Sailboat or Motor Yacht?

[Waterway Guide]

Welcome aboard! If you plan on soon taking long sea passages, a blue-water sailboat is the best choice, but you're better off buying the boat for the cruising you plan on doing in the short term...you can always sell it and buy the right boat for your next phase. If you're mostly staying in one place (or one place in the summer and another in the winter), then find something comfortable for living (trawlers and catamarans afford the most living space per foot). Most coastal cruising (ICW, etc.) is under power, but there's no feeling like letting the wind take you! Good luck!

[Kenomac]

Unless you plan on covering lots of nautical miles, I'm with the first few posters, the trawler makes more sense in every way. There are many days I think we should have gone for something like the Nordhavn trawler. Catamarans also offer more space but have the disadvantage of taking up more costly dock space, but if you plan to be one the move and anchoring quite a bit, the catamarans are the winners.

[valhalla360]

Crossing oceans: sailboat.

Coastal cruising: power boat.

The exception being if you are already really into sailing, which it doesn't sound like from your post.

I know we motor 90%+ of the time and if you watch the sailboats on the ICW, almost all do the same thing.

[SaltyMonkey]

A nordhavn will take you anywhere you want to go (for a price), but most trawlers are cut for shorter journeys.

[Perv]

motoryacht. living in most sailboats is like living in a cellar

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Perv

motoryacht. living in most sailboats is like living in a cellar

Cellars are good to keep wine. Wine is good for our health. Your statement is not fair.

b.

[goat]

Looking at the OP's signature, I'd say he found what he was looking for.

[Perv]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Cellars are good to keep wine. Wine is good for our health. Your statement is not fair.

b.

You are right. but to enjoy good wine you do not have to live with it

Perv

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Perv

You are right. but to enjoy good wine you do not have to live with it

Perv

Lippy and cute.

Interesting.

It looks we both like good wine. ;-)

b.

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Teknav

If going for short distances, where you'll always be seeing land while cruising, then go for a motor boat. If sailing the seven seas, then go for a sailboat. I hope this narrows down your choices. Let us know about your progress! Good luck!

Mauritz
Knows and sees all...you know the rest...

+1
i wanted to explore the south pacific. very few motor trawlers can do that.

[CaribbeanCraig]

Dolphins only like sailboats....

[rw58ph]

Originally Posted by jandw

My husband and I are considering selling our house and purchasing a boat to live aboard. I am looking for advice regarding living aboard a sailboat vs a motor yacht. We love the idea of a sailboat and being able to do long trips without the huge cost of a motor yacht, but my gut tells me that a motor yacht might be a better choice for us because living space and an open, light living quarters is important. I am not sure, as we are not retired, how many long trips we will make and I want to make sure we are comfortable on a daily basis. Any feedback would be very welcomed!

A lot may depend on your locations, kind of water, and weather. If your area has season then make sure you go to a show each season, at least summer and winter. What is nice in the summer may be not so nice in the winter. The best is for you to go to a on the water boat shows so you can go on and compare to see what you like and/or dislike. At most boat shows sail and motor boat are there. If you narrow it down to a trawler, rather than a general motor boat, there are Trawler Fests which most major brand/kinds of trawler are there.

[Adelie]

I think the final choice will depend on where you want to go and how much money you have.

-If you have $50k you could go around the world on a sailboat.

$900k gets you around on either with about the same amount of room but the sailboat will be more comfortable and safer in heavy weather.

For shorter intended distances power gives you more room for the buck. Once you start talking long distances the financial balance evens up and starts to tilt towards sail.

Doing the ICW would probably be a wash for costs and being protected waters there would not be a significant safety difference but you would have more room on the powerboat. If you go on into the Caribbean very far all the scales start to tilt towards sail.

[rw58ph]

Over a long period of time I don’t think there is much difference in round trip total cost between a motor or sail boat. Depending on where you are and the type of sailing, sail boats motor a large % of the time. If you buy a single engine, full/semi displacement, motor or sail, and go at hull speed its about the same motoring. The ownership cost, moorage, insurance, hull, engine, interior maintenance are about the same. So you might save on fuel at the cost for the sails and rigging.

The average boater might boat 100 hours per year if that. At hull speed that is 4 gallon per hour is 400 gallon X 4.00/gallon is $1,600.00. This year we put 7 hours on the engines so we spend a total of $120.00. Compared to the toal cost of owner ship of about 10 grand. Not a big %.

Anyway go on as many boats, motor and power, to compare. At this stage don’t be to concerned at the cost just yet. My wife and I love to look at 1+ million dollar boats, not that we could afford one, but it gives us an ideas.

[boating2go]

We lived on a 48 foot power boat for 10 years. We had lots of room, a washer and dryer, plus other amenities. However; when we cruised it took 10 gallons per hour which at approximately $3.00 a gallon back then and still working was not bad. We live aboard a 45 foot motor sailor today, nice room but not as much as the motor yacht, no washer and dryer. However when we are cruising under sail no fuel costs, motoring consumes about 1.5 gallons per hour. So a lot of your decision will depend upon your financial picture.

Good luck with what ever boat you decide upon.