Is my live aboard dream possible?

[Visarend]

Scar:
let me spend a word about compromise. A 38" cruising sail cat is in your price range, keeps you upright when sailing, has lots of space, offers good comfort and as for fuel, probably has 2x 35-45 Hp, plus sails. A good compromise from different perspectives, may be. IMHO you could charter one for 2-7 days and build some precious experience.

[jim King]

Sounds like you need get some experience sailing before you make the plunge into your Hatteras. Take some classes and maybe join a local boat club to build up hours on some smaller boats before venturing off into a 53 footer. I suggest you first work up to a 30 to 35 foot coastal cruising boat to test the waters for a few months before taking the plunge on a 53' Hatteras. You can find a boat in the 30 to 35' range for around $30,000 on the used market and its a good size for your current family of 3 to build their skills on before moving up. during that time you can take some week long sails closer to home and check out the market for larger boats.
Take your time and go one step at a time before making the plunge into the unknown.
cheers,
jim

[Tingum]

Budget wise I think you are fine. Boat choice is a different story. That size Hat is going to eat you up in dockage and fuel. Chances are it will have 92 series Detroit’s which are not the best engines out there. Also it is not a good self sustained cruising boat. I would suggest a 40ish foot single screw trawler to cut your maintenance in almost half! Like others have said check on the Trawler forum for a better power boat perspective.

[capnorv]

Originally Posted by Scar

Again thanks for all the input. We have been researching this for the past few months and we both believe this is something we want to pursue after I retire in 2 years. My wife is a nurse and I have been doing classes to get my nursing degree at the same time I retire so we can easily find work wherever we chose in the off season and make as much as we want to work in those 4-6 months. If we worked overtime we would easily make $100k in those 6 months both working. But we don’t want to work more then 2-3 days a week in retirement unless we need to in order to cover costly repairs.
My wife is dead set against sail boats because she has no desire to be leaning all the time. Lol... a Catamaran would be nice but out of the price range we want to spend.
Our off season home would be 100% paid for but everyone is right that we will be risking our nest egg in hopes that the reality marches our dream of half time live aboards.
Maintenance and most repairs do not worry me and I would gladly take some classes before we motored off into the sunset to help learn more about electronics and diesel repair along with how to even operate a boat.
The time and work do not scare us but I am still trying to figure out if the dream is even possible without risking $150k only to find out that we hate the lifestyle.

There are sailboats that are spacious, airey, don't lean much, economical, and very comfortable. We have one, we call it our Winnebago on the water. Definitely not the fastest boat, but if you're retired, what's the rush. For fifty to one hundred thousand there are many comfortable boats out there. We cruise at 6 knots, about a gallon an hour, 180 gallons fuel and water, wood stove, propane cooking, solar panels 1000 amp hours battery, diesel/motor heat, six foot draft, large usable deck space,light and dry center raised cockpit, great owners cabin with queen sized berth. Worth a look, Hardin Voyager 45'. There are also many others of this janre.

[DHLyman]

There are a hundred questions you should be asking before ”how much will it cost.”
Have you spent any time at sea? An overnight voyage? Have you chartered a BB in the Caribbean?
You mentioned a 54 foot Hatteras. That’s a power yacht, not a sail boat. Your not going to be cruising the Caribbean on that boat. Getting it to the Caribbean is a difficult offshore voyage. And with a boat that size you should hire a savvy skipper.
Charter a few boats first, to find out what this cruising life is like. Crew on other people’s boats to gain experience.

[tomtriad]

In the past few years I've met two wannabe cruisers who, like you, had the dream, the funds, the time, and also lacked any experience on liveaboard cruisers. One wanted to buy plans and build a 40 catamaran himself, the other wanted to buy a comfortable 50' monohull with 6'5" headroom below; he had paddled a kayack from VT to DE. I invited the first to sail on an 80 mile delivery in settled weather on my 42' trimaran; the 2nd was invited to help deliver a 32' cat on a 4 day coastwise delivery from GA to VA.

Both got seasick within several hours of getting onto the ocean proper. Both decided to stick to land thereafter. Note that the conditions were benign!

Get a ride on a boat, then maybe charter one. See if you like it. See if the wife likes it (even more important!)

[carlosproa]

Originally Posted by Scar

Thanks for taking the time by saying that I have never spent any real time on the ocean and my only boring experience is from 30 years ago with my parents 18ft ski boat. Lately I have realized that I don’t want to continue that traditional living to work lifestyle.

Talking with my wife we are both falling in love with the ideal of buying a live aboard to spend 6-8 months a year cruising the Caribbean and Mexico. Then during hurricane season come back home to the Midwest and work for a few months a year.

We would have about $150K to buy/outfit a live aboard including all needed repairs and initial Maintenance. Taking early retirement my pension would only be $2,000 a month and health insurance included. Our off season home will be completely paid for so we would both be able to work those few months making approximately $6k a month (plus my 2k monthly pension) if we both worked 3-4 days a week. So a total yearly income of $55K a year with health insurance.

I am confident that I can handle nearly all needed maintenance with a little training in the specific systems combined with my decent mechanical skills.

We have no desire to sail around the world or do major crossings. We are more looking to cruise to the Caribbean or South America and spend the winter months exploring new areas. So I think a older motor yacht would fit more what we are looking for, something along the lines of older 70-80s 53ft Hatteras. It would mostly be my wife and I and our teenage son (other kids will be grown and in their own) with the occasional guest so a 3 cabin seems to fit our needs.

I guess my question is would this dream be possible? Would $3-4K a month be enough to cruise for a 6 months a year including maintenance and fuel?

There are a plenty of multihulls for sale in the Caribbean and Mexico at below you budget. You should do a try before you buy other their owners to see if this is what you really want. You can draw a rental contract for a month while the boat is actively in the market. After a month it should give you a good idea of where you are with this lifestyle. Heck if you draw the contract right, you can stipulate a portion of your rent to be applied to the purchase of the vessel

[MicHughV]

I gotta give the advice I give any wannabe:

Charter a boat of your choice for a week, and then decide. Make sure the boat has a captain and crew, so you can learn the ropes and also see what is involved.

Just getting a big boat off the docks in a tight marina is likely to have you think twice.
You will be liable for any damage your cause !!!

[DHLyman]

A day of actual on the water experience is worth 100 hours of classroom time. The Coast Guard requires 350 days at sea, documented, before you even sit for the test to get a license.
Before you go investing gobs if money to buy a boat, spend a few thousand to charter. DHL

[CaptJPMcGuire]

Our old 1977 Grand Banks would have worked fine for this. But remember the only thing that always works on an old boat is the owner--and everything is broken you just don't know it yet! WE ran a gallon per mile with twin 64001 John Deere's (basic 6 cyl Tractor engine)
Avoid modern electronic diesels you cant do electronics repair on.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

But then there are some who spend considerably less on fuel. $4K would likely be more than we ever spent on fuel in any given year, with twin 450s, even counting our trips from MD to FL and back.

-Chris

Some boats are indeed lighter. Our 450 SeaRay Express Bridge with 2x 375hp Caterpillar engines, costing some $1500 to fill, cruised from St.Thomas to Anagada , St.Maartin down to St.Kitts using a quarter tank or less. We cruised at idling speed 7,2kts running only one engine (we were co-cruising with the Catamaran sail), and had to do all tricks to slow the boat down as not to outrun the Cat like cruising in circles). We were really all hype about the low diesel consumption.

That trip included a head wind and against the current

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by DHLyman

A day of actual on the water experience is worth 100 hours of classroom time. The Coast Guard requires 350 days at sea, documented, before you even sit for the test to get a license.
Before you go investing gobs if money to buy a boat, spend a few thousand to charter. DHL

I think older people are not required licensing yet.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I gotta give the advice I give any wannabe:

Charter a boat of your choice for a week, and then decide. Make sure the boat has a captain and crew, so you can learn the ropes and also see what is involved.

Just getting a big boat off the docks in a tight marina is likely to have you think twice.
You will be liable for any damage your cause !!!

For the timid maybe.
Zero experience between the 3 of us. I bought two boats in one week, one sail and one powerboat and cruised with two boats and a crew of 3, the Caribbean.

Commit, execute and tweak along the way.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by tomtriad

In the past few years I've met two wannabe cruisers who, like you, had the dream, the funds, the time, and also lacked any experience on liveaboard cruisers. One wanted to buy plans and build a 40 catamaran himself, the other wanted to buy a comfortable 50' monohull with 6'5" headroom below; he had paddled a kayack from VT to DE. I invited the first to sail on an 80 mile delivery in settled weather on my 42' trimaran; the 2nd was invited to help deliver a 32' cat on a 4 day coastwise delivery from GA to VA.

Both got seasick within several hours of getting onto the ocean proper. Both decided to stick to land thereafter. Note that the conditions were benign!

Get a ride on a boat, then maybe charter one. See if you like it. See if the wife likes it (even more important!)

Indeed horses for courses, and things differ. We met a couple in Puerto Rico. They operate a shipyard for thirty years. A FP Catamaran came along and they bought and fixed it. Never sailed it once in the two years. They asked us if we would take them out sailing which we did. Fair waters, slow winds. The husband hated the slow go, but the wife seasick the whole day. They swore to sell the boat. We convinced them a second trip, now they can't wait when we return to go on a week trip to USVI.

Buy, get involved, do. Dreams are not easy. First people trying to fly jumped of roofs with unreliable equipment. Many died and many more injured- but today we ride the winds. Buy the bike, fall off, get hurt, get back on and paddle. That is life.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Hello, Scar,

We've met power boaters who spend $4,000 US on fuel for one weekend, so get someone here to tell you what the fuel consumption is likely to be for your proposed Hatteras. It will surely be less than that, but perhaps a major factor, once you start thinking about South America.

Other than fuel and health care insurance, the budget sounds okay. Mooring costs vary considerably, plus some people like living at anchor, others do not.

Ann

Our 450 Express Bridge SeaRay 400 gallons (2x200 tanks) took $1500 to fill and 600nm range at 7,2kts idling speed on one motor.