40k budget for the escape!

[matti81]

To sail as far South as possible on 40k total... no boat, practically no gear, but the desire!

I know this is possible. but I'm curious to how you would approach the challenge

[Lancerbye]

Depends which airline you use. LOL

[Surveyor]

I would buy a Triton which can be had for about $2500. Fix her up, buy charts, a shot glass, some canned goods, a camera and take off. When I reached Antarctica I would take some pictures and then return North to more warmer climes!

$40k can take you a long way as long as you keep it simple. Welcome to CF and good luck!

[cabo_sailor]

You don't give us a lot to work with. Do you know how to sail? navigate? In other words, do you have any experience at sailing, owning a boat? The answer, in some detail, would depend upon that.

However, I have a friend who paid about $7k for his boat and probably put another $2k into it. He's been to the Bahamas twice and is now back thinking of some upgrades such as a bigger engine (his was rather pitiful but it did the job). Someone once said that cruising is just daysailing but for more than one day. So, the short answer is yes, it is more than possible and that budget should take you a long way.

Good luck,

Rich

[matti81]

Thanks for the response. I'm ignorant when it comes to sailboats but grew up salty, fishing offshore, and running boats all over since before i could drive. So learning to sail should be the easy part, learning the sailboat... separating the good boats from the junk boats is my main concern. i need something seaworthy... 100% confidence in my boat is the only thing important.

[mrohr]

Hi: 1/3 boat(max.) 1/3 upgrades and all equiptment,1/3 cruising kitty.
I'ts doable,and I've done it for less,but stayed in warm climes and avoided cities and marinas and boat yards. @ $1000/mo. you might squeeze a year out of it,but remember you will be living a camping lifestyle at best; but even so, it could be the best year of your life! BTW you will still have your boat and equiptment at the end of that year;but I'm not so sure you will still have your wife/girlfriend.

[matti81]

LOL the fiancé is in Ecuador waiting for me.... once i sell my house and truck all thats left is the move south. And sailing sounds a bit more exciting than a plane ride

[mrohr]

Originally Posted by matti81

Thanks for the response. I'm ignorant when it comes to sailboats but grew up salty, fishing offshore, and running boats all over since before i could drive. So learning to sail should be the easy part, learning the sailboat... separating the good boats from the junk boats is my main concern. i need something seaworthy... 100% confidence in my boat is the only thing important.

Upps , I didnot see this post before above but if your are ignorant of sailboats too,then you need more than 100% confidence in your craft,you will also need significant realistic confidence in your abilities.
Of course ,much can be learned the hard way,but that route tends to be expensive and painfull. Plenty of 100% seaworthy boats are on the bottom due to inexperience .

[muskoka]

Learn to sail first. And read a lot of cruising books. Then you'll at least have some inkling of what to look for when buying the boat.

Good luck!

[osirissail]

Let's see the fiance is in Ecuador - you didn't say which coast you are on or what country. But if it is the east coast/Caribbean then you have a big problem and that is getting the boat from the Atlantic/Caribbean to the Pacific.
- - Assuming the Atlantic, the route is long in both distance and time required. You are talking almost a year or longer to get there since you have to consider the seasons and prevailing winds/waves.
- - It might be better to buy a small sailboat and trailer and drive it to Ecuador . . . get there a lot faster or at least before the finance goes off and marries somebody else.

[barnakiel]

But 'no boat' makes it cheaper. When you sail other people's boats maybe you can pick up a ride for say 500 a month. This would buy you 80 months of freedom. 79 of these spoiled by thinking 'what next'. But at least, in others' boat, you do not worry 'where am I?'.

Doable.

b.

[matti81]

inexperienced i am, but ignorant i'm not... Learning the hard way has always been my style. I'll leave early october so i have the 6 months to study I love the challenge!

[zeta]

Why not crew with someone for a few months. Summer in the Sea of Cortez - SailNet Community if posting from another forum is not authorized, I apologize and please remove.

[matti81]

most likely leaving from VA/NC area, the rout will pass through panama. and 40k is the "budget" certainly not my max.

[osirissail]

There are some people who are naturally clueless and others who catch on quick and can successfully learn with "OJT" (on the job training). I know a few single-handers who started out with a boat and a dream, maybe bought a book about sailing, and after a year were both alive, afloat, and having a good time.
- - There are others who with all the training from sailing schools never really get the idea and end up quitting after they put their boat on the rocks somewhere not far from where they started.
- - So the OP just may be able to do it - it has been done many times before. But also many more have failed and given up. Only the OP can decide which group he fits into. . .
- - Just be warned you can also lose your life along with the boat. Sailing the oceans is not the same as driving across the country in a car. There is no "AAA" to come rescue your butt if the sh&^ hits the fan while you are hundreds of miles from land.