Good boat for a family to sail from Florida to Australia

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Sailing Soon

Thanks Ann, I 'll keep that in mind. We plan on taking as much food as possible, without overloading of course.

It can get tricky, of course, how you choose to spend the weight. Do you opt for canned goods (containing liquid), or do you allocate more for water and use rice and beans, plus the [beloved] vegs for flavoring that last long without refrigeration? For us, starvation rations were tins of protein (beef, fish, chicken) to which we could add onion, garlic, and whatever herbs and spices that appealed. A product we liked having to go with breakfast biscuits was tinned butter and -- of course -- raspberry jam!

To be more generous to you, and your family, let me add that cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, ginger, all keep pretty well. So do grapefruit, (thick skins are good, where they are available, bush lemons, thought ugly, do keep well) honeydew melons, bush oranges, all keep well, too. Basically, if it's citrus, the thicker skin helps. So does wrapping the skin-sterilized [Potassium permanganate or bleach water, allowed to air dry] fruit, individually in aluminium foil work very well; you'll lose some, but it helps a lot. We got almost 3 months out of limes from Mexico while coming across to NZ. We also got almost that long out of eggs which had never been refrigerated, but turned each week. Towards the end, they were only good for baking, or scrambled, but they didn't make us sick.

Something else that is very good is vacuum packed meat, if you are meat eaters. Do not freeze these (the ice crystals sometimes perforate the plastic, allowing bacterial contamination), but do put them in the coolest part of the refrigerator. We have had chicken last 3 months! It really was fine to eat. You do not NEED a freezer, but if you want one, okay. Don't freeze vacuum packed, though, for the above reason.

You can do what you have in mind, but the shape of that may morph.

And, happy hols, we'll be under way tomorrow, for Eden, and out of internet range.

Ann

[Sailing Soon]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

And, happy hols, we'll be under way tomorrow, for Eden, and out of internet range.

Ann

Have a great trip!

Best
Peter

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Sailing Soon

Have a great trip!

Best
Peter

Thank you, we'll do our best!

Ann

[Bleemus]

Originally Posted by Sailing Soon

Hi Bleemus. Have you had experience buying a 30K boat and getting it up and going? Where in the South Pacific have you been - any places you'd recommend above others?

Cheers
Peter

Having sailed across the Pacific three times there are few places I haven't been to so if there is a specific island or island group you want info on let me know.

As for getting boats ready for ocean passages there are too many to name. Won the TwoStar on a 40 foot trimaran that we bought for 35k. Took another 25k to get it ready for the race and get it to England for the start and it didnt even have an engine.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Sailing Soon

I went with 1.34 x square root of LWL. I know it's not exact, but is better than nothing I guess.

A good estimate of long term average speed is: Daily Average Mileage (nm) = 24*(2.62 + 0.066*SA/D+ 0.051*LWL )

Keep in mind that the equation for SA/D is: SA/[(D/64)^0.667]

SA is triangular area of main (no roach) plus area of foretriangle both in square feet

D is lightship displacement in pounds.

This is not my equation. It was developed by EStarzinger and BLeonard.

I've graphed it against PHRF ratings and there is a really good correlation. The daily mileage results were lower than PHRF in keeping with the fact that you would not be able to maintain the same level of effort sailing long passages short handed as you would 4-24hr races with a full crew.

[Sailing Soon]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

Having sailed across the Pacific three times there are few places I haven't been to so if there is a specific island or island group you want info on let me know.
.

We'll be doing the coconut milk run during the window recommended by Jimmy Cornell, so basically Panama to Galapagos to Marquesas to Tahiti in one season.
Have you been to the Galapagos? Is it worth doing the multi island pass by boat or better to do one island and do tours, or is one island enough?
With the Marquesas is it worth the trouble going to any of the small atolls?. The tides and corals make it look too like a lot of work getting in and out of them.

Cheers
Peter


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[Sailing Soon]

Thanks Adelie.


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[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Sailing Soon

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While price is a factor, it isn't the main factor (you can't put a price on your families safety). The reason I'm after thoughts on a boat that has enough space for the kids to have their own areas (so three cabins or separated areas), and for something that could be purchased for US$30,000 (so listed at $35,000 with little obvious to fix, but the usual $10,000 plus to spend in the first 6 months) is that there needs to be parameters somewhere. If I looked for something for $50,000 with very little to fix it would still probably have $10,000 plus to spend in the first 6 months, plus another $10,000+ for extra safety equipment. I guess I'd rather go with the former if possible.

I've been watching the sub $30,000 post for a while and there are some nice boats there, but as Ann says, most don't have 3 cabins. I'm hoping to find a sub 45 footer that has split the larger stern berth into two singles.

Thanks again,
Peter

Peter,

The criteria you have proposed, in bold above, is simply unrealistic. You probably have already read psts here and elsewhere that say something like: "Quality, Low Price, Age." Pick any two, but ya can't have all three.

You budget limits the size, which precludes most boats right off the bat. For example, most boats even up to 36-40 feet don't have double aft cabins. Double aft cabins comes with charter boats, yet another issue to deal with.

And on smaller boats to meet your budget, the reason there aren't so many double aft cabins on boats that folks actually use (i.e., NON charter)
is that they are a waste of space for most (not you, of course) and tend to make the non-personal living spaces smaller.

The list is endless. I wish you luck, but I think you may need to seriously reconsider your own criteria.

Safe journey, sounds great.

[Bleemus]

Originally Posted by Sailing Soon

We'll be doing the coconut milk run during the window recommended by Jimmy Cornell, so basically Panama to Galapagos to Marquesas to Tahiti in one season.
Have you been to the Galapagos? Is it worth doing the multi island pass by boat or better to do one island and do tours, or is one island enough?
With the Marquesas is it worth the trouble going to any of the small atolls?. The tides and corals make it look too like a lot of work getting in and out of them.

Cheers
Peter


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Never did the Galapagos so cant comment though others who have been there say it was worth it despite the cost.

The Marquesas are mountainous volcanic islands. The atolls you speak of are in the Tuamotus.

Marquesas are amazing. People are wonderful, views are spectacular and a must see for any sailing in that part of the world. Truly end of the world feeling that you cant describe. The cons are the anchorages there are some of the most swell prone I ever visited and you will get sick of the rolling after a while. Supplies are scarce. If you are going there from the Americas provision all the way to Tahiti. Nothing of consequence available in the Tuamotus for provisioning either.

If you are a diver then the Tuamotus are a must stop. Plan any approach so the sun is at your back as many of the passes are quite tricky with current. Having someone up the mast with polarized sunglasses on is a real benefit. Diving with Manta Rays in the pass on Rangiroa is a memory I will never forget. Tons of atolls to choose from and they each offer there own appeal.

Once you get to Tahiti you can reprovision. Be prepared to pay 2-4x what you would pay in the states. They have no income tax and all revenue is generated by taxes on imported goods. Papeete has traffic like NYC and staying stern to downtown gets noisy and old after the initial rush. Move around to Marina Taina for a more quiet place.

[hoppy]

I think that the idea of buying a $30k USD boat at long distance is just plain crazy. The cheaper the price range means there are going to be a lot of duds on the market and until you see it in person, you are not going to know that you have wasted your time. It could take time, a lot of time to find the right boat and that will probably mean taking months of work and basing yourself far from home paying for hotel rooms and flights around the region.

If you wan to buy a boat in Florida/Caribbean then I think you really need a big purchase price budget increase and be looking for boats of the type that are coming out of charter. Then you will have plenty of yachts to choose from and if you go to the major charter hubs like BVI, you might get to inspect dozens of yachts in a short period of time.

With your current budget, you are better of looking at boats around Melbourne and do a couple of quick trips to Sydney or QLD

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Sailing Soon

Thanks Pelagic.
I've been watching the prices for a few years and there is the occasional cheaper boat in Asia, that is on a part with those listed in the US, but it's a long way to go to look at one or two boats and to not find it is anything like it looked online. Australian prices tend to be double those in the US, which on you take exchange rates, taxes, and delivery costs are similar I guess. The family and I have wanted to look around the Caribbean and Galapagus for a while so sailing through makes sense. Also my inlaws live in the US so we'd have a base while looking at boats.

Thanks for the background reasons which does make sense as a family adventure.

I can see that you have staged it to allow the family to gel and get acclimated before making the Pacific crossing.

Good luck with your search

[Sailing Soon]

Originally Posted by hoppy

I think that the idea of buying a $30k USD boat at long distance is just plain crazy. The cheaper the price range means there are going to be a lot of duds on the market and until you see it in person, you are not going to know.

If you wan to buy a boat in Florida/Caribbean then I think you really need a big purchase price budget increase and be looking for boats of the type that are coming out of charter. Then you will have plenty of yachts to choose from and if you go to the major charter hubs like BVI, you might get to inspect dozens of yachts in a short period of time.



QLD

Cheers Hoppy. I'll keep this in mind. As I've said earlier, the total budget over the few years of off and on sailing will be around AUS $100,000 so I can look at spending more upfront and hopefully less on upgrading and maintenance , but the consensus throughout the other posts on the forum seems to be that buying a more expensive boat doesn't always mean less initial cost up front.
Not sure about going the ex charter boat road. Seems the boats are maintained to a certain level, but the motors usually have a lot of hours on them.

I've noticed you're importing from europe. Hope it goes well for you.

Best
Peter


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[Sailing Soon]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Thanks for the background reasons which does make sense as a family adventure.

I can see that you have staged it to allow the family to gel and get acclimated before making the Pacific crossing.

Good luck with your search

Cheers Pelagic



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[Sailing Soon]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

Never did the Galapagos so cant comment though others who have been there say it was worth it despite the cost.

The Marquesas are mountainous volcanic islands. The atolls you speak of are in the Tuamotus.

Marquesas are amazing. People are wonderful, views are spectacular and a must see for any sailing in that part of the world. Truly end of the world feeling that you cant describe. The cons are the anchorages there are some of the most swell prone I ever visited and you will get sick of the rolling after a while. Supplies are scarce. If you are going there from the Americas provision all the way to Tahiti. Nothing of consequence available in the Tuamotus for provisioning either.

Once you get to Tahiti you can reprovision. Be prepared to pay 2-4x what you would pay in the states. They have no income tax and all revenue is generated by taxes on imported goods. Papeete has traffic like NYC and staying stern to downtown gets noisy and old after the initial rush. Move around to Marina Taina for a more quiet place.

Thanks Bleemus,

Cheers Peter


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[Sailing Soon]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Peter,

The criteria you have proposed, in bold above, is simply unrealistic. You probably have already read psts here and elsewhere that say something like: "Quality, Low Price, Age." Pick any two, but ya can't have all three.

You budget limits the size, which precludes most boats right off the bat. For example, most boats even up to 36-40 feet don't have double aft cabins. Double aft cabins comes with charter boats, yet another issue to deal with.

And on smaller boats to meet your budget, the reason there aren't so many double aft cabins on boats that folks actually use (i.e., NON charter)
is that they are a waste of space for most (not you, of course) and tend to make the non-personal living spaces smaller.

The list is endless. I wish you luck, but I think you may need to seriously reconsider your own criteria.

Safe journey, sounds great.

I'm only after quality and low price, age doesn't bother me. I probably prefer older to be honest.

I may have to rethink the third cabin, and look at splitting the aft cabin for what I want to spend, or spend more. maybe look at a Dufour 35, Halberg-Rassy 35, or something like that and pay a little more. As Ann pointed out an Adams may suit and a reasonable price, but I'm not sure on the steel keel.

Cheers Peter



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