Our Dream of Sailboat Living + Questions

[ShellBack89]

Originally Posted by KingGuppy

Looks like you might of read the first post and nothing else. The YouTube was because we already own 100% of the equipment required. It would be a great use of our freetime if there was any to give it a try. We run a digital marketing company that would be the financial means to travel.

Yeah, we're looking at different options about going out on a cat as soon as possible. This weekend we'll be going to the Tampa boat show to have a look around, and will be doing a charter in the near future.

We've had several people on this forum offer for us to go out for a few nights on their cat, so we may end up taking one of those offers.

Great people on here.






Appreciate the positive response!

Starting with a monohull maybe gets me closer to "real" sailing, and maybe prepares me a bit more, but I still prefer to learn on what I actually plan on sailing. A couple of pages back people were very offended that I didn't have an interest in monohull sailing. The dream is to travel as easy as possible and catamaran seemed to offer that. I'm sure theres some great monohull's that would offer it as well, but I want that floating condo experience.

Aeroyacht? Should i be checking this one daily for cat listings along with Yachtworld?

Look at them as well as Just Catamarans in Lauderdale. I find that Just Catamarans has more listings than Yachtworld. I totally agree on learning on what you're going to sail on. It's been done successfully before and for my wife and I we have no desire to sail monohulls. We've spent time on them but don't enjoy heeling. I like the smooth level ride of a Cat. I was talking to a 60+ year sailor yesterday who said he's never heard of a Cat sailor switching to a monohull but know of many monohull sailors that went to Cats. Good luck Guppy!

[KingGuppy]

Originally Posted by ShellBack89

Look at them as well as Just Catamarans in Lauderdale. I find that Just Catamarans has more listings than Yachtworld. I totally agree on learning on what you're going to sail on. It's been done successfully before and for my wife and I we have no desire to sail monohulls. We've spent time on them but don't enjoy heeling. I like the smooth level ride of a Cat. I was talking to a 60+ year sailor yesterday who said he's never heard of a Cat sailor switching to a monohull but know of many monohull sailors that went to Cats. Good luck Guppy!

Bookmarked your site. I'll check it daily.

We're not making a purchase for at least 12 months, but i've been keeping track of pricing.

Any cat recommendations you'd make? It seems like Lagoon or Leopard is likely what we'll end up with since thats what 90% of the listings are. Leopard 40 was what we wanted, but some of the newer Lagoon 380's look like more spacious than the older Leopard 42's.

[ShellBack89]

Originally Posted by KingGuppy

Bookmarked your site. I'll check it daily.

We're not making a purchase for at least 12 months, but i've been keeping track of pricing.

Any cat recommendations you'd make? It seems like Lagoon or Leopard is likely what we'll end up with since thats what 90% of the listings are. Leopard 40 was what we wanted, but some of the newer Lagoon 380's look like more spacious than the older Leopard 42's.

We like Leopards. They seem to have more access points which makes working on a boat easier. I also like their helm set up since it's up high enough but still part of the cockpit. The 2012 and newer have the forward cockpit area which I really like. You can open both spaces up to get good ventilation while cruising and be on the bow to enjoy the views while cruising.



Lagoons are nice as well. I like their sport versions.



FPs are nice but I'm not a fan of open helms so that would take some work to get it enclosed. Watch "Out Chasing the Stars". They have an FP that they did work on in Palmetto FL to enclose their helm. I do like their nav stations since it faces forward which if you're inside you'll still be able to manage the autopilot.



They are all 3 used in charter which says a lot about their construction. Always look at what's being rented and you'll find they are the easiest to maintain but at the same time constructed to survive the abuse of charters/renters.



We're still awhile out so we'll see what the market looks like. The questions you initially asked we're dumb at all. I have a lot of boating experience and I have a several note files on my phone of notes that I take about our future. Places we want to visit, what we'll need, boat names, etc. These are the reminders of what our dream is and if we didn't have those reminders we may lose track and never cast those lines off.



My daughter has played soccer since she was 6 years old. At 13 she told my wife and I that she wanted to play for the US National Team. We encouraged her however, others told her she'd never make it. Not only did she make it but she's been playing with the National Team for the last 6 years (traveling all over the world), plays D1 at a top university on a full boat scholarship and will make the pros. It started with a dream!

[Thumbs Up]

I had read beyond the first post but had to skim all of the financial stuff. I don't even have a credit card. But glad to see I am not the only one giving you a hard time. People have been encouraged to just go for it on this forum before and sometimes it ends badly. The cruising life means different things to different people. There are a lot of books that you should read too because You Tube is pretty limiting. One observation about successful YouTube sailors: Lots of hot looking babes in string bikinis! The channels that don't show that don't seem to do well. Here is a good exercise for you: Imagine that you already have your condomaran. Where are you now (remember, it is hurricane season) where are you headed next? Where will you dock or anchor. Will you feel safe there? Will you have Internet? Will you be okay when you can't run the A/C 24/7 etc. What I am saying is to pretend you are already out there and then start planning your next move. You can find plenty of info on any place that you can sail to including costs, security problems, weather problems, language barriers and so on. Also remember that in a lot of the places that you can go that you represent great riches to the locals and can be targeted. And that everyone will have a pretty good view of your daily activities because of the "fishbowl" like properties of Lagoons. They have great visibility but that works two ways! Also there is a lot of bias on the internet in general and even on these forums. Assuming anything because that is what they are saying online could be wrong. What about all of the people that don't go online with their opinions. What about asking some multihull pioneers what they think of Leopards and Lagoons? If you ask a boat owner's forum if you should buy a boat you will get mostly yeses. If you ask anywhere else they will say you are crazy. Do I think you should buy a boat? Hell yeah! We all wish we were in your shoes. Young, well funded, a partner that likes boats... If I even had the last part I wouldn't be trying to sell my 41' catamaran. In fact, screw the experience and sailing courses. Life is short. go now. You want to live in suburbia and work multiple jobs for the next several years? That will just make it harder to transition to the boat life. You will probably have kids and pets by then. If this is really a dream that you are passionate about, and for me it was for years and years. Or is this something that you saw on Youtube last month? You seem to be looking for encouragement though. Buy a boat! I didn't know how to sail when I bought my first boat. Just do it. If you get a nice enough boat it will be easy to find someone to show you how to use it.

[davedindubai]

Hi Guppy,

I see you are interested in a Lagoon. There's a load of Lagoon info on my thread "Just Signed on A 450S". We have the Spor Top version which I think as a cruising couple you would much prefer. Have a good read, there's a tonne of info from cat owners on this site which will be a great help to you.

good luck

[KingGuppy]

Originally Posted by davedindubai

Hi Guppy,

I see you are interested in a Lagoon. There's a load of Lagoon info on my thread "Just Signed on A 450S". We have the Spor Top version which I think as a cruising couple you would much prefer. Have a good read, there's a tonne of info from cat owners on this site which will be a great help to you.

good luck

Will check it out for sure! Thanks.

Also ive subbed your YouTube channel. Excited to watch all these.

[a64pilot]

Ref if there is an economic downturn and boat sales.
When I bought the boat before this one, I was asking a broker about how Boat prices were (this was just after the 08 downturn)
His answer was almost all closings he attends there are two checks written, one by the purchaser, and another by the owner to pay the rest of the Boat off to the finance company.
Boats, just like houses were selling for less than what was owed, it was strongly a buyers market, much more so than now.

Think about it, a LOT of “smart” people are financing everything, cause any smart person knows you make more money on the market than financing costs are, only a fool buys when they can borrow.
So what happens when that is no longer true? These smart people have to start dumping things at whatever price they can get to try it save the house, and many don’t succeed.

Or they didn’t in 08 anyway.

Today you can’t give a house away in my home town, market is hugely depressed, however the rental market is strong. A Realtor explained to me that there are a significant number of people that “lost” their houses, can’t get financing, yet have to live somewhere, so they rent.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

... So what happens when that is no longer true? These smart people have to start dumping things at whatever price they can get to try it save the house, and many don’t succeed.

Or they didn’t in 08 anyway. …

This is how I was able to buy my current boat. Before the 08 Crash it was listed way above my price range. After the Crash it suddenly became affordable. I was looking at that time, and used boat prices in the USA dropped significantly — and quickly — following the Great Recession.

I suspect we’re headed for the same economic cliff, sooner rather than later. And you can bet all these highly financed boats will suddenly become an economic dead weight for too many people.

But I don’t really know much about all this stuff. My financial wizardry stops at having zero debt, a smallish but sound boat, and a modest stash of GICs in the credit union .

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I was looking at that time, and used boat prices in the USA dropped significantly — and quickly — following the Great Recession.

That may be the key here. Financial leverage seems to be more accepted in the US. Of course most folks need financing for their first house, as very few have the funds to buy it cash.
But for a car? Get an old Toyota.
A new TV or Ipad on credit card? Ebay has cheap used ones that still work.

Their debt levels made these folks more vulnerable in the GFC. Which cause the sell-off.


This did not happen where I live, simply because the debt levels here are much lower on average. Of course there are broke folks living on welfare, but most who are doing OK don't have any debt at all (except house mortgage). They just live within their means.

From my experience the cat market was down much during or after the GFC in Europe. Only new orders were scarce

[ShellBack89]

Originally Posted by davedindubai

Hi Guppy,

I see you are interested in a Lagoon. There's a load of Lagoon info on my thread "Just Signed on A 450S". We have the Spor Top version which I think as a cruising couple you would much prefer. Have a good read, there's a tonne of info from cat owners on this site which will be a great help to you.

good luck

Just started watching. Beautiful boat. Love that your wife jumps right in and does a 1000 nm trip while you were taken care of business. Shows your trust in each other. Looking forward to watching more adventures.

[Subtandard]

Originally Posted by KingGuppy

How is the water activities in Mediterranean? We've read about much colder water and not as many great areas to go snorkeling or spear fishing.

We did read that the Greek island might offer comparable snorkeling and water to the Caribbean though.

We spent 8 years in the Caribbean (70s and 80s) and the past 8 years in the Med. Sailing is much better in the Carib. Going ashore is much better in the Med. In the Med, most people sail 5 months each year and stay in a marina the other 6 months. Most marinas charge double for cats. Internet access in the Med is good using sim cards. There was no internet yet when we lived in the Carib.

[annualLeave]

Hello,
Great to hear about your dreams.
I would say that you could give monohulls a chance. Get a bit some sailing experience and that will gradually clarify many things, specially what kind of boat is best for you. Regarding the question of Med or Caribbean, the best answer is probably 'it depends'. It depends on where in the Med and where in the Caribbean. Mooring in Greece is cheap, but not in other countries. For example, some regions of Italy and Croatia are very expensive. Moorings for a Cat is also more expensive, so think about it.
It's always best to avoid financing if you can, as interests will erode your income and/or savings.
But probably, my best advice is that you keep pursuing your dreams. As the old saying goes, the one who has a dream has a treasure.
Cheers

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by annualLeave

I would say that you could give monohulls a chance. Get a bit some sailing experience and that will gradually clarify many things, specially what kind of boat is best for you.

Why would starting with a mono be better to identify what kind of boat is best?
why not start with what the OP thinks he wants?

A cat may be more expensive upfront, but certainly cheaper than buying a mono, fix other peoples problems, get experience and then upgrade to the boat he always wanted.

I have spent maybe 2 hours on mono sailboats in my life. Of course I don't know what I'm missing, but also not interested in knowing. Happy with my choice.
Not saying cat is better, just that some people completely don't care about monos. Others love monos and don't care about multis. Which is OK, live and let live.



Med or Caribbean is more a matter of personalities. Some folks like beaches. Others are bored after two weeks of beaches and seek for more variety.

One caveat: Caribbean offers more, better and easier sailing due to more stable weather patterns (in season of course!). The Med has areas with strong winds (meltemi, mistral, bora, ...) which often alternate with total calms. Plus sometimes thunderstorms often accompanied by gale or even storm force winds. Doesn't last long, but can blow your sail or turtle your boat.

[annualLeave]

If he wants to start with a cat, then that's a choice. But as he mentions no experience, it seems that he should try both to be in a better position to judge by himself.

If you are happy with your choice, well then it's your choice and nobody's else. Hope you keep enjoying it, .
Cheers

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by annualLeave

If he wants to start with a cat, then that's a choice. But as he mentions no experience, it seems that he should try both to be in a better position to judge by himself.

Exactly my point: The OP has no experience but a bias towards cats.

So why should a mono be a better choice to start building experience?