Hello, I Need an Answer or Two

[truckerbob]

ok im a truck driver living in my truck looking to buy my new home by the end of this coming summer im looking for a 30 to 35 footer the question is a 35 footer easy to single hand sail. if you have suggestions on make and model that would be great I will be a livaboard that is gonna sail my lady around the Caribbean and such and do you have to pay to anchore everywhere in the Caribbean oh im a total noob ive read some blogs about how some people did it but they never say what kind of day labor they where doing some insight on that would be nice thanks

[sailorboy1]

if you know what you doing and the boat is setup correctly, then yes a 35' boat is easy to single hand

but I have a feeling you need to do a lot more research before any answers are really helpful

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by truckerbob

ok im a truck driver living in my truck looking to buy my new home by the end of this coming summer im looking for a 30 to 35 footer the question is a 35 footer easy to single hand sail. if you have suggestions on make and model that would be great I will be a livaboard that is gonna sail my lady around the Caribbean and such and do you have to pay to anchore everywhere in the Caribbean oh im a total noob ive read some blogs about how some people did it but they never say what kind of day labor they where doing some insight on that would be nice thanks

30-35 is perfect for a couple IMHO. Easy to sail alone, but big enough for two to live on. If you want more make/model recommendations you need to provide a budget and an indication if you prefer a "classic" or something newish.

I highly recommend this book to start with: The Voyager's Handbook: The Essential Guide to Blue Water Cruising: Beth Leonard: 9780071437653: Amazon.com: Books

Tells you everything you need to know to get started down the road.

[skipmac]

Set up properly and with the appropriate experience, it's quite easy to single hand a 40-50' boat. 30-35' is no problem.

[medicrene]

30 - 35 is easy to single hand. I single hand a Hudson Force 50. The best friend for a singlehander is the autopilot. If you have that, life is good. Know how to use it and know how to fix it. Have spare parts. If you are doing a long passage solo and auto dies, you will not have any rest and you will not have any fun.

The Witchdoctor.

[Siege]

A 35' boat is pretty easy to singlehand especially once it's setup properly. Many people singlehand much larger boats. Some sort of self steering (autopilot) will most likely become your best friend though.

As for the other questions, I'll leave that up to people with more experience in those areas.

[truckerbob]

ok thanx im looking at around 30-35 thousand im kinda drawn to the sloop I like the pearson make

[svseachange]

I think it depends.

We have the single handers package on our 34' boat but a lot of things would be difficult by myself. We singlehand our watches but two people makes reefing, raising the hanked on staysail, docking and anchoring much easier.

To singlehand larger boats you need a lot of extra systems, the failure of any can make the boat difficult to handle.

In general, the smaller the boat the easier to singlehand. But the smaller the boat the harder it is to get your girl in board.

I agree with Raindog 30 to 35 is great for a couple but it really helps if both people can work as s team. Both Raindog and I have salty lady partners. If you could see my wife working the foredeck in rough weather or scaling the mast to change a bulb you would understand.

Sent from my Ideos using Tapatalk 2

[truckerbob]

so around a 30 is better for me then less systems to break

[truckerbob]

is it true you need cruising permits for the cairibbean

[jkindredpdx]

I'm not afraid to make a suggestion ) ... 36ft Catalina.

[RainDog]

Pearson 365 is a popular boat. It has a walk-in shower, which is unusual on a boat its size/age. Might be a little over your price range however.

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by truckerbob

is it true you need cruising permits for the cairibbean

Go to: Countries — Noonsite and the select the country you want to visit. On the country page look for "fees" on the menu on the far left of the screen. This will give you the costs for each country.

[truckerbob]

ok thanx raindog

[BobnCamie]

As a former trucker myself, also known as trucker Bob, welcome and do it! We now own a 30' S-2 center cockpit. This will be the boat we do our adventures on. Good size,handle-ability, small enough not to bust the bank. Bought ours for $18,000. Insurance very work-able, cheaper to berth if you want a few nights in a marina,etc. looked at around 40-50 boats, but kept going back to the S-2. Works for us, may not for you. We both did not like the aft cockpit, the quarter berths among many things. There is more room in the aft cockpit, but lay-out and since only the2 of us, what all do we need? Like I said, may not work for you. Looked at a very nice freedom 32'. That was third, second choice was a 32' Beneteau. Really liked that one, but $55,000 was outside my bankroll. Big bucks don't buy the best,IMO. No permit needed that I have found out about. We leave this summer for the same area as you are looking. If all goes as hoped and planned. Look for Eclipse. Best to you. By the way, 19 yrs trucking,2.78 million miles. What a hell of a ride it was,too.