Still using the excuse you can't afford that boat?

[Nammy]

Becalmed all, there are still those of us that will drop everything amd, Chase the dream full on! I've been watching my buddy totally rebuild his BCC. It took him ten years! The boat is absolutely gorgeous! Payed 60k for it and who f'n knows how much he spent stripping it down to the hill and replacing even the bulkheads! So, he just launched it and, plans to wait 5 more years to build up his kitty. I bought a Westsail 32 last week(for 20k) and, if I don't have my boat ready for the Baja haha, I'll be pissed! S/V Third day, we will be meeting when I get my boat up there to Morro! You can track my progress and, berate me accordingly!

Sent from my VS985 4G using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[reed1v]

Otoh, a lot of kids nowadays are making $250k+. The demand for engineers, os programmers, app developers, and so on are skyrocketing. Kids just need to learn skills that are in demand, not waste their time playing games and avoiding the STEM courses.

[zeehag]

nammy, at fin de haha, there are benefits you all gain-- a few days discounted in various mexican marinas, from mazatlan to barra de navidad. go for em. all of em. also enjoy the anchorages...some awesomest ever sunrises and sunsets. get to zihuat for sailfest and guitarfest.. enjoy mexico!!! btw--the anchorages are better than the marinas...
i am currently cruising mazatlan for repairs--hope to meet ye here.

[artisanmach]

I'm almost ready to go... spent a year in the boat yard, selling off everything... no more excuses...

[CREX]

Originally Posted by vjm

It's an escapist fantasy for a lot of people. They aren't doing it because they don't actually want to. They enjoy thinking and talking and dreaming about it though.

DREAMERS! Amen brother. So much of that out there. So often I've given the opportunity to take the dreamers sailing and they always accept than realize they're afraid if it's not a cruise ship. Dreamers is my common name used often. Love it. I've done so much with so little cash it melts my brain what people think they need to spend on a boat. I've sailed a lot of places with very little and never, ever mooched! In fact I often entertained with food, drink and music. Although playing guitar and writing/singing got me on the big boats where I got to play. The best times are on the simple boats because your entire life isn't in one basket. KISS!

[redhead]

We bought this boat for, well, maybe not a song, maybe a short aria. We know now, we could have gone lower.

It had been more than neglected, it had been abused for well over a decade before we purchased it. We negotiated it down to the point of "as is, where is". Yes, we are those people.

Rented the house, closed 2 businesses, hooked the camper up, drove 3K miles. Picked the boat up and there it was "as is, where is". We have been working on it for 2 years. The depth of the neglect is astonishing. Now we have to get the windlass working, replace all belts and hoses in the engine room and get off this expensive dock that sucks up money that should be spent on boat systems. That's the conundrum, when I pay the moorage each month, I'm down $800+ that could go to repairs. Every time I go to Depot or the chandlery it's 40 miles round trip and 2 hours wasted.

There's a guy pulls up regularly in his Nordhaven 60. About 2 years old, SS #300 anchor and an array of electronics that looks like NASA. He pays the moorage here every month just so he can have the slip available for the 2-4 times per year he uses it. He sneers at us for still being here. I just don't have his budget. And I try not to sneer back taking pot shots at his shiny new boat.

Now, my better half flies back to NY this week to make some more boat bucks because the last big push is on. I'm not here because everything must be perfect, HAH, that will never, never happen. If you saw the 35 year old refrigeration system, or the evidence of old leaks down the interior wood, you'd laugh. But - no more leaks - we've beat them. I have a dry boat! And I will sand and refinish, or paint or something the interior wood sometime in the future. But first, we go sailing. And davits, and a freezer, and LED lights and a bigger shower. But first we go sailing.

And I can't wait. So speaks the dock queen.

[bruce v]

Yeah, I really really enjoyed this post! My partner and I purchase older boats, refurbish them and resell them. Being on the Great Lakes, we have a lot of fresh water boats (mostly sail). I am laughing now as many of the boats we purchase are the left overs from someone's fantasy that has been put to rest (many sat in the yard catching leaves and dust for 5 to 10 years with owner not only watching their dreams and investment melt away, they were paying monthly yard fees to boot. Even small amounts monthly (i.e. $150/) mount up over 5 years like 60 x 150 = $9000. If they paid 100,000 for the boat to begin with, haven't used it for the past five and don't even bother to keep it up, they don't value it. It is easy to get them to accept offers of less than a tenth of what they paid in order to just get rid of it. We refurbish them and now someone's $100,000 dream boat is for sale for a tenth of the original cost. Yes, the dream is only a dream when that is all one wishes to do. We have many boats that can fit the budget conscious sailors pocketbook but we only have a few that can fit their dreams. Real sailors know that necessities are the true separation between dreams and realities. And, oh, by the way, if you are thinking you should start on a forty or fifty foot yatch to begin your learning experience and just cruise off into the sunset, you are not only a dreamer, you are just plain stupid. Might I suggest an 8' Sabot on your local pond or lake. Even our 25 to 29 footers require some sailing skills and experience for even day sailing. If you want to cruise, learn to crawl before you walk and then walk well before you run. If you do have lots of money and want to look pretty while docktailing, go ahead and waste it. If not be frugal and try a learning curve that is doable now. It is more likely to really get you where you want to go.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

I hear it all the time, "I've been dreaming of cruising for years, but I just can't save up $300K for my dream Catamaran or $150K for my dream mono."

Well I'm calling BullS$!! on the "I can't afford the boat I want" excuse right here and now. Stop using the "Dream Boat Myth" as an excuse and get a boat you can afford and go. It seems that lately every time I'm on the web (often now to take breaks from the Teak Deck Redo Project) I'm seeing cruise capable boats ready to go. Heck and this one is even down in paradise where you want to be for heavens sake!

https://www.facebook.com/sarahh.aloh...s/890162102003

Folks...you are not getting any younger, the the zero interest rates are not helping your fixed income investments get any better and the world is not going to be getting any more "stable" than it is right now.

Sure, everyone has timing issues and responsibilities that they can't just walk away from, but this "Dream Boat Myth" keeps more people from taking the plunge than almost anything else, don't let it happen to you.

There....consider that your motivational kick in the A$$ for the week.
Now back to the teak deck project for me..."Dream Boat"...ya right...there is no such thing!

Does this mean you're also getting ready to cut loose from the mooring ball and join us? Or just tired of listening to the dreamers make excusses?

[exMaggieDrum]

I have seen so many boats "ready to go cruising - just add water, fuel, and food" that I could puke after actually getting on board and seeing what death traps they are. I agree with the just-do-it idea but anyone getting the idea that they can just jump on a boat and push off for a 3,000 mile trip is just asking for trouble.

That's not to say that the good-looking ketch on FB is one of those. It might truly be the exception to the rule. If you do go for something like this, please, please be experienced enough to evaluate the boat and its readiness for immediate cruising.

If this boat is really as good as implied then jump on it. You could sell it for twice the price 3 months later. Far below the "normal" asking price for that type of boat if in good condition, i.e. not perfect and needing some repairs/replacements. If it's floating, that's a good start. IMHO of course.

[gulfbreez]

Originally Posted by Guy

Blows my mind how cheap a real cruising boat can be. $25-100K and all you will need is beer and food and a passport. I don't understand the need to save up for a $300k boat unless you already know all about cruising and you know what you want.

Not even $100K

I see yachts on the internet, either through yacht brokers or ebay, 30+ footers in good condition going for £20,000 - 25,000 pounds, based in the UK or the Med / Spain.

Beneteau 43 ft yacht | eBay


Trident Voyager 35 Cruising Yacht at a bargain price. | eBay

I think they keep telling themselves they need to spend 300K just so they give them an excuse not to go ahead with having an adventure, they are talkers, thats all

[topmast]

Some are dreamers and some are do'rs ..My friends, Mike and Shelia are on their homemade Ferro half way though a circumnavigation (30 years so far)from BC. On their way to Nova Scotia to avoid the hurricane season they just anchored 'somewhere near the Statue of Liberty' according to Pangolin. Kantala,white ,43' Good folks, say Hi. Last saw them cruising in Thailand . Most do'ers recognize the punters.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by exMaggieDrum

I have seen so many boats "ready to go cruising - just add water, fuel, and food" that I could puke after actually getting on board and seeing what death traps they are. at's a good start. IMHO of course.

Yes, there are a bunch of boats like that. But there are a bunch of really good boats for not much money too. $35k US can get you ready to go 36' cruiser with no puke factor at all.

[barnakiel]

About the only way I can explain the fact that some fix it nearly continuously while others hardly ever do any boat work is that size matters.

Big boat, with many and varied systems will, no matter what, will create way more need and opportunity to spend time fixing things. I know this for sure from working on big boats.

We started extended sailing nearly 15 years ago, in a boat that was 20+ years old then. Our own boat is sub-30'. Way sub.

Now if I were to add up all our boatyard and repair time over 15 years, it could hardly add up to maybe two months or so. Offshore, there is next to nil repair & maintenance, just sailing, cooking, reading and sleep.

So my take is that I should avoid upgrading to a big(-ger) boat as I am OK with such a lazy bones attitude to sailing.

Others who love tinkering may actually desire a big, heavy project boat that will give them all the opportunity to mess about with boat jobs and no time left to sail places.

To each their own. Life is good.

b.

[IdoraKeeper]

OH the humanity!

[Hudson Force]

If I total the purchase costs of our three boats that we've had over the years, subtract the money received for the sale of our first two boats and then divide this amount by the number of years we've been cruising; then, we find our annual cost of boat buying.

$1,523

Whenever I speak of costs some people always point out that I started in the 1970's when everything was about a tenth of today's cost. I know that's true. So, let's take the middle and multiply the annual cost by five.

$7,615

...or take it all in today's cost by inflation.

$15,230

If you're buying into a long term plan for cruising and making a practical purchase, there's much available.