Florida newbie long term project

[lebato]

Hi,
I live in Florida where I have been sailing monohull, but I have very basic knowledge. I am looking at a long term project where I would want to spend my retirement sailing around 9 months of the year (Europe, Caribbean, maybe more) Definitely looking at a Catamaran as I would like to live on it.
Of course, I realize there is a lot to learn, and educate myself before making big commitments. That’s why I have been reading all I can on this forum, and various websites.
I was wondering if there would be a catamaran owner in Florida that would be willing to meet to discuss various things, and maybe show me their catamaran.
Also looking for some advice on the best way to gain experience to reach that goal.
Thanks for any advice

[JeffDPT]

Hi Serhito,
I give you credit for your vision. You say you have a lot to learn. Good start. I am also a monohull guy but learned a lot through the ASA. They have a course, with hands on experience, for catamarans. I was with a group taking that course while I did a stint on the monohull courses. They were very pleased with what they learned specific to catamarans. I don't know the course numbers but expect they would be easy to find.That is how I would start. Good luck

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, serhito.

[tamicatana]

https://www.bwss.com/catamaran-sailing.html

[lebato]

Originally Posted by tamicatana

https://www.bwss.com/catamaran-sailing.html

That looks like a great start, but still hoping someone in Florida would be willing to meet to answer some questions I have.

[tkeithlu]

How about posting some questions here, Serhito? Answering questions is the core task of this forum. If your question then required a Florida-based cat owner, one is likely to come forward.

Don't worry about the question being "dumb." Every person on this forum started from zero knowledge about boats, and most of us can still relate to the learning process.

[Adelie]

Welcome.

I would suggest updating your profile with your general location and your boat make & model or “Looking” in the "Boat" category. This info shows up under your UserName in every post in the web view. Many questions are boat and/or location dependent and having these tidbits under your UserName saves answering those questions repeatedly. If you need help setting up your profile then click on this link: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3308797

I would happily help more if the link above is not enough.

[lebato]

Thanks for your advice.
Definitely will plan to take an ASA course.

In the prospect I have of getting involve with sailing around at retirement, I have moved into a smaller house a few years ago, which resulted in smaller payment.
My plan is to sell the house at some point and maybe live on the cat before I can retire. I plan to spend most of the time in Europe and Caribbean from October to May, but would also love to explore other parts of the world during that time. My budget to buy a boat would be around 500k. I have been reading reviews and so far have come up with the lagoon 42. I don’t know if it has exactly the specs I need, but it seems to fit what I would consider a very comfortable boat to live on. I also like the layout a lot.
So I am looking for inputs on :
- is the lagoon 42 a good catamaran to cruise around the world ? Longer crossings ?
- any other Catamaran with similar layouts, (helm location, etc… in the same price range ?
- is it possible to find a docking in the ft Lauderdale-west palm beach location where you can live on board for around 1500$/month ?
- what are the downsides of living onboard that I might not realize ?
- what is the best option to park the boat for a 3-4 months period if not used ?

Thanks for your input

[lebato]

How much do you estimate maintenance per year (% of total value) on average ?