Best live aboard for a family in the Caribbean

[ikold]

This has probably been covered and is not intended to spark a monohull / catamaran debate.

My wife and our 1 year old daughter will be moving to the Caribbean for a 2 year assignment. I thought if were going to be down there might as well do it right and live the dream. On a boat!

What do you think is the best vessel for a family of 3 expecting that we will have many guests and that we'll for the first 6 months have a qualified captain with us.

We prefer to be on the hook and out of marinas as much as possible, but there will be times (weeks) when it's a necessity.

Generally our cruising grounds will be Dominican to Trinidad.

Ideally we'd like to spend less then 500k on the boat.

Have seen a few used Lagoon 50's that looked like they could fit the bill. We also looked at an older Hatteras MY and it was extremely roomy.

[atoll]

make sure you have 2 good ribs with engines. if working and living on anchor, logistics can be a nightmare

[sww914]

There are soooo many choices, just like houses. Here's my advice.
1- Make a list of must-haves.
2- Spend 1/2 what you can afford, you'll need the rest later.
3- Buy the nicest, most well equipped example for more money than the so-so boat. Get the one that was owned by an aircraft inspector who loved to have all the latest gadgets and all the safety equipment. I didn't. I should have.
4- Make sure that you love her enough to forgive her. You'll need to after she wakes you up in the middle of the night screaming that she's dying.

[GaryMayo]

Sounds a lot like the original screenplay for G.I.


I would think the captain on this half a million dollar yacht would get rather stagnate tied to a mooring ball playing with a small baby all day long.

Hire a captain? On a 500k yacht on the hook away from the security of a private marina, well to also purchase a security staff to protect mother and child. On the hook? Better get a tanker standing by to refuel her from time to time.

Lots of guests? Is momma going to do all the cooking and serving on a 500k yacht? Look into a professional baker, cooks, servers, laundry staff, maids and a couple of bartenders. Naturally with a staff that large, they could sleep on the diesel barge, or maybe look into a 850k boat to make everyone comfortable. Two years is a long time to be entertaining. You could also look into your own travel agent on board to make all the arrangements as you will be mooring out a ways.

You could hire Neal Diamond to entertain the guests.

[Mpierce]

I have been searching for 6 months and recently bought
my liveaboard (a 45' monohull) in the same price range.. i started with the cat vs monohull decision after owning my training wheels boat (a 34' Beneteau for the past two years).. the cat will definitely give you more room for a toddler on a $ for $ basis.. and sailing the Caribbean waters is very conducive for a cat.. my buddy just bought a lagoon 450 and it will be like traveling with your apartment..

And not very sailor like Gary.. why so disgruntled?