Looking for Advise/Comments on Our Plan

[Liming II]

Hello Everyone,

We are looking for some advise/comments on our future cruising plans:

- Couple 54 (M) 49 (F)
- Plan on retiring in March of 2022
- Experienced power boaters 30+ years
- Limited sailing experience ASA 101, 102, 104, 114 2 years ago. Little experience since
- Looking for a 38-44 foot catamaran, will need to finance a portion
- Put the boat on the hard until retirement
- Hire a captain to work with us for a week or so when we move aboard
- Boat budget $300K
- Annual budget for living $75K-&100K
- Take advantage of ACA for health insurance until Medicare
- Spend 1-2 years cruising the East Coast to become more proficient sailors
- Cruise to the Bahamas and possibly the Caribbean for 5-6 years
- Return to the US and do the Great Loop

Following that no firm plans.

In everyones opinion does this plan make sense and is it doable. I'd love to hear from those of you who have traveled a similar path.

Thanks for your comments,

Mike

[Smokeys Kitchen]

It all sounds good except the part about putting the boat on the hard for a year or two. You don't say how far you are away from any marina, but if possible, I'd get it in the water and start learning how to sail it; even if you have to travel a ways to the marina.

[boatman61]

Get the best owners version Lagoon 380 you can find within your budget..
If you insist on putting it on the hard for a couple of years do it as far North as you can.. Florida, Georgia N&S Carolina climates kill boats.

[Liming II]

Sorry, I forgot to add our location. We are currently in Wisconsin and the boat will most likely be on the Southeast Coast. Traveling back and forth probably would not work

[ol1970]

Hey there, your plans are not too different than ours. Not a lot of holes to poke in there, my only recommendation is to do some additional chartering over the next couple years to get some practice and enjoy time out on the water. We've done all the ASA stuff as well, but also have about 1500 sea miles and 75 nights on the hook over the past 3 seasons. It is great to learn about what you like and don't like about your future vessel.

I might suggest you consider doing the loop first as powerboaters though, then getting into sailing. Would your current boat work for the loop? Because Covid very realistically could still be lingering in 2022 and cause issues traveling between countries it might be a better plan. At least that is our thought if we end up taking off while it is still a consideration. If you are needing to finance a boat today to put on the hard until retirement, I wouldn't suggest that, it is just going to depreciate and cost you money. Use those dollars to do extended charters like we do. You can get a nice monohull for a month in French Polynesia or the Carribean for $12k, don't buy until you are ready to call it home. Good luck from a fellow great lakes boater!

[Jammer]

Wisconsin is full of waters where you keep keep a cruising sized boat



St. Croix River
Lake Pepin
Lake Michigan
Lake Winnebago
Lake Superior


Couples who sail days and weekends etc on their boat and make a gradual transition to longer trips or living aboard are more successful than those who make an abrupt transition

[Cheechako]

Put the boat in the water. Do local cruises.
Learn your boat and what you want to change or add.
Local cruising will teach you more than hiring a skipper for a few days.

[dwedeking2]

If your not going to use the boat for a few years, put off the purchase vs paying storage fees for something your not going to use. My personal opinion is we are too soon into the Covid situation to purchase a boat that I wasn't going to leave on right away on. We may be stuck with limited travel for years to come.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Get the best owners version Lagoon 380 you can find within your budget..
If you insist on putting it on the hard for a couple of years do it as far North as you can.. Florida, Georgia N&S Carolina climates kill boats.

Just know Lagoon 380 don't sail as well as other cats of the same length. You will get a decent fit and finish with a 380. The trade off is a 380 does not sail as well as other comparable condition similar length cats but a similar condition 380 costs a good bit less.

[Cpt Mark]

You might look at "Gone with the Wynns" youtube channel and see how their boat fared after being on the hard for 1 year because of the pandemic.

The old adage, use it or lose it is truth with boats.

I would recommend not buying a boat now for these reasons plus the fact that the catamaran market is superheated right now. You'd likely be buying at the very top of the market.

[Shrew]

Buying a boat you're not ready to use makes no sense. You're going to pay the mortgage and storage fees. Plus, boats that sit seem to 'decay' very quickly. Things that used to work when put into mothballs, tend to magically stop working over time.

Instead, save the money you would be paying for mortgage and storage in a savings account. Use that to fund the boat, or refit when you're ready.

Otherwise, buy it and use it on weekends and vacations like 95+% of the other boaters around the world.

[Cadence]

I think you may be jumping the gun on purchasing. Save the money for that two years rather than have the boat on the hard and costing you while it ages and deteriorates.
Hopefully eliminating and financing. The ages sound good for casting the lines free.
Best of luck.

[desodave]

Storing a new to you boat on the hard for 2 years really doesn't make sense to me for a variety of reasons, especially if it is a thousand miles away. Ours was moored a hundred miles ( and a ferry ride) way for four years before I retired, paying for maintenance and supervision. I learned little and was constantly concerned about it - perhaps my own anxieties at work - because it was a huge investment for us. The first few years are about learning your boat, its systems, and how to use and maintain them. It's not just getting on board and learning to sail it. I'd echo Jammer's advice. Get your boat locally, learn to use and maintain it, make sure you both enjoy it and then do whatever portion of the Great Loop you want to get to your targeted cruising grounds.

[wrwakefield]

As others have also said, I would recommend being patient for a bit longer...

Taking on the expense and liability of a boat on the hard in a seller's market is risky, and will likely yield no positive returns...

For example, some very good friends of ours keep a boat in Alaska for summer cruising, and another in Florida for use in the Bahamas, etc. during winter. Last year they bought a brand new 48ft catamaran [I don't recall which brand...] They keep it on the hard while away.

This summer it took a direct lightning strike in the yard. They returned this fall to oversee repairs.

Their 9 month young decked out catamaran now has 5 holes in the hulls; requires all new electronics and wiring [all of it], all new battery banks [the tops blew off all of the AGM batteriess...] eengine electronics and possibly engine problems, etc. They have been working on the boatcontinuously for 3 months, and have about 2 more to go by their estimation. They said they are into it for US$150k so far, anticipating hitting US$250k toby the time the get it back to how they left it- and missing 5 months of using it... and have to start the shake-down all over again... And rubbing salt into the wounds, everything was so new, the replacements are not an upgrade...

Now this doesn't happen to everyone, but it does illustrate the risk.

Best wishes with you plans and future adventures!

Cheers! Bill

[Sailmonkey]

I’ll echo others. Don’t buy a boat to store, especially in the southeast us. You’ll end up with a boat you’ve never used that is sun bleached if not also moldy and requires tons of work.

Add to that the pandemic phenomenon....boats are selling like mad right now. Prices are up. Wait until the knee jerk pandemic buyers find out they got in over their heads and sell the boats in a year or two.