newer and smaller or older and bigger?

[Bambooboat]

Hi there,
Sounds like a good plan, especially if you already know your way around boats and have sailing experience. We are an Aussie family of 4 (from Melbourne) who bought our boat in the Caribbean with the intention of sailing for a year and then very likely selling her before returning to Australia (on a plane!). We are 5 months in and having a great time! We chanced on a bigger/older boat that turned out very well. (even though I was looking for smaller/newer) Having said that it took me almost 3 months to get sailing and my never ending to do list keeps growing! No boat is "turn key ready" unless you are very hands off. For most, getting to know the boat, its systems, operation, where and how to fix things and getting comfortable you know the boat sufficiently to feel safe whilst sailing, will take quite some time, So staring out costal hopping in the Med while getting to know your boat is a sound plan.
As others have said, an older boat with good maintenance will likely give you more bang than a newer one needing refit. Think in terms of systems lifecycles: many will have a 10~15 year cycle so a 10 year old boat (especially ex charter) may be needing some serious upgrading.
Good luck!

[cygnussailor]

Check out this site. This guy has sailed just about everything out there and has compiled a list of used Water boats">blue water boats that he specifically recommends.


John Kretschmer Sailing - Bluewater Boats

[NickCreak]

I've just started a thread you might be interested in.
Long term charter instead of selling - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

All the best

[cjhat]

A year is doable
We bought in med and arrive in NZ within a year, not recommended but it was what we could manage
Next time I’d leave it in Panama most likely, then go back and do the eastern Caribbean for a time (we enjoyed that much more than the lesser Antilles)
We bought a 6 year old private Dufour 525 in Greece, sailed it to Palma 1000nm in ten days stopping in a few Greek ports, Sicily and Sardinia
Had new sails made in NZ and imported them directly to the boat, no GST or VAT at either end whilst we came home to sort out things, back within a month and set off for Gibraltar, Canaries then 16 days to Antigua.
The design isn’t as important as the boat it’s self, if you intend to do the pacific as well don’t buy a centre cockpit heavy narrow stern northern latitudes type as it will be very hard to sell down under.
Water maker is great however if there are only two of you in a sub 40’ yacht that aren’t going to own it for ever I wouldn’t bother.
If you’ve done a S to H and are in the navy you will find the Med, Atlantic and Caribbean easy enough.

[mabai]

Thanks mate, that sounds like a big year.

I appreciate the advice.

[Loxon]

Originally Posted by cygnussailor

Check out this site. This guy has sailed just about everything out there and has compiled a list of used blue water boats that he specifically recommends.


John Kretschmer Sailing - Bluewater Boats

Just a note that lots of those are American made and you won't find many of them for sale in EU at any one time

As for OP, anything is possible but your schedule is very ambitious in my opinion. keep in mind that old Time-Money-Quality relationship. You could spend your year sailing around Greece alone and still feel like you rushed it.

Not to be negative though - just go for it! If you are flexible with your plans and expectations you are likely to have an amazing adventure!

We bought our boat in the EU last year, with much of the planning and browsing done from abroad. Found an older 38ft bluewater boat in pretty good condition and we are still happily cruising around!

[like-a-child]

If you only plan on sailing for one year why buy a boat at all. Setup a Crew available profile here under Crews --> Crew Available and also under findAcrew.net. You or you and a spouse should have no problem finding free or very cheap gigs.
I did 7k miles on 4 different boats/captains in 1 year and it never took more than 48 hrs between setting my status to Available Now and finding a boat to crew on.

On my first boat I paid $25 USD per day to cover food and supplies to sail the atolls off Belize, on the other 3 we just split grocery bills evenly and I paid only my personal check in/out fees.

In a year you could easily do some Caribbean sailing, cross Atlantic both ways, and spend some summertime in the Med. And get great exposure to different boats, captains, systems, etc.

I've sailed far less since buying a boat then I did when I was crewing and I've spent far more money.