Advice needed on when I should make a break for it.

[Milkmannosoy]

Hey Yall

Im still a non sailor for now(sailed a few times on smaller boats), so youtube has been my go to for sailing experiences(along with this forum) I'm 33, have a good job and am going at it the safe way to pay for my future cruising plans. Investments and what not. As of right now my future plans are to circumnavigate, not rushing but not taking more than 3-5 years. Should I just keep saving and investing and plan for an early retirement to make it happen? Should I just take a break and come back to work when im done? (I'm afraid I will like it too much and will be hard to come back to work) Or my other idea is to sail 6 months and then work 6 months back in the states. I'm not sure if the latter makes much sense. Would putting your boat on the hard for 6 months somewhere far off make any sense? Any advice would be much appreciated.

As of right now I have about 100k saved and I'm about halfway paying down a 300k house. Im an avionics tech so its not hard finding contract work if I decide to sail 6 months work 6 months. Another option is to liveaboard on the florida coast and sail the sailing season for the first year then work the rest before the big journey.

Still haven't decided on what kind of boat just yet. So far im thinking a Island packet or a tartan. 37 to 40ft ish. Open to something else these 2 just seem safe and roomy.

So save and take off when im retired? Take off now and go back to work? 6 months on 6 months off?

[Hudson Force]

"Making the break for it" does not need to be a single huge step. It's a smoother adaptation to move aboard the boat and establish skill and comfort with some coastal cruising while keeping your employment. During this time you may decide to unburden yourself from the house ashore and take longer cruises.

[Milkmannosoy]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

"Making the break for it" does not need to be a single huge step. It's a smoother adaptation to move aboard the boat and establish skill and comfort with some coastal cruising while keeping your employment. During this time you may decide to unburden yourself from the house ashore and take longer cruises.

Thanks a lot for the reply. You're right I think the easier way would be to take it slow in the beginning and iron out the kinks. Im signed up to take some ASA classes this spring on the Texas Coast. Im assuming with some classes it'll be easier for me to help crew on a boat? I know I need to get on a lot of boats before I spend big money on one. Very difficult to know what is a true blue water boat with so many opinions online. Apparently a lot of people think Island Packets are ugly lol. I admit I dont like the beige brown color they come standard with. Theyre also a bit slow but I hear theyre good at anchor also safe.

[Benz]

I've known several people who were doing the 6/6 month split. There are numerous places where a boat can be stored on the hard or on a mooring.
Brace yourself for a flood of conflicting advice in re your other questions. You just opened a can o' worms.

[SY Kelpie]

Don't get hung up on the choice of boat. I know why people do- armchair boat shopping is a lot of fun, and you will need to get an idea of how much you're going to have to spend.
But it is nowhere near as important as people might think. Kind of like "Hey I want to climb Everest, which brand of boots should I wear?". It's important, but it's only one small piece of a much bigger puzzle.

Read, watch, talk, listen, and if possible get out sailing with other people. Maybe consider chartering somewhere. Consider what level of comfort you are happy with (the more needy you are, the more this is going to cost you). Are you a gadget-geek who is going to want to build your own watermaker and have an integrated nav station bluetoothed to all your mobile devices? Or are you going to run paraffin lamps and do celestial nav, whilst wearing a hair shirt? Or somewhere in between?

One of the most common pieces of advice is to go as soon as you are able. Don't put it off. You never know what might come round the corner. So long as you have the right attitude to safety and risk management, have at least some knowledge and more importantly know the limits of that knowledge, and have some way of paying for things, then just get a small, simple boat, and go.

[Milkmannosoy]

Originally Posted by SY Kelpie

Don't get hung up on the choice of boat. I know why people do- armchair boat shopping is a lot of fun, and you will need to get an idea of how much you're going to have to spend.
But it is nowhere near as important as people might think. Kind of like "Hey I want to climb Everest, which brand of boots should I wear?". It's important, but it's only one small piece of a much bigger puzzle.

Read, watch, talk, listen, and if possible get out sailing with other people. Maybe consider chartering somewhere. Consider what level of comfort you are happy with (the more needy you are, the more this is going to cost you). Are you a gadget-geek who is going to want to build your own watermaker and have an integrated nav station bluetoothed to all your mobile devices? Or are you going to run paraffin lamps and do celestial nav, whilst wearing a hair shirt? Or somewhere in between?

One of the most common pieces of advice is to go as soon as you are able. Don't put it off. You never know what might come round the corner. So long as you have the right attitude to safety and risk management, have at least some knowledge and more importantly know the limits of that knowledge, and have some way of paying for things, then just get a small, simple boat, and go.

Yeah I think you're right about not putting it off. Originally I wanted a Cat. Something comfortable. But the 4 or 500k price tag to start off with would push back my departure date probably 7 years or so. So a mono will have to do and If I decide later I want to go to a multihull I can do that when I have some experience under my belt.

6 months on 6 months off means I would still be able to save some money every year and not dip into my savings. I'm leaning towards that route. I wouldn't want to feel rushed on a circumnavigation. Also reading that a lot of people end up wanting to do 2 or more seasons in the south pacific once they see how nice it is. As for needing comfort or going spartan I think I would be somwhere in the middle. I probably would like to build my own watermaker just because I would like to know how to easily fix it on my own if I needed to. Ok with building a raspberry pi system for electronics as well. Not sure If I would need A/C just yet. I know its good for stopping mold on your boat so might just get it in case. I'm sure my girlfriend would want it anyway. Have a lot of time to plan since I dont think it would be very smart to get a boat during Covid and have to deal with trying to find countries that would accept us. Thanks for all the replys guys. Really appreciate it.

[Paul L]

To do it right, retirement requires practice. You should do it 3 or 4 times in your career.

[Mook1e]

You sound like you're thinking in the right ways this early in the game.
Get your training and skills up when you can (covid slowed this down for me) and be ready to adjust your decisions based on the unknown unknowns you discover along the way.
Also, if you're able to work, save, and get your fix slowly, crewing and possibly chartering, you'll set yourself up down the road to make more personalized decisions without financial restraints.

I'm still shooting for the sun in my head, looking at 44 - 48' cats, but we shall see.

[Pete7]

So good job and savings but no boat and I guess single?

You might consider a 4 or 5 year plan to use extended holidays on adventure type of sailing often to more remote areas. Professional crew mean the stress is taken away and every opportunity for hands on and learning experiences without a huge financial outlay. My sister, a former headmaster and now schools inspector was doing just this with Clipper yachts, until Covid appeared. Still still plans to do one of the legs when we are back to normal. She started with zero experience.

This is the sort of thing I was thinking of:

https://boreal-yachting.com/sailcharter/svalbard/

[mvweebles]

I was about 40 when I had the same conversation about pulling-up stakes (I turn 60 in a few months). No kids, living on a boat, my girlfriend (now wife) had sold her place in San Francisco. I had a decent yacht delivery business going with strong growth that I figured could provide decent occasional income while we cruised; and no kids. But then the phone rang and an old colleague offered a dream job which I ended up really loving.

Do I regret not going? No - I had a great run in a job I really like/liked and frankly, made a decent nest egg. What I do regret is buying a house and filling it with too much stuff. My dad used to say "Don't let your possessions possess you." Damn, if I didn't let it happen. Slipped by right under my nose.... Now that I have the means and time, it's a bitch downsizing. I really never needed a large house, I should have just stuck with something small. When I lived on a boat I was forced into austerity - if I bought a new pair of blue jeans, I had to throw the old ones out to make room. Harmonic balance lost in the cadence of life. It's not an affordability issue, it's a clutter and encumbrance one.

Same thing with buying a boat. When you've hung around boats and cruisers awhile, certain trends start to evolve that are not portrayed on YouTube or even threads like these. Cruisers often wash-out within a year or two. Why? I can only guess, but I'd imagine most become overwhelmed with the work involved in keeping a small-city operable. It takes a lot of knowledge and time. Others because they simply run out of money. They plan on idyllic anchorages but the reality ends up being marinas and burn through a year's worth of cruising kitty in a few months.

Given your age and job prospects, my best thinking without any additional information is to consider buying a decent but relatively inexpensive boat - a well-equipped 36-foot mono in decent shape for under $75k or so. Stick with something well known with a reasonably ready resale potential (probably a good question for the CF Bigger Brain). Take a 6-month sabbatical and sail to the Bahamas and see how it goes. You will get a good flavor of the cruising lifestyle, the people, the costs, and it will give you a lot of time to think and compare. From there, you can decide what the next 50-years of your life look like and the path not taken (namely, a lucrative career). If the fire burns brighter, you can keep going - even a Catalina or Hunter will be more boat than you need for several years of floating around the Caribbean and Atlantic. Or you can pull the rip-cord and not be out a ton of money. In a couple years, you will have long forgotten the money and only remember the gin-clear waters and people you met along the way.

Oh, and consider redirecting some of your time to www.Latitude38.com, an infamous San Francisco based sailing rag that launched many, many cruisers over their years of publication. Their back issues are available online for free.

Tough choice - time vs money. There is no prize for being the richest person in the graveyard, but no one wants to end up struggling financially either.

Peter

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Milkmannosoy

Apparently a lot of people think Island Packets are ugly lol. I admit I dont like the beige brown color they come standard with. Theyre also a bit slow but I hear theyre good at anchor also safe.

Nah, sailors just think they sail like crap.

Get going on the sailing part of your plan and sail on a variety of boats - on more than charters or out-and-backs - and then you'll understand about Island Packets - or find that they're exactly what you need for your plans.

Pay attention to Pete7 and MV Weebles. They know whereof they speak - plus, basically, they've got it all going on. Long, LONGtime sailors with a myriad of experience. Kelpie's advice is excellent as well.

As the lone chick chiming in - better make sure your girlfriend will/would be up for all this - or plan to do it solo.

Best of luck.
LittleWing77

[Milkmannosoy]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Given your age and job prospects, my best thinking without any additional information is to consider buying a decent but relatively inexpensive boat - a well-equipped 36-foot mono in decent shape for under $75k or so. Stick with something well known with a reasonably ready resale potential (probably a good question for the CF Bigger Brain). Take a 6-month sabbatical and sail to the Bahamas and see how it goes. You will get a good flavor of the cruising lifestyle, the people, the costs, and it will give you a lot of time to think and compare. From there, you can decide what the next 50-years of your life look like and the path not taken (namely, a lucrative career). If the fire burns brighter, you can keep going - even a Catalina or Hunter will be more boat than you need for several years of floating around the Caribbean and Atlantic. Or you can pull the rip-cord and not be out a ton of money. In a couple years, you will have long forgotten the money and only remember the gin-clear waters and people you met along the way.

Oh, and consider redirecting some of your time to www.Latitude38.com, an infamous San Francisco based sailing rag that launched many, many cruisers over their years of publication. Their back issues are available online for free.

Tough choice - time vs money. There is no prize for being the richest person in the graveyard, but no one wants to end up struggling financially either.

Peter

Yes I've been looking for boats around 75 to 100ish with some money left over to fix up some things. Catalinas can cross oceans? Should I get over my full keel dreams? Still have some time to figure out what I want.

Good Idea on cruising the Bahamas or Caribbean for a season for a test run. Probably not a great idea to head straight to the pacific. As for a career I'm and avionics tech so theres always quite a bit of work and a lot of guys are contract workers that can hop around and work when they want.

[Milkmannosoy]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Nah, sailors just think they sail like crap.

Get going on the sailing part of your plan and sail on a variety of boats - on more than charters or out-and-backs - and then you'll understand about Island Packets - or find that they're exactly what you need for your plans.

Pay attention to Pete7 and MV Weebles. They know whereof they speak - plus, basically, they've got it all going on. Long, LONGtime sailors with a myriad of experience. Kelpie's advice is excellent as well.

As the lone chick chiming in - better make sure your girlfriend will/would be up for all this - or plan to do it solo.

Best of luck.
LittleWing77

IP's sail like crap. Noted

As for the girlfriend. Says shes down for it but if she ends up not wanting to go either she can visit me somwhere along the way every once in a while or we can call it quits. I've wanted to sail around the world since I was a little kid, she knew that when she met me. We met in San Francisco and have sailed on a catalina 22 a few times in the bay. I know that theres a huge difference between day sailing in nice weather and serious cruising though. Time will tell

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Milkmannosoy

IP's sail like crap. Noted

As for the girlfriend. Says shes down for it but if she ends up not wanting to go either she can visit me somwhere along the way every once in a while or we can call it quits. I've wanted to sail around the world since I was a little kid, she knew that when she met me. We met in San Francisco and have sailed on a catalina 22 a few times in the bay. I know that theres a huge difference between day sailing in nice weather and serious cruising though. Time will tell

Well all I can say is GET SAILING! Whatever way you can. As SOON as you can. (You don't have to own a boat to do it.)

[SY Kelpie]

People are cruising all over the world in all sorts of boats. The important thing is that it is kept in top condition, and the crew have the knowledge and skills to spot and fix problems before they become serious.
Having said that, some features bring a higher maintenance requirement than others. I would put in-mast furling and saildrives in that category- absolutely fine IF you maintain them. Plenty of boats with bolt on fin keels and spade rudders complete ocean crossings and circumnavigations. A full keel is stronger in a grounding or collision, but I wouldn't get wed to a specific set of features, much less a specific design.

Another approach to take- do you want to buy a boat that's bluewater-ready? Or do you want to buy something a bit more bare and then spec and fit the equipment you want?


The main thing that stops boats being usable is breakdown on non-essential systems. People get stuck for weeks in an expensive marina waiting for parts to arrive for their genset, AC, watermaker, etc etc. If you don't fit it, it can't break down