I Do Not Want to Fix Things - What Boat ?

[osirissail]

Ex-Calif has the best suggestion. Buy a poweryacht for not more than a third of your money including the cost of getting it up-to-date and ready to go. Then use the remaining money on hiring out all the repairs.
- - Or if you can find a young fellow who wants to spend time cruising and is willing to be your deckhand/maintenance man that would also work. He does all the fixing and supervises the professionals when needed while you sit on the top deck and relax.
- - Bottom line, you can avoid having to fix things by simply hiring somebody else to do it. All it takes is money.

[ty.gregory]

Thank you all! There are quite a few good suggestions coming in. I think that denverdOn might have a very good point. By reading posts on sites like this one, it does appear that it is not at all unusual to wake up in the morning and go on deck with a cup of coffee to find your mast floating beside your boat. You say, "Oh no, not again! I better add another item to the old To-Do list." I also see people's points on "Maintanence" and "Fixing" and how they are both roughly the same thing. I surely do hope $400K is enough to last and cruise for ten years, because if it ain't, I am in big, big, big trouble!

[Triton318]

Originally Posted by ty.gregory

I surely do hope $400K is enough to last and cruise for ten years, because if it ain't, I am in big, big, big trouble!

Give me your $400K you seem to be agonizing over. I will buy a boat that can cross oceans, and I'll go on an extended cruise for ten years. You can come along. I'll maintain everything. Problem solved!

[knottybuoyz]

"If you can’t repair it, maybe it shouldn’t be on board."
- Lin and Larry Pardey

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

"If you can’t repair it, maybe it shouldn’t be on board."
- Lin and Larry Pardey

Which is one of the basic conclusion coming out of the very long "Cruising under $500/month" long thread. If you don't have it, you don't have to repair it. So simplicity of systems is a major key to not spending all your time buried in the bilge fixing something.
- - Along that line the suggestion to go power yacht instead of sailing yacht is quite valid. Both power and sail have similar house system and power plant systems that require attention but getting rid of the whole mast and rigging system eliminates a significant amount of maintenance. Here is where the new power catamarans may be a good place to look for a boat. They have much better stability than a monohull without active stabilizers and supposedly require less horsepower to keep moving.
- - Like cars, buying something a year or two old puts you out of the initial period of "new" break-in problems but still be before the time when systems start needing to be replaced. But as stated earlier - go "simple" and minimize any added systems.

[zopi]

I dunno..power yacht? gonna eat bucks in fuel..and repairs..maybe i'm missing the economy..

Me, i'd go for a sailboat that was minimally powered..smaller boat with an outboard..engine gives you much crap..yank it and have it fixed when you can...

Oh wait...that's what i'm doing..<G>

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by zopi

I dunno..power yacht? gonna eat bucks in fuel..and repairs..maybe i'm missing the economy..

Me, i'd go for a sailboat that was minimally powered..smaller boat with an outboard..engine gives you much crap..yank it and have it fixed when you can...

Oh wait...that's what i'm doing..<G>

There's a few threads comparing the costs of power vs. sail cruising. Of course it's all in the assumptions.

ty.gregory hasn't said he doesn't want to pay for fuel (although it certainly is a factor in the 10 year plan) - he doesn't want to "CONSTANTLY" maintain things and I think a well done trawler of some kind would be a good choice.

The idea to "not install it" if you don't want to fix it is valid. Everyone has a personal "comfort level."

Having lived 30 years in houses and apartments with modern conveniences I am not wired to live without certain comforts, especially in the area of communications and refrigeration.

I would compromise on things like radar, plotters, fancy autopilots etc.

Stepping onto a cruising boat is not that hard if you are ready to plop down your money. There was a couple through here that spent several years cruising their Westsail 32. I looked at the boat and met the couple and the boat was ready to go - they had arrived from Indonesia. The maintenance records were impeccable and you could see exactly the cost of ownership for 5 years. I believe this boat changed hands in the neighborhood of $30,000.

If I didn't have 15+ more years to work it would have been an easy decision. Especially for a solo sailor in regards to living space.

As always all this stuff is personal choice. Forums like this help one challenge their thinking and as can be see by the diversity of our members the spectrum on how to get it done is huge.

Everything from Goprisko's threads on $500 per month to $750k cats. When I think about that diversity in our membership it's pretty amazing. I am also sure that regardless of what end of the spectrum you are on you'd be sharing a beer at anchorage.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by ty.gregory

I don't want to have to fix things CONSTANTLY. I know the rigors of saltwater. I want to single-hand cruise the Caribe. I could go sail or power, but I would opt for sail. I just don't want to fix and fix and fix things! I am asking for paramaters on what kind/make/style of boat I should get with the least amount of perpetual problems. I am fine with constant MAINTANENCE. I can do that... I could live on 27 feet without a problem. I am a fifty-five year old, very adaptable man.

So, if you had $400K usd and wanted to spend lets say $100K on the boat and then just live your life as simply as possible for the next ten plus years, what would you buy?

That, good people, is my question!

Wow, I think we really strayed from the OP - but there are two conflicting - I think - statements - "don't want to fix things constantly" and "I am fine with constant MAINTENANCE." But the more important thing is the statement " I could live on 27 feet without a problem." Add in the $400K budget for 10 years and the OP could purchase a new "under 30ft" ocean ready solid heavy displacement boat with very minimal equipment - think of the "under $500/mo" thread's parameters for a boat and still have a whole pot load of money left over for cruising.
- - A 28ft solid double-ender with tiller and a new little Yanmar or even a square ender with outboard for propulsion should be a very small part of that budget. Minimal electrical system and house systems eliminates a lot of things that would need fixing. Maybe something like the "old-timers" sailed but spruced up a bit with a little here and there as to modern conveniences. But most all of them not built in but semi-portable like the Engel refrig mentioned in another thread. When something breaks it goes over the side and a replacement is installed. Figuring $200K to $300K left over after getting the boat and the OP could live a very simple but comfortable life cruising the Caribbean for 10 years.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Figuring $200K to $300K left over after getting the boat and the OP could live a very simple but comfortable life cruising the Caribbean for 10 years.

Thanks for the perspective check - Stepping back to 10,000 feet...

I have $400k. Can I live 10 years on that and buy a boat?

uh... Hell yes... The rest is details.

[ConradG]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Wow, I think we really strayed from the OP - but there are two conflicting - I think - statements - "don't want to fix things constantly" and "I am fine with constant MAINTENANCE." But the more important thing is the statement " I could live on 27 feet without a problem." Add in the $400K budget for 10 years and the OP could purchase a new "under 30ft" ocean ready solid heavy displacement boat with very minimal equipment - think of the "under $500/mo" thread's parameters for a boat and still have a whole pot load of money left over for cruising.
- - A 28ft solid double-ender with tiller and a new little Yanmar or even a square ender with outboard for propulsion should be a very small part of that budget. Minimal electrical system and house systems eliminates a lot of things that would need fixing. Maybe something like the "old-timers" sailed but spruced up a bit with a little here and there as to modern conveniences. But most all of them not built in but semi-portable like the Engel refrig mentioned in another thread. When something breaks it goes over the side and a replacement is installed. Figuring $200K to $300K left over after getting the boat and the OP could live a very simple but comfortable life cruising the Caribbean for 10 years.

Yes, I would think so! Pretty comfortable at that. But it's all in the definition and we each have our own....

[ty.gregory]

I thank you all. I just reread this and feel confident I can learn to fix things, even have some fun with the knowledge I actually can take care of myself.

[zeehag]

with the amount of money mentioned in this thread, one could buy a decent boat in today's market and HAVE it repaired and sail away.. but a boat is just that-- repairs on the run.... isnt that hard to learn to fix stuff--- boat will tell you what is needed and when...
and then live FOREVER in caribean. or wherever.....

[atoll]

how to be a millionaire and own a yacht........?
easy ,start off as a multi millionaire......

[NotQuiteLost]

If I had $400k and was looking to spend 10 years in some tropical destination, I'd rent a house on an acre of beach here in the Philippines for $400/month and spend another $1-2k/month on my personal happiness. Say $2k/month average total budget, that's $24k/year, times 10 years is $240k.

Leaves me $160k with which to purchase a boat, fix it to my standards, then park the thing out in front of my house (as I've done for the better part of two years). You could even hire a maintenance guy to live on the boat (they refer to themselves as Boat Boys to start, but after a few years and enough experience, they appreciate being called Captain). The cost of this crewman would seriously impact your overall budget, to the tune of about $150/month, so that's something to consider also

[ConradG]

Originally Posted by NotQuiteLost

If I had $400k and was looking to spend 10 years in some tropical destination, I'd rent a house on an acre of beach here in the Philippines for $400/month and spend another $1-2k/month on my personal happiness. Say $2k/month average total budget, that's $24k/year, times 10 years is $240k.

Leaves me $160k with which to purchase a boat, fix it to my standards, then park the thing out in front of my house (as I've done for the better part of two years). You could even hire a maintenance guy to live on the boat (they refer to themselves as Boat Boys to start, but after a few years and enough experience, they appreciate being called Captain). The cost of this crewman would seriously impact your overall budget, to the tune of about $150/month, so that's something to consider also

I love it!