Hello!
Long time lurker, first time poster. I have read many posts that look very similar to this. I will try and provide as much information as possible so that you find people, who have much more experience than I do, can help guide our decision-making.
I have some sailing experience mostly
racing in
Hawaii on
Oahu but that was many many years ago...
My wife grew up on boats, but most of it on the
Ohio and
Mississippi River on motoring boats.
We are both undergoing
sailing lessons and getting certifications/chartering as time allows while we save
money.
That being said, we are both neophytes to
Bluewater sailing, and all
advice is welcome and appreciated.
Our plan is to
purchase in 18 to 24 months and begin cruising in
Bahamas in
Mexico for several months before branching out. The plan would be to
live aboard and travel around as much as possible without spending much time at the marina. We are currently downsizing and putting our house on the market.
Plan currently is to
purchase a used
catamaran ?+/- 45 ft and retrofit depending on what is needed.
Things I would love your input on would include the following:
Make and model to be watching out for. We have spent hours and hours researching different models of catamarans.
Basically, it would need something large enough to house our
family. Currently the girls have a room, the boys have a room, and the parents have a room. Given the size of the births, we would likely need a four room or a three room with a fold out somewhere.
Many people have advised to stay away from Lagoons, Leopards, and FPs because they are so slow and not really built for
circumnavigation. (I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this since it is our first step in narrowing down the right
boat.)
We would prefer some of the comforts of home,
water maker,
solar,
generator,
refrigerator, probably 2 deep freezers, Good
storage for
provisioning. The
kids would love some space for kiteboards and
scuba gear.
We have joined several of the homeschooling websites and groups and we are able to homeschool the
children which turns out is a byproduct of COVID-19....
I also wanted to say thank you all the people who post on here. I have been reading the last couple of years and it really enjoyed the dialogue and the amount of help people are willing to offer.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Muz911