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Old 28-05-2008, 19:00   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randyonr3 View Post
Taking a little different look at this...........
For those that DONT have a boat yet, and have been lurking around this forum,
1. what kind of boat do you wish to own, and why
2. When do you plan on cutting the ropes and why
3. What misconceptions about the cruising lifestyles have you experenced
The hopes of this thread is to lay streight any ideas or misconceptions that might
lead someone astray or detur from cruising. You may include what you think you will have to have as far as money to leave..
Those that reply to the post on this thread, Please, speak from experance only.
Hi Randy,
I think I know what you meant to say. Questions one and two make perfect sense. The third question was a little confusing but I believe I got the idea. I get the feeling one or two of the people who responded might feel a little slighted because you were not interested in hearing from the experts who already own a cruising boats but instead you wanted to hear from the amateurs who don't have a cruising sailboat, like someone in my situation.

So here are my answers to your three questions.

1. I do not know exactly what type of cruising boat that I want but I do know which boats that I clearly do not want. This has helped to narrow the list of potential boats down to perhaps a dozen boats. A catamaran in the 50 to 60 foot range is what I believe I want, although I can never know with certainty if that is what I actually want until I charter a few. In that size range, the manufacturers I like are Lagoons, African Cats, Gunboats, Catanas and perhaps Privileges. It seems to boil down wanting a boat for cruising that is reasonably fast and comfortable, which means not cheap. Yes, pick any two. I have professional knowledge about boats from being a licensed captain and having been a mate and captain on a number of commercial vessels which I think has helped quite a bit but I also have virtually no experience with ocean going cruising sailboats...so that has been a great hindrance. I plan on covering that gap in my knowledge and experience by chartering a number of boats in different places so that I can gain some practical experience before making what hopefully will not be an expensive mistake. There are a number of boats in my favorites list that are available for charter...so that's what I plan on doing, charter first and then buy the boat if I am certain about the boat.

2. My time frame is a lot simpler. I have to wait until my son graduates from high school before taking off over the horizon. So why cant I take him cruising with me? My ex has primary custody and I need to be there for him. So for myself it is a matter of time and not when I can scrape together enough money or find the right time to leave my job. It sure would be fun though to take him cruising after he turns 18.

3. Without having actually cruised a cruising sailboat for extended periods of time, I can only guess at the answer to your last question. (for which I think you were unnecessarily criticized) My feeling from reading thousands of posts in this forum and other forums, reading cruising magazines and doing hundreds of hours of internet research relating to cruising, is that cruising is a lot harder than what most people think and it is much more dangerous for the inexperienced than what most people believe. It also has the potential of being a lot more expensive than initially anticipated. Many do not realize that the cost of the boat itself is just the very beginning of expenses and I can see costs getting out of hand very quickly. As far as the money part of your third question goes, without getting too specific, over a million dollars in investments to go cruising I think is the minimum. Although many others do it for a lot less and quite comfortably At age 47, I do not want to have to go back to work after spending a few years or more on a sailboat. That I think would be incredibly difficult to do after experiencing the freedoms associated with cruising.

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Old 28-05-2008, 20:29   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randyonr3 View Post
Taking a little different look at this...........
For those that DONT have a boat yet, and have been lurking around this forum,
1. what kind of boat do you wish to own, and why
2. When do you plan on cutting the ropes and why
3. What misconceptions about the cruising lifestyles have you experenced
The hopes of this thread is to lay streight any ideas or misconceptions that might
lead someone astray or detur from cruising. You may include what you think you will have to have as far as money to leave..
Those that reply to the post on this thread, Please, speak from experance only.
Hi Randyonr3:

Thanks for the thread. I don't understand why you were attacked. Thanks for sticking with it and explaining more clearly.

I only meet two of the qualifications for this question b/c I have bought a boat. 1) I wanted a boat that was both solid and had good speed b/c I come from a racing backround. I wanted to have minimal systems failure and well on that I am batting about 500 b/c I am constantly working onfixing things and can't seem to get ahead of the curve. My boat is a Sceptre 41 raised salon pilot house with a cutter rig. It is a cult boat from BC Canada.

2) as far as cutting the lines I don't know. I plan on commuter cruising. I've gotten everyone (wife and 10 & 11 year old kids) to agree to take three months off and sail Mexico. From there by stage they've agreed to go to the Med as well. I want to have the house and boat paid for and a passive income of $100k. Well the boat is paid for and I have half the passive income I want. When can I see leaving. I really don't know. And if I'm honest there is an, "If I'll ever go."

3) I know cruising is alot of work. I didn't realize how much time would be spent fixing things. I've heard people say that after a year or so of constant maintenance it gets easier. Well I've had the boat for 18 months but it has been 20 hour drive away so now that it is only two hours I can start my year.
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Old 07-12-2008, 18:19   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randyonr3 View Post
Taking a little different look at this...........
For those that DONT have a boat yet, and have been lurking around this forum,
1. what kind of boat do you wish to own, and why
2. When do you plan on cutting the ropes and why
3. What misconceptions about the cruising lifestyles have you experenced
The hopes of this thread is to lay streight any ideas or misconceptions that might
lead someone astray or detur from cruising. You may include what you think you will have to have as far as money to leave..
Those that reply to the post on this thread, Please, speak from experance only.
I will get this thread started again.

1. Looking for a boat in the 30ft range and would like a full keel. I have previously owned a Cal 29 a few years back, but never did any cruising at that time. Its gonna be me and the wife this time and I`m sure she will have to agree with what boat is considered.

2. Plan is for making a purchase in about 2 yrs. Gotta clear up some debt and get some savings built up.

3. Misconceptions....hard to say. Since I have previously lived on the Cal-29 I know whats involved with living on a boat. When I bought the Cal I had absolutely no sailboat experience. Learned a lot with that boat with the help of other sailors. My wife had a lot of misconceptions and I`m trying to answer her questions. I believe that most people that have never heard of this lifestyle just do not understand how it all works. Most amazing of all this is my wife has agreed to give it a go. I thought she would shoot down the idea in a heartbeat, since she is a country girl and loves horses. Some recent events in our life has made her rethink what we are doing and maybe stop dreaming about living the good life and to just live the dream life.

Shawshank redemption "Get busy living, or get busy dying"
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Old 10-12-2008, 05:46   #19
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many people would pooh-pooh my venerable ex-racing boat, with its over-powered, complicated racing rig, inadequate tankage and somewhat basic fit-out. Nevertheless, its what I have, and it gets used, and frankly gets used a lot more than 95% of the "proper" crusing boats in my area...


I think this is the secret… or at least in a general sense… very few of us will ever enjoy the fortunate situation of owning a boat that comes in at 100% of our wish-list (or if we do, we don’t have the time to truly enjoy it…), in part because the minute the keel hits the water, the wish-list almost invariably begins morphing into something different…

But to achieve high satisfaction out of a boat is still the goal… 60-75% is generally achievable over the long run – depending on the skipper’s criteria… seems to me, something along the lines of the seaworthiness-test probably applies to ultimate vessel satisfaction as well – it is as much about the crew as the boat… we’ve got a guy in our marina who has converted a deep-keel racer into his version of a cruiser… full techno-gadgetry and more carbon-fiber and Kevlar than in a major metro police department (neither are my cup of tea); but clearly it gives him high satisfaction… what else is there...

Occasionally I’ve had boats that just never seemed to fit, and eventually the boat and I started avoiding each other… then those special ones that call even when you don’t have time to sail – just going down to the slip and puttering on some small project that I can squeeze in before I must return to real-life, mow the grass, or whatever… those are the boats, but I’d guess for each they are different…
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Old 11-12-2008, 22:29   #20
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Taking a little different look at this...........
For those that DONT have a boat yet, and have been lurking around this forum,
1. what kind of boat do you wish to own, and why


Westsail 32 or CSY33. They are very solid boats, will probably outlast me with some good maintenance. They wont win any races, although the Westsail has a very nice waterline length for its LOA. With some light wind sails, I think both boats could be very nice cruising boats.

2. When do you plan on cutting the ropes and why

2 years or so from now. Less if I can sell the house for a reasonable price early-on. Waiting on the money to go, and I'll be off!

3. What misconceptions about the cruising lifestyles have you experenced

Well not sure yet since I havent started cruising, but the fact that it takes between 5 and 10 thousand dollars a year to maintain a boat is certainly sobering.
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Old 07-04-2009, 22:19   #21
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I'm another would-be-sailor lurking in Australia.

Would like a live-aboard for two that could sail around Australia or even farther to Bail, New Zealand, Tahiti or even farther. Would be looking for a used monohull 34'+ with 6'1" headroom.

Most recommendations say GRP, but there possible Carbon/Kevlar or other durable lower maintenance materials a possibility.

Plan on cutting the ropes as soon as I can.

Two conceptions/misconceptions. Since this would be a used boat, I have to assume $AU20k additional cost after purchase. So this greatly limits my choices for a fitted out live aboard to a purchase around $AU80k.

I've gone to inspect some UFO 34's from the early to late 1980s, and these are nice boats but its hard to imaging them as a live aboard for two. Plus I can't quite stand up - hard to practice guitar standing

The other misconception I have is, I'm trying to skip the purchase of a 'starter boat' - Considering my age (50) and the economy, I many not get a second chance to make the right purchase.

I've seen some Beneteau's in the 31-38' lenth listed that on their face would do the trick for me. They seem to be accepted as ocean cruisers and have the accommodations I need. But then considering the price spread on listed Beneteaus, I seriously wonder what serious problems the Benes in the lower part of this range might have. Apparently a new engine alone can cost $20!

So I guess what I would like to know is: What are your opinions on my chances of getting it right the first time on a $AU100k ($70k) budget to 'cut the ropes' and start a liveaboard cruise?
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Old 08-04-2009, 01:35   #22
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$A100k might not untie your kangaroo...

With apologies to .

I don't think that you could get a boat in Oz and make it seaworthy for less than $A100k. Probably take quite a bit more. This is an expensive place to buy and fit out a boat.

MarkJ brought a boat in the Caribbean and sailed it back to Oz. I think that he is the leader in the low cost Oz boat race.
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Old 08-04-2009, 03:13   #23
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MarkJ brought a boat in the Caribbean and sailed it back to Oz. I think that he is the leader in the low cost Oz boat race.
Thanks Chris, low cost it ain't.... but certainly not full Aussie cost.


Its raining in paradise! Is that allowed???????
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Old 08-04-2009, 03:57   #24
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Thanks for the candour. I guess my alternatives are getting something 2C that could be eventually upgraded to 2A. Or buy overseas and import it.
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Old 08-04-2009, 07:23   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randyonr3 View Post
3. What misconceptions about the cruising lifestyles have you experenced
The hopes of this thread is to lay streight any ideas or misconceptions that might
lead someone astray or detur from cruising. You may include what you think you will have to have as far as money to leave..
Those that reply to the post on this thread, Please, speak from experance only.
Thanks for clarifying as you did. As someone who took up cruising myself, and often has people new to cruising join me, questions #3 is one I've had to deal with a lot.

Misconception #1: You need to be rich to go cruising. What I've found: Being rich makes many things more accessible, but that doesn't mean there are not options for those of us with more limited budgets, especially if we are willing to make a few sacrafices. For me, this meant buying used economy cars so I could buy a pocket cruiser for 10K. I had many wonderful cruises in that boat. Almost everyone who says to me: "I wish I could afford to do that.", has more financial abilty to cruise than I do. They just don't make it their priority or don't even realize they could.

Misconception #2: Cruising is a luxurious activity: This is probably the biggest issue I deal with when people wish to join me. The movies make many think the sailboat will always be magically skimming along in 6 inch seas and that a 30-foot boat has several large cabins below. It's hard to get many people to realize that in many situations cruising is more like glorified camping. You may be uncomfortable, have limited privacy, no 110 electricity, and very limited water, just to name a few of the limitations. There are many cruising boats for sale in the Caribbean from "circumnavigators" who made it that far and changed their minds after coming to terms with the realities of cruising.
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Old 08-04-2009, 08:19   #26
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There are many cruising boats for sale in the Caribbean from "circumnavigators" who made it that far and changed their minds after coming to terms with the realities of cruising.
That must be the place to shop, then. Thanks for the encouraging words!
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Old 08-04-2009, 09:13   #27
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I see what you mean, something sweet in the Virgin Islands comes in under $AU100k.
10.97 m 2002 Beneteau Oceanis 361 - US$70,000.00
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Old 08-04-2009, 10:18   #28
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I see what you mean, something sweet in the Virgin Islands comes in under $AU100k.
10.97 m 2002 Beneteau Oceanis 361 - US$70,000.00
That boat is most probably not a circumnavigator that someone gave up on. It's in the Footloose charter program which means it was probably in the Sunsail or Moorings charter program for close to five years previous to that. The volume of boats coming out of charter is another reason there can be a good selection of cruising boats for sale there. Trying to buy a sailboat away from home has it's costs however: The expense to look at them, doing the proper prep to take them cruising, and the distance from your intended cruising ground must all be considered. Also, the charter companies take boats out of charter at a certain age for certain reasons - to avoid having to put a lot more money into manitenance themselves. The boats that represent long crusiing dreams that someone gave up on may also have been let go mainteance wise. Of course any boat anywhere has it's potential maintenance costs.

The Moorings lists all their brokerage boats on their website, many of which are in the Caribbean.

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Old 08-04-2009, 14:14   #29
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. Trying to buy a sailboat away from home has it's costs however: The expense to look at them, doing the proper prep to take them cruising, and the distance from your intended cruising ground must all be considered.
Too bloody right!

DOUBLE your air fares!

When going from Florida to St Martin to look at some boats (we finally bought one) we were charged US$600 for a return flight. It took us over 6 months to get them money back from American Airlines (I will not fly that mob again!)

Even if you can fly on single airfares, just imagine flying from Florida - BVI - St Martin - Antigua! By the end of it the Prep fund is getting hammered!

Also the accomodation in these places is expensive unless you can find a dorm (theres a crew dorm in St Martin but was still US$60 per day for the 2 of us and Nic hated it!) and eating out all the time.

Its a damn expensive proposition to go see some yacht off the internet that turns out to be a floating cess pitt.

And one last thing: The economy mught be shot, but if there is a real bargain out there it will be snapped up before you get anywhere near it.

Mark

PS Happy hunting!
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Old 08-04-2009, 14:20   #30
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The boats that represent long crusiing dreams that someone gave up on may also have been let go mainteance wise.
That is a very very good point!!!!

Also could include a 'lemon' a boat where everything goes wrong all the time.
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