Bluewater Cruisers for under $15,000

[robert sailor]

Tough crowd

[skipmac]

Hi Jhetfield and welcome to the forum,

As you might guess from some of the replies, your question has been asked before on the forum, quite frequently. May I suggest that you spend a little time searching for and reading previous threads on the subject (there are literally dozens of them) which will give you a huge head start on asking questions that may be specific to your plans.

A few thoughts to keep in mind while you research, some already mentioned or alluded to.

1. It's the sailor, not the boat that makes a safe voyage, assuming of course that the boat is basically sound. So trying to buy an indestructible tank of a boat to compensate for lack of seamanship and protect you from the ocean is going about it the wrong way.

2. Do just a little research on boats for sale and I think you will find that the odds of finding a decent boat in decent condition in the size and price you mention is slim to none. You might get lucky and stumble onto the deal of the century but be ready to take a much smaller boat that needs a lot of fixing up.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I wonder if Don has you on his ignore list?

Right now he has all of us on his list...

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by engine1218

This would be a good starting point:

Atom Voyages - Good Old Boats List

Then read this blog, sailor already did what you describe:
* Confessions Online

Posted from the iPhone app, not sure if the links will work.

I'm not so sure this is the way for people to go. It just starts them looking at very old boats that need a LOT of work.

[Liam Wald]

I know a guy who bought a Pearson Ariel in Ventura for $5k and sailed it to Tahiti!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Liam Wald

I know a guy who bought a Pearson Ariel in Ventura for $5k and sailed it to Tahiti!

Yes but the OP wants a boat 30-40'.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

1. You get someone's else's ideas of what they liked not your own

2. This causes abject confusion


3. Lots of stuff gets places, doesnt mean its any good.


4. Good advice


Most boats will circumnavigate , you can't just buy a boat that relieves you of the need to be able to competently sail around the world. This is the newbie mistake , looking for a boat to protect them from themselves. , doesnt exist. The more yiu sail the more you realise ( a) what YOU like in a boat (b) what things you don't like , everything in between boils down to compromises

Dave

1. You get what you pay for, and for only 15k you don't get to bitch.

2. You get what you pay for, and for only 15k you don't get to bitch.

3. You get what you pay for, and for only 15k you don't get to bitch.

4. You get what you pay for, and for only 15k you don't get to bitch.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

I'm not so sure this is the way for people to go. It just starts them looking at very old boats that need a LOT of work.

With a budget of $15,000 and wanting a boat 30-40' pretty much the only option is a very old boat that needs a lot of work.

Unless he finds a rich benefactor that gives him a boat or a rich divorcee that dumps the ex's boat for cheap out of spite.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by skipmac

With a budget of $15,000 and wanting a boat 30-40' pretty much the only option is a very old boat that needs a lot of work.

Unless he finds a rich benefactor that gives him a boat or a rich divorcee that dumps the ex's boat for cheap out of spite.

"Rich benefactor" stranger things have happened...

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by skipmac

With a budget of $15,000 and wanting a boat 30-40' pretty much the only option is a very old boat that needs a lot of work.

Unless he finds a rich benefactor that gives him a boat or a rich divorcee that dumps the ex's boat for cheap out of spite.

True, but if he picks a boat off a "world traveler approved list", he's competing with other newbies using the same list, when the more important factor is boat condition.

[boatman61]

I don't know... 2 of the 3 I posted looked worthy options to me...
the steel one no... but that's coz I don't like steel..
Anyway... the OP's not been back it seems so I'll revert to monitoring... my puny brain is knackered... to many ColReg's..

[SeaSloth]

If I were trying to do this I'd first look at a Pearson Vanguard. Then a Pearson Invicta and some Albergs. All mid-60s era boats.

[md7a]

Searunner trimaran. Designed to help people escape the hassles and opinions of the western world.
Comes in various sizes. Repairable with simple tools. Doesn't sink. Active forum of fans on this site. Repairable examples sell for about 15k.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Boatman,

Nice selections to offer him.

Ann

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Tough crowd

You're right. Some of us feel that it is up to us to give good advice, not uninformed advice. Nothing wrong with starting cheap and knowing a boat is a hole in the water you pour money into, and learning as you go.

The OP's time frame is IMO ridiculously inadequate, not many anchorages on the No. Cal. coast, either. I am not surprised he was not taken seriously. Posts like the OP's come across as ridiculously naive, and those who would like to help are turned off by the lack of homework done beforehand. Like, "Hi, I'm wonderful and enthusastic and I want to do this great thing and I want you all to do all my work for me!" No wonder it's a tough group.

Of us all, Boatman 61 was kind enough to offer him some food for thought to start his learning curve. Others suggested more research. Perhaps some of the rest us have become a bit curmudgeonly! But speaking only for myself, I'm really tired of folks who approach buying a boat and going cruising as if it were a question of buying an old SUV and car touring. It's the implicit lack of respect for the environment they will be entering and the assumption that it is so easy that bothers me.

So yeah, it's a tough group, and I see that as being as it should be. And I stand by my opening statement that there is nothing wrong with starting cheap and small to learn. Like how about learning on SF Bay with a Catalina 22? Learn about what that's like, then move up? The OP's idea of a first bite is really huge.

Ann