Help with boat purchase

[Rockinar]

Watching fake sailing on Youtube is cheap and easy. Sailing is the most expensive form of being homeless.

Ripped your mainsail? $3,000. Need engine rebuilt? $12,000. Engine too old and needs a total repower? $50,000. Ground the boat and did not buy tow insurance? $2,000. Caught in a blow and shredded your headsail? $3,000. Did not take the labels off the cans and now you got roaches crawling on you. Someone stole your dink? $4,000....

[Don C L]

repower for $50,000?

[Rockinar]

Originally Posted by Don C L

repower for $50,000?

I just repowered with a brand new Beta 25 from a tired old Westerbeke. It was $30,000 total and thats not even a big engine. Engine alone was $15K. Then pay a yard $125/hr to remove the old one Install the new one. Of course nothing fits or aligns correct with the new one, wiring has to be redone for new gauges, glass work for new panel, prop shaft too long, different transmission ratio so needs multiple splashes to test prop modifications, on and on and on. All the little things add up super fast. So yeah…could be $50,000 easy.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

I just repowered with a brand new Beta 25 from a tired old Westerbeke. It was $30,000 total and thats not even a big engine. Engine alone was $15K. Then pay a yard $125/hr to remove the old one Install the new one. Of course nothing fits or aligns correct with the new one, wiring has to be redone for new gauges, glass work for new panel, prop shaft too long, different transmission ratio so needs multiple splashes to test prop modifications, on and on and on. All the little things add up super fast. So yeah…could be $50,000 easy.

Yup ! Very easy especially if it happens 1200 miles from home like it did to us.

[Nickodemus]

I’m making an assumption here that you are a UK citizen and you say you want to spend a “couple of years” in the Med. Do you have a plan for dealing with the Schengen rules? It might limit your ability to use the boat continuously.

[Captain Red]

Hi Richie,



First get trained. Get your RYA Coastal Skipper certification. If you go offshore you'll want your Yachtmaster's. They will expose you to the ins and outs of sailing and allow you to charter. You'll also meet other would-be skippers and it will help you decide if you want to buy or continue chartering. Once you get your Coastal Skipper's then you can charter. Charter in as many places with as many boats as your time and budget allows. Try out monohulls and catamarans. That will help you decide where, how, and what to buy (if you still want to buy). If you are not able to sail full time, why would you want to buy a boat that sits in the harbour waiting for your return? If you have a significant other and expect them to share your dream, bring them along now. Halfway across the Bay of Biscay is not the time to find your dreams are not your partner's. Good luck! There's always another boat to buy. And there are always special bargains available from chaps who bought a boat and never left the quay...

[j.g.evans]

Go to local yacht clubs and volunteer as crew on a racing boat. This will give you hard core experience at no cost. It will teach you sail handling and trim.
As far as where to live aboard, I suggest the Caribbean, but start on the East coast of the US. On the E coast you can find many boats for sale. The Intra Coastal Waterway is a protected passage along the entire E coast. There are many do-it-yourself boat yards where you can take a break and store your boat. And also where you can fix your boat and you will do lots of that.
For your budget you should find lots of used boats. I recently sold a 1979 Hunter 40.5 for $70k. My wife and I spent 8 years, 6-8 months at a time,on this boat sailing the Bahamas and storing in Florida. The Bahamas has great weather, gorgeous water and no hassle. Internet service is now prevalent.
Don't start by crossing the ocean, this is a bad place to fix everything. Be sure to have a local that will be fun.
If you want to do the above, buy a boat with shallow draft, 5-6'. The hunter was 4'11" and was a good performer. What I did not pay attention to was mast height. The antenna and other good stuff on the top of the mast was 64'-65' above the water. We scraped the bottom of many 65' or LESS bridges on the Intra Coastal.
Don't wait an just do it and learn along the way.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Captain Richie

Hi, i'm a 47 year old bloke living in the uk.

For the past year or so ive been dreaming about sailing and over the last 6 months ive decided to go for it and buy a sail boat and live aboard. Me and my partner are planning on working part time as we both can work from the boat.

I've no experience in sailing but have spent the last 6 months watching youtube and reading about sailing and a lot of dreaming! lol we are planning on sailing the med for a couple of years then maybe travelling further a field but want to gain some experience first.

The plan is to buy a boat later next year and pay someone to show us the ropes but i will be doing a few courses before then.

Now the hard part! I really dont know what would be the best boat for us to buy, We went to the southhampon boat show and saw some amazing moden boats like the dofour and the bavaria. But then ive seen some old boats that look great. Then the question of do we buy an ex charter?

I've a budget of around £130k for a boat and would like some help and input on what you would buy with that budget and why?

Many Thanks Richie

Beware of falling in love without knowing what is involved. That happens to people all the time in many things: relationships, cars, careers, houses, boats, and also sailing. Again, love is a great thing but can lead to a bad experience if not respectfully approached.

Sailing is only one side of the coin; you can do that easy enough with local sailing groups or yacht club membership without owning a boat. The other side of the coin, boat ownership, is the real world with the responsibility, expenses, maintenance, insurance, mooring, etc. that comes with ownership.

In buying a boat the very first question you need to answer is "What are you going to do with it and where?" The answers should point you in the direction of what type of boat you need to look for, there are too many choices to mention here. No boat does all things equally well and, therefore, many tradeoffs are involved. Your basic choices fall into groups: racing, cruising, Bluewater, coastal, and confined waters (lakes). Using sailboatdata.com to objectively understand what you are buying is recommended.

Take YouTube sailing videos with a large grain of salt. They show what the audience wants to see and not the unfun part of sailing/boat ownership. However, even if you decide against a bluewater boat I found the two-part You Tube video Sailing Zingaro episodes Blue Water Sailboats 101: Under the Boat (Part 1) and Bluewater Sailboats 101: Outside the Boat (Part2) very informative and wish they had been available when I was getting into sailing forty-five years ago.

After gaining the knowledge of what hull, rig, tankage, sail, prop, and engine types you want, begin your search. Then, when you are tired of looking at boats, search some more. Take notes/photos of what you like and don't like. It is a big decision and boat selection will direct the rest of your ownership experience. Unless you are buying new, your choices will be amongst the Previously Owned (used) boats on the market. Pay attention to each boat's condition.

One caution, boat interiors alone sell many boats. Pay attention to what a sailboat really needs to perform and survive on the waters you will be sailing.

Next, involve your partner. They can make or break the sailing experience and/or relationship.

Good Luck.

[Sailingsailor12]

Please consider crewing on a few outings. A lot can be learned without much investment!

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

Watching fake sailing on Youtube is cheap and easy. Sailing is the most expensive form of being homeless.

... Need engine rebuilt? $12,000. ...

I'm doing a rebuild in an exotic South Pacific location. There'll be little change from $12K, if any. Parts are expensive, freight & tax double, sometimes triple the cost. Crainage, haulouts, tows etc.
And most of the labour is my mate and I for free. 4 cylinder diesel, nothing special.

[gordonhinds]

Just go for it. So many people don’t. With the purchase you want a few things
- a boat the two of you can manage by yourselves. The weight of the boat and gear is a big consideration. Basically you want a boat no bigger than 45’ and even 45’ can be a handful. I would avoid a masthead rig as the front sail (Genoa) will be too big. I would opt for a self tacking jib system - so a Hanse is a good example. Yachts with big genoas are fine for racing but the sail is very heavy so hard to get on and off the boat
- easy sail controls - all lead back to the cockpit. Furling Genoa.
- You want a swim platform as you will be swimming a lot but also in the med you moor back in, so easy access off the back (stern) makes life a lot easier.
- storage. Boats have limited storage
- you need good comms - fortunately they get cheaper all the time but starlink would be good
- leave plenty in your budget for repairs and maintenance. So spend maybe 90,000 on buying and leave 40,000 for repairs/replacement of gear. Everything breaks or needs servicing. It adds up fast. Plus leave enough to pay the running costs - marina fees, insurance etc. that can be easily 10,000k per year.
- you might consider a catamaran but they are more expensive to buy, and berth at marinas.
Sounds great. Just do it.

[FerrariSailing]

Hi Richie, I have sailed since I was 10, sailing in cold wet winds is horrible.
2013 I bought a used catamaran on the Gold Coast, Aus. What a revelation, the wind was WARM, the skies were blue and you sailed north come March with the South East trades behind or on the quarter. Come Sept/ Oct you sail back south with the northerlies up your bum! Just perfect, what more could you want?
There are lots of cheap boats for sale in NSW or QLD, eventually sold my 46ft cat for $220AUD and she is still sailing the milk run with new owner. So dump the crappy Pom climate and head for the warmth.