Buying a catamaran. Need advice

[Darkelley]

I have so many questions. Where do I turn. I want to use the boat in the Caribbean, mostly the Exumas. My wife and I live in the US and will be amble to use it 4 weeks a year for the next few years. Do we buy it in the US? Keep it in Florida and sale it over? Orb keep it on the exumas? Would buy a used 40 - 48 ft. Not very used. But want all the electronics. What are typical operating costs? Mooring and general up keep.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Darkelley

I have so many questions. Where do I turn. I want to use the boat in the Caribbean, mostly the Exumas. My wife and I live in the US and will be amble to use it 4 weeks a year for the next few years. Do we buy it in the US? Keep it in Florida and sale it over? Orb keep it on the exumas? Would buy a used 40 - 48 ft. Not very used. But want all the electronics. What are typical operating costs? Mooring and general up keep.

Darkelley,

A 40-48 foot catamaran is not going to be an inexpensive boat to keep up, although 40 foot is a lot cheaper than 48! Mooring and especially maintaining a boat in the Bahamas full time is an expensive proposition. There are also import rules and duties if you really keep the boat their full time.


You might try reading this What Sailboat Should I Buy to give you an idea. It is not catamaran specific, but the question isn't predicated on the number of hulls, and neither is the answer...

[mbuckely]

If you are only using it 4 weeks a year, have you considered chartering instead of buying? As a cat owner I guarantee it will cost a whole lot less.

Just a thought

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by mbuckely

If you are only using it 4 weeks a year, have you considered chartering instead of buying? As a cat owner I guarantee it will cost a whole lot less.

Just a thought

This. Wait until you can use it full time to buy.

[Darkelley]

Originally Posted by mbuckely

If you are only using it 4 weeks a year, have you considered chartering instead of buying? As a cat owner I guarantee it will cost a whole lot less.

Just a thought

Thank you. Yes I am thinking of that. Maybe I am hoping for more time. Also the 4 weeks would be broken up. Also. Not easy to charter in certain parts without a Captain. But yes you make big sense

[Darkelley]

Originally Posted by mbuckely

If you are only using it 4 weeks a year, have you considered chartering instead of buying? As a cat owner I guarantee it will cost a whole lot less.

Just a thought

Thanks

[skipmac]

Being an absentee owner and trying to spend just four weeks a year on a boat is likely to be a huge headache. Been there, done that.

One of the worst things for a boat is to sit unused for months at a time. Everything tends to mildew, all the wiring and mechanical stuff tends to corrode and things just generally tend to get run down.

You will very probably discover that when you fly to the boat with plans to sail for a week or two instead you'll spend the time cleaning and dealing with delayed maintenance and trying to get stuff to work.

I would agree with the recommendation to charter for now and buy when you're ready to spend more time on the boat.

By the way, if you want to be nit picky, the Bahamas are not in the Caribbean but the Atlantic. The Caribbean starts south of Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.

[Darkelley]

Thanks for the good advice. Makes perfect sense. On the Bahamas, you are 100 percent correct.

[valhalla360]

It just doesn't make sense to buy a boat for such little use...lots of charter options that will be much cheaper and you can just hop on and head out (charter operator handles maintenance).

After 10yr cruising the eastern US, we switched to a boat in Spain but work side tracked us so we only got to use her a bit more than you are proposing. After 3yr we sold her as it just didn't make sense. In a bit when work settles out, we may try it again.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Darkelley

Thanks for the good advice. Makes perfect sense. On the Bahamas, you are 100 percent correct.

Regardless of where the Exumas are located they are still a really great cruising ground. Just went back for the first time in 30 years and it was lovely. Sure there are more boats and some places are more crowded but there were still lots and lots of places where we were the only ones there.

[FLLCatsailor]

Where are you based out of? If you’re close to the coast keep the bot there, and use for weekends. Sail to Bahamas for your 4 weeks a year.

Or just charter 4 weeks a year.

I’m not a huge fan of bareboat, but would explore crewed yacht options. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you need any guidance.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by FLLCatsailor

Where are you based out of? If you’re close to the coast keep the bot there, and use for weekends. Sail to Bahamas for your 4 weeks a year.

Or just charter 4 weeks a year.

I’m not a huge fan of bareboat, but would explore crewed yacht options. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you need any guidance.

This+++

[Cheechako]

For only 4 weeks a year use, you are probably cheaper to charter. Even that will be expensive. Especially if you dont keep it near home. You really wont have access to visit it much or do upgrades or repairs.
If you do buy, keep it stateside as there is too much crime possibility unattended, but more importantly, hurricanes! Not to mention a boat stored for 11 months will require probably 2 days to a week to clean up and get ready for a 4 week cruise. Stored in the water unused causes maintenance issues too. Bottom growth, Corroded shafts etc.
Buy a new boat and put it in charter, get your month in owners time.

The other good thing about chartering is once you tire or want a change, you can go charter somewhere else! No worries over the boat sitting etc.

[Act Three]

Might want to look into longtermcharters.com. They have boats available for four weeks at a time at lower prices due to length of charter.

[maxingout]

I would not purchase a catamaran until I am ready to set sail within one year.

I purchased Exit Only a year before starting our circumnavigation, and during that year we got things sorted out pretty well.

In my experience, the important systems on board Exit Only will last about five years without any major trouble if maintained appropriately. When we set sail from Florida to New Zealand, we basically had five years without any major problems. After than, the maintenance catches up with you and you spend more money and time fixing problems.

I just completed a year long refit on Exit Only and replaced all major critical systems, and I did it so that I would have relatively trouble free sailing for the next five years. I paid for it up front so that I would not be sitting in ports around the world waiting for shipments and trying to fix stuff in difficult circumstances.

If you get an older catamaran and wait to set sail for a couple of years, you will be using up the grace period on the cat. That's why I would wait to purchase a cat. I would charter until I am seriously preparing to set sail.