40' from NJ to Southern FL (via Richmond, VA) ?

[ggray]

You could hire a captain to assist you at the start until you had either reached or cleared Delaware Bay. You would probably feel comfortable by that point to handle it yourself.

[Wishful Woman]

One more high-five thank you for all the help everyone has been here! We're also going to consider the many pros and cons with transport vs. a couple of newbies getting their feet wet on a maiden voyage. Dan, I enjoyed reading "The Trip" and (assuming I didn't botch things up), agree that the journey could be very fun and memorable! We're also now in touch with a broker who has given us some comps on models similar to one we've found, but he'll search FL inventory too. My partner will be in southern FL mid week for work and has a chance to do some looking if any of you know of motor yacht types of vessels in the $50K range we should check out. I'm kind of the "aft cabin" type, but can be flexible!

And on a final note, once we fine-tune our plans a bit more, I might post a question specifically about "issues" we haven't thought of associated with leaving it for weeks (possibly a month or two) unattended since we'll still have our place in Virginia and get down to live aboard it when we can get to Florida. Too bad we're not retired yet, but lucky our work is somewhat flexible.

Feel free to keep the good advice coming!

Cheers,

Wishful Woman

[Wishful Woman]

Originally Posted by ggray

You could hire a captain to assist you at the start until you had either reached or cleared Delaware Bay. You would probably feel comfortable by that point to handle it yourself.

Yes, great advice. Guess all will depend on location of what's out there and whether this one in NJ is worth looking at more closely!

[SuenosAzules]

I recommend registering the vessel in Florida. Also I would (if you can) deliver the vessel to Florida on its own hull. Will most likely be cheaper. You should be on board for the delivery to get to know your vessel and to get some "stick time" on the helm. It is a great experience and will make you less afraid of things. Being that you are new, hire a good captain you can get along with well. Interview him and make sure you "mesh" those long voyages with personality conflicts can get rough. I also have an article about living aboard so check it out at:

Living Aboard

I hope this helps.

[shai]

Hi Dan
You have a lot of great info on your home page. Just bought my first boat no experience, but that is how I usually learn to adapt to things rather quickly.