Blue Water Cruising/Circumnavigation Boat?

[ChasingSerenity]

Hello all,

This is our first post on CF and we are very excited to pic a bunch of your far more knowledgeable brains. A buddy and I have made the awesome decision of selling everything we own, buying a boat and going cruising for an undisclosed amount of time.

We do have a route, a date we want to leave by and nothing holding us back. What we don't have, is a boat. Now, pretty much all of my experience has been on a 1986 O'day 35 that was set up for short hand operation. I know its not the nicest boat but it still made me fail in love with sailing the first time I ever cut the motor and raised the sails.

So what we are looking for is advice, suggestions, tips, pointers, any information we can possibly get about what kind of boat we should get. Our budget is about 50k for a boat that isn't outfitted/ready for cruising or 70k for a boat that is ready to take off. We were hoping to stay on the plus side of 34' and no older then 1990 for a monohaul sloop with a wing or bulb keel (we don't even know if these are realistic goals ).

What we have ran into so far that kind of fits our needs have been Beneteau Oceanis's, Catalina MKIIs and various Hunters. But we are hoping to get some more ideas for an awesome boat from you.

THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT!!!!

[vjm]

What do you want to do with the boat?

[tkeithlu]

You need a broker. A good one will listen to your goals, understand your budget, and start suggesting boats to look at that are on the market.

[ChasingSerenity]

@ vjm Live aboard for 3 years while we talk a very long and leisurely cruise that ends up being a circumnavigation.

@tkeithlu That sounds like a solid idea. I can find a broker, but are there any tricks to finding a good one?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[tkeithlu]

It's about like finding a good realtor when you want to move to a new location, and the job they do is similar. Obviously, you don't go to the one with the penthouse office when you're looking for a 36' boat. But, there is no rule that says you can't visit a whole string of offices and find someone you feel you can work with. Good luck to you and welcome!

[Island Time O25]

You don't say where are you located. If you're in a heavy boating area you may just want to spend a few weekends walking around local marinas, boatyards, etc. asking for any boats for sale and so forth. In your price range you won't find too many quality brokers eager to seriously work with you.

In my own experience when I was looking in about similar price range most of the broker listed boats were way overpriced, i.e. (actual cases) a boat listed with broker for a while at $19.9K was eventually donated by the owner, another listed for $39.9K was sold by the owner for about $20K. Most recently a guy at the yard proudly showed off his 27 foot diesel trawler type which he got directly from the owner for $6.5K after the boat sat with a broker for about $20K for awhile.

Now granted, this is not the case with every broker listed boat with asking price of around $20-50K but these are more typical examples than not. Someone compared a boat broker to a real estate broker. True to some extent but with proviso that, continuing the comparison, how many good real estate brokers have time and inclination to run around trying to rent a $50-100/mo garage when they have $2-5K/mo houses to rent?

Brokers typically get 10% commission, but their hard costs - ads, office rent, time investment, etc. are the same regardless. So put yourself in the broker's shoes and and ask yourself which would you rather spent your time and effort on - selling a $200K boat or a $20K one? Plus it seems that while the pool of potential $200-500K buyers is significantly smaller than $20-50K ones, the 200-500K ones, as a percentage of the total, have probably less tire kickers among them than the 20-50K pool which consists mainly of dreamers and, by definition and default, less than wealthy types who often can't/won't jump the shark for one reason or another (which always comes up at the last moment, just before they're supposed to buy). I know, as I was one before I ended up buying my first boat - a 27ft in need of TLC boat I could afford after spending a few tire kicking years looking for 33-39ft boats I could not.

[vjm]

Cal 40, or maybe something like a Tartan 37.

As an aside, make sure you both agree to an exit plan. What happens if you make a crossing and one person says "I'm done"? What happens if one of you dies while traveling? Not be a downer but co-ownership requires consideration and preparation for a lot of worst case scenarios before you buy.

[seasick]

Start on yachtworld.com and don't limit yourself on geography too very much. You can sell most everything pack up a U-haul and drive cross country if need be to begin outfitting. Your boat budget seems reasonable to me but you may need to broaden your tastes in boats. Look for a proven long distance cruiser. There are literally hundreds of people who have already spent the big bucks to outfit for going the distance only to have their cruising dreams evaporate over health, financial or other reasons. Cruising isn't all Maitais and calm anchorages and isn't suitable for many.

[jheldatksuedu]

You should consider what are you able to fix, how handy are you with tools. Bargains are out there but you normally have to do some work on them. I agree with brokers finding you over priced boats, you have to pay their salary too, and normally the more they sell you the more they earn. Talk to your partner before about an exit strategy, and probably put it on paper, one person can't sail 1/2 a boat very far. It's a quick way to make an enemy out of a good friend. Walk the docks and talk to people, you might find a 3rd person that has a boat and needs a crew. A couple years of crew and you might run into the dream boat you want.

[LLCoolDave]

I just crewed for a couple guys who bought a boat together. For them buying a boat together was a big mistake. One was a cruiser and the other a day racer. They bought a 42 ft boat a year ago for a circumnavigation. Now life circumstances have changed and the boat is going to be sold. It might take a year or two to sell plus a year's worth of slip fees and a lot of sweat equity poured down the drain. So personally I would never buy a boat with someone.

Also I think most forum members would not recommend a hunter or Catalina for a circumnavigation. It can be done but both brands are not known for their robust construction. I would stay away from boats with spade rudders as well and something with more protection but that's just my opinion.

[letitia pierce]

You might read Beth Leonard's Voyager's Handbook, which has a chapter on boats for 3 different cruising styles and budgets . Visit her website, too, bethandevans.com. for lots of other useful information too. We only went to the Exumas and back (a good shakedown trip) but turned to this book often during cruise prep; now still use it as broad source of information for east coast cruising.

[Sailorlady323]

If you read Beth Leonards book you will see a Cal 39 that was redone.
It is now on the market. Call me if you want more info 203-259-4870

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by ChasingSerenity

Hello all,

This is our first post on CF and we are very excited to pic a bunch of your far more knowledgeable brains. A buddy and I have made the awesome decision of selling everything we own, buying a boat and going cruising for an undisclosed amount of time.

We do have a route, a date we want to leave by and nothing holding us back. What we don't have, is a boat. Now, pretty much all of my experience has been on a 1986 O'day 35 that was set up for short hand operation. I know its not the nicest boat but it still made me fail in love with sailing the first time I ever cut the motor and raised the sails.

So what we are looking for is advice, suggestions, tips, pointers, any information we can possibly get about what kind of boat we should get. Our budget is about 50k for a boat that isn't outfitted/ready for cruising or 70k for a boat that is ready to take off. We were hoping to stay on the plus side of 34' and no older then 1990 for a monohaul sloop with a wing or bulb keel (we don't even know if these are realistic goals ).

What we have ran into so far that kind of fits our needs have been Beneteau Oceanis's, Catalina MKIIs and various Hunters. But we are hoping to get some more ideas for an awesome boat from you.

THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT!!!!

There is a wealth of information, comments, and advice found through the many discussion threads found via this link.

Good reading and good luck!

https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=011403...oat&gsc.page=1

[Kreef]

Originally Posted by ChasingSerenity

Hello all,

This is our first post on CF and we are very excited to pic a bunch of your far more knowledgeable brains. A buddy and I have made the awesome decision of selling everything we own, buying a boat and going cruising for an undisclosed amount of time.

We do have a route, a date we want to leave by and nothing holding us back. What we don't have, is a boat. Now, pretty much all of my experience has been on a 1986 O'day 35 that was set up for short hand operation. I know its not the nicest boat but it still made me fail in love with sailing the first time I ever cut the motor and raised the sails.

So what we are looking for is advice, suggestions, tips, pointers, any information we can possibly get about what kind of boat we should get. Our budget is about 50k for a boat that isn't outfitted/ready for cruising or 70k for a boat that is ready to take off. We were hoping to stay on the plus side of 34' and no older then 1990 for a monohaul sloop with a wing or bulb keel (we don't even know if these are realistic goals ).

What we have ran into so far that kind of fits our needs have been Beneteau Oceanis's, Catalina MKIIs and various Hunters. But we are hoping to get some more ideas for an awesome boat from you.

THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT!!!!

HI NOT sure where u want to start sailing from but there is a 45 ft steel Bruce Roberts with a really beautiful professionally built Burmese teak interior with teak and holly floors .I haven't seen much better woodwork in a boat here .The price is only around 27000 USD .It is a ketch rig and not sure what the keel design is but definitely a bluewater cruiser and built tough for collision damage protection .The deck area has a few rust spots and they are easily dealt with.You will find all the goods needed at reasonable prices inc labor should you need it and seaworthying the vessel is all accomplished efficiently by port authorities .You would also be nicely positioned to take off to almost anywhere inc the Indian ocean islands.Give it sum thought.You would be able to live aboard while prepping for your journey as liveaboards are allowed where it is moored here in Hout Bay.If your skippering abilities are a bit less than u want them to be you would no doubt find someone who would join you for the ride who has more .
You can mail me at davyd@telkomsa.net if you like.

[knockabout]

a 15 y-o girl sailed a 35 ft yacht around the world non stop/seek and you will find what you want