Keep Power or Go Sail

[Selah Way]

I love our cabin cruiser, but we both took early retirement which meant cutting back, financially speaking. We just bought a sailboat this summer, and we're enjoying the fact that we can use her when we couldn't afford to put fuel in the other. Now we need to decide if we're keeping both boats or selling the cabin cruiser.

If you love the boat you have, my vote wiould be to stick with it for awhile and see how your finances go since retirement. If you find that you can't afford to go where you want, then you can think about purchasing a sailboat.

[off-the-grid]

On the other hand, with a Gemini and that kind of budget, there really aren't too many places you couldn't afford to go.

[rourkeh]

We went from large (60') power boat to sail (44') because we want the ability to travel long distances and maybe in time cruise the med. No way to do that without shipping a power boat. The cost of upkeep will be similar, maybe a little more for twin engine power boat. Sailboats are set up with the ability to drop the hook anywhere you want and a boat like your Chris Craft is going to tie you to marinas $$$ in order to have power refrigeration etc.

[dacust]

On most small power boats, you can get all the power you need by running the genset for 1-3 hours per day. Depends largely on how well insulated the fridge is. A marina is not needed.

-dan

[Boracay]

Why not start your cruising in the Chris Craft and also put it on the market?

Then you can hold on for a better price while being a little restricted in range, and have a long and careful think about the best boat for your proposed purpose.

Unless you're a fair bit younger than some of us a trawler could suit your needs, may almost be a swap and you would need very little re-experiencing.

[malovich]

cruise you boat to the market where it is worth the most then sell it, if you are already located in that market, sell and buy a sailboat. take a look at cruising on $500 per month

[slomotion]

I’m not familiar with the Catalina series, but a big old Chris Craft makes an excellent liveaboard platform for your intended cruising grounds. I know some people who cruise their old 42' Constellation in the Exumas every winter. They claim that the staggering (to sailboat owners) fuel costs are significantly less than keeping the boat in a slip in Florida. Like most cruisers in the Bahamas they spend 90% of their time at anchor. In the summer they put the Chris Craft on the hard in Florida and cruise a sailboat in Maine - must be tough. I say keep the Chris Craft.