Which boat would you get for 1-2 year RTW cruise on a $900k budget?

[MyCatLife]

If you are serious about this, 1 year isn't realistic. 2 years would be possible but rushed. 3 years would be realistic.

So lets assume 3 years. I would keep $100K / year for living expenses... $300K

I'd buy a boat ready to go for $450,000 max. This may mean paying $300K and putting $150K into it.

This leaves $150K for other expenses.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by 4ndreas

Have been eying cats too Just never sailed one bigger than a Hobie so it's a bit foreign. The Seawind 1370 looks v nice but probably out of budget.

Are they that much faster than a 45-50' modern monohull cruiser though?

No, they are not much faster on average passages compared to the Outbound 46. Either way, it doesn't make much difference on a proposed very fast circumnavigation. You are far more limited by the seasons, the crew tolerance of stopping to fix the boat and then moving on, and what countries are open in Covid season.
If you really want to do a circumnavigation in the 1-2 year range, then consider joining the World Arc. Or far better, plan a slower, far more enjoyable rtw at reasonable pace.

[jt11791]

I'm signed up for the Workd ARC 2023 with my wife on our Hylas 54. Can't think of a better boat for this purpose, or any of the Hylas 46-57 models.

[SV_Sweet_Ruca]

$900k is plenty of money to do it right.

Agree with the Outbound 46, nice boat. We have a J-Boats J/46 and it suits us well (younger racing couple).

If you want to accomodate guests and have the gear and provisions for long passagemaking, you may want a larger boat. The problem is the bigger the boat the harder sail handling is and time consuming maintenance becomes for a couple.

Get a boat that you are confident in its vitals (hull, rigging, steering, etc.) if you enjoy sailing fast.

Cruising cats are not faster by default. Marketing gimmicks. Daggerboard cats will move faster than performance monos only if kept light and pushed.

[4ndreas]

Originally Posted by jt11791

I'm signed up for the World ARC 2023 with my wife on our Hylas 54. Can't think of a better boat for this purpose, or any of the Hylas 46-57 models.

What a lovely boat. Are you going to crew it just the two of you for the World ARC?

Have been looking at the World ARC too, and that is where i got the rough RTW time estimate from. It seems like many people on here find that routing to be quite rushed. Did you have any concerns about that when signing up for the rally?

[4ndreas]

Originally Posted by SV_Sweet_Ruca

$900k is plenty of money to do it right.

Agree with the Outbound 46, nice boat. We have a J-Boats J/46 and it suits us well (younger racing couple).

If you want to accomodate guests and have the gear and provisions for long passagemaking, you may want a larger boat. The problem is the bigger the boat the harder sail handling is and time consuming maintenance becomes for a couple.

Get a boat that you are confident in its vitals (hull, rigging, steering, etc.) if you enjoy sailing fast.

Cruising cats are not faster by default. Marketing gimmicks. Daggerboard cats will move faster than performance monos only if kept light and pushed.

Great to see some racing oriented cruisers! It's quite the reality check going from inshore racing boats to practical cruisers but it seems like you've found a nice compromise. New sub from here (just a heads up -the link in you signature doesn't work but found the channel).

[4ndreas]

Originally Posted by MyCatLife

If you are serious about this, 1 year isn't realistic. 2 years would be possible but rushed. 3 years would be realistic.

So lets assume 3 years. I would keep $100K / year for living expenses... $300K

I'd buy a boat ready to go for $450,000 max. This may mean paying $300K and putting $150K into it.

This leaves $150K for other expenses.

Thanks for the input. World ARC is around 15 months. What would you say is the biggest thing you're missing out on doing this vs. a longer cruise as suggested?

[MyCatLife]

ARC route is 26,000 miles in 15 months. 15 months is approx 365 + 91 days. 456 days. That works out to 57 NM / day. Average speed 6 knots... that's essentially sailing 10 hours a day... every day. Of course there will be many long 24/day passages,... but the average hours / day is eye watering to me.

The ARC is about sailing around the world. Not enjoying, learning, and experiencing the world. It's a taster's menu.

Nothing wrong with that,...it's just way too rushed for my taste. I prefer the ports over the passages.

As an example,... when we went to Easter Island a couple years back,... we went for 12 days. It was amazing. Explored everything. We were in the Marquesas for 10 days,... not long enough!

Thats just me. YMMV.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by 4ndreas

Thanks for the input. World ARC is around 15 months. What would you say is the biggest thing you're missing out on doing this vs. a longer cruise as suggested?

Pretty much everything. By the time you take the time to fix your boat, your explore time in pory is pretty limited. Many of the Warc boats drop out at the half way point, so they can take some slow time. The Warc is good if you can only take 1.5-2 years off and really want to get the RTW teeshirt. It is a very social event. One friend who completed the Warc referred to it as the longest pub crawl he had ever been on. When they got back they sold the boat, bought another one and started another RTW. They are about halfway plus through now after 6 years.

[SV_Sweet_Ruca]

Originally Posted by 4ndreas

Great to see some racing oriented cruisers! It's quite the reality check going from inshore racing boats to practical cruisers but it seems like you've found a nice compromise. New sub from here (just a heads up -the link in you signature doesn't work but found the channel).

Our original plan was 2 years as well. We think it is do-able, pre-vid. That was blown out of the water for us as covid hit 6 months in. We have spent much more time in places, we have enjoyed that but it has added to the cost.

You could budget in a newer 45-50ish catamaran, which would give you your guest accomodation requirements. If you are doing the ARC, financing and insurance would be plausible, at the end you flip out of it for the cost of depreciation. They are selling fast and holding value at the moment.

You could build, refit, or buy ready to go. All depends on what you prefer.

Consider flying to Horta, Tenerife, Las Palmas, Grenada, etc. for some mini-vacations to go look at boats before you decide what you want. You will see a lot of stuff not at the boat shows.

We wish we had a hard dodger, watertight bulkheads, and more solar, but overall the size is really spot on for two offshore. If a Outremer 5x or Pogo 50 was in our budget we would upgrade in a heart beat!

We have friends on 27ers and 77ers. Drinks taste good and the views are the same no matter the boat.

Bottom line is your budget gives you lots of great options. Enjoy the boat search and planning process, make it part of the fun. Just go for it!

Thanks for the heads up on the link.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by 4ndreas

I'm exploring boat options for a 1-2 year cruise round the world. The total budget is USD $900k +/-.
The crew would mainly be my girlfriend and I (aged 27/35) but ideally the boat could comfortably fit 2-6 guests for extended periods.

With that budget and those requirements I would think a cat around 40-45' would be ideal. It won't necessarily be faster than a mono, but with that time constraint you are essentially looking at a trade-wind circumnavigation and cats excel downwind. No rolling in TW conditions and plenty of space for guests while maintaining a bit of privacy for all. If you are thinking of selling after your trip you should consider resale value as well. That said, I would not obsess too much about the boat. Get one you like and go.

[Searles]

Met an outbound 46 in PT Davey S/ W Tasmania ,sailed like a witch ,verry good off shore layout on deck and below, S / W TAS is no place for wimps ,this boat sailed by two middle aged people ,highly recommended.⛵️⚓️

[dougweibel]

You have plenty of $ in the budget and there are lots of suitable boats. I would be looking for an opportunity to purchase a boat that has had a fairly recent extensive refit and done a bit of cruising since. That approach may minimize the amount of work you need to do to get the boat where you want it to begin a circumnavigation.

You need to think about why you want to circumnavigate. Ponder whether your goal is to sail around the world or cruise around the world. Some people are more interested in the offshore sailing itself and going around the globe. Others are interested in traveling around the world, visiting different places and meeting the people. If you are in the former group then a 1-2 year schedule would be appropriate. If you are in the latter group then a 4-6+ year schedule is what you want. If you are in the former group you will miss out on what the latter group experiences. If you are in the latter group you will get the former group's experiences plus much more, but your compromise is more time spent.

[Time2Go]

Check out the
“Ocean Cruising Club” website
we have members that have completed
the trip you are considering or major bits of it
and are now selling up
At any given time there should be a few available
for way less money that you contemplate spending
For some manufacturers you are in New territory
Cheers
Neil

[Sandy Frank]

ctrl+f aluminum.


Go aluminum!