Thoughts on my plans so far.

[Lasivian]

So, dangerous as this is, i'm sharing my plans so far. Feedback is appreciated. I'm wanting to try to avoid major mistakes or pitfalls. (IE. What am I missing.) Also wondering what hulls I should watch for that would meet my needs.

My max budget for a boat is going to be $100,000 USD. (I plan to come in way under this. But i'll have this much cash available.) This boat will be what I live on for the next several decades while sailing around the world.

My thinking is i'm probably going to just want to start with an older solid hull that has no engine, and perhaps no interior, then just build it the way I want it. (I'm an Engineer for a living, so this doesn't scare me.)

Requirements: (Things that will influence what hull I start with)
Monohull sailboat "Bluewater safe" (Cats seem nice, but they increase the budget too much.)

• Length > 45(ish)(I want comfortable space for 4-5 people.)
• Comfort Ratio > 30
• Capsize Screening Formula < 2
• Headroom > 6'

Regenerative electric drive system. (Oceanvolt or the like. I'm not doing diesel. I can afford to start electric, so I figure it's the best way to go.)
Lithium battery electrical system. (Not sure yet if this has to be something seperate of the lithium drive system. I would prefer to combine to have one big powerbank unless there is a reason not to.)
An 11'(ish) RIB Dinghy (This should do all I need. I'm just guessing it will determine what the davits need to be capable of.)
Rear dingy davits. (Having quick access to a constantly prepared dinghy is critical to me. I'm low on motivation, so having to put a dinghy in thge water, then put on the motor and load it up easily becomes "too much of a chore". Rear Davits seem the best for this, but I might be wrong.)
Sugar scoop transom, or a large swim platform. (I love to fish and swim. So easy water access seems very important.)
A washing machine. (Yes, it's a luxury to many, but to me it's ciritcal. Doesn't have to be large.
Watermaker. (Some people would say this isn't a requirement, but I consider it to be.)
No wood decks. (I refuse to take care of wood decking, or other external wood.)

Thanks for reading all that.

[goboatingnow]

Strange priorities , no interior and then a sentence about washing machines

Davits and “ blue water “ rarely go together, a decent wave will take dinghy and davits clean off the stern. For ocean sailing a dinghy has to come aboard one way or another

No mention of the rig , desired sail plan , etc

As for a solid hull with no interior and no engine , good luck with that , it’s called commissioning a hull

Fitting out a 45 footer from scratch is a huge task and a very costly one.

Firstly it could take you years depending on help, tools, skill set , climate , boat accommodation

Secondly it will in all likelihood cost you 1.5x an equivalent professional builder built boat.

Take your budget and buy a decent reasonably ready to go secondhand boat and “ GO”

Building a boat is a different thing to sailing one and the two require different skills , motivation and personalities. Very very few achieve both.

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Davits and “ blue water “ rarely go together, a decent wave will take dinghy and davits clean off the stern. For ocean sailing a dinghy has to come aboard one way or another

Good to know, thanks.

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

No mention of the rig , desired sail plan , etc

Because I have not gotten to those things yet. They're not critical at the moment.

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Take your budget and buy a decent reasonably ready to go secondhand boat and “ GO”

Building a boat is a different thing to sailing one and the two require different skills , motivation and personalities. Very very few achieve both.

"Sailing" is going to be a method of transporting my home, not an enjoyment on it's own. So buying any ole boat and "going" means i'm very likely to not enjoy what i'm doing. If I have to budget a year or more, and extra money into making the "home" I want on the water then so be it.

[stormalong]

Lasivian,

Your original post says nothing about your sailing experience or where you are. These things are important.

Electric regen propulsion is a nice ideal but completely impractical on a cruising boat. You may find yourself in a situation where you need to motor for many hours or days at a time. Impossible with electric propulsion.

Building out an empty hull requires many skills. What kind of engineer are you? Can you do carpentry, electrical, plumbing and structural work? Boat yards are full of abandoned projects from people who started them but ran out of steam.

Going from place to place around the world is all about the captain's skills and the seaworthiness of the boat. If you have never done a rough ocean crossing I don't think that you understand the stresses on the boat. The mast and rigging must be a primary consideration, not an afterthought.

If you are not going to cruise for the sailing and do not expect to like sailing IMO you should rethink buying a sailboat.

Sailing is the most expensive way to travel slowly while getting cold and wet. You can save a lot of money by standing in a cold shower while tearing up $100 bills. These are old jokes but they have a ring of truth in them.

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Your original post says nothing about your sailing experience or where you are. These things are important.

No, they aren't. I'm going to do this no matter what anyone says. "Where" will be wherever in the USA I find a hull to start with.

As to my sailing skills I can always find someone I can pay to teach me to sail. Or knowledgable crew that want a free ride.

Originally Posted by stormalong

Electric regen propulsion is a nice ideal but completely impractical on a cruising boat. You may find yourself in a situation where you need to motor for many hours or days at a time. Impossible with electric propulsion.

I'll need to have gasoline on the boat for the dinghy outboard anyway. A gasoline generator means i'm not completely at the mercy of other forms of electrical generation.

Originally Posted by stormalong

Can you do carpentry, electrical, plumbing and structural work?

Yes, and more.

Originally Posted by stormalong

Boat yards are full of abandoned projects from people who started them but ran out of steam.

So I keep hearing. For reasons I am not going to get into here this is a "Victory or Death" mission for me. My list of requirements isn't going to be miles long. And it's also why working on a boat will be my fulltime job once I begin.

Originally Posted by stormalong

Going from place to place around the world is all about the captain's skills and the seaworthiness of the boat. If you have never done a rough ocean crossing I don't think that you understand the stresses on the boat. The mast and rigging must be a primary consideration, not an afterthought.

What variety of rigging is not critical at this point. Ketch, sloop, yawl, etc. have their benefits and drawbacks, but do not seem to be critical in those differences. As to the quality of the rigging, or the hull, i'm not going to sail anything that's not seaworthy. I'm a professional. paying someone to inspect and certify my work is normal.

Originally Posted by stormalong

If you are not going to cruise for the sailing and do not expect to like sailing IMO you should rethink buying a sailboat.

For better or worse there are benefits to a sailboat that I cannot replicate any other way. It is the most cost-effective way to travel full-time, and i'm in no hurry.

[stormalong]

Quote:
Originally Posted by stormalong
Electric regen propulsion is a nice ideal but completely impractical on a cruising boat. You may find yourself in a situation where you need to motor for many hours or days at a time. Impossible with electric propulsion.

I'll need to have gasoline on the boat for the dinghy outboard anyway. A gasoline generator means i'm not completely at the mercy of other forms of electrical generation.


As an engineer, which you claim to be but do not specify what kind of engineer, You do not seem to be aware of the power you need to push a 45 foot boat through the water for prolonged periods of time. A portable generator won't do the job. you will need a large, fixed mount water cooled generator. By the time you have installed such a generator and an electric drive you will exceed the cost of diesel propulsion. Gasoline is not only more dangerous but is less efficient than diesel.

Look around at what boats people are cruising in and have been cruising in for the last half century when cruising became a thing. I would guess that less than one in a thousand is electric drive. There are very good reasons for diesel propulsion.

Good luck with your plans. Please post back with both your successes and failures.

[SalingSue]

The new age drive system doesn’t make a lick of sense compared to a diesel if you’re doing anything other than harbor, day sail, back to harbor.

Everything else sounds good, but you’re going to be tight with that budget, when the mix of size and sugar scoop meets.

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Look around at what boats people are cruising in and have been cruising in for the last half century when cruising became a thing. I would guess that less than one in a thousand is electric drive.

I'm going with electric for the main propulsion. If it means I need to have a considerable amount of solar, a very large lithium bank, and only make short passages then so be it. Those are now things to consider and plan for. None of them are enough to go with diesel.

As for a small gasoline generator it's an additional power source. It isn't the primary power source. Just like you can move a sailboat with a dinghy, but it's hardly ideal.

"We've always done it this way" seems to be a common argument made by sailors. But I find it completely unmotivating unless it's your money being spent rather than mine.

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by SalingSue

The new age drive system doesn’t make a lick of sense compared to a diesel if you’re doing anything other than harbor, day sail, back to harbor.

That's your opinion and you're welcome to it. Since people have crossed, and still do cross oceans with no engines at all I think I will be fine.

[Muaddib1116]

Is your $100,000 budget for just the purchase of the used boat that you will retrofit? or is it your budget for everything you described in your original post?

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Lasivian

I'm going with electric for the main propulsion. If it means I need to have a considerable amount of solar, a very large lithium bank, and only make short passages then so be it. Those are now things to consider and plan for. None of them are enough to go with diesel.

As for a small gasoline generator it's an additional power source. It isn't the primary power source. Just like you can move a sailboat with a dinghy, but it's hardly ideal.

"We've always done it this way" seems to be a common argument made by sailors. But I find it completely unmotivating unless it's your money being spent rather than mine.

You said that feedback is appreciated but apparently it isn't.

There is far more energy in a pound of diesel than there is in a pound of lithium battery or gasoline. That is fact that you or I cannot change as much as we would like to. Until solar panels reach 90% efficiency and drop to $.01 per watt or cold fusion is perfected diesel is the best solution.

Good luck to you. I hope your decisions are not fatal. As a cruiser with over 130,000 miles at sea I can tell you that you have no clue as to what you are getting into.

[stormalong]

Yes, people have crossed oceans for centuries without engines. Also many a ship has foundered on the rocks with the helpless crew watching, unable to do anything because engines did not exist. Having electric propulsion with dead batteries in a storm with a lee shore is the same as not having an engine.

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by stormalong

You said that feedback is appreciated but apparently it isn't.

There is far more energy in a pound of diesel than there is in a pound of lithium battery or gasoline. That is fact that you or I cannot change as much as we would like to. Until solar panels reach 90% efficiency and drop to $.01 per watt or cold fusion is perfected diesel is the best solution.

Good luck to you. I hope your decisions are not fatal. As a cruiser with over 130,000 miles at sea I can tell you that you have no clue as to what you are getting into.

Many good points have been made here that I am going to use in my planning.

However, people just saying that something is not viable just because it's new and different is not helpful. Frankly i'm sure people said the same thing to Elon Musk about Tesla.

You're also forgetting that systems like Oceanvolt are regenerative, and produce power from the drive system when under sail. If you're paying for it then we can debate what the best or most efficient means of propulsion is.

Of course I don't know what i'm getting into, that's exactly why i'm here.

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

Is your $100,000 budget for just the purchase of the used boat that you will retrofit? or is it your budget for everything you described in your original post?

Everything that gets me onto the water.

[Muaddib1116]

Originally Posted by Lasivian

Everything that gets me onto the water.

Aside from all the reasonable advise that you've already been given, if $100k is your entire budget, for everything you've been describing, I think you're way off in your estimation.