Sailing in Caribbean

[NorthSeaSailors]

Hi,

We are two sailors from Norway, we are wondering about the prices of sailboats in the Caribbean area.
Our purpose is to sail from Florida and southwards to the Caribbean islands (Bahamas, DR, PR and BVI).

Does anybody have experiences with sailboatlistings.com ? On the listings there are boats that are 'ready to go' for under 10k, is this trustworthy prices?

Best regards

[DDabs]

What size are you thinking?

[captainKJ]

'ready to go'
All sailboats are ready to go. just depends on were you want them to go. Straight down,,,,or sailing to another island.

You can get 10k boats, looking at some myself but NONE of them are ready to go for an extended cruising without doing some work. I would NOT buy and sail a boat without a survey and hauling to check the bottom.

Tell you a quick funny story,,,,I am a chef who worked on mega yachts. Thwowner had 2 of the 95 foot and 130 foot. Was in the bahamas and saw a 150 foot that he liked. Bought it 6 days later NO survey and did NOT have his captain of 7 years look at it. Long story short It was a big mistake. He paid cash for it. Boat was only 9 months old. It needed 2 million dollars worth of work put into it to make it usable.

Just because someone has more 0000 in there checkbook does not make them any smarter.

Take a close look at any boat you are going to buy. There are plenty in south florida to look at.

[barnakiel]

You can buy an IF locally and sail her across. Doh, locally, if you are in Scandinavia!

b.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, NorthSeaSailors.

I wouldn't expect to find a boat, over about 24', "ready to go", at <$10,000. Did you mean to say, under $100,000?

[barnakiel]

+1

I too think 10k is very low figure for 'ready to go'. Maybe a boat can be gotten cheap and made ready to go at this amt, but this would imply skills, tools and time on the side of the buyer.

b.

[Curmudgeon]

I think it is possible to find a boat in FL in decent condition for $10K, but it will be small. Whether "decent condition" translates into "ready to go" is a subjective judgment. It depends on your need for comfort and appetite for risk.

I'd be looking for something small and inherently seaworthy like an Albin Vega.

[artisthos]

Spend at least $20,000 for a small ready to go. Buy it from an old salt who sizes up you up and down like you are marrying his daughter. You will still have to be blessed by his minister but what the hell, you will get a first class boat with everything. Make sure you spend three weeks with him teaching you the quirks. He will love it and you will be the better for it.

[youmeandthed]

I met a guy in the Bahamas who had a 27 ft alberg? it was small, but he sailed it from Chesepeake to the Dominican republic. (it only had a 10hp honda outboard) he bought it for $500 and it was in pretty good shape. Just don't expect too many luxuries.

[Cheechako]

There are probably 28-32 ft Yachts advertised at $15000 that can be bought for $10000 and are sound vessels. Much of the Fl thru Carribean sailing is essentially daysailing. If the boat is "safe" sailing coastal US, It will be "safe" sailing there. What you might not have is all the bells and whistles that most cruisers want: Dingy/motor? GPS/Plotter? Weatherfax? Refrigeration? BBQ? Spares? Extra anchors? But some people can do without! My first boat that I cruised from Seattle to Baja was a 30 footer. It had 2 Group 27 batteries, stock alternator, tiller steered cheap autopilot, vhf radio and a Sat Nav that didnt work! The pacific coast is a lot rougher trip than you are planning... so YES... you can do it!