Am I dreaming? First boat - US to Aus $15000

[cathyoz]

It is about timing. Being in the right place at the right time. BEST WISHES in your search..........[/quote]

like all thing all life...

a 30 fts , to cross the pacifique is adequate, in my opinion , the success of a cruise relly mainly on the skills and knowledge of the sailor ( s).
a skill sailor will be able to cope with "break" and tear and motor or mast failure ..ect.that could happen even on new boats.

[cantxsailor]

20-30ft and the naysayers all seem to be 35ft and up. My boat(25ft $3000 +$5000 refit) has been half way round the world(unfortunatly not with me) and will be going back out for some more soon(with me).

If you can only afford $15k for the boat look around for a $10k boat and use the rest for upgrades.

Don't pay any mind to those that say it can't be done, there are lots of people out there doing it . You just don't hear about them much because they ARE doing it and not hanging about comparing the various merits of the latest gadget.

How much adventure can you possibly have on a boat thats equipped like a Florida condo?

Luxury is for those that can afford it.

It sounds like you, like me, are going to have to do without the newest gadgets and the huge boat. The funny thing is, we, with our modest boats get to see the same stuff the rich folks do and have as much fun as they do. We will fit in better with the real locals and get to see the real places we are travelling to all without making them feel they have to cater to the rich yachties. After all isn't that why we travel to other lands?

As has been said before "go small, go NOW".........enjoy.........m

[magico]

Hi Tim

I have imported a boat from the US myself, (Formula fastech 271 1997) www.formula boats.com. The boat is great, only mises a few things, such as bimini top and a little electric motor which burned.
The boatdealer was great, honest, etc, where it come to a problem, is with the importer here in australia...Import-a-boat from the USA to Australia. Dishonest people, over measured the boat, got me to pay upfront and never refund...beware carefully.

Cheers

ACS

[speciald@ocens.]

Yes - you are dreaming!

[Zach]

If you go the ebay route, ask the seller if your bid can be contingent on survey.

Good luck with your search!

[philaw]

I'm looking at getting a boat to learn to sail on, and do some serious sailing on if I feel up to it, so I'm in a similar kind of position. I've spent a lot of time looking at ways of doing it, and I've come to the conclusion that a smaller wharram catamaran (21'-26') would be best for me. They're designed for coastal sailing, which is how you would practise. In your case, if you didn't feel up to offshore sailing, you could sail it down to south america and then sell it and fly home. That would be an adventure.

There are loads of people out there doing stuff like this (we can make a list, if you want), and people that can afford to have yachts with all of the latest luxuries and safety gear are never going to tell you that you could survive without it, because they couldn't imagine it. If they don't say that people are crazy for going out to sea without a liferaft, SSB, EPIRB and £10,000 of electronics, then would they be admitting to being soft?

My mentality is that I'm going to start with what I need (watertight hull, positive buoyancy, capacity for 30+ days food and water, means of propulsion) rather than what I want (separate cabins, electric fridge-freezer, standing headroom) because it's both achievable and realistic.

If you think you are talking about a minimalist trip, try this on for size:

YouTube - 9mn extracts of Inside Outside, incredible ocean crossing

[imagine2frolic]

$15,000.00 is a can do. It only sacrifices comfort, and sometimes much comfort. Each person needs to decide his own comfort level. Heck, look at Bombard as an example. Webb Chiles is yet another. I say $15,000.00 can find you a reasonable boat to travel, and hopefully your skills will get you through it! BEST WISHES in enjoying your endeavour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!