Success stories from inexperienced buyers of large boats

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Seriously? I'll take a keel boat with an under-powered Yanmar over a single screw motorboat with a tuna tower and a lot of windage....

Having owned big mobo and smaller yachts , a twin screw mobo or one with decent thrusters is easy to handle but more importantly underway , little effort is needed , a big sailboat underway still requires considerable physical activity a mobo largely doesn’t.

[goboatingnow]

I know several people around me whose first boat was quite big 40-50 footers. They seemed to get the hang of it. Though for some a husband and wife team on a 50 footer is daunting , especially where the wife is a very nervous sailer. As a result they limit their sailing. But I think that’s a good idea.

So I think sure , many people cope , equally I know a few that where overwhelmed , and gave up pretty quickly.

To many people , buying a boat is being financed from a lump sum, say a pension payout or end of job lump sum payout or a sale of a property ( or small business ), there is in all likelihood considerable difficulty in having a wasting asset and then upgrading as the funds may not be available. So the temptation is to splash out once .

7 boats later , my current one is the 2nd smallest boat I’ve owned at 36 feet and suits us fine for the next few years.

[MicHughV]

South Florida is filled to the brim with "broken dreams". Marina after marina are filled with beautiful boats, outfitted to the max, with every possible modern gadget or convenience.
The story is almost always the same.
Retired couple buys their "dreamboat" with visions of sailing off into the sunset.
First time out of the inlet, with waves 6" or more, mamma will say....this is not for me...and yet another boat hits the brokerage market.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

South Florida is filled to the brim with "broken dreams". Marina after marina are filled with beautiful boats, outfitted to the max, with every possible modern gadget or convenience.
The story is almost always the same.
Retired couple buys their "dreamboat" with visions of sailing off into the sunset.
First time out of the inlet, with waves 6" or more, mamma will say....this is not for me...and yet another boat hits the brokerage market.

You hit the nail on the head.

A guy at work in Pensacola, FL had his whole retirement planned with he and his wife finally going to enjoy the cruising life.

They had a late model Catalina 36 and were financial stable ....more than stable. A few months before he retired he had taken a co-worker out sailing and going out Pensacola Pass that day there were some huge waves.

He was like don't tell my wife about this. Not sure how not telling her was going to work as when you cruise you eventually run into rough conditions no matter how careful you are.

So they lasted 6 months then sold the boat went to live in the woods in Maine.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

South Florida is filled to the brim with "broken dreams"...
... First time out of the inlet, with waves 6" or more, mamma will say....this is not for me...and yet another boat hits the brokerage market.

I had a customer, who’s wife used to say:
One to two ... I’m with you.
Two to four ... get a whore.

[Networker]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I had a customer, who’s wife used to say:
One to two ... I’m with you.
Two to four ... get a whore.

Hopefully she was talking about meters; if feet, that would make it impossible to sail with her

[Teknishn]

Learned to sail way back in '79 when I joined the US Navy sailing on Lasers and such. Bought a 21' O'day and sailed that for a few years then retired from the USN at 37 years old. Ended up spending the next 20 years living overseas teaching foreign navies (USAID projects). A divorce left me stranded and broke in Egypt. Decided it was time to come "home" to the States. Having no house, car, furniture, job, etc., I purchased an '81 Hunter 27 off the internet (Surveyed before purchasing) as a temporary place to live for 9-12 months while deciding where I wanted to live, work, etc. Boat was turn-key but was re-outfitted twice in that year. Nearly 6 years later I'm still living on her and have no desire to move ashore as I'm happy as can be. Sailed from Virginia to the Gulf Coast twice in that time. Currently in Mississippi and planning on to start heading back to the East Coast via the Bahamas in a month or so. Just a coastal cruiser, but I feel that this "temporary" thing has been a wonderful success for me.

[GLS]

At 64 and 66 my wife and I bought a 52ft sailboat. Our sailing experience was ASA 101-103 for my wife and ASA 101-106 for me. We also had 10 bareboat charters under our belt. We left Hillsboro Inlet (Ft. Lauderdale) Dec 1, 2020 and put the boat on the hard in St. Thomas May20th 2021. Our initial GS crossing was delightful, perfectly smooth. We had a wonderful season in the Bahamas. Saw many wonderful places and wonderful people. April 15th we arrived in Turks and Caicos. Wy wife went home from there and I had two close friends help me on the thorny path to St. Thomas. Later this week we are returning to St. Thomas to start our second season.

We are not full timers but seasonal cruisers. We have no delusions of crossing oceans. I think the idea of a boat of any particular size being "too much" is a myth. Our biggest challenges were finding a marina to leave the boat for trips home and navigating covid restrictions. Compared to getting a 7 pound yorkshire terrier into the Turks and Caicos, operating a 52ft sailboat is easy.

Very much looking forward to our second season with the boat scheduled to go back on the hard June 1. No real plan except for having a series of guests aboard which should be easily facilitated by the airport in St. Thomas.

Success? You decide.

[carlosproa]

If you still together after COVID and have not tried to kill each other or fantazise about getting a divorce, probably is a good base for cruising life, the total lack of privacy, and the compromise of tasks that are split not in the most equitable way. Success is hard to define and is very personable, and is OK to pivot from the original plan as circumstances, events, or personal choice slows or stops the intended plan. Just being able to get out there for a limited time together is in my opinion an example of success. Blessed are those that can make it a long termed lifestyle and have both persons in peace with it.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by GLS

At 64 and 66 my wife and I bought a 52ft sailboat. Our sailing experience was ASA 101-103 for my wife and ASA 101-106 for me. We also had 10 bareboat charters under our belt. We left Hillsboro Inlet (Ft. Lauderdale) Dec 1, 2020 and put the boat on the hard in St. Thomas May20th 2021. Our initial GS crossing was delightful, perfectly smooth. We had a wonderful season in the Bahamas. Saw many wonderful places and wonderful people. April 15th we arrived in Turks and Caicos. Wy wife went home from there and I had two close friends help me on the thorny path to St. Thomas. Later this week we are returning to St. Thomas to start our second season.

We are not full timers but seasonal cruisers. We have no delusions of crossing oceans. I think the idea of a boat of any particular size being "too much" is a myth. Our biggest challenges were finding a marina to leave the boat for trips home and navigating covid restrictions. Compared to getting a 7 pound yorkshire terrier into the Turks and Caicos, operating a 52ft sailboat is easy.

Very much looking forward to our second season with the boat scheduled to go back on the hard June 1. No real plan except for having a series of guests aboard which should be easily facilitated by the airport in St. Thomas.

Success? You decide.

You may think the idea of a boat that is too large is a myth but many single handers do not.....

A big boat can easily be sailed single handed. It's the docking etc and the problems that can suddenly pop up that can be a problem

[dmalcol1]

Bought a Corbin39 in 2014 put it in driveway and spent the next two years repowering and refurbishing systems. Sold my home in 2016 and lived on the boat in Hamilton bay that winter me my wife and dog actually liked the marina life even at minus 10c. 2017 was my retirment year planned on leaving lake Ontario to Hudson river and on south in late September. BUT two of my three kids got pregnant that year and were birthing in September so we thout we would delay plans and then Covid-19, now we are glad we stayed home. So we now have a very comfortable safe boat that we use for holidays and weekends. It used to bother me that we were not using the boat to its capabilities.
Very happy with the low stress ownership and freshwater maintenance costs.
But would I buy her again No But will I sell her No

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Jammer

It is common for people new to cruising to come to CF and ask for advice on which boat to buy, or ask questions like "which boats are bluewater boats" etc. Just as common is the standard answer, to start with classes, other people's boats, or a smaller boat to gain experience.


Clearly there are many who disregard most of this advice and who purchase 36'+ cruising boats, whether power or sail, and then read a book and take lessons from a delivery captain before setting out on their own.


We hear about some of the disasters.


Are there any success stories?

I would say the premise is false. Plenty of stories of success and failure jumping in with no experience. The more spectacular...the more likely you will hear about it.

I strongly suspect...The vast majority quietly exit the cruising lifestyle because they were unprepared are the ones you don't hear about.

Of course, a big issue with your question is you need to clearly define "success" and "failure". Is someone who buys a boat to go around the world but winds up spending the next 20yrs happily gunk holing up and down the ICW a success or failure?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Just to say there’s an enormous difference between a big motorboat and a big sailboat. Big mobos are easy big sailboats can be much harder to handle for short staffed crews.

If you are skilled and nothing breaks down, having a lot of power can let you do some neat tricks. Watch charter boat captains come in and they can wow with some fancy high speed docking.

If you aren't so skilled, having a lot of power at your finger tips makes for some spectacular mistakes.

[BuoyCall]

Originally Posted by Networker

Bought a 40’ Beneteau this year after watching all these people living life on YouTube during covid lockdown. Figured why not us. Didn’t even know what a 12v switch panel did when I bought the boat, we upgraded it and 4 months later am writing it this from Exumas. We learn new stuff every day, stuff breaks daily and we can usually fix it, so it’s definitely doable as long as the boat floats.

We are in the YouTube stages and “looking” at boats now with a 4-5 yr plan to shove off to the great loop then Bahamas. What is a 12v switch anyway lol

[Sirzones]

I would say if you sit on your boat with a smile on your face, rum in hand , no matter if your in the Bahamas or in the yard, then you are successful 👍