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Ndavies · 19-04-2021, 06:34

You might get some ideas and thoughts from this series of videos!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...v6wtwW97KFcsYn

ak08820 · 19-04-2021, 06:52

Based on my failure to find a volunteer crew position anywhere, it should not be impossible or difficult to put together a crew that will do it. You may even have them pay for their own food. Assuming that you are buying it to sail and not to berth, you may make a plan to sail it yourself with the volunteer crew. You don't have to do it all at one time, too. If you will be paying to keep it berthed in Chicago, you may break the journey in parts and berth it in different places along the route and make it a long term sailing project fitting your schedule.

boatingisbetter · 19-04-2021, 07:13

Sailing it home in stages is what I did and it worked fine.

Purchased boat in the UK (January) and sailed it to the Canary Islands (June).

December moved it to St Lucia.

March moved it to US Virgin Islands

June moved it to Bahamas

August moved it to Wrightsville Beach and onto a truck to Wisconsin.

My friends and family had some wonderful adventures along the way.

Seadevil · 19-04-2021, 07:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Verichai

I think I may have found The One.

Problem is I'm in Chicago and the boat is in Belgium.

Do I have it shipped? What is the typical order of events for a process like this?

I'm sure the figure is eye-watering, but can anyone provide a ballpark figure/estimated guess of what something like this would cost to actually pull off?

It's a nearly 40 year old 32' fiberglass sloop.

I want it.

I don't want to spend $20k on top of the purchase price getting it over here.

The logistics seem totally overwhelming.

Any insight would be appreciated.

TIA!

Cost for my 32 ft transatlantic is between $8000 & $10,000 - depending on exact route and shipping agent
this video might help
https://youtu.be/68tlYSdIJ3g
Michael

jack2 · 19-04-2021, 07:27

Look up "Ohlson 39 Iroquois for sale"

The only way it does not meet your requirement is that it is 37.5 feet and not 32. (The boat is also listed in this Forums classifieds). Iroquois has old world charm, it is fully maintained and it is ready to sail, it is sea proven and is easily trucked or sailed from Maine.

Sail it anywhere in the great lakes and you will be turning heads everywhere you go.

Of the many things I have learned sailing one important one is " I bought a sailboat, so I am in no position to tell anyone anything".

Good luck and have fun with your new boat. Feel free to contact me and I can answer any questions you have, (about this boat).

ak08820 · 19-04-2021, 07:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by boatingisbetter

Sailing it home in stages is what I did and it worked fine.

Purchased boat in the UK (January) and sailed it to the Canary Islands (June).

December moved it to St Lucia.

March moved it to US Virgin Islands

June moved it to Bahamas

August moved it to Wrightsville Beach and onto a truck to Wisconsin.

My friends and family had some wonderful adventures along the way.

Sounds like what I suggested above is already done.

Leighpilot · 19-04-2021, 07:50

I’m afraid you’ll be better off buying in the US.

Add the cost of getting the boat back to the US to your budget and buy local. The brokers there know you can’t do it so they’ll not spend time with you n

And you can’t go to Europe anyway as the US is still considered Plague Central over there.

And when you do get there you can’t stay longer than 90 days per 180 so cruising is out.

Buy a boat in the US. For your budget plus your anticipated delivery costs you’ll get a far better boat than you will in Belgium.

Lowcountry · 19-04-2021, 07:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Verichai

Hello! I think you and I had a conversation on reddit after I reached out and asked about the ownership experience and realities of your HC33. I appreciate the advice here as well!

Ha, small world! I would again reiterate that owning an old sailboat with a lot of exterior wood on it is not an exercise in penny-pinching. Best wishes, I hope you can bring your dream to fruition in one way or another.

**TrentePieds** · 19-04-2021, 08:06

Verichai:

You asked: "But is maintaining an older fiberglass boat in a freshwater environment really that unpleasant? If so, why would anybody own one?"

MY answer to that is: No. Maintaining 50 year old GRP ("frozen snot") hull is a piece-a-cake. Particularly in northern climes. A member here said a long time ago: “Wooden boats are on life support from the time they leave the builder's yard. Fiberglass boats you have to ASSASINATE!” It's all the bits that attach to the hull that require serious maintenance. So don't waste your effort on a wooden hull :-)!

Having acknowledged that, you have now decided that “frozen snot” is the way to go, and you must now wrestle with the ineluctable fact that maintenance effort increases with increasing length (I use LWL ss the basic parameter) according to the third power of the increase in length. So, therefore, if boat 'A' is twice as long as boat 'B', it is reasonable to assume that the effort and cost of maintaining boat 'A' will be 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 times as much as the effort required to maintain boat 'B', as will the cost. So how far are you willing to go? And how far can you (comfortably) afford to go?

Do the calculation for Vindø v. Radiant: Radiant is 37/23.25 the length of Vindø. Therefore Radiant will cost 1.59^3 as much to maintain, i.e Radiant will cost 1.59 x 1.59 x 1.59 = 4 times (approx) as much to keep. But, using displacement as a proxy, 42,000/7,700 = 5.45. This higher number is expected because Radiant's Displ/L ratio is very high. So count of a maintenance cost for Radiant that is five or six times higher than that for Vindø!!

I compiled a few more numbers for you, based on my understanding of what you have said in various posts that your desires are. These numbers are set out below. You'll forgive that our forum doesn't permit me to set them out in proper tabular form, but you should be able to make sense of them. IMO the half dozen boats listed below the Vindø will meet your stated “package” of requirements better than the Vindø, pretty though that boat is. You will note that all those boats have SA/D ratios substantially less than the Cal 25, though only a tad less than the Vindø. There is good reason for that, and we can come back to what that reason is..

You will see that this half dozen boats also have Displ/L ratios significantly higher than that of the Cal 25, though about the same as that of the Vindø. There is good reason for that also. “Radiant” sticks out as much on the high side as the Cal sticks out on the low side. There again, there is solid reason.

TrentePieds is our own boat. I will post a photo in a separate post and I'll tell you how she came into our possession. The other boats all have arrangement plans on SailboatData.

Boat LWL Disp SA/D Displ/L

Cal 25-2 22' 4,000 18.5 188

Vindø 23'3” 7,700 14.6 272

Baba 20 24'6” 12,500 15.2 379

TrentePieds 25' 9,000 13.5 267

Fast Passage 33'6” 21,000 16.8 249

Freya 39 33'9” 23.000 13.9 267

Radiant 37' 42,000 13.9 370

Gulf 32 28'4” 16,000 13.9 283

All these boats will give you the aesthetics you seek, and all will give you an equal, even superior, sailing experience, let alone live-aboard experience. But all this cannot be explained in one or even a few posts, so let's come back to the whys and wherefores if you are interested in a somewhat academic approach to your "problem"

TrentePieds

jalmberg · 19-04-2021, 08:18

One thing you must remember: there is always another boat to fall in love with.

I don’t know how many times I’ve thought, that’s the one! It could have been, but within a couple of weeks, the next one appeared.

I bought a UK flagged boat in the Caribbean and imported it into the States. If I’d known what I was getting into, I would never have tried. Obviously, it can be done, but it’s a big hassle.

Good luck, and don’t fall in love with unobtainable boats or women!

perjan · 19-04-2021, 08:31

Best option is probably to hire a skipper/crew and sail it to the East coast. Then sail it by yourselve to the lakes.

rcolesny · 19-04-2021, 09:32

Noooooo!
Transportation would cost you above 17K. The wear and tear + equipment + food + Belgian beer and chocolates for a transatlantic crossing will cost you even more...
Buy it, and leave it in Breskens. Sail Zeeland, the Channel, the Scilly's Islands, maybe the Med. Then resell her.

Tonali99 · 19-04-2021, 09:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by wmac

Taylormobile has the best choice. Ship to NYC and use the Erie canal. You could do that in stages with family/friends as crew.

Interesting concept. Long way to diesel though. Plus finding a place to tie off while you scrounge for fuel and food. Then the problem of getting the boat from Tonawanda to Buffalo up the Niagara. Current runs a few knots there, much worse as you near the last lock to Erie basin marina.
There were some places to stay and fuel up in N. Tonawanda, can't say for sure now.
But seriously ... couldn't find one here?

perjan · 19-04-2021, 11:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcolesny

Noooooo!
Transportation would cost you above 17K. The wear and tear + equipment + food + Belgian beer and chocolates for a transatlantic crossing will cost you even more...

Really?!
I never checked, but assumed it would cost far less