Charter Boat to Bluewater Crusier

[Chrisgo]

Originally Posted by jackdale

Silly me. I keep amusing people like to sail in the BVI's.

I don't think that's why people go to the BVI's for a charter. Foremost would be to escape the cold winter in Northern climes, and to have some drinks and fun. The access provide by chartering a boat is amazing, to forego the beauty just to adhere to a plan of "must sail" would be tragic.

[dazed321]

Originally Posted by ozsailer

Ok Rob,
here's a perspective of someone who has purchased an ex Lagoon 410 charter boat from Sunsail here in Australia. Number 1, forget about the question about setting up a charter boat to go water sailing">blue water sailing. In my opinion its exactly the same question as if what do I need to go blue water sailing in any sailboat.
Having cruised the east coast of Australia a few time in quite extreme conditions it is my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with a well found ex charter boat for your needs provided it was originally designed for that purpose. Our Lagoon is designed for blue water passages and is certified from the factory to that effect. We have met so many people on ex charter boats doing major blue water crossings very safely and comfortably.
The upgrades we have done to make her suitable for offshore work are
1) Liferaft
2) AIS
3) Uprgrade of auto pilot, plotter and VHF radio (not really required just a personal choice)
4) Solar system and upgraded house batteries.
5)minimise electrical consumption by changing all lights to LED and changing over electrical items to more efficient systems. (once again not really required just my personal choice)
6) Upgrade sun and weather protection ( I consider that essential given that comfort reduces fatigue
7) Upgraded refrigeration to a more efficient cooling and power saving unit given that we operate in tropical climates most of our time.
8) Radar and water maker will be installed if we go international. ( We currently have 1000 litres of water if required which lasts us a minimum of 6 weeks with care so being coastal water is not really an issue for us.
9) Installed new safety lines ( Wichards ) and new safety tethers
10) While we have sufficient fuel capacity for coastal trips I would upgrade our fuel capacity quite considerable. Currently I have 100 litres per tank per motor and 80 litres in containers. I would like at least 250 litres per motor and 100 litres in Jerry cans. Ample based on our fuel consumption and plans.
11) I have had to put in a large amount of spares including a) a big range of stainless nuts, bolts, screws, washers etc. b) a cross section of electrical joiners, connectors, wire, solders, heat shrink, electrical tape, cable ties etc. c) A good assortment of tools (battery drills and multi tools). I prefer items can be used for multiple purposes. Of course we keep a large range of filters for oil, fuel and pulley belts.
12) We upgraded our gas supply for cooking to ensure we can always heat and cook our food.
13) While the anchor was sufficient for the boat we upgraded to High holding power anchor replaced the old rope and chain rode with all 100 metres of chain and have never regretted that upgrade.

We have done other upgrades but these are for our personal comfort and really do not relate to making the boat any more blue water ready. I do love our boat as there are plenty of handholds (yes it does get rough on catamarans and while they do sail flatter they still buck like any boat in a rough seaway)

These are the things that I would expect that you would have to do too the vast majority of yachts to go blue water sailing regardless if they are ex charter or privately owned. Obviously a boat may already be kitted out for such a journey which put you miles in front.

At the end of the day you have to be satisfied that your boat is blue water ready. Talk to the experienced people who have been out there and done it. Work out what relates to you and use other peoples experiences to get a head start. As always safety is always number 1 priority. Sunshine is our third ex charter boat. We have now owned Sunshine for two years and we love her and trust her in all conditions.


In reality I am only writing what suites us. People more learned and smarter than than me have written great books on this very subject. Like most things research on this site and other places will ensure you have the greatest possible information to make your decisions on. Hope this if is some assistance.

Greg and Sue
SV Sunshine
Currently Cruising Great Sandy Straights, Queensland, Australia

Thanks a lot for the detailed info Greg and Sue
If you don't mind me asking what sort of ball park figure did you spend on your upgrades.

Thanks

Rob

[ozsailer]

Hi Rob,
short answer, we spent to much. Seriously we really did not have to spend a lot of money to go sailing the coast. We did some major changes to the bimini to make the helming and cockpit area as the factory units are fine for the short term but just lousy offshore and offer little to no protection.
We could have got change out of 20K easy if we just wanted to go basic but we spent considerably more as we basically live on the boat 6 to 8 months of the year.
Our boat was purchased at what was a very cheap price here in Australia which allowed us to do some major upgrades to turn Sunshine into our boat.
This allowed us to budget for new motors. We knew the motors had a very limited life as they were reaching 9000 hours when we replaced them. We installed two brand new Yanmar 40 sail drives and now have problem free motoring for many years to come.
If we wanted to sell tomorrow we could not only get our full purchase price back but the cost of all of our improvements and then a tidy profit. Not bad for an ex charter boat.


Greg and Sue
SV Sunshine

[Mithril Bham]

I hope you get something from the various opinions stated here. Sailors are very opinionated. I have sailed 100's of boats and loved every one of them. I remember commissioning a new Beneteau 432 into our sailing school. I was very excited. I ran into a friend (SA) with more sailing experience than anyone I knew and wanted to show off our new boat. He said he wouldn't come within a 100 yards of that Tupperware piece of junk. Hurt my feelings.
We put a lot of miles on that boat and never had a significant problem.
Each to their own. You know what they say about opinions.
Take away what you can from these discussions. Most everyone sincerely wants to help in their own way. Whatever you get will be a love/hate relationship and a hell of a lot better than sitting on a couch.
We used four Beneteau's purchased as used charter boats in the BVI and they all served us well in the PNW. They were all sailed up here.

[VE3HBJ]

I too am looking at X charter boats for coastal crusing. This has been a 20yr journey as a teenager dreaming of a circ to a husband still dreaming of a circ. To now a father of 3 dreaming of time in the Carib with my family. All of those dreams have involved various designs and materials of boats.


My take home from a seminar I took years ago on the subject was 1. don't spend too much time fretting about what the boat is or you will waste your crusing time (so far I've wasted 20yrs) and 2. most production boats especially ones with a,b,c certification will out survive most sailers capabilities. It's the mistakes we as sailors make that will endanger our health far more than a grp hull or steel hull. Both sink when holed, both capsise or get dismasted when over canvassed in rough weather. And steer poorly when the rudder is gone. Understanding your/your equipmets capabilities and planning passages, refuges and sail plans accordingly is far more important.

Get the experience you need to make an informed choice and put your budget together and just go do it!!! You will only regret not having done it at all and not having done something and modifying your plans based on your experience and lessons learned.

Ask any experienced offshore sailer if they have ever had a close call and I bet they'd be lying if they said no.

[Jon Hacking]

Good advice. Get out & do it!

I'll add some things most non-cruisers probably don't understand

• There are now LOTS more families cruising
• Most kids raised cruising turn out amazing (we see it all the time)
• The cruising community is VERY supportive of each other (probably more true in the 3rd world than at an LA marina)
• Cruising costs only 30-40% as much as living on shore (in the US)

[Mithril Bham]

I like strong boats. The stronger the better. Maybe it's because I am getting old and more cowardly but I will say that when I was in Force 12 winds off of Victoria once I was glad to be in a Southern Cross rather than a Beneteau and although any boat can be holed it's a hell of a lot harder to hole a strong steel hull than it is to hole a fiberglass one.
Get your experience with a lot of coastal cruising and you will figure it out. Do your first crossing as crew with an experienced captain and see how you like it.

[adlib2]

Ask any experienced offshore sailor if they have ever had a close call and I bet they'd be lying if they said no

I've always had confidence in my vessel and my ability, so never been concerned of the close calls you refer to.
crossed oceans, experienced six hurricanes, neatly wiped out by freighters, lost all power~ sail and engine few times. Took in a lot of seawater that frightened the crew.
Was not worried until after the event when I've reflected on might have happened, but nothing serious ever did.

[jeffgraf]

Hi,
Got exactly the same question, and considering buying from Sunsail in the BVI. Please keep me posted on your experience!
Thanks!

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by jeffgraf

...considering buying from Sunsail in the BVI...

Jeff - First, welcome to Cruisers Forum!

We bought Ocelot from Sunsail St. Martin (just east of the BVIs) in 2001 & we've cruised her fairly continuously ever since. Found they took pretty good care of her for her first 6 years, but each Sunsail base is different. If you have specific questions, go ahead & ask.