Am I ready to live on a 55ft yacht yet?

[SVE]

Originally Posted by aqualife

However, Im paying cash and won’t have insurance. My first boat won’t be all that expensive (2x or 3x my yearly income). Once I get a few years experience, I will be able to point to some experience, and then I will upgrade to a nicer boat and get insurance….or at least that’s the plan so far.
.....
Docking – the advantage of anchoring is that I don’t have to deal with problematic docking scenarios (wind or currents) or having other boats hit me in those conditions.
.....
Hurricanes – I need to learn more about this. I plan to talk to more local boaters in the area.

As a less experienced liveaboard on a 40' cat in the S. FL area, I just want to hit on these 3 points as they really all relate.

Insurance, look into State Farm at least for liability. They don't require much and will insure you from FL to about 100 miles off the coast (they have specific regions of the Bahamas as well). They did require a recent survey for our boat but not much else. Could be worth a call to see if it's the same for your boat.


But, insurance will give you the ability to dock at a marina. Personally, I think trying (planning) to avoid docking at all is a lost cause. You will need to at some point. Plan for it now. Something will cause you to get to a dock - preventive maintenance, emergency maintenance, storms...

T. Storms/Hurricanes, so I'm the "local boater in the area" and, although new to living aboard, I'm not new to boats or hurricanes. My previous job had me deployed in front of the storms to secure bucket truck locations and internet for the power company. You need to have a hurricane plan. Storm forecasts, projections and models are just that... every storm is different and some don't do "what they're projected". Have a plan, a place to go, and be aware that sometimes that's a marina/dockage.

I don't have much else to add other than good luck! Been a blast for us. It's not an easy lifestyle but it's worth it to us.

[aqualife]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

You won't be able to visit marinas without insurance. How do you plan to get the replacement generator aboard? Or the gallons of oil needed to service your engines?

With all due respect, many of the abandoned boats in derelict anchorages have some version of your plan as a back-story.

thanks! more things to plan for.

the plan would be to replace the gen when i go in for the yearly yard haulout. get bottom done and any other repairs needed at that time.


also i can get insurance paperwork, no problem. but i just wont be covered. the insurance company that quoted me (best one i found) had so many escape clauses that i realized i basically was just buying a piece of expensive paper. (i basically needed to have a 2nd captain on board at all times as a backup)

[aqualife]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Well I already live aboard a 41' and am thinking to move up in size. But to me a 55' boat is HUGE. A boat that big adds a lot of restrictions.

Air conditioning for a berth ca be run off a Honda EU2200 or similar probably, I can run my 16k BTU main unit off one for 6 hours on 3/4 gal of gas. Of course a 55' boat has lots of space and you could use a EU3000 for more power and run time.

ya i was thinking of something like that. I prefer to use diesel however and not need to have gas onboard due to fumes and fire risk.

possibly running a small backup diesel gen could be a good idea.

[mako]

OP, are you really sold on that particular boat and style? For live aboard you could easily find a 44' - 49' tri-cabin trawler and likely have more room inside.

[team karst]

I "lived" for a max of only 7 weeks at one anchorage, but we learned a lot. We usually travel much more.
anyway, a "high efficiency" toilet sounds nice. as in composting?? Also, what about fresh water? A watermaker may be at odds with your otherwise perfect anchor spot. Due to local contaminates. You would have to be near an inlet, basically. As a for instance; We ran the RO in visual range of Ft Pierce inlet at incoming tide. The 5 micron filter looked pretty bad after just 30 gallons made. A jerry can of water weighs in at 45 lbs. Maybe a 1/2days worth?? Who will take your garbage consistently?
The dink will get lots of use, and likely will need to be stored on deck or hung every nite. You could get it bottom painted, but theft risk becomes the issue.

Anchoring in a storm will keep you up at night. The supply chain of genset oil from new to waste is a bit of a hassle.. You might not get a dreamed of ocean breeze at the anchor spot. I was disappointed to learn that my two A/C systems load up with fouling/growth on a monthly basis at my salt water dock, requiring acid remediation. I would be rather thinking of paying a friend with an unused dock. So, my first step is find a place, only then buy the boat.

[aqualife]

Originally Posted by SVE

As a less experienced liveaboard on a 40' cat in the S. FL area, I just want to hit on these 3 points as they really all relate.

Insurance, look into State Farm at least for liability. They don't require much and will insure you from FL to about 100 miles off the coast (they have specific regions of the Bahamas as well). They did require a recent survey for our boat but not much else. Could be worth a call to see if it's the same for your boat.


But, insurance will give you the ability to dock at a marina. Personally, I think trying (planning) to avoid docking at all is a lost cause. You will need to at some point. Plan for it now. Something will cause you to get to a dock - preventive maintenance, emergency maintenance, storms...

T. Storms/Hurricanes, so I'm the "local boater in the area" and, although new to living aboard, I'm not new to boats or hurricanes. My previous job had me deployed in front of the storms to secure bucket truck locations and internet for the power company. You need to have a hurricane plan. Storm forecasts, projections and models are just that... every storm is different and some don't do "what they're projected". Have a plan, a place to go, and be aware that sometimes that's a marina/dockage.

I don't have much else to add other than good luck! Been a blast for us. It's not an easy lifestyle but it's worth it to us.

Thanks! I will be getting insurance!

I can also start with a 40ft cruiser, upgrade in a year or so.

I wasn't sure how crazy it would be to go to 55ft and skip 40ft.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by aqualife

the plan would be to replace the gen when i go in for the yearly yard haulout. get bottom done and any other repairs needed at that time.

You would think that would be easy...

A dock neighbor has been trying to replace his genset for about a year now, I think. Took him a long time to source a replacement. And now it's taking a long time to bubble up to his turn in the boatyard installation schedule. Don't know details, but he's been stuck in the marina for at least the year, probably longer.

IIRC, it happens to be a 55' Ocean Yacht...

Parts -- and systems -- apparently don't grow on trees these days. And the skill labor is often already spoken for, so you gotta wait your turn.

Back to your original question: Maybe. Taking into account all the comments you're reading here.

But I'd also say that vessel length isn't the most important part of your equation. Insurance. Hurricanes. Extra work involved living at anchor. Issues like that.

Then eventually boat size, but I think layout is even more important. Some 45s can maybe give you better space than some 55s. Or maybe some 40s can give you better space than some 50s. Et cetera. Layout and features can be a big deal: Side decks for dockline access? Stairs to the bridge, or a ladder? Electric cooking (genset), or propane? And so forth...

And then access to systems is a big deal. Almost everything will break, need servicing, or need replacement. A 15 minute repair on the bench might take 4-5 hours in situ, because of access issues. Like "remove the genset lift muffler hose in order to reach and service X, then eventually reinstall the lift muffler hose" kinda stuff. Boat size can affect this too; a 40' two stateroom boat with 1 head might not give you the same access as a 44' two stateroom boat with one head. That said, builder often cram in more stuff as boat length increases; a 44' boat might only come with three staterooms and two heads. Access to systems can degenerate -- even the the longer boat would seem to address that. Au contraire, sometimes.

-Chris

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by aqualife

ya i was thinking of something like that. I prefer to use diesel however and not need to have gas onboard due to fumes and fire risk.

possibly running a small backup diesel gen could be a good idea.

Well just wait till you price that out

Small diesel generators are mostly POS. Mine lasted about 500 hours before I got tired of fixing it!

Reading thought this thread so far I see you aren't really paying as much as attention to advise from the "doers" as you should and instead want the answers you want. That is OK with me as it isn't my plan or boat so just saying.

[donradcliffe]

As someone who lived aboard for 15 years while cruising the world, mostly at anchor, I can recommend the lifestyle. I think your choice of 55 ft is going to cause some problems. I would ask the mooring fields what is the largest boat they can accommodate. My guess is less than 50 ft.

[alctel]

As others have said, do you really need a 55 footer, that's mahoosive.

Even a 40' power boat has oodles of room and is probably going to be at least half the price in ongoing costs, if not even less.

[Shanachie]

How are you ever going to get fuel if you don't know how to dock? Singlehanded, no less.


In the price range you seem to be talking about -- insurance and dockage is too expensive, etc. -- a 55-foot boat would be an absolute nightmare of delayed maintenance and worn-out gear.



Hell, one on great shape costs a fortune to maintain. A friend bought a 44-foot trawler a few years back in good condition and immediately dropped 40K on various items.

[aqualife]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

As someone who lived aboard for 15 years while cruising the world, mostly at anchor, I can recommend the lifestyle. I think your choice of 55 ft is going to cause some problems. I would ask the mooring fields what is the largest boat they can accommodate. My guess is less than 50 ft.

good point as well, I will check on that.

I should be getting a 40ft to start out no doubt, but I for sure liked the 55ft space and layout better.

But that's why im on here, so all you nice folks can talk me out of doing something stupid, haha!

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by aqualife

good point as well, I will check on that.

I should be getting a 40ft to start out no doubt, but I for sure liked the 55ft space and layout better.

But that's why im on here, so all you nice folks can talk me out of doing something stupid, haha!

I think what the previous post meant was that moorings often have a size limit, and 55-feet might be too big.

Also, before you get too enamored with a 55-footer, you may want to check the price of a 50kg Vulcan anchor and 300' l of 1/2" G4 chain. Assumes boat comes with a decent windlass and batteries to power it. And....and....and....

[Simi 60]

55ft is about the right size
We wouldn't go any smaller than our 60 ft
Our accommodation on 65 ft would be perfect for us

Life's to short to compromise on comforts.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

.

Also, before you get too enamored with a 55-footer, you may want to check the price of a 50kg Vulcan anchor and 300' l of 1/2" G4 chain. Assumes boat comes with a decent windlass and batteries to power it. And....and....and....

Old mates got $10,000/MTH to spend
I think he'll be fine