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Old 26-06-2012, 14:53   #1
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Unrealistic dreamers or future cruisers?

Hi All

I have been reading comments and stories on the forums for the last few and have been totally sucked in by the cruising lifestyle. I have always fancied sailing off into the sunset but reading all your posts has convinced me it is possible.

However, I think it is something that my wife and I will leave until closer to retirement, we're both 29 with a 3 yr old and have careers in an industry that doesn't lend itself to finding work for short periods between forays away. I also like the idea of just packing up and leaving without worrying about having to return.

I seem to lean towards catamaran style boats with no real reason behind it.

I want to pick your brains on what to from here to go from an excited dreamer to future cruiser.

Questions I have are:

1) What is a realistic target to aim for in saving to buy a suitable sized boat for 2 people to sail for blue water passages? Would like space for others to visit e.g. Kids and Grandkids.
2) Where to start with training? I'm based in Manchester UK and there is a watersports centre nearby that provides Adult RYA Dinghy courses and also there is a centre in Liverpool that's offers RYA Competent Crew and Day Skipper courses. Is it worth starting with the Dinghy course or go straight for Competent crew?
3) My thoughts are to charter boats for family holidays to build up experience and wondered if anyone had suggestions of good areas in the EU to charter and gradually build up experience?
4) I have seen that maintenance should be estimated at about 10% of the boat value per year, as I don't expect to win the lottery before retirement, what is a realistic figure to budget for this? Wondering whether a pension and other income will cover this plus other budget items (fuel, food etc.) or not and so make this an unrealistic option for retirement.

All advice, tips and comments will be gratefully received
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Old 26-06-2012, 15:01   #2
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Re: Unrealistic dreamers or future cruisers?

I recommend the search function. Going though the older threads with the same questions gives you a better chance to balance all the bull that your questions attract.

Other than that my recommendation is to .................. go sailing and don't worry about all these details yet! Good Luck!
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Old 26-06-2012, 15:30   #3
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Re: Unrealistic dreamers or future cruisers?

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Wakefields View Post
Questions I have are:

1) What is a realistic target to aim for in saving to buy a suitable sized boat for 2 people to sail for blue water passages? Would like space for others to visit e.g. Kids and Grandkids. That's a string (how long is) question - very much depends on what you want / need, and what budget you have. Ball park you are probably looking at 40 - 45 foot mark, cost of will depend on what you buy, how old and in what condition.

2) Where to start with training? I'm based in Manchester UK and there is a watersports centre nearby that provides Adult RYA Dinghy courses and also there is a centre in Liverpool that's offers RYA Competent Crew and Day Skipper courses. Is it worth starting with the Dinghy course or go straight for Competent crew? If you fancy sailing dinghys go for that, otherwise go for the crew / skipper courses. but all of them will teach you useful stuff - but none of them will equip you to go RTW, or even out of sight of land.....for that really need own hands on experiance. The cheap way is OPB (other people's boats) - but you learn a lot by having own boat (whatever the size and no matter how local / inshore the voyages) as ain't no substitute for there being no one else onboard with a plan B......so I would aim for getting your own boat sooner rather than later - can still mix up with OPB and charters. Get a small boat (on a trailor? / large open daysailor?) and should not eat yourself out of house and home (plenty of time later to buy the boat(s!) that do that .

3) My thoughts are to charter boats for family holidays to build up experience and wondered if anyone had suggestions of good areas in the EU to charter and gradually build up experience? Pretty much everywhere that has charter operations will suffice - I would go for the sun, which in the EU is usually in the Med. Learn at your own speed.

4) I have seen that maintenance should be estimated at about 10% of the boat value per year, as I don't expect to win the lottery before retirement, what is a realistic figure to budget for this? Wondering whether a pension and other income will cover this plus other budget items (fuel, food etc.) or not and so make this an unrealistic option for retirement. Another string question depends on what boat you buy, how long you will own and how big your pension is (and whether pensions still exist in 30 (75? ) years time - I thought the UK were phasing those out? ).

All advice, tips and comments will be gratefully received
The good news is that you have plenty of time to find own answers As you learn more your questions will change, as you discover what you want and find more questions! But that's boats for ya, a never ending voyage of discovery .
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Old 26-06-2012, 17:38   #4
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Re: Unrealistic dreamers or future cruisers?

Quote:
I have been reading comments and stories on the forums for the last few and have been totally sucked in by the cruising lifestyle. I have always fancied sailing off into the sunset but reading all your posts has convinced me it is possible.
Have you have heard the suggestion that sailing is like standing in a cold shower while tearing up $100 bills? Well, cruising is similar, save that it's $1,000 bills, and you need to keep your fingers from being squashed.

Quote:
However, I think it is something that my wife and I will leave until closer to retirement, we're both 29 with a 3 yr old and have careers in an industry that doesn't lend itself to finding work for short periods between forays away. I also like the idea of just packing up and leaving without worrying about having to return.
So we're talking about 20 years or more?

Quote:
I seem to lean towards catamaran style boats with no real reason behind it.
Catamarans should suit you just fine then.

Quote:
I want to pick your brains on what to from here to go from an excited dreamer to future cruiser.

Questions I have are:
Quote:
1) What is a realistic target to aim for in saving to buy a suitable sized boat for 2 people to sail for blue water passages? Would like space for others to visit e.g. Kids and Grandkids.
In today's money I'd consider $150k as a good starting point - add 50% for a catamaran.
Quote:
2) Where to start with training? I'm based in Manchester UK and there is a watersports centre nearby that provides Adult RYA Dinghy courses and also there is a centre in Liverpool that's offers RYA Competent Crew and Day Skipper courses. Is it worth starting with the Dinghy course or go straight for Competent crew?
A quick look at Google maps confirms that Manchester is not the centre of the cruising universe.

Without knowing your financial resources I'd suggest that you should focus on either charter or local development. Chartering would be better if you are time poor/cash rich as it allows you to concentrate a large amount of experience/learning into a short time. Local development using courses or boat ownership can be spread out over a lengthy period. My suggestion is that you observe what boats are used in your local waterways and how that are used. Then move towards buying a smaller low maintenance boat that you can afford to keep and to use.
Quote:
3) My thoughts are to charter boats for family holidays to build up experience and wondered if anyone had suggestions of good areas in the EU to charter and gradually build up experience?
Geography would indicate chartering in the Mediterranean. The best deals will change over time. Initially you'd need basic instruction - best done by the charter company?
Quote:
4) I have seen that maintenance should be estimated at about 10% of the boat value per year, as I don't expect to win the lottery before retirement, what is a realistic figure to budget for this? Wondering whether a pension and other income will cover this plus other budget items (fuel, food etc.) or not and so make this an unrealistic option for retirement.
Your retirement is so far into the future that the viability of a pension is almost impossible to assess. My experience has been that any investment where unknown persons can get their sticky fingers onto the money is undesirable. Quality real estate in your own name perhaps?

The big advantage to owning a smaller boat locally over an extended period of time is that you would become very familiar with maintenance.

I've estimated maintenance costs to be 12% of the good condition value of the boat. However the total cost of ownership looks to be more than 25%, making buying a big boat more than a few years before permanent cruising undesirable.
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Old 22-07-2012, 11:57   #5
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Re: Unrealistic dreamers or future cruisers?

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you posting here and your questions are great.
I'll just chime in by saying that the more reading you do and the more you get out on the water and visit other boats the more questions you'll be having.
You'll also get a lot of answers first hand by going out on the water. Try catamaran sailing and try monohull sailing through charters to get a feel for the motion of the boats.
kind regards,
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