Please don't skin me alive... but I'm a wannabe lol

[david7]

MTLandlocked,
I'm in Billings MT right now myself. Just purchased a boat for 5k in Portland (search Seafarer Tripp 30 on here for thread) and have 3k to make it seaworthy. I'll be there this week to meet with a surveyor and see what I got myself into. Seems we have pretty similar plans and budget. I guess I'll know in a couple months if it's viable. I'm sure you'll be able to do it with a little research and planning. Good luck.

[MTLandlocked]

Originally Posted by david7

MTLandlocked,
I'm in Billings MT right now myself. Just purchased a boat for 5k in Portland (search Seafarer Tripp 30 on here for thread) and have 3k to make it seaworthy. I'll be there this week to meet with a surveyor and see what I got myself into. Seems we have pretty similar plans and budget. I guess I'll know in a couple months if it's viable. I'm sure you'll be able to do it with a little research and planning. Good luck.

Small world, I live in Billings!

[BlueSun]

Welcome MTLandlocked!
Sounds like you have a great plan. Go for it!

[belizesailor]

As others have pointed out, even a relatively modest boat requiring work can quickly become overwhelming in terms of time and money -- especially for a first time owner. You don't necessarily need a boat to go work in the USVI.

If you are just determined to buy a boat then I think you have listed some good possibilities. Pearson made some good boats. And, while you will see many here bashing Hunters those designed by John Cherubini are not cut from the same cloth. For cruising, I would step up just a bit and seriously consider the Hunter 37 Cutter. Loads of posts about this boat here and elsewhere on the Internet. Some of the Irwin designs made amazingly good use of space, but some had some individual boats had quality of build issues -- only a good professional survey will tell you the difference. Never buy any boat w/out a survey. And, like anything else, "cheap" is not necessarily a good deal, look for a good value buy not just "cheap" because a cheap boat in poor condition can easily cost you way more money than you paid for it and more than it is worth.

[Sumner]

Have you thought about taking it in steps? Look for a boat in Florida. Buy it there and work on it there for 6 months, a year as income comes in and live on it at the same time. You could sail there and at different times and work into it a little more gradually.

We have our boat in a yard on stands and it is a little under $240 a month for a 37 foot boat. That also includes putting you in the water and out twice a year. More and you pay. You can live on the boat in the yard and can do any work you want on it. There has to be jobs like what you say you will do in the area.

You could anchor some of the time in the area going to shore and some of the time put the boat in the yard for a month or two to work on it there. I think they have a 3 month limit on staying on the boat in the yard, but you wouldn't have to stay in the yard longer than that.

This is the Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda area off Charlotte Harbor that offers lots of options.

One boat I'd look at is the Catalina 30. A lot of room inside for a 30 foot boat and you can find them at all different prices. Not really an off shore boat, but if you planned your passages very conservative you could work down that way latter.

Also I've seen some of the Endeavour 37's and 32's, we have the 37, go for under $20,000 and either would be more of an off shore boat. Most in that price range need work though.

Good luck and get with it. I lived and worked in MT and Wyo. for 30 years so can relate to the 'going south',

Sum

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[MTLandlocked]

Hey Sumner thanks for that reccomendation. I didn't realize there even was the option of staying on the boat while its in the yard... would it be possiable to stay on it for the 3 months, go out for a month, than back in the yard for another 3?

[Sumner]

Originally Posted by MTLandlocked

Hey Sumner thanks for that reccomendation. I didn't realize there even was the option of staying on the boat while its in the yard... would it be possiable to stay on it for the 3 months, go out for a month, than back in the yard for another 3?

I'll PM you about it,

Sum

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[sarafina]

Originally Posted by MTLandlocked

This one looks like a heck of a deal...
View Boat Photos - YachtWorld.com

Here is where what ya don't know ya don't know catches up with you.

She is a nice tidy clean boat, which is good. She is also designed and built as a day sailer weekender with a large cockpit and a little cabin space. The v berth will be narrow with low overhead and the galley pretty much impossible to make much use of.

Keep looking there will be something out there, but I think the suggestion to move to the BVI work and buy the boat there is a really good one.

[MTLandlocked]

Oh believe me, I"ll be doing much research on the boat model before I buy one. I was just making an offhand remark. Could be rotted too for all I know

Originally Posted by sarafina

Here is where what ya don't know ya don't know catches up with you.

She is a nice tidy clean boat, which is good. She is also designed and built as a day sailer weekender with a large cockpit and a little cabin space. The v berth will be narrow with low overhead and the galley pretty much impossible to make much use of.

Keep looking there will be something out there, but I think the suggestion to move to the BVI work and buy the boat there is a really good one.

[sarafina]

Darlin, she is a bleach bottle... they don't rot...lol

Boat shopping is fun ; -)

[chuckr]

both my sons were in the corps and one was in lejune for a long time - 2nd one did 2 tours in iraq
anyway - to help a marine - there is a couple we know who are doing what you want to do and are on our facebook page
pm me and i will give you the infor and you can contact them - they live in the usvi and have for the past 3 years and work there and live aboard - they are nice folks and should be able to answer a lot of your questions

chuck patty and svsoulmates
in trinidad for hurricane season

[MTLandlocked]

Originally Posted by sarafina

Darlin, she is a bleach bottle... they don't rot...lol

Boat shopping is fun ; -)

It is, even if I'm not going to be buying for another year. Keeps the dream alive...somewhat.

[david7]

Originally Posted by MTLandlocked

Small world, I live in Billings!

Have you got in contact with the guys racing lasers on Lake Elmo? It's good practice and they are pretty knowledgable...plus you get to go sailing. I haven't been for awhile (busy getting ready to move) but I'll probably try to sail with 'em once more before I head for the coast.

[MTLandlocked]

Originally Posted by david7

Have you got in contact with the guys racing lasers on Lake Elmo? It's good practice and they are pretty knowledgable...plus you get to go sailing. I haven't been for awhile (busy getting ready to move) but I'll probably try to sail with 'em once more before I head for the coast.

I didn't know there was anybody sailing, Lazers or otherwise, in Lake Elmo. I'll have to try and find some more info about that. Thanks for the heads up.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by MTLandlocked

My thinking is buying a used boat, I've seen some- what look like- good deals on sailboats on Craigslist and yachtsworld. My price range is only 5k-6.5k, at most 7k. I'm not afraid of doing alot of work on it myself as far as repairs go- I'm working as a carpenter right now.
Some examples up on Craigslist right now:
Sailboat, 30ft Pearson
32' Irwin Sailboat
1981 Hunter "Cherubini" 25' Sailboat
Columbia 27ft Sailboat 1978
1975 35' Coronado Center Cockpit Sailboat
Theses are just a few of the ones I looked at. WHats your opinion of boats like these? Are they worth buying and spending a few grand to fix up? By few, I mean one or two BTW.

<snip>

Questions concerns comments? Thanks for putting up w/ my rambling. Oh, and go gentle. Let the games begin

The good news is you and your gf have experience living in tight quarters. I lived in a cab over camper for a year when I was in mechanic school. Had a blast.

In you budget range all those boats will be "well loved" - Just my opinion here...

Coronado - Needs an engine - bad choice
Irwin - needs a mainsail - cheaper than an engine, can find used mainsails. Very tight v-berth. Long term may feel really crowded. I would strongly suspect the gold plated (spray can overhaul) - atomic 4 is a gas engine - not as safe as diesel but lots of these around.
Pearson - Looks like about an 80-90% refit is done. Owner motivated. This might be a diamond in hiding. The devil is in the details. He lists a lot of what's done. Not a lot of what's left to do. Can be pricey to finish up.
Columbia - Not a lot of info in the ad. Looks like another spray paint overhaul. Well worn interior but as a carpenter and being handy this is not a concern. It's in the right location - you'd need to ask a lot of questions about this boat.
Hunter - No tot piss of the Hunter fans but it is just too small for your purposes.

Choice 1 Pearson and some money
Choice 2 Irwin
Choice 3 (maybe 2) Columbia after a lot of discussion.

Your budget is alarmingly small. Just so you know. A couple of grand in fixes goes extremely fast. Just anti-fouling paint and supplies to apply it can run you $500-$800 bucks. Sheets, blocks etc. are all expensive. Engine parts alone for a head repair can run $2,000 - $4,000+ for a full overhaul.

The go small guys will tell you you can get almost anything used or in a dumpster. Maybe so. But you have to visit the dumpster every day for a year waiting for what you need to be thrown away.

In other words time can be converted to money but without realistic expectations you could get a boat, estimate $2,000 to get it ready and get stuck forever with a bad boat.

Good luck with the plan - It is not undoable or unreasonable.

A safer modification would be fly to USVI and check out working and living there. Figure out how to go sailing in your off time to learn sailing. Maybe the perfect boat will fall in your lap while you are there. If not in one year you have spent a year in USVI having fun and can again look for a boat in FL. and go get it.

You'll know a lot more about boats by then...