What To Do Before Cruising Away?

[mauibound]

Hello! My wife and I have been cruisers, in a sense, for many years. We have 3 kids all born in different states and have "cruised" all over America in search of the town that we want to stay in forever. We finally realized that settling down on land was not for us and "cruising" (on the water) was. Incidentally, the kids are all 18 and over. We have signed up and paid for ASA courses 101 through 108 which will start in September and take us all the way to Tahiti to complete by next May. We are both retiring at 50 which is 3 1/2 years from now and our question is, what should we do to get ready? We want to learn from people who have cut the ties with land and set out on a life of cruising the waterways of the world. What lessons have been learned? How long in advance should we start looking for and purchasing a boat? Should we sell the house now and move aboard and finish up the next 3 1/2 years aboard or wait? We will have 100k in annual lifetime income and 750k for a boat. We are currently in Maine and will remain until retirement. 3 1/2 years seems like forever now that we have decided what we want to do, but we do want to be "ready". Any help would be appreciated.