Newbie! Hello, and I have questions!

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Drewski1138

Hi all!

Greetings from the Saginaw Bay area in Michigan! I am in the process (after tons of research and some really good luck) of purchasing my first boat, a gorgeous 1976 Catalina 27. I've had the sailing bug for a long time, so this is very exciting to make the first jump into boat ownership!

My boat currently lives in Holland, MI, and I live near Saginaw, on the other side of the state. The most cost effective method I've come up with to get her home is to sail her from her current port to Bay City. This leads to my questions:

1) I'm not a very experienced sailor at all, having only sailed a couple times on afternoon charters, so how long would a venture like this take? Using activeCaptain, I've put a rough course together, and it looks like it would take a couple hundred nm. Seems like a long way! But, I do not have $1,400-1,800 extra to hire a trucking firm to tow it across the state by land.

2) Also, non-experience leads me to not being stupid enough to do this myself. I'd probably need to find an experienced skipper to go with me. How do I do this?

3) The boat is in excellent shape, well maintained, and has been sailing all summer, so the equipment is in good order, but what would I need for a trip like that?

I figure this delivery cruise would be a crash course in longer cruising for me, and a way to see my state like I haven't before. I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

Why not ask the seller if he/she would accompany you with you picking up the tab. Including a rental car home.

[Manos1955]

I sailed my 26 feet WESTERLY CENTAUR last April from a port 200NM away from my home port

It took me two and a half days but I was not sailing at night

It is not a big deal even for a novice sailor however all.you need is to go.to your local yacht club and ask for.an experienced hand.to.come.along You do not need to hire anybody. They will join you for.free

Have some.extra drinking water, some.extra fuel in a Jerry can and some.food this is all you need

Download the charts on your smartphone and make sure you have a solar charger for.this

Enjoy

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by skipmac

The 2 days estimate probably came from your initial post where you said, "it looks like it would take a couple hundred nm." If you sailed it straight through in good conditions you could do that in 2 days or a bit more.

That's exactly correct. I read a couple hundred nm in the first post and in my head went 200 miles at 5 knot average speed = 40 hours sailing. So a full on weekend sail, but two days none the less as a delivery. And that magical word delivery, so motor into weather when necessary. Achieve 5 knots speed over ground on shortest course.

If OP wants to sight see on the way, and/or avoid travelling in dark, then sure, that 200 miles will take at least a 4 day trip. And obviously from what others are saying the 200 miles might be way less than the real distance.

If it were me, I'd do a passage plan using appropriate charts and likely weather etc etc. Then I'd look at feasibility of such a trip, in terms of possible crew, boat speed etc. Hiring someone? I'd rip out all my own teeth first.

I'd also look at plan B. Does OP or mate have a truck licence? It's only a 27 footer, weighing well under, 5 tonnes (sorry metric system where I am, so less than 10,000 pounds whatever that is in tons in the archaic US system). Could pop it on a truck with a hiab or on a trailer towed by decent vehicle. Can you hire/borrow a truck or trailer? Maybe a ute would do (see photo).

Seriously I would look at this as an adventure and a learning experience and hell of a lot of fun. It's a short trip on a lake where you're never out of sight of land (presume you don't even have tides to worry about?). It's a sail boat, not a rocket ship.

[olepedersen]

Hi Let us help you,start telling us what you have for workingg equipment. VHF,DEPT SOUNDER, motor? auto pilot chart plotter.etc. then tell us bout yourself age,agility technical knowledge. time available to you etc let us know now

[iyamwhatiyam]

You don't mention whether you had the boat surveyed. Better to find and correct any items requiring attention prior to setting sail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_surveyor

[lesterbutch]

You sound very unprepared for what you want to do. Perhaps you should re-evaluate trucking the boat. What your proposing with rent-a-captains and all is going to cost you a lot more than trucking. Also you might be able to rent a trailer big enough to haul a 27 footer! Iv'e hauled a 31 footer, ( you have to check local law due to the beam of the boat). Other wise stay local and get your skills in order, as well as making a point to make some friends in the boating community.

Good luck and remember, this is not a game, lack of knowlege can kill you!
Capt. W. Lester

[Drewski1138]

Hey guys!

Thanks for all the replies, warm welcomes, and advice! I've been pulling double duty at work for a boss out with knee surgery, so I haven't had a chance to reply individually, but let me give you all a little update!

Originally Posted by grantmc

I'd also look at plan B. Does OP or mate have a truck licence? It's only a 27 footer, weighing well under, 5 tonnes (sorry metric system where I am, so less than 10,000 pounds whatever that is in tons in the archaic US system). Could pop it on a truck with a hiab or on a trailer towed by decent vehicle. Can you hire/borrow a truck or trailer? Maybe a ute would do (see photo).

Seriously I would look at this as an adventure and a learning experience and hell of a lot of fun. It's a short trip on a lake where you're never out of sight of land (presume you don't even have tides to worry about?). It's a sail boat, not a rocket ship.

Plan B is most likely what I am going to go with. I met with the owner on Saturday, took the boat out on Lake Macatawa for a bit. In talking with him, I found out that he actually purchased her in Bay City and had it hauled to Holland. Ironic, isn't it?? He said the driver that he used just had a 2 axle flatbed and a heavy pickup. So, that is my plan to arrange a pickup and flat bed. By the way...anyone in Michigan with a flat bed trailer that can haul a 7,000lb boat interested? PM me! I'll be glad to compensate!

Luckily, the price of the boat includes slip fees at its current marina for the rest of the season, so I do not have to move her right away. The plan is to learn the basics on her where she is now, with the current owner showing me some of what he knows, then late August-early September, move her up to her new home.

Thanks again for all the feedback! I'll have to start a pictures thread or something when I get settled.

[bwells79]

Several years ago a friend of mine bought a 38' Chris Craft motor boat in Cedar Point marina and he was going to keep the boat in Waukegan, IL. Doing our research (if memory serves me correctly) we learned that Michigan has some form of a marina or shelter within or every thirty miles. So, if you had the time and preferably someone to help / teach some sailing you could pick your weather windows and hop your way around the state.

You might want to check some of the local marinas or yacht clubs to see if someone might be up for the adventure. You might not need to pay for a captain. My brother used to sail the Mac race and at times when he was not available for the race would volunteer to return the boat to Chicago. You might even be able to find a sailing instructor looking for a break before returning to college.

Good luck

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by grantmc

That's exactly correct. I read a couple hundred nm in the first post and in my head went 200 miles at 5 knot average speed = 40 hours sailing. So a full on weekend sail, but two days none the less as a delivery. And that magical word delivery, so motor into weather when necessary. Achieve 5 knots speed over ground on shortest course.

If OP wants to sight see on the way, and/or avoid travelling in dark, then sure, that 200 miles will take at least a 4 day trip. And obviously from what others are saying the 200 miles might be way less than the real distance.

If it were me, I'd do a passage plan using appropriate charts and likely weather etc etc. Then I'd look at feasibility of such a trip, in terms of possible crew, boat speed etc. Hiring someone? I'd rip out all my own teeth first.

I'd also look at plan B. Does OP or mate have a truck licence? It's only a 27 footer, weighing well under, 5 tonnes (sorry metric system where I am, so less than 10,000 pounds whatever that is in tons in the archaic US system). Could pop it on a truck with a hiab or on a trailer towed by decent vehicle. Can you hire/borrow a truck or trailer? Maybe a ute would do (see photo).

Seriously I would look at this as an adventure and a learning experience and hell of a lot of fun. It's a short trip on a lake where you're never out of sight of land (presume you don't even have tides to worry about?). It's a sail boat, not a rocket ship.

I loved the pic!

[Joel E Felt]

Drewski - Welcome to CF. I am totally with you. It sounds that you have a pretty good fix on getting your boat back to the "thumb". I'm in St. Claire area and can only tell you that is a banner year on the G.L.'s Please let us know how things are going, perhaps some pic's, on the way. Hope to see you around sometime. Good sailing and good luck.
BTW just starting out also. ITS freakin cool, ain't it???
joel

[JPA Cate]

Hello, drewski,

Welcome aboard CF. There have been some threads here about getting your boat out of the berth singlehanded, might do to read up on this. I know that you plan to have crew, but understanding the dynamics will help. I'm thinking if you could take the week before the Labor Day Weekend Off, hitching the short weekend to the long one, so to speak, and arrive at your boat the Friday night before, you would have enough time to get your boat home in day hops. With sailboats, you only go in a straight line towards destinations you can fetch, so, unless your boat has a strong diesel engine, you're better off to rely on sail power than motor, and you will go more miles than the "crow flies" estimates, and must allow time for that. I would expect to average around 4-4.5 in that boat for that trip. If she does better than that, it will make your life easier, but just don't count on it.

I suggest buying paper charts for the areas through which you will be going, it's easier to trip plan when you can see the whole thing laid out, and correlate longer runs to the weather forecasts.

Economically, if you cannot afford the time off, it will have to be trucked, but don't expect it to arrive undamaged, or inexpensively, only relatively less expensive, depending on your earnings. A keel boat needs a cradle to ride in on a truck, that properly distributes its weight. While she may be able to bear some of her weight on her keel on the hard, with supports to keep her from tipping, for the bounciness of road travel, it needs the cradle. It needs the hire of a crane to lift her onto the cradle once it has been built. With crane hire, one usually pays for all it's road time as well as the time it is actually working. You will also need to take the mast out, and one hires riggers for that, generally... This is not a cheap option, when you examine it. You'll have to find out the regulations about the beam of the boat, relative to whether or not permits are needed, or route constraints.

This will all be part of the adventure, whichever way you wind up solving the problem. It is usually prudent to overestimate costs, they tend to exceed expectations.

Ann