a long shot but there was a Korean built motor sailer for sale at Marina Zar-Par in the Dominican Republic in March. It was a very well built and attractive boat maintaned by an OCD engineer (can't remember his name). Price was 150k which I thought to be a deal. Contact Tony Torres via Marina Zar-Par, Boca Chica, DR.

[Intentional Drifter]

Don't be too quick to eliminate cats. For example, here's an older cat, but a great boat, under your budget:
1988 Catana Catana 39 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

There are several Leopard 38's around, a few older Mantas, Lagoons and Fountaine-Pajots. All in the 36 to 40 foot range and under your budget price. You can also find a number of older Prouts that would do nicely, too.

I know a very capable training captain for cats who is certified in all the mechanical stuff, as well as focused on teaching. Not all captains do that so well, but she's quite good at it, in fact the late PDQ company used to hire her to train their new owners. PM me if you want her contact info.

ID

[Mike8446]

I have e-mailed asking for details.

Mike

[bvimatelot]

Originally Posted by Mike8446

Thank you Vasco...

I am located in the UK but will travel anywhere in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and eastern US to buy the right boat. My skipper/tutor could come from anywhere, so long as he/she is prepared to travel to wherever the boat is located.

Mike

Mike, this is a difficult one and an earlier comment about your budget is a realistic question.

I do this sort of thing a great deal nowadays, and a few forum members have used my services.

I'm not going to advertise on an open forum so if you like, send me a pm.
Tony