I Just Fell Off the Turnip Wagon

[tuffr2]

Just got back from snooping around the huge sailboat being stored on the hard. Get this - they are being charged $31.80/mo. for storage in a fenced graveled lot. $30/mo. plus tax. Not bad at all...my guess is that sailboat will sit there along time at only $31.80/mo.

The person that I talked to did not know much. The boat is not for sale and he did not know how the boat got there either.

Lol - he wishes the boat was gone so people (like me) would quit asking about it.

I also checked out a marina with zero sailboats. Poop - I am in the wrong part of Florida.

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[RKsailsolo]

Originally Posted by mikeguyver

Rumpelstiltskin:
You've been away a long time. Gasoline is no longer $.32 a gallon. You can get a perfectly capable "blue water" type boat for $75K if you shop around and do your homework. Look for one listed around $90-100 k and throw them a low ball offer. Cash has a very loud voice these days. Might not make you popular but hey, this is a business transaction not the junior prom.
Fire away....

Great quote.

[tuffr2]

Update - 1st, thanks everyone for the input. I am taking a step back and starting over. All boat types are back on the table except Cats. (Unless I will the lottery).

I have been watching youtube video after youtube video. Seems getting from S. Florida to the Bahamas is very very easy. Young kids are doing it on Wave Runners. I am leaning toward taking smaller steps meaning I will not live on the boat.

With this mindset it make things simpler. I will look at 'power boats' with a cabin. Something to stay in 1 or 2 weeks in the Bahamas. That now includes everything from smaller sailboats (MacGregor 26 even) to 'go fast boats'.

The MacGregor 26 (I Think) would be a good vessel to learn on and to see if I would want to invest in a 'real' sailboat in a few years.

By not living on the boat full time opens up a more viable path.

Again - thanks everyone for the knowledgeable input.

Sail on



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[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Update - 1st, thanks everyone for the input. I am taking a step back and starting over. All boat types are back on the table except Cats. (Unless I will the lottery).

I have been watching youtube video after youtube video. Seems getting from S. Florida to the Bahamas is very very easy. Young kids are doing it on Wave Runners. I am leaning toward taking smaller steps meaning I will not live on the boat.

With this mindset it make things simpler. I will look at 'power boats' with a cabin. Something to stay in 1 or 2 weeks in the Bahamas. That now includes everything from smaller sailboats (MacGregor 26 even) to 'go fast boats'.

The MacGregor 26 (I Think) would be a good vessel to learn on and to see if I would want to invest in a 'real' sailboat in a few years.

By not living on the boat full time opens up a more viable path.

Again - thanks everyone for the knowledgeable input.

Sail on



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If you're going to do that, buy a Catalina 27 (Chevolet of the bay). It is more of a sailor that the Fat Mac. Generally, a used one ready to crash would go for around $5K-$6K....and you're right...see if you want a larger boat after that.

76 Catalina 27 Sailboat
Catalina 27' Inboard Salon Mod. in LiveAboard Marina Sausalito 1bd1ba.

[lippysyd]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

If you're going to do that, buy a Catalina 27 (Chevolet of the bay). It is more of a sailor that the Fat Mac. Generally, a used one ready to crash would go for around $5K-$6K....and you're right...see if you want a larger boat after that.

76 Catalina 27 Sailboat
Catalina 27' Inboard Salon Mod. in LiveAboard Marina Sausalito 1bd1ba.

I second this. We bought our first sailboat 2 years ago. It's a 1972 Catalina 27. Since the boat and I are the same age I don't mind telling you we both still look pretty good. The boat was in great shape, motor runs like a champ and the rigging and sails are fairly new. It could use some paint and it doesn't have the original galley. We sail Lake Erie almost every weekend all summer.

What exorbitant price did we pay?
A whopping 3k...cradle included.

Lord, what I could do with 75k!

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by lippysyd

Lord, what I could do with 75k!

Lets see...You could fly around the world, hike the trail Herman Melville did on Nuka Hiva, take a tramp ship to Tahiti and learn to dance with the locals. Take off to New Guinea and hammock on the beach. Fly over to Krabi, Thailand for the moon celebration and if you're not married fall in love at least 300 times. Visit the great wall of China. Bus to Goa, India (don't forget to stop in Nepal). Fly to Italy and buy a used bicycle and ride to Portugal. Jump anything that floats that will take you back home.
When you return, you will be more fit, more relaxed and richer for the experience. Plus you will still have a good chunk of change and if you time it right back in the spring to go sailing on your Catalina 27 for the summer.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

"In the US, I believe ANY boat over 26' is considered a yacht. "

In the US any boat that is 5ft longer than the one you own is considered a yacht.


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In the US I like to look in the dictionary. Any boat used for recreational purposes is a yacht.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

It is so.

He won't. He may think its turnkey, He may survey it as such But it won't be. He'll find problems. When you add up the bar tab down the road, the money spent on those ancillary problems you DONT know until you've owned the boat for a while (also they are hidden in the original owners smile), these costs (time and money) will far outweigh if you spent a bit more on a boat that was bristol and set at an honest price.

This is not the 70's or 80's.

Disagree with you again. A careful shopper will find the right boat for themselves. New doesn't mean problem free. Newer doesn't mean problem free. Old doesn't mean lots of problems. Be thorough and get a surveyor.

[oldragbaggers]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

For 475k the darn thing should fly. We are talking 1/2 million dollars for a new 40' sailboat. Come on - you have to admit the new price is mind boggling.

At what size does a sail boat become a yacht?

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**Note... the OP was already posting his reconsiderations while I was typing this, but I'll leave it.

I'd stop fixating on this $475K thing. To think that you have to spend anywhere near that kind of money to go cruising is just ridiculous. If that were the case only millionaires would be cruising and a good look at any anchorage will tell you that's not the case.

My husband and I have been buying and selling boats and looking at the boat market for 30+ years, up to and including today, and I guarantee you that with $75K in my hand I could find a perfectly capable boat and have it pulling away from the dock in great working order in no time. Now, mind you I don't require it be a floating condo or have hot and cold running Jim Beam, but if you set some reasonable expectations as far as size and equipment (you say you're going to be cruising Florida and the Bahamas, it does not have to be a "world cruiser." There are plenty of people cruising that area in little production racer/cruisers.) you can find something perfectly suitable.

The problem occurs when people set themselves up to expect their boat to be ocean going equivalents of their home on land. "But.....where is the walk in closet????" If you do that, then you're right, $75K is going to make it tough. But you're talking about single handing a lot of the time (a smaller boat will be easier for you to handle alone), and then only being two of you the rest of the time. And then you mentioned that your cruising will probably be limited to part of the year. It's not your budget that is getting in your way, it's your expectations and your flawed ideas about what is necessary to go cruising!!

I suggest you buy a book and read it cover to cover, twice. And then if you still think you need a 40 footer, read it again. It is Sensible Cruising, The Thoreau Approach, by Don Casey and Lew Hackler. It's an old book so you can probably get it for a song on Amazon.

You need to ask yourself what it is you really want from cruising. Do you want to travel? Do you want to see exotic places? Meet new people? Experience different cultures? Fish? Dive? Swim? Laze around in the sun with a cool drink in hand? Taste local cuisine? Have the freedom to awake with the sun and sit in the cockpit watching the stars all night? Attend great bonfires on the beach with new cruising friends? Name me one single thing on that list that you can't do just as easily on a 32 footer (Or a 30 footer....or even a 28 footer) as you can a 48 footer?? For $75K you could get a gold plater of a 30 footer (used) that was already nicely equipped and ready to go.

Make a list. Start with items that are absolutely essential. By essential I mean that the absence of them would compromise the safety or success of the cruise. Then follow on down from there to "not exactly essential, but would contribute greatly " and on down until you get to the Ming vases and Lennox china. The food will taste just as great on melamine. Take your $75K, buy the best and most capable boat you can afford that will fulfill all of the items on the ESSENTIAL list and as many of the items on the "nice to have" list as the budget will allow. Then take that boat and go.

And if you are willing to stay home and miss it all because there wasn't enough room on the dance floor, then maybe it wasn't really about the cruising after all.

[Moosemiester]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Disagree with you again. A careful shopper will find the right boat for themselves. New doesn't mean problem free. Newer doesn't mean problem free. Old doesn't mean lots of problems. Be thorough and get a surveyor.

You are correct. There are only a few kinds of used boats:

#1. Walter Mitty Syndrome. Bought, used a season or two, idle for years, slowly rotting away. Look to replace everything made of rubber, and you'll have a new boat unless its far gone.

#2. Has been through the #1 cycle a few times. Somebody bought it, spent some quantity of money, got tired of it, let it rot again.

#3 Knowledgeable owner, on the boat every weekend, every system cared for.

It is very easy for most smart folks to tell the difference between the three types here.

It is a buyers market, sellers know this, there are some great deals out there to be found. The only reason to buy new is if you have a serious need to impress your friends...

Here's a little game you can play. Search Yachtworld for boats listed in the last 30 days, pick some "favorites" that you think are great deals, wait 30 days, see if they sell. I've been playing this game 10 years now during the Winter months and have gotten pretty good at it.

:-)

Just my two cents.

[tuffr2]

The only boats that I have seen here on the gulf coast of Florida are only ones that seem to be rotting away. And wow - the amount of damage the sun, salt water, birds, and did I mention sun does to neglected boats.

After seeing boats dangling on bouys in Kings Bay 80 miles north of Tampa I have to wonder if any boat owner ever heard of 'boat wax'. I will go out in the next two days and take a few pics and post them.

Even the 'For Sale' signs are faded beyond being able to read the number. Heck - one was just about all white.

I did see a 1975 30' that looked ok but the asking price was just $6,000.

Wait until you see the pictures...ugh.



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[Moosemiester]

With houses it's location, location, location - with boats it's appearance, appearance, appearance.

If the owner is incurring any cost to store the boat - they are usually willing to deal. If it's filthy dirty, covered in bird poop, and desperately in need of a good buffing - but otherwise structurally sound, no leaks, and the sailing rig isn't rusting away -- it could be a good buy, it doesn't take that long to just clean them up.

Powerboats are a larger risk, as motors need to be run and have more rubber parts that wear out. If it's diesel powered, your chances of getting a great deal are much higher, as diesel engines take sitting for years better than gas ones.

If you find a boat that looks like it can be saved, call the marina before you call the owner. You might find out it has a $2,000 past due storage bill -- you might be able to buy it by paying off the storage bill.

Look for a DIY friendly marina. In these marina's there's usually a helpful group of guys who spend their weekends working on old, beat up boats who will be more than happy to offer assistance. This is a marina where on Saturday morning you hear the sound of power tools. Boaters are generally a friendly lot, and us DIY types are always eager to take a break from our project to offer advice.

Good Luck!! I'm on my sixth low cost patch it up and have fun boat (30 years in this hobby), it can be done without spending a fortune as so many boats are bought with over zealous dreams and then abandoned.

I gave up sailing in favor of a trawler about ten years ago as I got older, you might want to look at a trawler as they have low cost of operation and are much more aging friendly - especially for the admiral.

[tuffr2]

A trawler has a low cost of operation? Are operating cost less than a sailboat in general?

I like the layout of a trawler better than a sailboat but as I understand it a sailboat is much smoother going thru the water and also much better at anchor.



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[Capt Phil]

Having owned both, my experience is the operating cost while cruising is slightly less with a sailboat than a trawler. Basically, this difference is eaten up in fuel costs. But outside of fuel, as long as you can handle you own maintenance, trawlers are pretty trouble free. You need to start with a platform that is in good nick otherwise it will be an uphill battle in both cases. Deferred maintenance will be a problem that will bite you in the ass eventually.
Trawlers are much more roomy, easy to handle and make great liveaboards. Sailboats are almost mystical in providing you with quiet, serene and self fulfilling experiences but they are more work, physically, to manage. As the years creep up, trawlers were a great alternative for both to cruise and live aboard. good luck with jumping back onto your turnip truck... cheers, Phil

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

As the years creep up, trawlers were a great alternative for both to cruise and live aboard. good luck with jumping back onto your turnip truck... cheers, Phil

+1