Me and my fiancee both keep talking about how we want to travel the world. So I talked to her about my dream.. Which is to sail around the world, and
living aboard the sailboat.
Now I know a lot of you probably do just that, but I'm 21 and I've never even set foot in a sailboat.
Fishing boats in a lake, sure. But never in a open ocean. I was born in landlocked Kentucky so not much ocean there.
We're currently full time in our 1987 29' RV, and have been for a year so we can handle the close quarters. I even learned what the bow, aft, starboard, and port sides of a ship are!
So I'm confident we could do it, I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect so my questions are as follows.
1) how much should I expect to spend on the
boat itself? I've seen boats range from $1000 to $100,000. But also for a few for $300.
1a) if I bought a
boat that's in the $1000 range what should I expect? I've done
fiberglass work so
hull repairs shouldn't be an issue. What about
electronics? What would need updated?
2) what boat would you recommend? I could save up 60k to buy a newer boat, but I think an older 70s or 80s would do just fine, and I'd hopefully get on the
water sooner!
3) what
maintenance does a boat need? How much does it cost if I buy the materials and do it myself. I don't pay myself for labor :P and I'm use to
diy stuff
4) what about not often replaced stuff that u may need to buy? Like
sails and
rigging? How much does this stuff cost? How often would it need replaced?
5) how much do you guys spend a month? Can you break it down for me? At the moment me and my fiancee are getting by with $200-$300 a month with no issues. Do you live off a savings? Or do you
work while sailing? Where could I find jobs while sailing? I'm thinking
charging tourist for a romantic night on
deck would work well.
6) what's different from a boat compared to a RV? Should I expect a 'wet bath' like some smaller RVs have? How common are stand alone showers like my RV has? How is waste handled? Does the boat have black and gray
tanks like RVs? What about
appliances? My RV is
propane stove and fridge, what can I expect in a boat?
7) what do you do for
safety gear?
Inflatable life boats? Life jackets? Railing around the entire boat? What about for SOS signals?
8) how much
water do you guys use on average per month? I'm worried 100 gallons won't be enough for more than 2 months. What about
diesel? Or
cooking fuel? What type of
cooking fuels are used on boats?
9) how much space would be enough for two adults and one child
10) what extra
equipment do you bring?
Diving gear? Telescope to see in the distance?
Radio? A map of some sort in case
electronics go down?
11) how long would it take to sail around the world going what speed?
Also I figured I'd list the 'wants' for whatever boat, if you guys can recommend one:
1) a large tank. I see the
Morgan 44 has something like 200 gallons.
2) it would have to be long distance capable. I want something that can handle ocean, not just shallow water
3) length is kind of workable. My fiancee says she's okay with 20 feet. I want something larger, like 30-40 feet.
4) needs to be able to be crewed by myself. There will be two of us, but I'm not sure how much she would want to do.
5) a head/bathroom. Seen a boat where you lifted the
bed to get to the
toilet.
6) built in
stove is a plus, I hear when you have a flying flaming appliance it can cause issues.
7) a dining area isn't needed, we would just like a living area
8) two beds is a huge plus.
9) speed isn't a big deal either. Slow is okay with me, not trying to win any races.
That's basically it I think. My son is a year and half now, and I want to be sailing by the time he is 5 ideally. I'm okay with
buying a fixer upper boat as I'm use to doing work myself, and if it saves be some
money thats a plus!
Also how are boats transported? I see some sail boats around 20' being transported by people with their SUV or pickup. Others by semi. Where's the cut off before transporting by semi? I plan to have the boat moved to my property in Nevada until I'm ready to sail so that's a factor. Transporting by semi still isn't a big deal though, my parents drive semi and I could hire them to move it.
This is a long term dream of mine I've had since I was young, so I want to make it work out. Any help or info you guys can give is nice, including any resources on actually
learning to sail! I plan to take some sailing courses in the future though.
Thanks guys!