How Cheap Could It Be Done

[double u]

Originally Posted by boatman61

$5000 for a boat that can take you round the world.. Google 'Cooking Fat'
......

good one, bm61! this also tells him what kind of "men" they have to be...(I suppose everybody knows the origin of that particular boatname...)

[Sav]

Just find a sound full keel boat (about 30' & $5.000 to $10,000), stock up on safety gear, and do 3 months or so day/coastal sailing to learn navigation etc, then if it works, head off into the blue yonder... AND DON'T LOOK BACK.
Too many wannabe blue water sailors NEVER leave the dock due to getting over prepaired, procrastination etc.

[double u]

...& everybody here is happily riding their hobbyhorse...

[StuM]

Originally Posted by double u

good one, bm61! this also tells him what kind of "men" they have to be...(I suppose everybody knows the origin of that particular boatname...)

I don't know. Please do tell.

[double u]

"F ooking C at" (according to friends who met him) because it was so terribly uncomfortable (21' or so wharram)

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by double u

"F ooking C at" (according to friends who met him) because it was so terribly uncomfortable (21' or so wharram)

Having owned one I can tell you sleeping in the hulls was like being in a coffin.. the hatch was around 10" above your nose.. I designed and made a spray hood 12ft x 6ft that I could sleep under while underway.. and it folded back to allow me to pitch a dome tent on the deck at anchor.. much better.
Also could sit in the hull and steer while on the Porta Potti with no one any wiser..

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Having owned one I can tell you sleeping in the hulls was like being in a coffin.. the hatch was around 10" above your nose.. I designed and made a spray hood 12ft x 6ft that I could sleep under while underway.. and it folded back to allow me to pitch a dome tent on the deck at anchor.. much better.
Also could sit in the hull and steer while on the Porta Potti with no one any wiser..

So how far did you cruise in your Tiki?

[DawnTreader]

I think a Pearson Ariel can be bought, modified and outfitted for longterm ocean voyaging for 5-10k usd. Then a monthly budget of $400 would see two people fed well and cover most else needed in a minimum budget. We spend on avg $700/month and we could easily shave $300/month off that by doing without meals out, excursions, occasional marinas, booze, etc.

Keep the boat small and make everything yourself. Buy used sails and alter them yourself. Rig the boat yourself, use splices instead of terminals. A good plan and know-how can have the boat ready in a year or less. A good plan and no skills might need an additional year to acquire the skills.

Cheap and small does not have to mean unsafe and uncomfortable. Keep the cabin dry and ventilated, make it a sanctuary. Keep the deck simple and clear.

It can be done for less than I propose, that is just what I would be comfortable with as a bare minimum.

Brian

www.sailingdawntreader.com

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

So how far did you cruise in your Tiki?

South coast UK and some trips to Nth France.. nothing grand.
We were still having beautiful summers back then.. pre Global Cooling..

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Lt.

So, in all honesty, I'm going to place a crazy question to y'all. If me and a buddy got the wild notion to sail the Pacific, live aboard a fair amount, how cheaply could we do it?

Looking at as small a budget as possible, a 25-35 foot boat, and the plan bring to sail from Cali to Hawaii and around the SW Pacific, with little need for too many creature comforts, how cheaply could this be safely ccomplished?

Disregard all the I had this boat and sailed a mill pond. Your question was legitimate, a little crazy in my opinion but have at it. I hope some can contribute some useful info.. If you attempt it keep us updated.

[Scout 30]

Check out this thread started by Steady Hand. The Westsail is the last boat posted today & would be perfect for what you want to do. This looks like a ridiculously good deal & if you're serious you need to meet this guy in San Diego. From there you just head west.
WESTSAIL 32,turn key cruiser, epirb, ssb etc OBO
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ds-147098.html

[SVNeko]

Do it locally and figure it out for yourself first. It's different for everyone.

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by SailingFan

Kita, if I am "this guy", please don't be so afraid I won't go out. I have been in some danged hairy sea states, worked in oilfields at 50 below zero weather, camped on mountainsides at under 20 below weather with very strong winds, I have driven a semi over riverbeds and plowed fields, and have dang near been killed on several occasions in the oilfield as well as in a holdup where I was the target (because I took a stupid risk and hitched a ride). Believe me when I tell you, I know about risk.

However, I also know about how I keep seeing people taking STUPID risks, and that if I seriously tell someone "go on, get out there, take a rowboat, someone rowed in an open dory from the US to England in 1876 so there is no reason you should not do it" I would be in my mind morally corrupt, and ethically I would be a horrible person. It is like telling someone "don't worry, that three year old cannot make a gun work, let them play with it" and this is definitely no exaggeration, in my opinion.

Likewise, having been going through my own sailboat more fully now she is on the hard, I can see tons of places where it is possible for things that are not apparent to be wrong, and in some cases, terribly and dangerously so, and yet invisible to casual observation on a low price sailboat of this size and age.

Let me ask you, how will you personally feel if the person just ups and sails out, and his family comes on here crying because he and pal took a crappy pos out to the open sea, then drowned in the Pacific because they had no idea what the hell they were doing, or what to do in the case of a minor leak? You could have saved them but instead sent them to their doom because you did not want to appear to be too safety minded? Please....

If I am not "this guy" then please disregard, and consider that you may have left a vague reference to who you were referring to.

By the way, I am also a firm believer in jackline tethers and lifejackets... Even in cold as hell water northern latitudes in high seas. Even another minute or two of air is ok for me should I go in, and I have seen folks pulled out of very cold water who were revived, brain still intact, several minutes after they should have been dead. Just because the odds are against me is not a good reason to leave the safety gear at home, on the docks, or locked in a locker under the vee berth or behind the head. I also believe in watchstanding, a logbook, and monitoring VHF, as well as using navigational aids and charts to plot a course rather than simply hoping for the best and weighing anchor, casting lines off the pilings, or disconnecting from the mooring ball.

I will send pics as we move forward, and yes, I am still going to replace the damaged mast step before heading out. I don't care if it might not fall, I am just not stupid enough to chance it just to get out there a moment sooner. The internals that are cosmetic will happen as we go. The OP should consider all this thoroughly before risking his or anyone else's life on a poorly conceived and planned venture such as this. Remember, they are also risking the lives of rescue personnel and other mariners...

You are coming across excessively risk-averse.

[SailingFan]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

You are coming across excessively risk-averse.

Which part, using safety gear or fixing the mast step so that the mast base does not shear away in a blow?

I keep reading people who post that "they did it in the old days" but these posters also neglect that there are thousands or more shipwrecks and likely millions of people lost at sea from those days, and somehow the poster ignores that the basic navigational skills are not in most new sailors yet, and that today's boats (even those from the 80's forward) are noplace near so strong as the ones people used for major transits (and those boats were often lost at sea as well).

The little rafts and dugouts of the Pacific islanders made trips, sure, but many were lost as well, but we have no records of the losses because of the timeframe of the accidents. People were hardier folk then as well, as today people get nervous with an ant sting or bite. Back then, they used the scarring effects of nasty ants for body decoration and to show how strong they were.

It is not the same world, and while most of the time, a good eye to a weather window (in combination with attention to weather charts and other tech products) will keep you out of the nasties. However, a novice captain/crew on a low cost vessel, with no spares or resources to maintain the vessel will be far less likely to make the trip than a seasoned crew with a crappy boat that leaks.

As far as safety goes, if it was just me, I would make an entirely different approach. But it would not be just me. In the OP case, he/she has a friend along. That means that one can fail the other, and additional responsibility is required to watch out for crewmates. That means more safety and more attention to potential hazards in general. That means potentially a better boat, gear, and provisions effectively double, such as water (you can get stuck out there far longer than a 35 gallon tank can provide you water, especially if you keep wasting it due to inexperience).

Not risk averse, just conscious of the additional responsibility that taking someone along and relying on rescue services (thus jeopardizing those lives and resources as well) brings to this discussion. Also keep in mind, folks abandon good boats all the time because they are inexperienced and panic. Where does your ethical and moral compass fall when others are required to come and bail you out? Bail your passengers out? Has to choose between saving your crew or the crew of another vessel in the same storm? Something to think about when the OP has no idea whatever (s)he is about to get into.

The ocean can be fantastic, but she does not take prisoners. Especially stupid ones.

[double u]

"...The ocean can be fantastic, but she does not take prisoners. Especially stupid ones...."
this type of attitude took us around three times without all too many heartstoppers, but everybody to his own liking! we were very often surprised how long a happy-go-lucky approach went unpunished...
"...sea with neither fuss nor noise stifledthe breath of careless boys..." ("The sea" James Simmons)