Where to store our new catamaran

[SelkirkWind]

Originally Posted by Vasco

He's only got a week and his Admiral isn't as fast as your Leopard.

I knew I missed something!

[Teej]

Hey Rick, thanks for the suggestions.
I tried to avoid the requirement for a tonnage survey but unfortunately the process that you reference does NOT apply to catamarans, only monos. I had this confirmed by calling the Transport Canada office in Vancouver, had them send me the form to confirm, and sure enough in fine print it references the self measurement option only for monohulls. So, I have a tonnage surveyor scheduled in order to meet these bureaucratic requirements.

I'll do some research on the marina locations you reference so thanks for those suggestions. With respect to your question about whether I can get any advice from the broker, the answer is "no" because the vendor did not want to use a broker so we are doing this as a FSBO.

[imagine2frolic]

St. Augustine Boatyard does 23'6", and I am 23'3".

[JusDreaming]

For Bahamas storage I would contact "Marsh Harbor Boat Yard" they can haul you and do long term storage. They are very professional and good people to deal with

[Teej]

Thank you, I'm starting to learn that 23ft + beams can be a bit of a challenge to find yards that can haul the width.

[Teej]

Jus'Dreaming, thanks for this information. Given your info, I sent them an e-mail of inquiry this afternoon. Assuming an appropriate weather window, can you suggest what would be the approximate sailing time from Ft Lauderdale to Marsh Harbour?
Teej

[Intentional Drifter]

Teej --

About 40 to 46 hours, Ft L to Marsh Harbor, depending on conditions. Try to arrive at Marsh Harbor in the morning, as Man O'War cut can by tricky and you'll want the good light.

Although it is too far for you on this trip, Bennett Bros. in Wilmington, NC can haul up to 25' beam.

ID

[Teej]

ID, thank you for the sailing time info. from FLL to Marsh Harbour. This would fit within my time availability with respect to flight commitments back to Canada from Ft Lauderdale. One other piece of the logistics, however, is how I would get back to Ft Lauderdale from Marsh Harbour after leaving the boat in storage - is there air service back to Florida?
Teej

[Intentional Drifter]

Yes. Marsh Harbor has an airport with regular service by a couple of major airlines -- Continental, American, as well as a couple of locals.

ID

[Bill_E]

First, if you look at the Fla laws, you can easily get the 90 day limit. I wouldn't push the 7 day get out of Dodge route. As I said earlier, you can get indefinite time by having it worked on. But that means that you have to find the right marina and haul it and then schedule the work on your timescale. I don't think that is very hard to do.

Check the marinas up the coast of Florida. We are presently on the hard at the Riverside Marina in Ft. Pierce. I don't know if they can haul a Cat. There are several other "working" marinas along the Intracoastal.

As far as insurance, there are several US companies that will insure you if you don't go beyond something like 100 or 125 miles from the US coast. We are insured with the company that carries our auto insurance. But you might check out Progressive. But they won't cover you for real cruising. Susan has been helping us on our more difficult coverage when we start to head "down island".

Puerto Rico is probably out of the question. That is our final (??) destination and it looks to me like it takes a solid week to 10 days if you do the trip without stops and all blue water. If you island hop (The Thorny Path) it looks like it could easily take 2 months. And once you are there, you are right in the middle of the all of the hurricane paths. Certainly no better than Florida.

Good luck, it seems like an impossible task because you can never get a straight answer from any of the bureaucrats. Just go for it.

Bill

[Teej]

Thanks for your thoughts and input, Bill. The main push to get outa Dodge in 7 days is to minimize vacation time away from my office. Previous trips have pretty well used up my allotment for the year so I was hoping to get the survey, sea trial and find a new home for the cat within the 7 day window and then head back to work in Canada as the proud new owner of a boat in storage. How frustrating is that? The Canadian registration will follow and I am still hoping that I can get a temporary cruising permit in the interim until it is Canadian flagged and then I would be able to get a cruising permit which would enable the cat to be stored in Florida for up to a year if I understand all the "rules" correctly.

Even if I can keep her in FL until we come down in the new year for a 4 week winter vacation to the Bahamas (or wherever), I am finding it a little challenging to find a yard that can haul a 23' beam.

I will look into the 90 day clock associated with the "getting some work done" scenario. I'm still not sure where I go to get the specific regulations to get the actual regulations on this.

Thank you also for the insurance ideas. I am presently working with an IMIS agent in Maryland to secure a quote.

Is there anything more confusing than buying a boat, particularly outside of one's own country? We thought the Caribbean cruising lifestyle would be a cool retirement lifestyle but I didn't appreciate how much persistence it takes, particularly in a sale by owner scenario.

Thank you again,

Teej

[imagine2frolic]

Mayport at the mouth of the St. Johns River is a yard that hauled my neighbors Privelege, and he is over 23ft too.

[Teej]

First of all, an update. We did it!!!!! Last month I completed the purchase of the Admiral 38 catamaran in the Bahamas. It was a sale by owner so even though there was no broker assistance to help sort out all the processes, we were able to sort through all of that and at the end of the day we (Canadian citizens) bought an African made vessel, registered in another off shore country from an American couple. How's that for an example of the global economy in action? Following a successful condition survey and a tonnage survey, the latter required for Canadian registration purposes, we received great cooperation from Transport Canada to expedite a quick approval timeline on the registration. The boat is now registered under Canadian flag as afLOAT. I have now returned with our new "pride and joy" to Florida and have obtained a Florida cruising permit so we are good to go!

By the way, we love the Admiral 38 and after sailing her for a total of 4 weeks to date, we know we have found the perfect cruising boat for us. It will ultimately become a 5-6 month winter liveaboard for us when we join the snowbird sailing crowd to escape the Canadian winters in the future. That's what prompted us to end our Caribbean bareboat chartering days and buy our own floating "winter home".

My wife and I will be sailing the boat to the Bahamas this winter and spending the month of Feb. in the Bahamas - no idea where yet. We have no knowledge of the Bahamas but are anxious to experience what has always been on our list of desired cruising waters. Part of the trip planning to determine where in the Bahamas we will spend the month of Feb/09 will be directed to where we can find a yard to store our boat securely on the hard after our month aboard for the following 10 months until our next trip down to the Carib.

So, again, Forum friends, if anyone can provide a recommended nice routing in the Bahamas that would enable me to end up after our one month sailing vacation at a yard that can store afLOAT on the hard (she has a 23' beam!) until the following winter, I would be very appreciative.

Again, thank you all in advance. As you see, we have gone from the theoretical stage of dreaming about finding the right boat to now having to find the appropriate place to store her on land for a fairly extended period of time.

Cheers!
Teej

[Talbot]

Well done

All that prior preparation paid off!

Best of luck with your new purchase.

[SeaKing]

Here is a place in Grand Bahama that we left our boat for a couple of months, after our purchase. You may try here as a place to leave the U.S and have a dock to go to but not have to go far.

Ocean Reef Resort Grand Bahamas Island Hotel Bahamas Getaway Caribbean Getaway Bahamas Vacation Hotel