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sailorboy1 · 04-06-2023, 10:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawnmower

Question: Am I going to die if I go cruising solo around remote/poorly charted Pacific atolls in a 2001-2008 40 foot Beneteau? Will my mast and keel fall off? Should I be looking at other boats? Not going to die and MODST bad things are oin your control.

I'd love a catamaran as I like the idea of a shallower draft giving more access to anchorages, however I have a max budget of $125,000 including upgrades so that pretty much limits me to monohulls. Easy to get a 20 year old capable boat in that price range. I am likely be sell my 2001 boat in few months and would love to get that much

I've been looking at boats in the 40 foot and under range as I get the impression that any bigger gets tricky single handed (not to mention the additional expense).No really issue of harder to handle as most newer boats are easy to hamdle with aid of autopilot

Reading about this online, there's a bunch of people saying I should be looking for a 1980's full keeled boat and another bunch of people saying get new (2000's) "plastic" boat with a fin keel and a spade rudder. used to be that way. Now that the "plastic" boats have been running around 20+ years lots of cruisers are on them out there. It is more a matter of getting the right plastic boat and as long as it was met as a cruiser and not a racer almost all 40+ boats are going to be just fine

I've watched a whole bunch of Youtube channels and I get the impression that people who went for an older boat seem to spend all of their time fixing them. These old boats also look like crap inside.the only thing you learn about U-Tube vids is .................well nothing. May as well just fully believe a commerical

I got a 1988 Cal-39 as my first boat after only 3 months of experience. Then got a 41' 2001 Hunter and have been on it full time almost 7 years. The Hunter is MUCH better than that Cal. Nothing hard about sailing and cruising really. Get a boat to be comfortable on first, it will be seaworthy!!!

BTW mostly no reason to get as boat more than about 40' as after than what you really get is more room for guests

Lawnmower · 04-06-2023, 10:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tupaia

We have no idea how old or how fit you are. Nor do we have any idea about your skill set.

Sailing is relatively simple, there are plenty of "Sailing How To" books out there and a few sailing courses or joining a yacht club will set you on your way.

Navigation depends a lot on whether you are math and science major, able to read and process data, or an art and history major less so. Applied mathematics with a bit of common sense.

Maintenance of marine systems, engines and electronics depends on how practical your are. Did you take things to pieces as a kid to see how they worked? Pointless learning about diesel engines if your boat has an outboard which is much simpler and easy to look after.

Crossing oceans is more to do with your state of mind, solo sailing even more so. Your budget precludes most expensive modern communication aides so you will be "alone" for weeks on end. Lock yourself in your apartment or rent a cabin in the middle of nowhere, no TV no phone no contact with anyone for a week and see how you cope.

Are you a confident person? Arriving in a foreign land and dealing with officials should be part of the adventure, not a burden.

You should think about a boat that is really simple to sail and maintain and will look after you, no complicated spare parts that are never in stock and can't be shipped across oceans.

Choose a simple well tried and tested s/hand boat, one that has already been cruised, perhaps one owned by old salts that are swallowing the anchor. It will already have most of the equipment you don't even know you need already on board.

If you want to go cat then there are options.
1406 Tiki 38 - Scott Brown Multihulls
1397 Tiki 38 - Scott Brown Multihulls

Wishing you well on achieving your goal.

Thanks, those Tiki's look amazing! The deck space, wow! I'm somewhat hesitant about the durability/longevity of self builds like that though, I guess any particular one could be build great - or not. I'm not confident I'd be able to tell, say if they used the wrong glue or something.

I'm 30, fit, science major, work in very remote places all over, generally alone for long periods. Being at sea just seems like a dream! Don't know a thing about electronics or engine maintenance - that's the thing, since I don't know how much I need to learn I figured it'd be a good idea to post on here to help form more of a plan/timeline for what I'm gonna do.

**carstenb** · 04-06-2023, 10:52

Over 7 years and 40K sm on our 2006 Jeanneau Sun Fast. If you maintain the boat then the anser is no
1- your mast won't fall off
2- your keel won't fall off
3- If you can sail you will almost certainly survive

We have sailed botht the atlantic, pacific and alaska etc in our "plastic fantastic" and have supreme confidence in her.

Capri will be for sale late next summer in Denmark. She is completely outfitted for blue water cruising, 750W solar, watermaker, 160A generator etc etc etc, spare parts and tools to allow you to fix virtually anything that might go wrong

carsten

Stingo · 04-06-2023, 10:58

Trinidad is one of the locations known to be "The Home of the Broken Dream". A Google search for boats for sale in Trinidad will be a good starting point. I am reliably told that the final selling price is often a lot less than half the original asking price, especially considering the monthly storage costs for being on the hard eg anything upwards of $400 per month soon changes a seller's asking price ambitions.

Stingo · 04-06-2023, 11:01

Another bonus about boats in Trinidad is that it is very likely that they're already well kitted out for extended cruising

**carstenb** · 04-06-2023, 11:01

Tahiti is another good spot for "broken dream" boats.

Lawnmower · 04-06-2023, 11:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stingo

Trinidad is one of the locations known to be "The Home of the Broken Dream". A Google search for boats for sale in Trinidad will be a good starting point. I am reliably told that the final selling price is often a lot less than half the original asking price, especially considering the monthly storage costs for being on the hard eg anything upwards of $400 per month soon changes a seller's asking price ambitions.

Thanks for the tip!

omuramba · 04-06-2023, 11:05

Older Tartan 38, either centerboard or keel version would be excellent for your endeavor. If the centerboard version, have the rotating pin checked. A good boat within your budget.
Good luck.

Lawnmower · 04-06-2023, 11:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by carstenb

Tahiti is another good spot for "broken dream" boats.

Thanks! I guess I thought the Pacific seemed a bit of a scary place to get my first boat (I heard its a bit hard to get spares/work done out there) but since it's where I wanna cruise anyway....

HeinSdL · 04-06-2023, 11:10

2 old timer contributors on this thread are selling their boat! Am I missing something?

robert sailor · 04-06-2023, 11:22

Personally I’d choose a boat in the mid thirty foot range…smaller everything and easier to handle..still gets good passage times and is plenty roomy for a single hander.
Watch the layout below as some of the newer boats are not the best layouts for offshore sailing.
Make sure your standing rigging has been replaced in less than the last 10 years.
As far as structural strength…new boats are fine but they have a rather low tolerance for groundings.
Enjoy your dream, do your best to make it a reality….Cheers

Lawnmower · 04-06-2023, 11:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Personally I’d choose a boat in the mid thirty foot range…smaller everything and easier to handle..still gets good passage times and is plenty roomy for a single hander.
Watch the layout below as some of the newer boats are not the best layouts for offshore sailing.
Make sure your standing rigging has been replaced in less than the last 10 years.
As far as structural strength…new boats are fine but they have a rather low tolerance for groundings.
Enjoy your dream, do your best to make it a reality….Cheers

Thanks! Would still go for the same size with two people on board?

Are you referring to the beneteaus I've seen with one long kitchen area facing the seating area? I was wondering how in the hell people manage cooking in a rocky sea with those!

boatpoker · 04-06-2023, 11:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawnmower

[B]

I've watched a whole bunch of Youtube channels and I get the impression that people who went for an older boat seem to spend all of their time fixing them. These old boats also look like crap inside.

People that actually cruise rather than weekending will spend a significant amount of time and money on maintenance, upgrades, repairs whether they buy older or newer.

Be aware that the purchase price is often one of the smaller numbers in the equation after a couple of years cruising.
You might want to also take some courses in marine electrics and diesel engines. Finding such help in far off places
can be a challenge.

Here is a start ...
http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com/Marin...rvey%20101.htm

Stingo · 04-06-2023, 11:40

Another thing about Trinidad is that Chagaramaus, where all the boat yards are, is downwind from the oil refineries. This means the boats on the hard turn black within a few months. This will give you serious negotiating power with a seller because "the boat's condition looks nothing like the photographs".
That soot is easily removed with a day or two of pressure washing and then polishing.