My wife and I are in the final count the down (<14 months) until full
retirement. While we live in Nebraska, we already have our
retirement home all set and waiting in Viera FL (about 15 miles south of Cape Canaveral, on the ICW). We 'practice' being retired down there for 7-10 days every other month or so.
Part of our plan is to have a 35-45 ft cruiser for
ICW and eventually (after building up the skills)
Caribbean island hopping. We've developed this 'thought' list after reading a lot of material on what to think about prior to
buying a boat. Hopefully not too much - I don't want to get kicked off the first day for over
posting.
We plan on doing a lot of forum reading and
learning.
- Pat & Paul
Cruising Area
Indian River
Florida Keys
Florida Gulf Coast
Intercoastal (entire east coast)
Bahamas
Caribbean
Type of cruising
Recreational travel
Day long runs, port hopping, moored/on the hook each night (with a few long haul exceptions when necessary)
Expected
weather
Night lows of 40s, Day highs of low 90s (Heater and AC a must)
All sea conditions, though will strive to always seek shelter vice trying to navigate in
weather
Hull Type:
Motor Yacht, aft
cabin. Currently looking at Carvers & Maxums
Quarters
Master aft
cabin suite (with private
head, separate shower)
Standard shape
bed vice round (sheet availability? $$)
Guest v-berth bow cabin for two
Drop down table for two in
salon, or fold out couch good to have
One common
head. Separate
shower stall good, but not necessary
Chart
work area
Crew
One 55 yo male w/ 27+ years US
Navy (navigation, rules of the road,
radar,
radio, qualified submarines and Craft Master (100 ft twin
diesel vessel)
One slightly older female w/ freshwater
novice skills - no formal
training
No major
medical or mobility issues
Both have completed the
Florida State Boater's
Safety Course
Budget
~$115K and down. Expect almost full
price of
boat to be covered by recent
sale of our house, if not
financing is already secured.
General
More
fiberglass less
wood interior
Full sized refrig/freezer
Davit, RHIB
Safe to walk around stern to bow - high rails, wide
deck
Reverse osmosis system (great if it's there, add if needed)
Generator
Radar
Chart table
VSat
VHF
External speakers/hailing speakers
EPIRB
Digital
Charts (how do you do updates?)
Voyage Planning system (The Captain)
Training Plan
Basic Coast Guard
Six pack
Training Float Plan
Year One
Indian River
Lagoon between the bridges
Indian River
Lagoon Port Canaveral to Sebastian Inlet
Atlantic Ocean Port Canaveral to sight of land
lost
Atlantic Ocean Port Canaveral to Sebastian Inlet
Year Two
Indian River - St Lucie River - Lake Okeechobee - Tampa -
Key West
Key West -
Bahamas
Year Three
Bahamas -
Turks and Caicos -
BVI - USVI
Year Four
Anguilla-
St Kitts &
Nevis -
Antigua & Barbuda