Help with cruising "Plan"

[kadiddle]

My wife is 2-4 years away from retiring and works in Colorado, but I'm able to work from anywhere I can get an internet connection, even if it is only a cellular data connection. Even then I don't need it 100% of the time. We want to cruise on a catamaran in retirement (exact model to be determined, 40-47' in length) but are thinking about getting one before she can retire so we can build some experience, tweak the boat to our liking and just generally cruise on it when we can before she can go full time, or nearly so.

We would likely keep the boat in the Caribbean in the winter then move it to the US east coast for the hurricane season. At least that's what seems logical at the moment. Moving it back forth would give us passage experience without getting too far from land at first. I would spend a lot of time on the boat before my wife can retire, both summer and winter, but not 100%.

As I look into this idea, the major issue I see is where exactly to go in the summer and where to keep the boat when I'm not on it, possibly for months at a time. Also, where to haul it out or find secure "in water" storage when hurricanes approach. Do you have to make arrangements far in advance with marina's in order to secure a spot? Is this getting more difficult as the number of boats continues to increase every year? If I register the boat in Delaware, or anywhere for that matter, I realize that I may have tax problems when I stay for a while in other states. To avoid this, I envision doing as much anchoring out as possible when I'm on the boat but it seems that even anchoring for more than a few days is becoming more of a problem in many places, if they allow anchoring at all. (referring to the east coast areas of US).

We have even entertained the idea of buying a water front lot and building a concrete hurricane dock in protected waters, perhaps in North Carolina. I would prefer to skip that expense and not be tied so closely to one spot, but it's not ruled out.

I'm sure many of you have had these same questions so I hoping you can help us develop a "Plan" on how to deal with a boat for the next few years before we go off globe trotting. I'm open to any ideas you may have.
Thank you

[Davy J]

None of your questions can be answered without knowing if you are already an experienced sailor, or not.

Chartering a boat would probably be less expensive than ownership, at least at first.

As far as states and taxes, at least here in Florida, I think............., if the boat resides here, anchored or not, more than 90 days it needs to be registered in FL.

[kadiddle]

Our sailing experience is mostly racing small sailboats (Ultimate 20, Capri 22, Santana 20 etc) Our boat handling skills, even in heavy winds with an overpowered rig, are exceptional, on a small boat. We have crewed on larger boats quite a few times on Lake Texoma and on the Gulf Coast.
We also have chartered in the caribbean several times, but only once on a Catamaran. We know that none of this properly prepares us for what we are planning. We will remedy the lack of big boat, offshore and navigation experience quickly with professional instruction going through the whole gamut of ASA courses on our own boat, mostly. Then we'll follow up with putting the training to practical use. For our first few passages we'll either hire a professional captain or find more experienced crew. Then after a few years of this we'll take off on grander expeditions. So, I appreciate that many will want to warn us of the dangers and our lack of appropriate experience, but we are doing this with our eyes wide open and good judgment coupled with a healthy respect for the dangers will be our strongest asset.

What I'm hoping to learn in this thread is more about how and where to spend summer and winter as only a part timer, but making extended stays. Surely there are plenty of cruisers here that move from the Caribbean to the US, season to season. I probably haven't even thought of many of the issues that I'll have to deal with. But I'll bet the crowd here can remedy that.
I posed a lot of questions so maybe it will be easier if I just start with asking about a good summer plan on the east coast. What do you do?
all the best> kadiddle

[dougweibel]

Hello and welcome to CF

My wife and I live in Colorado and are sort of a year ahead of you. We have lots of small boat experience and limited but growing large boat experience. We bought a boat last April and have spent about 1/3 of our time since then aboard. We are intending to move up to 1/2 time this year.

I'd be happy to talk with you about our experience with living in CO and having a boat on the east coast. PM me if you'd like to visit by Skype or phone.

[InTheDish]

If you are making a yearly R/T from the U.S. to the Caribbean you will have plenty of experience in about two years!

Thinking of the I-65 Route.

[Sparx]

If the boat is north of North Carolina during hurricane season there is much less chance of tropical storm damage, and this can be observed in insurance rates from many carriers. No guarantees of course.

Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Maryland has plenty of marinas to store the boat in. Look at Deltaville, Annapolis or Rock Hall if there is a long list of maintenance tasks during the lay-up which require hiring skilled workers.

Each fall several rallies originate in the Chesapeake heading south into the Caribbean, which might be a good way to make the trip if you care to travel in the company of others and the opportunity to learn from experienced sailors.

[sck5]

Why go back and forth every year? Keep the boat in Grenada over the hurricane season. Hurricanes only hit there once every fifty years or so and the marine services are excellent. SPend your time cruising the islands instead of 3-4 weeks on each end gearing up for the passage, doing it, and then fixing whatever broke on the boat (there is always something). And you will NOT be close to land if you are going south in November via the normal route. If you do choose the thorny path (i.e. through the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, DR, etc.) you will spend literally months doing it and wont have much time in the islands before you have to turn around again. And a catamaran isnt the boat of choice to sail to windward which exactly what this route is for the most part. For 600 miles.

[Davy J]

We would likely keep the boat in the Caribbean in the winter then move it to the US east coast for the hurricane season.

First, prepping and provisioning a boat for this passage is as complicated as an ocean crossing.

My advice would be to pick a place in the U.S. that is interesting to you and spend the time cruising around there. Head to the more exotic locations when you have more time.

Second, there are many marinas, but very few marinas that have travel lifts and on ground storage. So, if you want to be hauled out, your choices will be limited.

We like west central Florida, however, we live here full time. We take trips to the Keys when possible and spend a month or more, at a time, on the boat. This has allowed us to outfit the boat to make time aboard comfortable.

[kadiddle]

Lots of good advice. Thank you.
As I research the routes, you are correct, the thorny path is not desirable and the I-65 is a serious passage. Sure, it would be easier to just stay in Grenada or on the east coast all year, but I want the passage experience, so we'll do it at least once.
Do insurance companies require a "home port" with slip or dock? I was thinking that most of the time I would be a wanderer, only docking when I need to leave the boat for a while.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

If you haven't been through the Bahamas, doing the Thornless Path might be fun, at least once. And if you'll be doing this after retirement, you'll have time, right? As for places on the NC coast, the Oriental / Beaufort area is great for boaters, with many good marinas and boatyards.

[Dave22q]

hurricane season land storage is best reserved well in advance, at least in South Fl. I'm talking 6 months or more not weeks. I suspect the same is true at least south of NC. Your plan seems reasonable but you need to acquire a lot of experience for the Caribbean to US sails. You might consider using a hired captain the first few years.