I'm Not Rich, But I Need a Cat Under $100k - Any Advice?

[Canibul]

14 ft. beam. 18" draft. If PDQ made a boat with those specs, and their quality, I would likely buy it.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by sww914

Seeing what 10 years of neglect did to plywood scared me away but looking at nice one like the one in your link is making me re-think my fear of plywood.

If you're over your plywood fear, Woods' site shows a nice Romany - look under pre-owned boats: Woods Designs Sailing Catamarans

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by hannes99

.......If you look up all gemini threads on CF it's always the same two or three people that own british tanks and know better than anybody else about the weakness and softness of Geminis.

I have to address this. I've reread my posts in this thread and don't feel I've bashed Geminis one bit. The issue you seem to have is that folks pop on to the Cruiser's Forum asking for guidance from people who know the boat, Or rather that the people who have spent time on Geminis answer. Gemini's are a good boat for their intended purpose, which isn't to cross oceans.

Originally Posted by hannes99

Stress cracks at stanchions are just that: Stress cracks at stanchions. Yes those decks flex when I jump up and down.

We're not talking about stress cracks. A 2003 Gemini in my marina just had both transoms rebuilt. The dinghy davits tore them up during a sail from Chesapeake to Cape Canaveral.

Originally Posted by hannes99

So just stop listening to the Gemini bashers out there. Go to FL and have a look at what is available. 100K should buy you a decent Gemini.

People ask about these boats, you have to expect that people will respond. I have no axe to grind where Geminis are concerned other than some folks misrepresent their capabilities. As for them making ocean crossings? There have only been a few examples, and I have to point out that even a row boat can cross an ocean in good weather

[GreaseMonkEGirl]

I'm the wife of the guy who started this thread and I'd just like to say that I don't really think any bashing is going on. I mean, when I throw a question out into the vast, uncharted interwebs, I hope and expect to get lots of different viewpoints.

I want to know what people love about their boats and also what they hate about them. Every boat is going to have shortcomings--it comes down to what works for your particular situation. And you guys, all of you, are giving us invaluable information that's helping us find the boat that's right for our family--I really appreciate it! Thanks :-)

[Jmolan]

Seafire

40' an ideal cruising boat for me. Carry plenty without pounding, cutter rigged, very ergonomic with separate areas for sleeping, eating, preparing food etc. Deep draft with centerboard down, 2.5 feet with it up.
I am sure there are others, but I just came across this one.

[sww914]

I'm pretty sure we got sucked into a trimaran yesterday. It's old and plywood but it's very very clean. We spent hours crawling around in it with a flashlight and there are 2 spots of rot in the whole boat, you can cover one with a quarter and the other with a silver dollar and there is no recent paint work to hide anything. We'l probably be making an offer in the next few days, we'll see how it goes. Scary stuff, this shedding my whole life for a different one. Fun & exciting too, isn't it?
I'm ready for too much sun instead of never enough.

[Jmolan]

Good for you!

Plywood and stringer boats are pretty simple to repair. Just remember to keep the membrane of epoxy over the wood and you will be golden. Allowing cracks to open up will allow water to get into the wood, not good. Is not bad once you get a good initial covering.
Drilling all the deck fittings oversize and filling the hole with epoxy and rebedding will eliminate any water getting into your ply decks. You can do this over time and do not have to tackle it all at once.
There is a great tutorial on this somewhere, I will see if I can find it.

[sww914]

I understand the process, you're making it so that you're bolting through epoxy not through wood so that you insulate the wood from any water leaking next to the threads. Everything should probably be re-bedded anyway, not just on this boat but on most boats.

[SearenitySail]

Originally Posted by sww914

I'm pretty sure we got sucked into a trimaran yesterday...Scary stuff...Fun & exciting too, isn't it?

Congrats and good luck. It sure is...probably one of the most fiscally irresponsible things I have ever done...but so far no regrets.

Marshall

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by Canibul

......Since we won't be cruisers by your definition, once we own a Gemini, what should we call the three week period while we sail from Florida through the Bahamas and further south? A long weekender?

Nope..I'd call that 'sailing in your back yard'

[Canibul]

We've finally set up a bareboat charter of a Gemini in the BVI. I figure after a week aboard one, we will have a real good idea if thats the boat for us, or not.

By the way, I see there is a Catalac for sale in the Bahamas.

[SearenitySail]

Originally Posted by Canibul

We've finally set up a bareboat charter of a Gemini in the BVI. I figure after a week aboard one, we will have a real good idea if thats the boat for us, or not.

That's probably the best way to do it. I am sure we (especially non-Gemini owners) will be interested to read your comments and impressions.

Enjoy your charter!

Marshall

[Canibul]

Its still a few weeks away. We found two newer models for charter, one in SW Florida and this 2010 model in the BVI. We were not all that keen on seven days of mangrove sightings...and didn't want to chance trying for Tortuga and back in seven days, so we chose the BVI, again. Pretty commercial, but nice sailing.

And we are trying to hook up with some friends on a Victory 35 who left here a couple weeks ago. They are in Luperon now, but should be in the VI's about the time we fly down for the charter.

The only two catamarans we have spent time on are a FP 40 and a Leopard 42, so this will probably seem like a volkswagen by comparison. There will be a ton of photos on the blog, I am sure.

[sww914]

We didn't end up with that trimaran after all. The broker was full of s^&t, he had 2 stories for everything. Ex FBI, ex CIA, circumnavigated, owned everything, built everything, did everything, blaa blaa blaa, but he couldn't put a deal together.
We're still looking around as much as possible. We took a trip to San Pedro/ Wilington/ Long Beach a couple weeks ago to look at boats, looking for unadvertised trimarans but we didn't find any good cruising boats at a fair price. We looked at one that might have been for sale for $80,000.00 but it was a $5000.00 boat with a fresh $1000.00 paint job of Home Depot's finest, looking for a victim rather than a buyer.

[sww914]

We also looked at a Cross close to home advertised for 90K. I think it's worth 1/2 that but the guy has it for sale to get his wife off of his back and at a price that it won't sell at so he won't have to part with it. Boat shopping is weird.