Can I Sail Away In 2018?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Padastty

Our plan was to liquidate everything, businesses, home and stuff, in 2018, set up in USVI, shop for CAT and sail away.

Noting the devastation of the hurricanes to the boat market we are starting to feel uncertain we should proceed. Is the timing wrong?

Should we consider buying new and putting into charter? Feel new might be easier than finding fair value on used. Wife not too keen on idea of starting in Med or S. Pacific.

Beginning to wonder if unwinding everything won’t be a huge fiasco but it has to happen. If we take that step we can’t turn back. We can sell home and most stuff to charter for 5 years run and grow business to higher valuation.
Or are we just finding ways to talk ourselves out of it?

Share your hesitation you overcame.

From your post it seems like a pipe dream at this point.

[stormalong]

I agree with others that say you do not sound very experienced.

Buying a boat is more complicated than buying a house or condo. To make a good purchase you need to know a lot about what you want. You just can't sail away without knowing the state of your boat or the suitability of it's equipment. If your home refrigerator breaks down it is trivial to replace it - not so on a boat. Your home has a simple electrical system compared to a boat. No engine or complex electronics in a home either.

I have always believed that to safely operate a boat you need to know it inside out. That includes being able to do your own maintenance. Too often I have seen cruisers that depend on others for keeping their boat running well and that means finding competent help - often very difficult. Many boat maintenance workers will fix what you ask them to and ignore the problem looming right next to it simply because you did not talk to them about it. Or you did not know enough to recognize a problem before it became a serious issue.

When I bought my present boat 27 years ago I spent 1-1/2 years outfitting it before going cruising and have done hundreds of repair/upgrade projects since.

I may sound a little harsh but if you want to cruise successfully you must prepare yourself and then your boat before "taking off".

[JPA Cate]

Here's an example, for OP. A few years back, there was a CF member who, with her husband, bought a cat, with the notion of circumnavigating. They eventually wound up. kind of worn out, and sold the boat at a huge loss in Panama. What demoralized them was waiting on boat workers for normal work to be done, and their delays, and the work not being done well. To the extent that you can understand and maintain a boat's systems, the OP can either do well and be happy, or not and be miserable, hemorrhaging $$, waiting on others to do *stuff*.

Getting a boat ready and keeping it ready to cross oceans, does not flow as smoothly as automobile ownership -- plus, the ocean is basically a hostile environment for humans, we can't survive without aids, we need life support systems. It's the skipper's job to maintain all that.

Ann

[IslandHop]

Do it reach for your dreams, happy new cheers

[SoggyPaws]

You are getting lots of good advice from several different perspectives. It is a real commitment to own a cruising-sized boat and cruise full time. It's hard. It's not like you see in Cruising World--drinking Mimosas in the sunset every day. When it lines up like that, it is very rewarding, but you can't afford to just "hang out and enjoy the sunset" every day of the year.

What nobody has mentioned yet is the flip side of the coin. You ain't getting any younger. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. Good health is a big key to having an enjoyable cruising lifestyle. So, if you are over 50, another 5 years is a big deal health-wise. And if you are over 60, it's a HUGE deal. I wouldn't go for a 5 year plan.

Also, the bigger the boat, the more systems to break down, the more expense to maintain, the more strength and experience needed to actually sail the boat. So if you are just starting out, I would think smaller, start smaller. If you want a cat, buy a smaller cat, do some coastal cruising--the Waterway, Florida, Bahamas, etc can keep you busy and teach you what you need to know, and GO NOW.

After a couple of years of coastal cruising, if you really love the life, THEN cut your ties, invest in a bigger boat, and go further. Don't just think about one "forever" boat. Like cars, the boat needs to suit your situation.

And, to answer another question, I would never buy a new boat. Even on a brand spanking new well-equipped boat, you will have to install stuff, do maintenance and fix things. The new boat premium is not worth the price.
Find a well-equipped used boat at a reasonable price, and go cruising sooner than later.

Sherry

[MamaKube]

I suggest checking out a site such as Yachtworld to get an idea of what you can get in your price range. It gives you good baseline data.

[akprb]

Originally Posted by MamaKube

I suggest checking out a site such as Yachtworld to get an idea of what you can get in your price range. It gives you good baseline data.

There ya go, problem solved ;-)

[Lihuedooley77]

You sound very inexperienced, and your wife seems not all in with this sailing stuff that she may know anything about sailing, or boats. Bad combo.

You need a viable crew member, she and you might spend some time learning how to sail and take the ASA courses, all of them.

Then bare boat charter the boats at the a sailing club and get some near coastal experience with day sails, the overnight coastal sailing.

Practice all aspects of s ailing, navigation, real nav...coastal piloting and navigation, basic cruising, all boat systems, electrical, plumbing, pumps, engine room, thru hulls, marine weather, basic, intermediate , and advanced lessons. cruising prep seminars, proper anchoring, night sailing, watch standing, anchoring, single hook, bow and stern, bahamian moor. Plus radio procedures, knot tying, seamanship, emergency procedures, man over board procedures, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Then bare boat charter in international waters. And after getting some solid experience, including rough weather, then sell it all, buy the boat and start cruising the caribbean.

Does she want to be a trained and viable crew, or does she just want to kick back and enjoy the sun, and fix sandwiches . Will she and you put in the effort to gain the knowledge and experience to be safe out at sea. The skipper's main responsibility is to the boat, crew, and passengers ( all three).

So before you plunk down a few hundred grand, you might want to make sure that it is a correct decision. Getting rid of your home, and possessions, and buying a large sailing catamaran, like in poker, You are all in, and you had better have a pat hand.

You get anxious and make a decision that is not right for both of you, you may just find yourself off a rocky lee shore at night , strong winds, and seas, and being blown down on the fringed a rock reef. Bye, bye.

And what might be the result ? You have, no home, no possessions, no car, no boat, no job, no savings, and maybe no lives. Harsh words, well maybe, but not as harsh that that ocean and the weather gods are going to be.

The ocean does not love you, and she is intolerant of of any indifference and ineptitude.

Those are my feelings, not necessary the idea pattern of others.

[daletournier]

What replaces your current income? Lump sums don't last.

As one that has sold a business and wound things down the most important planning was the money. I had to work out what income I needed and how I was going to get that.

I look at cruising as a money VS time thing, some people wait to long in order to have more money and leave it to late, some leave to early without their financial world sorted well enough and then struggle often giving up. Workout what you need, add a screw up factor in there and plan accordingly.

People find it hard to adjust to less cash flow. People do it on all sorts of budgets. Most couples I know on a nice boat, that keep their boat very well maintained and live a nice life do so on between 35-45k/year. My experience is the first year of boat ownership is a very expensive year as you adapt it to what you think you need.

[valhalla360]

I'm a bit confused. Are you planning to charter the boat for income? That's a lot harder than it sounds and even more so if you are not in one location (at least to do so legally and not get the locals to come after you when they catch you at it).

With no idea what your funds, experience or plans are...we can't tell if you are ready but it sounds like you haven't fleshed out the plan very much and the wife may not be on board.

[CatNewBee]

Hi valhalla360

I guess he is struggling to either give up everything and start full time cruising vs. continuing his life on shore and part time cruising for several "owners weeks" while having the vessel managed by a charter company during the rest of the season.

It is not about working as charter captain for guests on his own boat while cruising the world.

This is what some cruisers do, they invite "guests" or "crew" to join along the journey and "share the costs" for fuel, food and marinas along the way. They do not call it charter and I guess they make NDA / "at your own risk" thing before going on board...
Because it is called cost sharing instead of business - they are officially not making money - they do not get in conflict with the authorities.

In some countries you have limitations for the crew list / name changes on it to prevent hidden charter businesses. But you are fine when not staying too long in one country and have only one or a few crew changes during this time I guess.

[verb88]

Originally Posted by earlgray

Can I Sail Away In 2018? .......I do not know. Can you???

Thanks for playing,NOT

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

Hi valhalla360

I guess he is struggling to either give up everything and start full time cruising vs. continuing his life on shore and part time cruising for several "owners weeks" while having the vessel managed by a charter company during the rest of the season.

It is not about working as charter captain for guests on his own boat while cruising the world.

This is what some cruisers do, they invite "guests" or "crew" to join along the journey and "share the costs" for fuel, food and marinas along the way. They do not call it charter and I guess they make NDA / "at your own risk" thing before going on board...
Because it is called cost sharing instead of business - they are officially not making money - they do not get in conflict with the authorities.

In some countries you have a limitations for the crew list / name changes to prevent hidden charter business. But you are fine when not staying too long in one country I guess.

I'm not clear what he's thinking when he mentions chartering. If he thinks he is going to captain the boat, he clearly doesn't know what is involved. If he thinks he will put it into a charter company plan and make money...he also is in for a rough experience.

What you describe is definitely a gray area business and works fine until it doesn't. As far as I know it only "kind of" works in the USA.

The USCG allows friends and family to share expenses without considering it a commercial charter.
- The problem is fake "friends" you met on the internet once a couple weeks back and suddenly decided you want them to come visit for a week become problematic if there is an injury or other major problem. Good luck getting them to stick to their story if they are staring down a big medical bill or think they can sue for a big payday. Also, if your non-commercial insurance gets wind that you were really chartering and the customers accidentally sank the boat, good luck getting a payout.

Internationally, if it's an occasional guest once a month or so, you are less likely to run afoul of the local competition but also makes it a lot harder to make significant money off it. If you have week after week of "friends" coming in, there is a good chance the local competition figures out what is happening and takes action.

PS: a money losing business is still a business, so just covering some expenses does not mean it's not a business.

[akprb]

There is one person missing from this conversation.

We’re happy to help but for sure need more information in order to give the best advice.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "...unwinding everything... has to happen... If we take that step we can’t turn back. We can sell home and most stuff to charter for 5 years run and grow business to higher valuation."

Sounds like the OP's proposal to unwind/liquidate is made under some sort of duress and he is desperately seeking "a way out". That is NOT a sound foundation on which to build a cruising life!

TP