What do you think of our "start cruising" plan?

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by fursoc

I have been reading and reading about the challenges of maintenance on boats, and to be honest it doesn't worry me too much. I am someone who needs a project even when on holidays. As long as it's not taking up the majority of my time I will be able to make it work.

There's a saying that cruising is boat repair in exotic places. That is more or less true depending on the boat's age, quality, and state of maintenance. And in some locals, repair can take seemingly forever due to availability of parts, technicians, hailouts, etc.

I have a friend who set out two years ago, after retirement, to live and cruise on her boat throughout the Caribbean. She had spent years preparing the boat and being an engineer ended up being very knowledgeable about it's systems and maintenance. She kept a blog and it ended up being an extended tale of woe, with something breaking in or on the way to virtually every port, forcing expense after expense and delay after delay. That said, she rolled with it and is still out there and loving it.

My point is simply that it will probably take longer than you think and be frustrating at times. Certainly the more of the work you can do yourself the better off you'll be both in terms of cost control and schedule, as well as confidence in your boat.

As a result, your schedule should be taken as little more than a rough initial plan. Repairs, weather, health, etc. all sprout up to cause delays. That's just how it goes and if you and your family are flexible and able to absorb change on the fly you'l be much happier throughout your journey.

[barnakiel]

Yes. As Kenomac pointed out - the more complex the boat systems, the more time you need to get her ready and to keep her going. Notice cruise ships have hundreds of crew to achieve just this.

There are boats with washing machines, there are people who take their laundry to the laundromat. Choices, choices.

If you rely on others to do your boat jobs, much will depend on where you are: in some locations hands are known to work very slow and make many mistakes, in other places people can be very efficient and very professional. Beware.

I helped getting a small Lagoon cat ready for Atlantic crossing last fall. Team of three got all jobs done in 3 weeks. She is now on the West side, cruising without any failures. We replaced some rigging, serviced the engines, had one sail repaired and half a dozen of pump/relay/nav/electric jobs ticked off. Lagoons are simple boats built out of typical components. Not too complex to fix if one knows what they are doing.

Cheers,
b.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Yes. As Kenomac pointed out - the more complex the boat systems, the more time you need to get her ready and to keep her going. Notice cruise ships have hundreds of crew to achieve just this.

There are boats with washing machines, there are people who take their laundry to the laundromat. Choices, choices.

Cheers,
b.

Mr. Answerman,

And just how would most cruisers with two kids and a wife aboard get themselves to that Laundromat that's seven miles away? As in where I'm located today... a laundomat which may or may not even be there, and who knows if it's even open for business when one arrives.

[barnakiel]

A washing machine full of seawater is no better than a launderette 7 miles away. Yes, it is a half day project for one person to go&do the laundry. How many days before one replaces a wasching machine?

Bike, taxi, hitch a ride, catch a bus, OR SIMPLY stop now and then in a marina that has a launderette (this is easily every other one) and do you laundry there.

And which form of passing your free time you find better. To some it is a bus ride thru a nice sunny Greek landscape, to others it is keeping their head in wires, tubes and fried controllers.

Alas, if you opt for living in the bilges, I am not sure how long that wife and children will stay onboard. People on holiday want to move about, meet others, participate. In my book, a trip to the luandry place is better than a trip to the bilge.

So I stick to my launderette plan, even if this be a 7 miles' ride in a smelly local bus full of goats! (Just imagine the selfies !!! ;-)

+Love,
b.

[OzDean]

Hello fursoc, your plan looks good to me, as others have said you will discover the details and constraints that work best for you. We purchased a Jeanneau in Slovenia Aug 2011 and have been slowly making our way around the Med, putting the boat up on hard storage for a year or two at a time, now just thinking will ship the boat home back down under so can use it more. I have a spreadsheet of Marina prices and my views of them if that helps. Pic attached of our trips to give you an idea of trips timings that worked for us. The work thing ended up getting in the way for me. At the start our 3 kids (boys) were 2, 6 and 9. Next trip planned for Aug-Oct this year Antalya to Sicily they will be 8, 12 and 15. We did come across other cruising families from time to time, could have been more organised about that. In retrospect starting in the Adriatic in Aug was perfect, pretty easy sailing conditions to get the hang of the boat and each other in a confined space. Also Croatia is set up for cruising, more expensive than elsewhere but plenty of marinas and support. Racing I can do and that has been fun over the years. In contrast, cruising, anchoring, navigating a passage compared to a race, provisioning, planning, basic maintenance etc were things I needed to learn. Actually it wasn't until the Creek Islands that I learnt how to anchor properly, still learning on that one..... Have fun, be safe, Cheers Dean

[fursoc]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I don't know a local buyer's broker, but I will be in Italy for the next thirty days and then on to Croatia and Montenegro for the next four months if you need any help. Just drop me a PM.

Cheers

Ken

That would be amazing! Thanks Ken.

[fursoc]

Originally Posted by Chalifour

Try Adrian Nicolle from Nicolle & Associates. Operates worldwide from the U.K. He was our agent when we purchased Dance Me in Croatia. We rate him 5 stars for his knowledge, involvement and integrity.

Thanks Chalifour!

[fursoc]

Originally Posted by OzDean

Hello fursoc, your plan looks good to me, as others have said you will discover the details and constraints that work best for you. We purchased a Jeanneau in Slovenia Aug 2011 and have been slowly making our way around the Med, putting the boat up on hard storage for a year or two at a time, now just thinking will ship the boat home back down under so can use it more. I have a spreadsheet of Marina prices and my views of them if that helps. Pic attached of our trips to give you an idea of trips timings that worked for us. The work thing ended up getting in the way for me. At the start our 3 kids (boys) were 2, 6 and 9. Next trip planned for Aug-Oct this year Antalya to Sicily they will be 8, 12 and 15. We did come across other cruising families from time to time, could have been more organised about that. In retrospect starting in the Adriatic in Aug was perfect, pretty easy sailing conditions to get the hang of the boat and each other in a confined space. Also Croatia is set up for cruising, more expensive than elsewhere but plenty of marinas and support. Racing I can do and that has been fun over the years. In contrast, cruising, anchoring, navigating a passage compared to a race, provisioning, planning, basic maintenance etc were things I needed to learn. Actually it wasn't until the Creek Islands that I learnt how to anchor properly, still learning on that one..... Have fun, be safe, Cheers Dean

Thanks Dean! I sent you a PM.