Buying a Boat

[AtomicPhil]

I would like to know what or how most of you got to have a boat. i am looking forward to getting a sail boat. at first i was thinking of buying something small just to cruise around maybe $4500 that ive seen to start off. but in the future would like to get one around $25,000 - $35,000 to live aboard. reason to live aboard, its like lets say an cosmonaut/astronaut before heading out to space for a long time one must know there place inside and out. i want to start traveling the Caribbean islands and maybe elsewhere.

how much money one must put down and how much is the payment monthly?

[maytrix]

There's a lot of different answers. More importantly, the bigger questions are at $25-35k will you be able to get financing. A lot will depend on the age of the boat from what I've seen.

How much you have to put down depends on those factors as well. I've seen anything from 10%-25%. And rates vary as well.

As far as payments, there are plenty of calculators if you do some searches.

[AtomicPhil]

people wont finance under 35k? well my credit is so so due to school loans. but i just wanted to get an idea.

[maytrix]

Like I said, it really depends on the age of the boat. A 25 year old boat at $35k, probably not. A boat under 5 years old, probably a better chance. This is just from what I've been reading.

If you do some searches on boat loans, many of the sites will list their requirements and estimated rates.

[AtomicPhil]

well do thanks.

[Ex-Calif]

Atomic Phil - Maytrix has it right. Your credit history, the age of the boat, the current financing environment, collateral assets all will make a big difference.

I know from your other posts you are a young enthusiastic guy. My advice at this point is to buy what you can afford on a cash basis. Stick in the mid 25 foot or less. Learn about the boat, learn about the systems. The best thing you can do right after college is get rid of your loans - all of them.

Once you go down the great American Dream path of house loan, car loan, student loan, credit cards - you have a high likelihood of you dreams getting completely derailed.

My 25 y/o half brother is leaving undergrad virtually debt free and will be debt free this year. He worked his butt off all the way through and the guy has so many more options. He just did a 6 month cycling tour of US west coast, Australia East coast and came here and cycled Malaysia.

On top of the boat loan, you will have ~$400 per month in recurring costs for a ~26 foot boat. Insurance, berthing and maintenance.

Go for a 22 foot trailer-sailer in the $3000-$4500 range and you will have a blast for a couple of years and learn about boats and sailing.

[AtomicPhil]

Yea i kinda used a loan calculator and seen a boat i like got the price put it on the calc, and boy wasnt cheap. yea im going to clean up the loan first. house not really into it that much big space for nothing.

one thing how did ur bro like malaysia? have a friend that live in sabah pretty nice there. yea im going to look around for a 4500 for now. i take on that advice. thanks you both.

[roverhi]

I was a member of a credit union that gave me a signature loan large enough to buy my first 26' boat. Payments ate up so much of my income that I had to live aboard and sailing was the only recreation I could afford. Luckily it wasn't hard convincing women to go sailing. Paid off that loan in two years and used the equity for a down payment on a 35' boat at my next duty station. Once again, put everything I had into the boat, lived aboard and sailed for three years. Took the equity from that and bought a Westsail 32 kit, convinced my bride to live in a VW bus until the boat was finished enough to move aboard. Used unemployment to live on while I built the boat. Thankyou Uncle Sam. Lived aboard and cruised SoCal for another year and eventually left for SoPac. Eventually dropped the hook in Kona, HI and never left. Used the equity in the boat to buy a lot and get a loan to build a house. Have lived here for 30 years. The money generated from realestate over the years has been partially plowed back into my current boat that I just single handed over from SF.

[maytrix]

Biggest key is if getting a boat is your #1 goal, spend as little as you can elsewhere. When we bought our house, my wife and I weren't thinking of moving on to a boat, but now that it is our goal, I wish we had spen 1/3 of what we did and bought a condo. Not only would we still be building equity, but we would have spent a LOT less on upkeep..etc.

So set your priorities and you'll get there.

[GorillaToast]

If you're serious about being a live-aboard, then you might as well start learning to live as a minimalist now. This is what I am doing.

Find the smallest/cheapest apartment you can, cancel your cable, and any other monthly payments that aren't absolutely necessary. If you need a car to get to work, sell the one that has payments and get a good used car with no payments. Use the extra money to pay off all your debts, then use that extra money to save for a boat.

I bought a dinghy for $850 cash by selling off some stuff I didn't really need. I used this boat to learn the basics of sailing. I just got a 20' boat, again for $825 cash, and I'll soon sell the dinghy. Refiting is being financed also by selling things I don't really need. I'll sail the crap out of that 20' boat over the next 4 years.

For entertainment, I sail, read, use the internet, over-the-air tv, work on the boat, play my drums and guitars, write songs. Oh, and forget dating. Relationships will derail your plans and eat up your money faster than anything!

By downsizing my life, I will be able to save $50,000 over the next 4 years, and that doesn't include interest earned or investment earnings ( if the economy ever recovers). With that $50k, I'll be able to buy a $30k boat cash and have a $20k nestegg for refit, maintainence, etc.

We don't really need the "things" our society tells us we do.

Good luck.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by AtomicPhil

one thing how did ur bro like malaysia? have a friend that live in sabah pretty nice there. yea im going to look around for a 4500 for now. i take on that advice. thanks you both.

Brother loved it. He is a big cycler. He and a buddy cycled up the east coast of west malaysia. Then they took a train to the west coast of east Malaysia and cycled back down the coast.

We also got a fair amount of sailing in. Good fun.

[rtbates]

save and pay cash....no loan. no interest, and nobody telling your when and where you can sail... Lenders require full insurance and insurance companies don't like named storms or your boat, that they lent money, to be anywhere close to where a hurricane can even remotely pass... From June to Nov that's a lot of ocean off limits...And most deny any claim from damaged casued by a named storm..

[Mimsy]

AtomicPhil, I think you are doing well to think things out well in advance. I can't tell you THE way to do it,only the way that has worked for us. I will admit that it has been harder for me than for my husband who is naturally frugal- me? I have to work at it.

Pay off all of your debt. If you are like us and figure out early on that borrowing money is a good way to never have any, you are one step closer to the goal.

As you work your way up in your career and begin to earn more, do not adjust your lifestyle upward. Keep your lifestyle back where it was when you weren't earning as much and "stack paper" (save).

Friends laughed at us for not taking vacations, skipping movies, not eating out except very, very rarely. My husband's 10 year old Nissan with 150k+ miles on it was the butt of jokes from his coworkers for many years. My friends took out big loans to finance their McMansions and burnt through cash to furnish them. While my coworkers spent lavish amounts on new designer shoes and handbags, I made do with vintage and resale. Our kids do not have the latest video games, individual laptops, cellphones etc. (I've wanted an Ipad since the launch but am waiting for the price to come down...)

Why did we do this for all these years? Because we kept our eye on the prize. We paid cash for our boat, are paying cash for the refit and are ready to retire as soon as the husband's current project finishes. Our friends of the same age are hoping to retire in 20 years, most will work for another 25 at least.

The only thing worthwhile that money buys is time away from making money.

Keep your eye on your goal. Instead of buying a boat now, go sailing as crew locally. Lend a hand to someone doing maintenance on their boat and learn, learn, learn. By taking your time and saving your pennies, when the time is right you will be in good position to do what ever it is you choose to do, not what you have to.

Oh and GorillaToast about dating? You can absolutely date just be sure you are dating the right girl!

[AtomicPhil]

Mimsy yea like most people here i have a mind set of living with the minimum things in life, like what GorillaToast has said we dont need everything society tells us. i share an apartment paying $300 a month, electricity is low because im never home. and internet and cell. all this i pay under $450 a month. i have no car because my job is close so i just take public transportation. i am now focused on buying a boat. many see buying a house, but what is so good about that? wasting space u need to buy things to make it look like a mainstream living. oh and when i talked to a guy that bought a sailboat he told me that when he goes out and sleeps its extremely peaceful compared to city life. and boating is a great work out in my opinion and get to travel. great stories to tell friends.

Ex:Calif i am planning to visit Sabah,Malaysia got friends there i heard it also nice.

[barnakiel]

20k USD and sailed RTW.

b.