Looking for knowledgeable advice!

[angela]

Ahoy all,

This is my second post, my first one being in the meets & greets section and this is my first forum membership.

Some background and then my question.
I have basic sailing knowledge. I live about 30 minutes from a marina where I can sail Sabine Lake which connects to the Gulf of Mexico. My goal is to sail around the world in about 8 years (when my daughter graduates from high school.) Then continue sailing, based in Tahiti.
The question:
The boat I think I want for bluewater cruising is going to be about a 32 foot, full keel, well built (Cape Dory, Alberg, Bristol) sloop or maybe a ketch. The problem is, the price will be around $25,000, which is a lot for me. But, I don't know if I want to wait several years before I buy a boat. So... do I buy a smaller, less expensive boat to sail close to home, thus robbing my savings for my bluewater boat and have to start saving all over again, or, do I not buy anthing until I find my "dream" boat, thus, not sailing for quite awhile?
What do you smarter, experienced, sailors have to offer in the way of a solution for me?
In other words, HELP!

[David M]

Why would buying a boat now and selling it later in order to buy a boat capable of a circumnavigation later prevent you from doing so?

I would definitely get the experience now before attempting to sail around the world. There is a LOT to learn before you try this. Baby steps first.

David

[roverhi]

The boats you are looking frequently come on the market quite cheap, some for under $10,000. If a boat can be sailed, you should be able to deliver one on its own bottom in a couple of weeks from anywhere on the East Coast. They will require work but looks like you have plenty of time. Might haunt ebay, Yachtworld, and find a good broker to begin looking. You will probably find that buying a boat for $25,000 is just the start in getting a boat ready for the real world. Biggest cost item is the engine. Buying a boat with a tired engine and planning on replacing it is one way to go. Especially since smaller diesels seem to turn up fairly often as too many people are substituting horsepower for seamanship, swopping perfectly good engines for too big ones. Sails, electronics, hardware all turn up on regularly on Ebay at 1/2 price or more than new so equipping a boat can be a less painful operation if you have time. Also, it is a good idea to thoroughly learn your boat before departing. What better way than slowly rebuilding it. One last caveat, don't underestimate the cost of getting a boat ready for cruising. It's way less painful and ultimately, way more affordable if you do it in easy steps over time.

Once thing you do want to wait on is electronics. They seem to be changing daily, price and features keep dropping. New systems seem to be actual improvements over old and so there is some justification, other than warranty, to condider buying new. With new stuff coming out daily, yesterdays toys and whistles get sold cheap by those who have to have the latest whizbang.

FWIW, this boat seems to be worth every penny they are asking. The equipment alone comes close to the asking price. This is a proven blue water design with an excellent reputation for being able to get you there through anything. Unfortunately, it's on the left coast. Contessa 32 Offshore Cruiser, Ready to go, Can Deliver - (eBay.ca item 250253082083 end time 04-Jun-08 17:49:35 EDT)

Aloha
Peter O.

[DeepFrz]

IMHO, if you buy a smaller boat now chances are you will lose money when you sell it. Not only that but you will lose all the time invested in it to get it to your satisfaction. If you buy the boat you think you will want to take on your adventure you have 8 years to get it and yourself ready. During that 8 years you should sail it as much as you can while getting it ready. Then when you leave you have a boat you know and are comfortable with and that you have made ready for the journey.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by roverhi

<snip>

FWIW, this boat seems to be worth every penny they are asking. The equipment alone comes close to the asking price. This is a proven blue water design with an excellent reputation for being able to get you there through anything. Unfortunately, it's on the left coast. Contessa 32 Offshore Cruiser, Ready to go, Can Deliver - (eBay.ca item 250253082083 end time 04-Jun-08 17:49:35 EDT)

Unless you see something there that isn't apparent to me, Peter, we don't know what the seller is asking for this vessel. The only thing known, so far, is that it has received 12 bids, the highest of which is C$25,100 and the reserve still hasn't been met.

Nice boat, though.

TaoJones

[Alan Wheeler]

To just get sailing, buy something small and cheap. You will probably lose money, but if it wasn't a lot of money to begin with, you have little to lose.
Be aware that buying a boat is only half the equation. The other half is maintenance and sailing costs. That includes berthage, which can be very expensive in some places. If you are going to struggle to scrap together the money to buy the boat, you are going to struggling keeping it. Buy something that is within your means of keeping.

[DeepFrz]

FWIW, this boat seems to be worth every penny they are asking.

Yeah, and it wouldn't cost much to get it home, if you live in Alaska...

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by angela

... My goal is to sail around the world in about 8 years (when my daughter graduates from high school.) Then continue sailing, based in Tahiti...

As an American (I presume), with limited financial resources, I wouldn't expect to base yourself out of French Polynesia (Tahiti).
As a cruiser, with limited financial resources, I wouldn't expect to sail around the world.

[dcstrng]

Originally Posted by angela

Ahoy all... I have basic sailing knowledge... My goal is to sail around the world in about 8 years... The boat I think I want for bluewater cruising is going to be about a 32 foot, full keel, well built (Cape Dory, Alberg, Bristol) sloop or maybe a ketch...

Depending how insistent you are on those three brands (or are you, like some, just enamored with proper Alberg-esque vessels…), as well as that exact LOA and the full keel, you may find what your looking for, for somewhat less than $25K… I prefer a full keel myself, but in truth my major criteria is that the boat simply be able to sit on its keel without nosing over or back… that will give you more options, as well as if you can drop down to say the high twenty foot range… If after a few years you confirm that you really don’t enjoy a (say) slightly more affordable 28 foot Bristol (etc.), then trade up… although I’m not too enthralled with the notion of starter-boats… they seldom seem to get equipped properly, maintained with the proper zeal, upgraded to suit the expected voyage, or taken seriously enough by their skippers…

Better to get what one can afford, and treat it as the one and only, learning the vessel really well, and perhaps a bit more about sailing as one goes along – which was the path taken by many of the earlier and better known voyagers… in any case, I made a quick dash through a couple of listing sites and depending on your personal flexibility, you might find a suitable vessel for half your max price, which could allow more prospects for upgrading I’d think, depending on your skills and/or proclivities – although I generally agree with your favored boats…

[DeepFrz]

An unfolding story you might like to follow. Tania Aebi's cruise with her two boys.

BoatUS Cruising Logs

[roverhi]

Oops!!! Looked at that boat quickly and thought the $25,000cn was a 'buy it now' price. Knew it was too good a deal.

Tao, you are spot on the value of anything. It's what a willing seller and willing buyer will agree on. The willing part is key. A seller facing foreclosure or a drug dealer buyer who has to launder some cash are not willing. The trick for the buyer is finding out what the motivation point of the seller is.

Aloha
Peter O.

[angela]

Originally Posted by GordMay

As an American (I presume), with limited financial resources, I wouldn't expect to base yourself out of French Polynesia (Tahiti).
As a cruiser, with limited financial resources, I wouldn't expect to sail around the world.

Luckily I have the determination to live out my dream,
please don't discourage people not to chase their dreams, anything can be accomplished thru perserverence, sweat, and hard work.

[Ram]

I beleave too many people wait to long to buy that perfect boat and life keeps going by wile you could be out there now having a great time. One other option is get on a crew list and start sailing now and get a lot of experence

[GordMay]

I don’t want to step on anyone’s dreams; but certain dreams are more achievable than others.

Certainly, determination, perseverance, sweat, and hard work are conducive to accomplishing one’s objectives. Unfortunately, resources are often indispensable to success.

One of the most important resources is information; essential to assuring that our hard work is effective.

The French don’t make it easy for foreigners to take up residence in Polynesia.

Every visitor to French Polynesia must have a return airline ticket to their resident country or to at least two more continuing destinations, and sufficient funds to support themselves while in French Polynesia

If you don't have an EU passport you have to place a bond with the bank to the value of a return ticket to your home country, which may be as much as $1200.

Your cruising permit is valid for 90 days from the time you arrive in the Marquesas till the time you leave Bora Bora.

In order to work in Polynesia, non French citizens need to obtain a "carte sejour" or "permis de travail", otherwise known as a work permit. Obtaining one of these work permits is extremely difficult to do. The first and foremost criteria is that the person applying has to have EMPLOYMENT QUALIFICATIONS NOT FOUND IN FP, meaning for which no Tahitian qualifies.

In the United States, the Embassy of France is at 4102 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202/944-6000; www.info-france-usa.org), and there are French consulates in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Francisco, and New Orleans.

See Also:
Immigration vers Tahiti (Immigration to Tahiti):
Immigration vers Tahiti :: Forum Polynésie française :: Routard.com

Noonsite’s French Polynesia guide:
Noonsite: French Polynesia

[Joli]

Ditto.................

Originally Posted by David M

Why would buying a boat now and selling it later in order to buy a boat capable of a circumnavigation later prevent you from doing so?

I would definitely get the experience now before attempting to sail around the world. There is a LOT to learn before you try this. Baby steps first.

David