Getting into liveaboard w a family of 7

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Scaramanga F25

The most beautiful catamaran ever built, the 75-foot cat Ppalu is for sale in Ft Lauderdale. Looks like new. 6 cabins and under $300,000. She is a fine sailing small catamaran for her length. Ketch rigged built by Peter Spronk. Hire a Captain for your first year.

While very famous, this is a wood boat that's 43 years old and has been under water multiple times and it's currently set up as three cabins - maybe not the best choice for somebody with four kids. Currently listed at $350,00 (which I'm sure is negotiable) it's probably a little too feral for the OP. While hiring a captain to teach them sailing and about the boat is a good idea, it shouldn't take more than three months of full time sailing to acquire the proper skills.

[Bowtienot]

I have a Sunreef 60 and can handle it with just the family, although I am somewhat tech savvy and a mechanical engineer, so I fix everything myself onboard (you will be doing a lot of this, no matter which boat you buy). I also lived in California prior to moving aboard a year ago and cut my expenses by roughly 50%, not factoring in depreciation. I am an advocate of the smaller the better, but my wife is the opposite so we ended up settling on a 60ft which was the limit of what I considered reasonable to handle without crew. I had crew for the first 6 months, just to get the hang of it, but now really dont need nor want crew, but I have sailed and owned boats (albeit smaller) all my life, so the adaptation for you family will be way more arduous. People suggest trying different boats and while I would definitely do that to see which boat you like best, it wont really say whether you love this life or not as a family. It takes a good 6 months and lots of scares to begin really appreciating the life style. I personally wouldnt go bigger than 60 for all the aforementioned reasons and havent met one single family living in boats bigger than 60 because you dont need more real estate (matter of fact, Ive only met 1 other family on a 60). A 50-55 range is more than enough IMO. Anyways, good luck with your plans, hope it works out.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by LAXTravelMom

Hi! I’m new to this so I’m not totally sure of the etiquette for this sort of post, so please feel free to let me know how this works.

Me and my husband currently live in LA and have 7 kids (2 in college). We’ve been interested in leaving our lives behind and traveling the world via boat full time. I’m currently a full time mom, my husband would have to mostly leave his work behind. Our kids are mostly onboard with the idea, and I really think it’s a good option for us. My husband is relatively handy (his dad owns a sailboat, so he’s spent some time on the water, but he’s not an expert). We’d probably start with sailing lessons and go from there.

As far as finding boats, I’m a little stuck. I’m thinking a sailing catamaran makes the most sense for us. We definitely need five bedrooms (but we can be creative) and ideally some couch space for our two college kids if they ever end up on the boat. Our house would probably sell for 4.5 mil, so put our budget somewhere around there. The Lagoon Seventy 7 is sort of a dream boat for us... I love how spacious it is and the whole bonus room would be perfect for my kids. I just don’t know if it’s plausible for passages. If anyone has knowledge on wether it’s possible to maneuver one of these without a crew, that’d be great.

I’m not really sure what size is recommended for family liveaboard boats, so any recommended models or brands (in the luxury side of things) would be super helpful. This is definitely a step we want to take, we just aren’t sure how, so anything helps!

Thanks!

Emily (Mom)
Nate (Dad)
Caroline (22)
Mason (18)
James (14)
Alana (12)
Ashlynn (9)
Margot/Will (5)

I suggest you charter a few long stints in the Caribbean on a big Cat. First with crew and as you become competent as bare boat. Big cats are available in Martinique, Le Marin as well as a few other venues. You can geT experience sailing these floating homes.

We see cruising families often and other boats with kids are often willing to socialize. We had our best season ever buddy boating for several months with five yachts. Two with families and children and three yachts with older folks. Built in grand folks and energetic young to get us moving, diving, hiking etc.

[MereEnMer]

First of all, congrats on deciding to hit the water! We're pretty new to this too- we were 4 months into our leisurely-paced circumnavigation in the Caribbean with our 8 year old (and another one on the way) before COVID sent us home to England- so definitely take my very long-winded thoughts with a grain of salt. Hubby is the real expert here haha, I'm just along for the ride.

The Lagoon Seventy 7 is a LOT of boat. I'd definitely scale it down significantly, especially since your family is new to all of this. After 4 months on our relatively small, relatively low-maintenance monohull with only one child, I have to say I took one look at pictures of that boat and had a heart attack haha. I saw 1,000 things that could break and you and your husband would have to fix (while also trying to homeschool 5 children and learn how to sail and actually spend some time enjoying yourselves like you quit your jobs to be able to do). The simpler and more low-maintenance your boat is, the more time you'll have to enjoy your travels and your family.

But I think as a mum, that flybridge and the stairs leading up to it were the biggest problems I had with the boat. Aside from worrying about your little kids getting into a particularly rowdy game of "the floor is lava" or somesuch and tumbling off the flybridge, sailboats do lurch unexpectedly, and those stairs look like a death trap, especially with slippery feet from sunscreen, and slippery stairs from a combination of sea spray and wet kids running up and down and dripping on them. I'm pretty relaxed about all things but water safety, and even with my 8 year old who is a very strong swimmer, I like to be able to see where she is at all times when she's on the deck. If you have a sundeck and a fly bridge, it's harder to be cooking in the galley and be able to look out and do a quick head count. It's also honestly just another set of long stairs you're going to have to be running up and down all day, going to the head, bringing meals up and down, etc. After only 4 months, I was already tired of the 3 stairs on our companionway. A full flight of stairs? Hard pass haha.

And correct me if I’m wrong, more experienced sailors on here, but it doesn’t look like much of a passage-making cat as it does a cat for popping around the BVIs and spending most of your time at anchor. Which, if you’re planning on only doing day sails between islands in calm waters and mostly using the boat as a houseboat type thing, is totally fine. But if you want to take your family around the world, I’d consider something that’s built more for passages, because those are the times when you’ll be spending the most time on the boat. That cockpit seems like it would be miserable to be in during rough weather. When you’re island-hopping, most of your leisure time will be spent exploring on land, and you’ll probably only be on the boat for a few hours of the day for homeschooling and meals. An indoor salon with enough space for everyone in your crew to have some kind of chair or beanbag, your trampolines, and an outdoor cockpit will be more than enough for everyone to find a quiet space to go do homework. We pretty much use cabins for sleeping and napping only, but I can see teenagers possibly wanting to do homework there on a lap desk if it’s raining and the salon is full of loud siblings haha. I’d also argue that a family of 7 should absolutely be able to fit comfortably in 4 cabins, which opens up a lot more options in terms of cats that are more designed for long passages. (James with a small cabin of his own with an extra pullman bunk, your girls sharing a bigger cabin with an extra pullman bunk, and your little twins sharing a smaller cabin). And the pullmans can be used when a captain is aboard for the first few months and needs to sleep in the twin’s cabin or when the big kids come home for a visit, but after chartering for a month, you’ll have a better idea of what your space needs are than a stranger on the internet haha. If you’re really set on 5 cabins, here’s one that could work. There’s a family with 4 teenagers that’s sailing around the world in a Privilege 585 for I think 4 years and they don't seem to want to kill each other yet (Google them- Zatara). If I did have a Lagoon of that size, I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable going on passages without extra crew, even though my husband has been sailing for years.

When selecting a boat, there’s always a calculus to weigh speed, safety, and comfort and which blend of these is best for you and your family. Because we’re planning on sailing around the world, we went safety > speed > comfort. Safety first because we definitely didn’t want to have any problems when we were way offshore (although if you're only planning on coastal sailing this could be less of a concern), speed next because the part we were excited about wasn’t the living aboard the sailboat in the middle of the pacific for weeks on end, it was getting to a destination and experiencing the culture, and then comfort. We’re planning on becoming a family of 6 in the next few years, and once we’ve reached the point where our Hallberg-Rassy 42 is too small, a bluewater catamaran made for quick, safe passages is where we’ll be headed (Probably a 3 cabin Outremer where we can rearrange the sleeping situation to accommodate an extra hand for very long passages, but Outremer also makes 4 cabin cats).

I’d just sit your children down and be realistic with them. If they do want to sail and be able to see tons of different countries and cultures and only have to do a few hours of school a day, it’s probably going to mean you all have to downsize significantly. No playroom (the beach and the water and all the countries you'll visit are the playroom), the galley table as the classroom, tiny shared bedrooms. Our child has a friend back home who lives in a tiny house, and so that was the comparison we made to her, but you could also compare it to a flat. We just explained that the boat was going to be drastically smaller than our house but that it was movable and we could go all around the world without ever having to unpack.

[LAXTravelMom]

It’s been a while since I last updated this thread... Me, my husband, and my eldest son at home (He’s 14) took some sailing classes. We completed the ASA101 course. We’ll obviously need more knowledge before we set sail, but this was definitely a good place to start.

Two of the kids moved out to college, James and Alana (14 and 12) have started in person school. They currently attend a rigorous private school, so i’m figuring out how to translate that into a homeschool curriculum. Ashlynn (9) is doing remote school. The twins were supposed to start kindergarten this year, but i’m going to wait till next year to enroll them. It seems idiotic to start paying more private school tuition for kids that don’t understand how to learn online. I’ve hired a private tutor for them.

We‘ve looked at a few boats, and think we’re considering a 40-50 foot. (Still need 4 cabins). We’re planning on doing a charter in Florida next month.

Emily (Mom)
Nate (Dad)
Caroline (22)
Mason (19)
James (14)
Alana (12)
Ashlynn (9)
Margot/Will (5)

[Chili Palmer]

Check out Sailing Zatara. They have 5 people on their boat with apparent room to spare.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SailingZatara/featured

Here's a boat like theirs currently for sale. It's not US based but it gives you something to look at.

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/200...e-585-3675776/

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by Chili Palmer

Here's a boat like theirs currently for sale. It's not US based but it gives you something to look at.

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/200...e-585-3675776/

Kind of surprising that a 15 year old vessel would hold it's value that well.

[fourlyons]

Go for it!
We traveled for two and a half years with two kids. Our dauhter was 16 months to 4 years, Our son was born during our travels. We only moved off when he was 18 months old because we outgrew our 25 foot sailboat. We build a 39 foot sailboat and went again for two and a half years when they were 9 and 12 years old. We only delayed so long between trips because our son has non-verbal autism and we wanted to give him land based therapy durning his early years. After the second trip we sailed summers, because we helped my dad for six years as he died of ASL. Our daughter, after college at 24 years old bought her own boat. Our son loves being on our boat and will continue traveleing with us for a long time.

When we were traveleing the Pacific Coast of Mexico in 1996 we met a number of happy families on boats. We met another family similar to yours. They had 5 kids, six years apart in age on a 50 foot monohull sailbaot. I think the youngest was 6 and the oldest two were in college, living aboard during school holidays. They were following the paths the two parents had taken with their separate families when they were teenagers themselves. The mother had a diary they were following and rereading. I'll try to find their name; they may have written a book.

We met Jaja and Dave Martin with their 3 kids on a small boat. They sailed around the world. They wrote a boat, "Into the Light". A friend of theirs made a documentary of them as well, "Ice Blink: A Family Navigating Life's Ice-Clogged Waters" Great book and movie!

Sailing Totem is anther family of 5 we met. They have been out for years. They are still cruising. Their oldest recently started college. They have a blog, facebook, youtube channel.

If eveyone wants to go sailing, then go, go ,go. You can figure it out.

We are partial to Junk rigged sailboats for the ease of sailing. It is easier to manage the sails on our two masted 39 foot junk rigged sailboat than our 25 foot cutter. But that is another thread discussion.

Best wishes,
Debbie

[Mook1e]

I would recommend in order of preference - FP Saba 50 (6 cabin), Privilege 585, Leopard 58, Bali 5.4 (6 cabin).

[chubby]

I love Nordhavn trawlers…but to sleep the whole family they’d need the 120 (which is double price of lagoon seventy 7)
70+ foot luxury pleasure vessels are getting into super yacht territory.
And ,imo, you simply won’t get more boat for that point point than a lagoon catamaran…

My 1st boat was 41 foot lagoon…learned how to a local french sailor(on that boat). Since then I’ve sailed 45, 50, and 62 foot lagoons.. and it wasn’t ever big deal single handing any of them. If anything you’ll anchor out (all the time) and the electric winches I never touched on the 41 became a requirement on the 62
Even though it’s primarily the woman and myself cruising.. the preference is in the 50-60 foot range. (looking now just in case any of yall had inside knowledge on a great 560 or 620 needing a home) We just like the extra room (on 3 levels) when guests are onboard.

If I had the wallet.. I would not hesitate with the seventy 7.


Longer passages I’d always have crew(regardless of boat size)…just so I can sleep and have extra hands aboard for when the light wind sail gets stuck or the main rips in middle of night (it will happen…and at worst possible time).

My suggestion for the OP and her family is to give a look at lagoon motor yachts too.. they have the range to cruise anywhere you'd want. You get the same comfort and luxury living on the water as their sailboats..without the hassle of rigging/sails. but you get (2) 500hp for 19 knot cruising speed
That lagoon seventy 8 looks amazing in person.. and family of 7 will also appreciate the extra room.
I’d strongly recommend visiting the Lagoon shipyard in Bordeaux. (maybe make that a requirement..might be a challenge to buy without a relationship with lagoon)

I’m not sure if former nba player Boris Diaw is still cruising French carib.. but he is currently doing a (slow) circumnavigation in that beautiful seventy 7.. and he is super approachable on instagram.
Just message him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DyUvykS2Ys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iLcLt4Q3xI

(turn on subtitles in English)

This a great walkthru for the seventy 8 (motor yacht)
He directly gives thoughts and a husband/wife crew managing the boat…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2280&v=n9j4BH9l4WI





Best of luck!

[Pandor]

Originally Posted by Scaramanga F25

The most beautiful catamaran ever built, the 75-foot cat Ppalu is for sale in Ft Lauderdale. Looks like new. 6 cabins and under $300,000. She is a fine sailing small catamaran for her length. Ketch rigged built by Peter Spronk. Hire a Captain for your first year.

You’re suggesting a 75 foot long 45 year old wooden cat built on a beach and sunk at least twice for this family? It has an interesting history fir sure.

[SailingMama]

Have you seen Sailing Zatara and The Sailing Family on YouTube? Check them out. Families sailing on bigger catamarans.