Graduating Shortly - Lurked and Read Everything Here First

[Suniday]

Saint Pete has great bicycle infrastructure, you can find and visit almost anything this way if it is outside walking distance. I might be biased in this regard because I love bicycling, I find that that it is much easier to engage with local venues with this method of transportation. I would invest in a quality helmet and running lights, you cannot trust drivers to keep an eye out for you when you do use roadways.

I am not completely clear on the requirements for residency, I do know that they determine residency by the time period lived within St. Pete, and not Florida as a state.

There are likely to be many things you would wish to upgrade or install once you acquire your boat, and the money saved by choosing the 27 instead of the 30 might allow you to obtain these things more immediately. I have never witnessed any discrimination in attitudes when it comes to a big boat vs small boat, however everyone has their own personal comfort level. Often times when people judge whether a boat is "nice" or not, they look at the exterior bright-work (paint) first, interior bright-work second, and then what organizational system the owner maintains (not storing items haphazardly on deck or below).

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by maine89

Thank you very much. I like the idea of having something more bluewater friendly but at this point I'm leaning towards a cheaper coastal cruiser. The only reason (and I'm still trying to talk myself out of it) I'm most interested in the C30 over the C27 is the "home" feel of it. In a C30 I feel like there is a lot of space and basically like an apartment - but also a boat. The C27 is really not an apartment - but it is certainly a boat, and a much cheaper one at that.

They are in the same price range as the C30 above and below $20k. If you find one it is worth taking a look but good luck with whatever you decide on it is a great idea.

[maine89]

Originally Posted by Suniday

Saint Pete has great bicycle infrastructure, you can find and visit almost anything this way if it is outside walking distance. I might be biased in this regard because I love bicycling, I find that that it is much easier to engage with local venues with this method of transportation. I would invest in a quality helmet and running lights, you cannot trust drivers to keep an eye out for you when you do use roadways.

I am not completely clear on the requirements for residency, I do know that they determine residency by the time period lived within St. Pete, and not Florida as a state.

There are likely to be many things you would wish to upgrade or install once you acquire your boat, and the money saved by choosing the 27 instead of the 30 might allow you to obtain these things more immediately. I have never witnessed any discrimination in attitudes when it comes to a big boat vs small boat, however everyone has their own personal comfort level. Often times when people judge whether a boat is "nice" or not, they look at the exterior bright-work (paint) first, interior bright-work second, and then what organizational system the owner maintains (not storing items haphazardly on deck or below).

I certainly like to bike as well. I have a light road bike but it would not fit well even in the C30. I've read about some folding bikes but they are pricey. A bike would be a great option if I planned to stay in one area for a while though.

Originally Posted by Charlie

They are in the same price range as the C30 above and below $20k. If you find one it is worth taking a look but good luck with whatever you decide on it is a great idea.

Thanks I will keep an eye out!

[bangkaboat]

It seems to me that you've really given this plan much thought. As for 27 or 30 footers, you will never regret getting the larger boat, especially if you plan on having any interior projects on-going. I'd suggest a Cal, Tartan, Pearson, Columbia, etc., over the Catalina, for similar volume but better construction. Of #1 importance will be the condition of the hull & s&r rig, as you don't want to have to lay-out a lot more money as soon as you've bought the boat.

If in warmer areas, a 5 gallon solar shower in the cockpit will do the job, you just strap it to your boom or backstay. I don't know how long you're in Wuhan, but I gradually became acclimatized in, HK, Taiwan & The Philippines. I never had more than a fan, except when teaching.

Propane isn't overly dangerous as long as you have your tanks isolated, have a properly installed & maintained system & an alarm. I have alcohol on the boat I just bought & will keep it until I get to Asia - not enough time to add it to my "must do" list - but then it's gone. Alcohol just isn't hot enough. If you're staying local, maybe CNG is an option?

Hire a proper surveyor & a rigger to assess the boat. It's a small investment that will give you a much better idea of all/most negative issues.

Best of luck on your search & purchase!
Mike

[Hudson Force]

Maine89, I also moved aboard shortly after completing college, but I found that, if I was not cruising, a slip in a home marina had many merits,- shower, water, shopping access, not filing a holding tank, social interaction, transportation.....

[maine89]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

Maine89, I also moved aboard shortly after completing college, but I found that, if I was not cruising, a slip in a home marina had many merits,- shower, water, shopping access, not filing a holding tank, social interaction, transportation.....

Yes I think starting on a slip is certainly a good move. I can see how I like anchorages after I travel around a bit. Thank you!

[ChrisnCate]

Alcohol is plenty hot enough to cook with, don't let anyone tell you differently. Propane can explode - propane is heavier than air and can leak into the bilge (or other area) and collect, waiting for a spark to end your boats existence, and maybe your life as well. Non pressure alcohol will not explode under any circumstance, and any fires created by an alcohol spill (pretty unlikely, as once the can element is filled there is no way for it to spill) can be put out with water.

A composting head makes sense for many reasons - vastly less head odor (none if aerated correctly), you can eliminate head thru hulls, you can eliminate pump outs, you can eliminate possible fines when you forget to lock the Y valve, and lastly you can eliminate a complicated system in favor of a simple one.

My 2c on both issues..

[ChrisnCate]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

Maine89, I also moved aboard shortly after completing college, but I found that, if I was not cruising, a slip in a home marina had many merits,- shower, water, shopping access, not filing a holding tank, social interaction, transportation.....

There were holding tank considerations when you moved aboard shortly after college? I thought pumping o/b was the default before the holding tank laws were enacted...

[maine89]

Originally Posted by ChrisnCate

Alcohol is plenty hot enough to cook with, don't let anyone tell you differently. Propane can explode - propane is heavier than air and can leak into the bilge (or other area) and collect, waiting for a spark to end your boats existence, and maybe your life as well. Non pressure alcohol will not explode under any circumstance, and any fires created by an alcohol spill (pretty unlikely, as once the can element is filled there is no way for it to spill) can be put out with water.

A composting head makes sense for many reasons - vastly less head odor (none if aerated correctly), you can eliminate head thru hulls, you can eliminate pump outs, you can eliminate possible fines when you forget to lock the Y valve, and lastly you can eliminate a complicated system in favor of a simple one.

My 2c on both issues..

Thank you! The more votes I hear for these underdogs, the more confident I feel about them. I will certainly do some homework.

[ChrisnCate]

Originally Posted by maine89

Thank you! The more votes I hear for these underdogs, the more confident I feel about them. I will certainly do some homework.

Be prepared to be put thru the ringer for any and all systems and gear choices you might consider that are outside of the cruising norm, ask me how I know... god help you if you decide to mention ditching your furler (or worse yet, delve into the heresy of going engineless) ..

Regarding alcohol - the two biggest blights against it are the availability of fuel overseas, and it's longer water boil time. Here is my retort to both of these points, fwiw-

1- Fuel availability overseas, true and false. True that cans of denatured alcohol are hard to find in Svalbard, false that you cannot simply use regular old drinkable grain alcohol (or even high proof rum in a pinch) available in most ports a cruiser might visit. Dedicated stove alcohol might be hard to find, but booze rarely is. We burn drinkable grain alcohol in ours even though denatured is freely available. Drinkable grain alcohol is not a toxic, poisonous substance. All other stove fuels are.

2- Longer boil time. True, it takes 3 more minutes to boil a quart of H20 than it does with propane. If you are in a major hurry to gnosh, then yes, this might be an issue. Otherwise, is it really so terrible to wait an extra couple of minutes for eats, especially when considering the vastly less complicated system that a non pressure alcohol stove is?

Again, my 2c and best of luck with however you decide to go..

[maine89]

Thanks ChrisnCate,

Sounds like at least with alcohol that I could store it aboard in larger quantities. Burning through grain alcohol sounds expensive, though I haven't experienced the prices/burn times like you.

The longer burn time is not an issue for me if it is 3 minutes. Being less rushed is a goal in this adventure

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by ChrisnCate

There were holding tank considerations when you moved aboard shortly after college? I thought pumping o/b was the default before the holding tank laws were enacted...

Sure, I did not include within my advice that my "move aboard shortly after college" was in 1972, but ironically it was the Clean Water Act of 1972 that initiated the holding tank requirements. It's true that the law was not accompanied with a means for implementation. I even recall pump out stations that had thier contents collected periodically by tank trucks that would transport the sewage to a location to be dumped directly into the coastal water. Anyway, I did consider it an updated inclusion as an advantage for a slip for current advice.

[ChrisnCate]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

Sure, I did not include within my advice that my "move aboard shortly after college" was in 1972, but ironically it was the Clean Water Act of 1972 that initiated the holding tank requirements. It's true that the law was not accompanied with a means for implementation. I even recall pump out stations that had thier contents collected periodically by tank trucks that would transport the sewage to a location to be dumped directly into the coastal water. Anyway, I did consider it an updated inclusion as an advantage for a slip for current advice.

Good advice for sure CF, I was just wondering whether or not people even considered the notion of the holding tank/pump out back then (yikes on the coastal sewage dump btw, yuk).

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by ChrisnCate

Good advice for sure CF, I was just wondering whether or not people even considered the notion of the holding tank/pump out back then (yikes on the coastal sewage dump btw, yuk).

Yes, Unfortunately, to date, the greatest effect of the clean water act has been to collect the volume of sewage concentration to less frequent yet greater volumes by incident. No mistake, I'm with the plan, but I still see it evolving.