Our Dream of Sailboat Living + Questions

[KingGuppy]

Originally Posted by Saltybum

First off I'm not an expert cruiser but we will be doing very similar to you and setting sail over the next few weeks - however, I am a relatively experienced sailor and am a delivery skipper and instructor. It's a great idea to tackle this adventure so young. I'm nearly 30 years older. So here's my advice for the answers I can give you: Don't worry overly about the lack of experience - you''ll soon pick things up. You're already asking people their advice so you will have plenty of that to contend with. Do try and get some courses in before you set off - they will help you to build up your understanding - then take it slow and you will get the hang of things - never be afraid to ask others.

Don't underestimate the length of time it takes to find and buy a boat. This process will test you and will build your knowledge of your craft. You've already determined the type of boat you want - stay flexible on that - do go and see lots of types and balance the pros and cons - all boats are a compromise. When you find a boat you'd like to buy do employ an english speaking surveyor (get one that is reputable and he won't come cheap - reckon on around $4k) - what he finds out for you will save you more than his fee and will buy you realism as well as peace of mind. I would suggest that the Med is easier sailing than the Caribbean. However, your issue is then - buying in a country/location with which you are content to have the repair/refit work done and finding a surveyor in that place - in both these cases unless you are fluent in the local language I advise you to choose people that speak excellent English - I suggest using the YDSA website to find a surveyor. You may have to live on dry land while your boat is being fitted out but air bnb can help you there. Your figures for repairs are about right but don't get caught out - make sure you have sufficient savings so that you can afford to get home when you need to or go on that one off diving trip or buy a new set of sails when you least expect to. I hope this helps. Kind regards Redders

From what i've read, the surveyor is one of the most important things in the whole boat buying process.

Bookmarked the YDSA site for future use.

[surf_km55]

One final thought.
Say the following as if your life depended on it:

K- ilo
i- ndia
n- ovember
g- olf

G- olf
u- niform
p- apa
p- apa
y- ankee

"Dude, you're so H*a*o*l*e, you don't even know you're H*a*o*l*e."
-North Shore (1987)

[theDangerz]

Originally Posted by KingGuppy

About Us
Let me fill you in on our story before bombarding the questions. My wife and I are 31 years old, live in Florida, and want to attempt to fulfill our dream before that dream becomes unfulfilable. How can we afford full time sailing being so young? We can't... yet. Luckily both of us have a strong work ethic and have worked 2 full time jobs for years.

Boat Money
A few years ago we purchased a home before the market took off and plan to rent it when we go sailing. We'd love to hear others experience who have done this. We bought the worst house in the best neighborhood and remodeled it ourselves. We payed $150k in 2015 and its worth $320k currently. Our home expenses are roughly $996mo and the rental rate is $1800mo. (Mortgage $500, HoA $280, Insurance $75, Property Tax $141). Assuming $300mo of that goes for repairs and management company, that still gives us $500mo income.

Why Sailing?
Freedom. We've been drawn to the idea of "vanlifing" for years, but the stigma of living out of your car is not great. We own a great home in a great neighborhood, but the idea of living in an RV and traveling everywhere seems like freedom. I was hooked on this until I realized living in a sailboat full time was even a thing. Being able to sail around the entire planet is true freedom.

Well... i certainly can't provide any advice/insight on sailing or boat selection as we are in just about the same position as you on that front (buying a boat and giving the lifestyle a shot in one gigantic leap of faith with very little experience but a lot of will to make it work). We haven't even formally introduced ourselves on here, because I learned a long time ago to not ask for advice that I wasn't likely to follow and that if what I was looking for was a vote of confidence i was pretty unlikely to find it on any forum.

We are only now learning (mid cruising cat purchase) exactly what the various expenses to enter the boating world are, what insurance issues come with it and why navigation limits matter.
I do know you've come to the right place as Ive learned a ton on here over the last few years sifting into the details of various aspects of this life we're about to dive into headfirst.

I will add some feedback on the other portions of your post/questions however as we do have intimate experiencing quitting the rat race early to chase our own freedom:

First - don't sell your house.
When we quit our jobs and ran away 6 years ago (at the age of 35, if it matters) everyone told us that the only way to do so was to sell the house and live for a few years on the income.

I feel so very fortunate that we ignored every single person/advisor who suggested that as we would at some point have to try and return to a market that long ago outpaced us, and to do so without jobs/income. We chose to go the "vanlife" route (though there wasn't a hashtag for it at the time, and it certainly wasn't cool or sponsored/youtube-worthy), but holding onto our home eventually not only provided the confidence/security to not come back and beg for jobs, but has actually helped us in making enough money/income to stay gone (and have no plans of returning...ever).

In the same amount of time we have watched many others follow the conventional wisdom only to find themselves having to return to both the job they were so excited to leave and to renting/paying off someone else's home when they could have been on the upside of that same equation.

IF you can hang onto the house... please do.
Even if it doesn't end up paying you...it at least provides a fallback plan if things don't work out on the water, or if for some strange reason you don't keep seeing that 12% return in the market.

Van/RV Life
Maybe don't be so fast to discount the van/RV as an option of helping find your freedom. Even if it isn't a long term plan for you, it can be done very comfortably, and could give you a huge leg up in meeting your $$ goals even sooner (less overhead), as well as some practice in renting the house, living/working remotely, etc.

It's amazing what insight can be gained from a few years of living without a mortgage and having to figure things out from the "other side". If vanlife seems like you'd be slumming it, Im sure theres a 38' 3br/2ba RV somewhere that would still feel plush while you start to taste the freedom (and watch that nest egg grow at record pace).

If even that's too much of a leap (though, i would argue thats a large part of the value), maybe try downsizing to a much smaller house/apartment so that you are at least making some money on that mortgage/rent value equation every month, testing out managers etc while youre still close enough to take it back over if needed.

Life Change and Social Stigma
All of the above are just possible steps in helping you get there.
I don't doubt you'll make it...but i also know a LOT of people who are "only a year away from jumping", and have been for years...

The reality is that any of these changes you're looking to make are massive, difficult at best, and piling them all up into one great life change is really tough for even the strongest of wills. If you can take some of the magnitude off now, while you still know you're a few years out...why not (especially if the result might be getting out there to live your dream even sooner)??

IF indeed the "stigma", or what people think about you is what has you worried... you're going to be fighting an uphill battle in this whole path you've started down - because let me tell you... you're not going to find a lot of people on your side or in your corner. Might as well get used to living with the stigma/naysayers/armchair quarterbacks now!!

Go Get It!
Anyway... hats off to you for having a dream and chasing it.
Make it happen, however you can!!

Society is built to keep you in that cubicle for as long as it can (and you've already gotten further than most by finding ways to work for yourself and on your own time). Just about anyone you bother to ask will give you dozens of reasons why you cant possibly quit your job, can't buy a boat without 20years experience, cant find happiness unless you happen to be lucky enough to come from money or win the lottery... So get out there and do what a few of us have been doing, and start proving them all wrong.

and...IF theres anything at all we can do to help/support you don't hesitate to reach out. Hopefully in a few years time we'll have enough experience to be inviting you onto our cat to log some of those final hours!

[eaglesailing]

Having the dream is good! Put the boat and gear plans aside and focus on sailing for now . Get experience on a mono hull and really learn how to handle boats. How to anchor. You talk about mooring but not all places have mooring and many times they are full and you must anchor out. By the time you have done those things the gear you are talking about will be old school. If you live near a sailing school start with lessons now to shorten your learning experience. Take every seminar that comes up. The more training/experience you get will help you focus on the right boat for you. All of that will keep you driving toward your dream. Good luck Larry

[geozeck]

Hi King Guppy
If 500 cruisers answer this there would probably be 500 answers. Here goes mine.


Caribbean or Med?
That's easy, stay where you buy it. If you are in Florida check out Ft. Lauderdale that's where many of the bigger cats are bought and sold. Many dealers there. If you buy there just follow your plan of the Bahamas and Caribbean. Don't forget the Florida Keys, truly as amazing as anywhere on earth. As far as water sports go there is nothing like the Western Hemisphere.

INTERNET OPTIONS
I had an Iridium Go a great device but was to slow to do work on. More for email, text messages and weather reports. Nice to have. If you work remotely then you will probably need an internet booster. If its important spend some money and get a good one. The one I had from Global Marine Networks allowed me to watch Netflixs and use Skype 1/2 mile from the source. Also log onto my business pages.


Finance or Pay Cash?
Leverage always looks better on paper. You may have a large bill due on your boat and one on your rental house and still have to pay your boat mortgage. Your call.


Paid vs. Listed Price
We all put a higher value on our stuff then the market does. Some boats can sit a year or more at a ridiculous high price. The listing becomes stale and as the seller keeps lowering the price people expect it to be lowered more. Many of the boats that are offered for sale at a reasonable price never even hit the market. They are often bought quickly. People that work close with a boat broker can get the first shot at it. Keep that in mind when you meet a salesman that you like and trust. If you look get pre-approved for a loan before you look. Smart sellers wont keep a boat off the market while you apply for credit that may or may not come.



Bored
Silly question. If you work for a living, maintain a boat, especially a cat with two engines and a generator, etc, plus play in the water. That's snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, sailing your boat and other peoples boats add gunk-holing there wont be enough hours in the day.


Cost to Maintain
If you are in the US, Bahamas or eastern Caribbean then around 10% is probably a good number. However if you go to the Western Caribbean then 5% may be in order. Parts gets expensive but labor and workmanship should be very good and inexpensive. A lot depends on how you maintain it and the age of your equipment.



Anchor or Marinas
If you work from your boat then you need consistent internet so you will probably go in marinas more than a lot of people. In the US you can use your hot spot but outside the US marinas may offer more dependable connections. Marinas in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala are much cheaper than the ones in Florida. Cheaper by a lot. Hopes this helps.

[The Salty One]

Originally Posted by KingGuppy

Hello Cruisers,

We're hoping to get some expert advice and help by the cruisers here (you) over the next couple of months as we make way on achieving our dream. We'll use this post to document our journey and fill others in on answers to questions that they may have.

About Us
Let me fill you in on our story before bombarding the questions. My wife and I are 31 years old, live in Florida, and want to attempt to fulfill our dream before that dream becomes unfulfilable. How can we afford full time sailing being so young? We can't... yet. Luckily both of us have a strong work ethic and have worked 2 full time jobs for years.

The Dream
38-45ft Catamaran
Leopard or Lagoon
2005+
Under $300k
1k+ AH Lithium Battery + Solar
Full time livable

Boat Money
Saving money is what we do best, but one of the largest obstacles we're still working at overcoming, is earning an income while sailing. We both run 2 separate marketing businesses (I do web design, digital and print marketing, and she does photography and social media management) that are 95% remote work, but we still need to grow these drastically. Our other jobs are only about 70% remote work and they provide the majority of our income. We may lose these when going sailing, so gaining more marketing clients is a top priority for us.

A few years ago we purchased a home before the market took off and plan to rent it when we go sailing. We'd love to hear others experience who have done this. We bought the worst house in the best neighborhood and remodeled it ourselves. We payed $150k in 2015 and its worth $320k currently. Our home expenses are roughly $996mo and the rental rate is $1800mo. (Mortgage $500, HoA $280, Insurance $75, Property Tax $141). Assuming $300mo of that goes for repairs and management company, that still gives us $500mo income.

YouTube / Vlog / Blog may be a pivot point in the future for sustainability. We both market about $50mil in other peoples businesses, so why not try marketing ourselves? If you're familiar with The Wyns or La Vagabond on YouTube, we'd consider doing the same thing. We've only made a 4 minute video before in 2014 which got us accepted for the show The Amazing Race. We already own the photography equipment and the video editing knowledge, so this seems like the best route.

Why Sailing?
Freedom. We've been drawn to the idea of "vanlifing" for years, but the stigma of living out of your car is not great. We own a great home in a great neighborhood, but the idea of living in an RV and traveling everywhere seems like freedom. I was hooked on this until I realized living in a sailboat full time was even a thing. Being able to sail around the entire planet is true freedom.

Experience
Yeah, we have none. In the past 10 years we've taken maybe 10 cruises and traveled to 20+ countries, including all over Europe. Throughout these adventures, we've had several ocean boating experience, including one in Italy where they let us rent a motor boat to drive around the island of Capri. We almost got stranded in the middle of the ocean and later almost hit rocks. What we learned from all these trips is that we love the water, but would probably not last a day with our current skill set.

We're currently a month deep into reading sailing guides, watching YouTube videos, and playing a Sailing Simulator to learn the ropes before we'd ultimately take the ASA sailing classes next year.

Questions for You
1. Caribbean vs Mediterranean?
Online boat shopping leads us to believe that buying in Greece or Croatia and sticking the Greek islands is a great way to get started, at the cheapest price. It looks like the Mediterranean has better cities to visit, but the Caribbean has better snorkeling. Anyone been to both and can share their experiences of both?

2. Internet Options?
Irridium Go + Cell Phone Data seem to be the go-to option for everyone unless you're paying $1000+ mo. What internet option is everyone else using? What cellphone carrier and what is the coverage like at sea?

3. Financing a Boat?
I haven't been able to find much about this. We'd prefer to finance the boat putting 20% down. What type of requirements is the bank going to need to lend us potentially $240k for a boat (second home!)?

4. Paid vs Listed?
It looks like most boats sell for about 10-20% under the listing price right now. Is this accurate?

5. Do You Ever Get Bored?
We'd likely buy in Florida and sail around the Bahamas and Eastern/Southern Caribbean for a year or two to start. YouTube makes it seem like a dream, but how often are you just bored? I picture sitting anchored in shallow clear water most of the time, with still being in range of some kind of cell phone internet access.

6. Cost to Maintain + Dock fees?
The internet says 10% a year, but $25k a year just to maintain a 42ft sailboat seems drastic. Is this accurate? If our plane is to use free anchorage whenever possible, i'd suspect this number to be much lower. Also, is it true that some marinas in the Bahamas charge 80% less a month to dock there than in Florida?

7. Boat Name Suggestions?
I've read keep it short and simple. We initially thought one of our business names to maybe drum up business from other sailors at anchorages (photography of their boats to use when they sell), but the business names are our names. Maybe King Guppy?

I think this is all I have for now. If you've read all this, I apologize for wasting your day, but maybe your answers to some of the questions above will help numerous people.

Let me know if you're interested in us keeping this post updated with our progress.

Thank you cruisers!

First, I have to say, I admire your enthusiasm. I'm not going to attempt to answer all of your questions. But, working remotely is the dream of some (many) cruisers. If you have internet totally doable. Blogging or Vlogging about your journeys is a marketable commodity.

Several people have already said, "learn to sail" and I totally agree. A Cat is a nice boat, but not always the most seaworthy. For $300 grand, you could buy an awesome Sloop. If you are thinking about long-term liveaboard/cruising, you need to consider safety. Yes, there are idealic days of fair weather sailing. There are also days that may scare the Bejeezus out of you.

Completely study what it is you want to do. Know it, understand it and be prepared for both the good and the bad.

[Bill Streever]

Sounds like you hope to become a sailing digital nomad. The sailing life is fantastic, but it is not quite right to think of it as a life of freedom. Your movements will be dictated by weather, safe harbors, depth, visas, boat entry paperwork, and other factors. And I would echo what others have said: Try to find a lower cost boat, especially as someone new to boating. Smaller, less expensive boats are easier to maintain, less expensive to store in marinas, etc., but if they are good solid small boats they can go anywhere that a larger more expensive boat can go.

I would also echo whoever said, "don't put it off too long." I have seen people replace dock lines that were dying of old age even as they talked almost daily of their cruising plans....

[darylat8750]

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

The only thing that terrifies me about your plan is the bit about "20% down". Financing a depreciating asset is a really bad idea and there isn't much that depreciates faster than a sailing boat. The boat you can afford is one that you can pay cash for without concerning yourself too much, and can pay the same again in maintenance over the next 10 years, and then perhaps get back half of what you paid for it if you're lucky. I second the suggestions above that you get yourself a well-known mid-30-footer and see how you go. You or your partner might be unfeasibly seasick or have a significant medical event causing the whole thing to have to be wrapped up. You could lose a lot of money trying to unload an expensive boat quickly and still having a loan against it.

You've been getting great advice here. I missed the part about financing with 20% down. Borrowing $240,000 on a boat without doing at least some "Baby Steps" is very risky. Bad idea. Very BAD idea. You've done very well financially to this point in your life. This has a very real probability of knocking you down to start over.

[sailingharry]

So there have been a lot of replies. Let me add a few.


* When it comes to the "fixin's," they don't matter. How much battery, age of rigging, water maker, generator, electronics suite -- it's all just money and it all probably needs replacing anyway. Sure, it's good to think about it, but it's not a big part of the buying.


* What matters is bones. The boat you want. Do you like a beamy stiff boat that pounds, or a thin, tippy boat that swoops. Do you want to clear the ICW bridges? Do you want your cat to have a flying bridge, or good SA/D ratio for speed? These can't be fixed with money. The boat you get is, mostly, the boat you end up with.


* Age. You have said 2003 or newer. Until we ruled out cats as just not giving us the "feel" we wanted, we were really looking at them. We pretty much ruled out any boat NEWER than 2005. If you look at numbers (liars figure and figures lie, but you gotta start somewhere), catamaran numbers have been getting worse. They are getting heavier, and less sail area. A 1995 catamaran has a 30% higher SA/D ratio than a 2015 catamaran (using a VERY broad brush here, I know). The have more windage, less bridge deck clearance, wider hull beam, etc. Unless that is what you want -- it was NOT what we wanted.



* In mono as well as cats, age has another issue. Fit/finish/suitability. We looked at two Jeanneau Deck Saloons, a first generation 43 and a second generation 45. Amazing how much they had gone down. Much more "air" -- but much less storage. I don't think the new 45 has a single drawer to put clothing in, and the hanging lockers are much smaller than the older 43. I don't know where I'd put 2 laptop computers when going to sea! The fridges have gotten smaller. My point is that when you walk around one, once you get past the "wow" factor (they do "Wow" you!), start saying "where would I store my underwear?" Or, "Where would I store 15 paperback books to read?" Similarly, "Where would I put 4 weeks worth of food for an ocean crossing." Or a biggie, "When I come below in wet foul weather gear (even cat's get a little wet!), where would I hang it?" We've found these questions to lead us to rule out several boats we liked.


As far as your questions about electronics suites, I'm far from a Luddite and don't think that electronics have ruined sailing. Quite the opposite. But, I don't think that "the best" adds much. A decent chart plotter is quite enough. Radar of any vintage is fine (but certainly affects power demand!). AIS is critical, as is an EPIRB and probably a MOB bracelet/system. But a 15" charplotter integrated with wind and speed and engine controls and layline math... it's fun and it's helpful, but really adds very little.


Surveyor? Sure, it's required for insurance. And, sure, he may catch something you missed. But, if you have done a really good self inspection, they don't add much. Shucks, Peter Hartoft, a certified surveyor in Annapolis, confused my main halyard with a shroud!



Finally, big batteries don't provide power. They store a little for a little while. 1KAh is a LOT of power. You would have a VERY hard time burning that in 3 days. The bigger power question is *production*. If you are going to burn that kind of juice, you need ways to produce it. 1KAh is 10KWh -- a KW of solar would take 2-3 days to give you that much, a generator with 500A of chargers attached (wow, that's a lot of chargers!) would take at least 2 hours to charge. It does allow you to go a few days without charging, but batteries only help you "time shift" your generation, they don't actually provide any power at all (yes, semantics, but I hope you understand what I'm driving at here).


Harry

[Looking4Neptune]

As some others have said, it is a really good idea to spend some time live-aboard before buying. There are several websites where you can find people looking for crew. Most will want experienced crew, but some are OK with someone with a good attitude who wants to learn. And even if you have to takes classes first, that is a lot less $$ than buying. I have found good live-aboard opportunities on crewseekers.net.

The main reason to do this is to make sure the life really is for you. But another is to get a better feel for what is important to you on a boat. (size, equip, age, # of cabins, ...)

Best of luck.

[Ocean Sky]

We went for a very well equipped 12M '92 Cat, eventually, for around the 20% down payment you are considering.First boat.

Smaller 'wow' factor,smaller $$ downside too, but still ok for our needs.

Could go newer/bigger but can't really see the point for now.Learning something new every day.

Hope you get to where you want to be,tons of good advice on here.

Good luck.

[darylat8750]

Originally Posted by laika

As another child here of the great recession, leveraging dreams against the dow jones industrial average seems crazy. But you seem to have a good head on your shoulders, even if end of the day your betting against the house of cards. I'm certainly not your financial advisor.

You won't be judged on the water for your choice of boat or your financials. Most all that stuff gets left behind on the docks. People are equally happy on boats of all kinds, large and small. There's not a right or wrong way. As said by others, knowing what does it for you guys is something you can only get with experience.

I'm lucky enough to be in a similar financial situation to you. Spent years working web dev as a vagrant bum on a boat with zero overhead. Still happy a decade later, same gig, same lil 27'. Now just cruising winters with the girlfriend. The small boat gives us total flexibility to come and go from the boat each year wherever it ends up without having to bat an eye.

I wish you the best with whatever you end up doing. But I'd say youre in a prime position to get off the carousel permanently if you just dampen your expectations. The gap between more and enough never closes.

This is golden! Think about it.

[SteveSadler]

Yes the comments you’ve heard are valid. Your budget is 1st priority. Don’t spend 250 when 100 is plenty. Cats are great but cost 2x more than monohulls of similar vintage. So for 100k you can get a 50 monohull, 8 yrs old in the med.
Or a 38’ cat. The 50’ monohull will out sail the 38’ cat on any point of sail and carry 10x more load than the cat. for $250 you may find a bigger cat that can outsail the 50’ monohull downwind but never upwind.
Living aboard is cheap. 2 hulls or one. But $ for $ an 8yr old mono is the best boat for the buck.

[BluePeter]

A few random thoughts....Not to seem critical, but this post is a prime example of putting the cart before the proverbial horse. My style of sailing is remote from yours, but it works. I don't have money, but I manage to cruise more than anyone else I know. This is because I have fully embraced the "go simple" approach. I'm single and a bit of a vagabond, so this approach works for me. It is not your vision obviously, but some of its elements may be informative. The simpler you go, the more you go. If you throw up a firewall of expense and planning early on, this can bring a built-in waiting period which, in accordance to many here who've been there, is an automatic and sometimes fatal delay.

Some of the best advice I could possibly offer--especially with an undertaking of this financial magnitude, is to buy a boat that is in such demand that you will have no problem whatsoever selling it if you discover that "this isn't for us". You also may wish to sell in order to downsize or upsize. But you can really wreck the dream if you buy a boat that just won't move on the used market--and there are many such boats. Carefully research what is in demand at at what price! If you give this idea its due diligence, you may even make money on your resale. It's not likely, but it happens.

You mentioned boredom? Sailing can range from pure boredom just like the rest of life, to pure terror, and sometimes within the same hour. But to be honest, I've never heard the words sailing and boring in the same sentence before. If you can be bored whilst sitting aboard a wind-powered palace in paradise, well...hooey.

I bought a Flicka20 for half what it was worth, and am now looking for a Dana24. On either of these, I could circle the globe had I the interest. Maybe I'll just do another 12 weeks in the Bahamas and Cuba this winter--but for now you'll have to excuse me....I've set sail for Mount Desert Island. "Go Now"!!!

[Gliderpilot]

Hi, you have lots of questions and you will find there are many answers and pros verses cons to just about every question you have. Everyone has personal preferences and budget limitations, so depending upon those boundaries, the answers to your questions and everyone's justifications for the varying levels of luxury or their choices (also known as extra stuff to maintain and fix) are almost limitless. My advice is to keep your desired wish list as simple and maintenance free as possible. Boats, regardless of size and cost require a lot of maintenance, especially for electrical and mechanical areas. Also, regardless of the size and cost of a cruising yacht, systems wear out - whether on a luxurious Swan or Gunboat, or a more budget conscious cruising yacht. So be aware that there is a lot more to a sailboat than meets the eye, or the shiny gel coat and fresh bottom paint that hides a lot of trouble.

I highly recommend Annapolis University. It is a series of courses that are held over 4 days during the week between the US Sailboat and Powerboat shows each fall. It was by far the best money I have ever spent on concentrated learning sessions. If you can get Airbnb accommodation the whole package is also very inexpensive. Do your selves a really big favour and try to attend, but book fast as they fill up very quickly.

I have been cruising now for 3 seasons in the Caribbean from the US east coast to the Caribbean and we are currently doing an Atlantic circuit. Our plans are to continue from the Azores through the Madeira, Canary, Cape Verde Islands until December before crossing the Atlantic again to cruise in the Caribbean before returning to the US. It never fails to amaze me how much we learn just from being around other cruisers. The cruising community is incredible. We work with people who want to experience the cruising lifestyle and have a dream of maybe one day doing it to. We do this through offering people the opportunity to join us in cruising areas and while passage making between them. If you are interested our website is:

www.cloudstocoral.com and
Instagram site is: sv_oh.

We are not a sailing school, or vacation charter operator, we offer people the chance to experience the cruising lifestyle in all its best and worst moments. All the things you can't do, or would never learn from chartering boats.

I can not emphasize enough how good a value the Annapolis University would be for someone in your position. You will easily get most of your questions answered there. I wish I knew about it before I went shopping for our floating home. I would have bought the same type of boat, but would have had a much better idea of what I was getting into and would have saved many times the tuition and accommodation costs of the course just in the price I would have been willing to pay.


All the best to you in the pursuit of your dreams!
Cheers
Rod