Am I biting off too much to chew?

[BoatBumm]

I am 69 years old. Recently finished spending almost 2 years living aboard alone, covering about 6,000 nmiles. My beloved boat is a Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34. As I told many people she’s big enough for me to live aboard comfortably, small enough to easily handle. I’m 6’3” tall but she has 6’4” headroom so I could stand up fully belowdecks. She’s the 4’ shoal draft version and in many places I could get into better protected anchorages the bigger boats couldn’t get into. As boats increase in size many things quickly get too big to easily handle: sails, lines, ground tackle, etc. I’m a big believer in the KISS principle. You don’t need most of the stuff that many sailors haul with them, and if you don’t have it you don’t need to worry about fixing it. Lyn and Larry Pardey said it best: “Go simple, go small, go now.”

[Talk Story]

All good thoughts ... don't bet your life on electrical systems, have them there to compliment the existing ones, but be able to raise, lower and do what you have to do without them (windlass aside). I would rather have a much newer 44' boat than a 60 footer that looks like it has the bells and whistles.

Don't believe any equipment more than 3 years old with listings online, much of it will fail sooner than later and you are left feeling like you can't live without it (like me and my bowthruster!).

I had the time of my life on a boat years ago eveyone told me was too big for me. HR is a good solid boat ... Contessa's are nice if the newer ones are in your budget.

Remember, you will look back and regret the things you did not do in life . . .

[Sailor-Gene]

Originally Posted by Reel Love

Great responses so far, and thank all of you who have responded.

1. I do not plan on just taking off. I agree that would be foolish. My plan is to take whatever vessel I acquire and get her to my home in Miami. From there, it's an easy hop to the Bahamas (I have done that many times).

2. I then plan is to island hop in the Bahamas, eventually moving south to the Turks and Caicos, then into the Leeward Islands, then to the Windward Islands, then west ack into the "southern" Leeward's, eventually returning to Miami. The biggest issue here is trying to avoid hurricane season with such an ambitious schedule.

3. Assuming everything works out, then plan to either: [a] traverse the Gulf of Mexico to eventually end up in Panama to transit the canal and make our way up the coast into Alaska.

Alternative plan: [B] is to return to Annapolis and find another cruiser to hopefully join me to cross over to Europe (and if I am lucky, via Iceland which I hear is amazing).

Once on the other side of the pond, we have planed on spending at least a year and most likely longer exploring the Baltic region, UK, Europe and the Med before possibly getting more venturous. Personally, if I am able to make Plan "B" a reality, I will have deemed this entire venture to be a smashing success.

As to repairs: that is the least of my worries. I maintained a sport fish for over 25 years. If it breaks, I can fix it.

Now handling "big sails", that's something that I need to consider.

Again, thank you to everyone so far.

We retired from SillyCone Valley in 1958 and purchased a new custom outfitted Manta 40' Sail Cat in Florida... We added everything we could for our eventual around the world cruise, 6 man liferaft, drogue chute, abandon ship bag, and 4" raise of waterline.

In early 1999, we waited patiently for a weather window near Miami and finally took off to the Bahamas and beyond with our canal lines tucked away.

As the Miami skyline grew smaller, my wife famously said; "GENE... AFTER WE SEE THE ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS, WHAT DO WE DO FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS??" We spent the next 10+ years exploring the Bahamas and western Caribbean with summer trips north to Annapolis (insurance follies).

Our WORLD cruise scope was reduced to the wonderful warm cultures and waters of the Caribbean. We swallowed the anchor in 2010 and now cruise occasionally in a land yacht.

The moral of the story... GO FOR IT... Do not schedule your cruise. Something called weather will often make it unsafe. Enjoy and cherish every today and jump at opportunities. While anchored in Utila, Bay Islands of Honduras, a friend came up on VHF and said he had arranged a charter boat to go snorkeling with migrating whale sharks... the next day we were swimming with the gentle giants... checked off another bucket list item we didn't know about!!

Happy Holidays

Gene

[sail4evr]

Originally Posted by Reel Love

This thread applies mostly to solo's, cruising couples or those of you who have owned/cruised a mono-hull vessels 45' or larger.

I am 65+, and power boated most of my life. I own a powerboat now and use her offshore a lot to fish. I know how to sail, but not well.

I always wanted to sail around the world, but work, kids and wife precluded that dream. I am finally in a position to pursue the dream. I am presently in school to obtain the proper certifications to qualify for internationally required licenses. I also plan upon hiring a Captain for hands on training too.

I have noticed that well maintained premium name plate sailing vessels 25+/- years old in the 45'- 60' range are very attractively priced at 20%-25% of what they originally cost new. I located a few mid 50' cutters that are within my budget. They all appear to have roller furling and electric everything so I do not believe that my age should be a major factor in sailing the vessel, with believe being the operative word.

Query: Am I biting off more than I should? This vessel would be my first sailing yacht. I have looked at many vessels in the 42' to 48' range and for a few dollars more I can be in a 53'-57' boat with a ton of room that appear to be easier to sail with all the comforts of home.

Thoughts please. I thank everyone in advance for their constructive comments.

Charter a boat for a week or 2 or 3. Most charter agancies, when you get your briefing, pay attention to your responses and judge whther you are safe to charter the boat. They may require a captain go with you for the first day or for the entire weeki depending on your skill level.
Take a full series of sailing school course that work you from basic up to more advanced. Then you will know you have met basic credentials to sail. Not just your own opinin which might be some what biased.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Scorpius

By the foot CUBED I would say. A sixty-footer is more like EIGHT TIMES the size of a thirty-footer than twice the size.

That is exactly what by I always recommend comparisons based on displacement, its a better size comparison.

[Cheechako]

I had a 47 footer in my 50's it was a lot to handle at times for sure, even at that age. I'm not a large person though. It would have been well beyond me at 65. Really no need for that big a boat unless you are sailing with a crowd. 36-40 ft is great.

[kvstein]

I know how to sail. I learned by club racing for many years. When I went cruising I was amazed how little most of my colleagues and friends knew about sailing. But they did fine. Except for deep ocean crossings sailing has little to do with cruising. Its more about repairs, anchoring, docking, wrestling with the dingy, and above all watching the weather. If you can handle those things you will do well. But above all go soon. At 73 I no longer feel safe on the boat. Good luck!

[Sylph VI]

Skimmed the many posts here but strongly agree with general thrust, 36-40 foot is pretty optimal size for short-handed long distance sailing.

[tomtriad]

It would be a good idea for you to learn how to sail first, then get some experience on a variety of offshore vessels to see for yourself how they handle. A lot depends how fit you are, and if your wife likes sailing.

[dlj]

One question I haven't seen asked is where does the OP think he wants to sail? What are the cruising grounds you'd like to cover? If you are planning to go to Europe, then I'd be looking for a smaller boat, 38 to 42 footer would be good. Larger boats can be difficult to get into the really awesome old ports in Europe and even that size can be a bit big. But still doable most of the time.

I think the boat selection should take into account where you want to sail.

dj

[CarlF]

I think the more important question is money not length.

People always underestimate the money they'll spend in the first 12 months of ownership. $50,000 is common. $100,000 not uncommon. Sometimes it's more than they paid for the boat.

This is not survey items (although it could be). It's because the mattresses hurt your back. Your wife hates the colors and warn spots on the cushions. You want new electronics. The sails are old. The anchor is an old Delta. The engine will hit 5000 hours during your cruise so you should rebuild it before leaving.

While it costs more on a 50ft boat to do this than a 44ft boat- it's not that much more. An engine rebuild is an engine rebuild. What drives this cost is age. 20 year old boats have lots of things reaching "end of life".

So I would stop thinking about how much you'll save buying a used boat instead of a new boat - but instead think about the cost of a boat that is "as good as new" - because that's the only kind of boat you want to sail around the world in.

I'm 65 and sailing a 57ft Shannon. I find it much easier to sail than a smaller boat because on a 25ton boat things happen more slowly. But I have a lot of experience. And the boat is quite new. If you can afford an Oyster (I'd look at the newer 54's) go for it. Also look at the similar Discovery 55's. I used to own one. Great boats.

But if these bust your budget (including the fix up), drop down to the 44ft area where you should be able to find something less than 15 years old that's been well maintained and leaves room in the budget to get her the way you want her.

Whatever you get, hire one crew for the whole first year who has substantial bluewater experience on similar size boats. This doesn't need to be a licensed Captain (although your insurance company may insist) - a young and strong 20 something getting his start in the business might be perfect. They aren't expensive and most are fun to be around. They can help you get the boat ready for the trip and then help you fix the numerous things that will come up after you start out. Just consider their cost for a year part of the purchase price. Look on https://www.findacrew.net

[ovidiunelu]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I had a 47 footer in my 50's it was a lot to handle at times for sure, even at that age. I'm not a large person though. It would have been well beyond me at 65. Really no need for that big a boat unless you are sailing with a crowd. 36-40 ft is great.

IF you can lift your anchor (50 ft. boat should have something like 75lb anchor) by hand in 20 knots wind you should do just fine
Just go up and down the coast form Florida to Main couple of time before jump the ocean

[Tanqueray]

Originally Posted by Rucksta

20-25% devaluation over 25 years - the vendors are dreaming.
I think 60% would be closer to reality.

I think he means 75-80 percent of their original purchase price...which depending on age is probably about right.


Greg

[Joli]

We're at the other end of the spectrum, we live on and sail a 61' boat. We're rarely in marinas unless we have to go home for something. My wife and I sail about 5~10,000 miles year. The boat can be a handful with a 93' rig and it displaces 65,000#'s but when the weather is ugly I would much rather be on this boat then a 45' boat. Sail handling is roller furling for the jibs, slab reefing for the main and the kites are flown out of a sock.

We've both sailed our entire lives, mostly racing and are both technically competent. This boat works for us but realize it's not the right boat for most others.

Good luck with your search, sail as many different boats as you can.

[Sylph VI]

And 9f course a factor most of us have to consider is operating costs, which tend to increase exponentially with waterline length..