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tombstone220 · 02-06-2013, 04:48

Hello All,
I retire in three years and am planning on selling everything and buying a boat to live and sail the world the rest of my years. Any help would be deeply appreciated.

bluemoose · 02-06-2013, 04:56

Do you know how to sail yet? If no, then buy a day sailor and spend the next 3 years learning how to sail. If you do, whats your budget? Where do you plan to cruise to? What would work for me will not necessarily work for you. Give us some more background and you will get a better answer.

Celestialsailor · 02-06-2013, 07:04

Welcome to the forum and diddo starting small and learning. Sailing is a great lifestyle. Living aboard is part of it but presents a means of living quite different from living in a home...some good and some not as easy. Running water and waste disposal are but a few. On the sailing end, it's not all 12 kt trade winds and exotic Islands. At time it can be a challenge to sail in heavy weather, especially single handing. Port captains and custom officials can be a hand full as well.
I have my vessel and a home. Both paid for (thank God). It's nice to mix it up now and again.

chuckr · 02-06-2013, 07:12

greetings and welcome -- 1st a lot of stuff about going small then big -- hummmm
our 1st and only boat is a 40' but we had the time and ability to learn to sail her in biscayne bay -
that said - before you sell everything and jump on a boat and go - i would suggest you charter a bit first -- it reminds of a couple we met in maine a few years ago who hopped on their boat and set out for a circum nav and tried to persuade us to go with them - we declined as we needed more time on the boat and sailed the entire bahamas that year - the next summer we did boat upgrades in the cheaspeake and then set out to mexico and down the coast to colombia -- in the bay islands we ran across the same couple who had not gotten any farther and we talked to them on the ssb and they were headed north -- we talked with them via email once again to learn they had sold the boat and moved to a motor home
sailing is not for everyone - so becareful and understand what you are getting in to

for us it has been incredible
just our opinion and thoughts
chuck patty and svsoulmates
on the reception quay horta azores

Celestialsailor · 02-06-2013, 09:05

More sound advice...

Teknav · 02-06-2013, 10:01

You need to factor in your health conditions, prior to sailing the seven seas. While age is not a factor, it can impose mobility limitations. Life's too short! Sail away! Mauritz

BlackOak · 02-06-2013, 10:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombstone220

Hello All,
I retire in three years and am planning on selling everything and buying a boat to live and sail the world the rest of my years. Any help would be deeply appreciated.

It can be very awesome, very terrifying, very expensive, very cheap and those things can change up rather quickly! Its a popular dream to sell it all and head out into the blue, but that dream can turn into a nightmare on so many levels.

I suggest buying a small inexpensive sailboat and give it a shot. That way you can just walk away if ya dont like it without much pain.

SkiprJohn · 13-06-2013, 14:45

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here. I always advise lessons if you haven't had them yet. Chartering requires some training background. Taking a few lessions prior to buying a boat large enough for you to liveaboard and sail the seven seas would be very helpful.
kind regards,

tombstone220 · 22-10-2013, 16:51

I've taken basic keelboat and I'm hooked. I am scheduled for basic coastal
cruising next month. I am thinking to withdrawl my retirement and buy a boat next year (50,000-100,000$). I think the economy will tank if I wait too long. I want a boat to live aboard and circumnavigate. Any thoughts? It seems Ketches are cheaper. I don't know. I'm 48 and retire in 3 years.

Tomi · 22-10-2013, 18:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teknav

You need to factor in your health conditions, prior to sailing the seven seas. While age is not a factor, it can impose mobility limitations. Life's too short! Sail away! Mauritz

sage advice.

chuckr · 24-10-2013, 01:11

we did not know what a sailboat was until dec 2000 when we took the keel boat course followed by coastal course in the spring -- we charted a couple of times and in 2003 bought a new 40' sailboat -
why new? because i knew nothing about sailboats - i grew up on a farm and repaired anything and everything as well as several houses i owned - but boats are very different
for 50 to 100k not sure what you are going to get for a boat but there are a lot of Water boats">blue water boats out there -
then i would suggest you spend the winter in the bahamas and learn to read water, deal with limited food supplies, limited water, limited electricity, trying to find hidy holes for major blows, learning to read and plan for weather (this is incredibly important), deal with boredom from sitting for days on end waiting for a blow to pass, ect ect --
then decide what your boat needs and if it is the right boat and head back to the usa for upgrades or what ever then set out on your circum nav,
oh - as for cost - we record every penny we spend and our biggest expense is the care and feed of the boat -- we do try to do one major upgrade a year and try to keep her in top condition -- but for 50-100k you may find you are spending a lot on keeping a blue water boat in good condition -
you can find cost of cruising in this forum someplace as we have put some stuff out there and will put out more later this year --
as for health - i am 68 and patty is 66 -- we do not have health insurance - but we get treatment locally and a lot of medical care in other parts of the world is excellent and inexpensive - we both just went to a french trained dermatologist in tunisia and had some stuff removed at a very low cost - in fact a number of eu women come down here on medical vacations for a body make over --
in summary -- go for it but take a small step like getting a boat and do the bahamas and learn what this lifestyle is all about and with luck get the crap scared out of you once then decide if it is for you

just our thoughts and opinions
chuck patty and svsoulmates
in port yasmine hammamet tunisia

tombstone220 · 03-11-2013, 01:16

I am going for my Basic Coastal Cruising on the 23/24 of this month in San Diego (I can't get enough of sailing). I am going to still practice on lake pleasant(AZ). I plan on taking ASA 104 in the spring. I was thinking of buying a boat in the spring/summer (44'?). Since I live in AZ I'll park it in San Diego and go every other week end to gain experience. When I retire (3yrs), I want to sail to Florida and get more experience to make a passage to Europe.