Planning a life change in Key West

[akprb]

You've got some great answers to the KW question above. My first liveaboard was a J-24, seriously. Paid 6K for it and had little A/C in the companion way along with a tidy little arrangement down below. That lasted about 18 months, then moved up to a Catalina 30.

That was a palace compared to the J! Plenty of room for single guy, fun to sail and comfortable to really liveaboard. Hard to imagine sharing it with a GF, dog and cat.

A Huges 40 followed by a 50' Catamaran (hands down the best). The first boat that crossed my mind when reading your post was a Marine Trader 34 or similar/bigger. If living aboard the goal plenty of room and view. You can keep a few kayaks on deck or a proper sailing dinghy to enjoy the harbor in the evening.

Not trying to commit heresy here by mentioning a trawler for consideration but it has crossed my mind. Next boat may be just that with a bunch of smaller boats to play with. Big cat I'll do again if we're crossing oceans. Short of that for banging around the Caribbean this might be the next step for us :-)

Have a ball! No matter what you end up doing sounds like you'll be filling up the memory banks!

[mkriley]

Originally Posted by EnSTYnE

Hello everyone!

So I have been following a sailing blog for little over a year now and it just so happens that I have a job opportunity in Key West which will be paying me $49k per year with a $5000 relocation package plus I have about $7500 saved up which would give me about $13k but I can save a little more by staying at the hotel I will be transferring too, I would like to ask everyone's opinions and recommendations about what boat I should buy! I want no less than a 30' sailboat and it would be for me my dog (Bull Terrier, cat (Siamese) and girlfriend to live aboard, My question is this.. I'm 6'3 180 lbs I have no history or experience with boating although I am Florida born and raised so I'm very comfortable with the ocean for what its worth! Any advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated! positive or negative Thank you!

every body seemed to miss the fly in the ointment! that is 6'3". one of the few boats that will fit you and be in your budget is a columbia 34 mark2. "Sailboats are the short peoples revenge!!!"
mike

[TraderJoe]

Key West is a fun town! We had our home on Big Pine I worked in Key West for 4 years! The boating community down there was the best...always friendly (to us)!
Find your boat! Do not be afraid to ask to put your feet on board! Getting on and off many boats you will begin to see some things...good and bad!
Then forget living on the hook! Save that for later unless you really feel you must! Get set up at Garrison or city dock...pay the piper cause I think you will be a bit more comfy dock side!
Let the adventure begin!

[jrbogie]

i don't mean to be a snot but some of the questions you ask suggest to me that you're not ready to buy a boat. slip fees, live aboard availability are readily available on the internet. asking what size boat would be recommended for your people and pets is not unlike asking how long is a rope. it all depends on the people. i've seen happy couples in 25' boats and couples ready to kill each other after a season aboard a 45 footer.

i suggest that you rent an apartment while learning to sail at one of the many clubs nearby who will make their boats available for a small fee each month. there's a term you may or may not be familiar with; BOAT PEOPLE. only boat people are happy living aboard. are you one? is your lady? are you sure? best find out before jumping into a boat that may be difficult to get out from under, best of luck.

[Bulawayo]

Or perhaps rent a boat for a few weeks to test out the concept.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by EnSTYnE

Also regarding the boat size.. What would be the ideal size for 2 adults and 2 pets in everyone's opinion?

Thank you!

45-48 feet

[scuba0_1]

You will become a drunken live aboard pirate with in a month living in key west. All the tourists WilL look at you and toss you money. Don't do it.. ARG.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[BeachbumKW]

Originally Posted by SV.Maverick

Given your budget forget Yacht World and start looking at Craigslist. However I 2nd just going down ther and spending a few months checking things out. Key West is a very different kinda place many who visit there refer to it as Key Wired.

I think you meant Key Weird...

[JTHAW]

Originally Posted by mkriley

every body seemed to miss the fly in the ointment! that is 6'3". one of the few boats that will fit you and be in your budget is a columbia 34 mark2. "Sailboats are the short peoples revenge!!!"
mike

ha, exactly what I was thinking mike..to the op...what A64 recommended is best for you...take your time, learn, go out on different boats with different folks in the area...at your height forget 30ft...34 ft would still be small for you and the gang..if you can't find a boat in the keys, somewhere around Fl will do....millions of boats all over the place here...do your homework first...then buy, after you've built up some knowledge

[Scout 30]

AKPRB had some good advice. If you just want to live on a boat you can't beat the spaciousness & comfort of a trawler or an older cabin cruiser. You'll also end up with a lot less draft which is great for exploring the Keys. Just remember, the cheap part is buying the boat. Any boat in this price range will need a lot of work & you have to be able to insure it to stay at most marinas. Before you buy get a survey & have a mechanic check out the diesel. The good news is that if you buy an old trawler for this kind of money & fix it up you can sell it for a lot more than you paid for it. The bad news is that you'll still lose money but it will be an adventure. Here's some examples I found doing a quick search of Craigslist:

https://keys.craigslist.org/boa/5444976692.html
https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/boa/5461054930.html
https://treasure.craigslist.org/bod/5420256293.html
https://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/boa/5435798942.html

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by EnSTYnE

Also regarding the boat size.. What would be the ideal size for 2 adults and 2 pets in everyone's opinion?

Thank you!

I don't think that you'll have any worthwhile answers to this question,- including my answer. This is simply due to the differences in the psychological need for space beyond functional needs. You can have the functionally required, place to sit, place to sleep and place to stand in the galley and be miserable or content. People accustomed to houses are used to huge spaces in their surroundings that have no function.

I would suggest that a 35' boat would have more than enough space for two adults with a dog and a cat, but then I lived comfortably aboard a 33' boat with my wife and two young children.

Yeah, maybe you'll need a 48' boat,- 'no good answer here!

[haw1961]

You have no boating experience, but you grew up in Florida. What is that supposed to mean? Do you think it is in your dna or possibly in the Florida air? I've met people that were born and bred in Florida, and all they ever did was sit in a bar. They thought they knew it all about fishing and boating. Wrong!

[EnSTYnE]

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful advise, I went down to the keys and hunted all over the place for rentals and sailboats for sale but wasn't able to find anything.. I have to give an answer about the job offer by this Thursday and Im starting to think it isn't meant to be.. For rentals all landlords either cant cat accept a dog or cat or its outrageously expensive! Even the "low income" apartments wont take me because I would be making to much according to them.. So yeah.. Kinda bummed at the moment.

[EnSTYnE]

Originally Posted by haw1961

You have no boating experience, but you grew up in Florida. What is that supposed to mean? Do you think it is in your dna or possibly in the Florida air? I've met people that were born and bred in Florida, and all they ever did was sit in a bar. They thought they knew it all about fishing and boating. Wrong!

Did not think I would need to explain this further.. But I was simply saying I grew up around WATER.... Lakes etc.. Most Floridians have.. Why would I think its in my DNA? your assumption is illogical.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by EnSTYnE

Did not think I would need to explain this further.. But I was simply saying I grew up around WATER.... Lakes etc.. Most Floridians have.. Why would I think its in my DNA? your assumption is illogical.

I understand haw1961 being suspect of simply growing up in Florida giving someone familiarity with life on the water, but then I see your point too. I grew up in Florida with a lot of time in and around the water. Some, without that background, have another step to take.

When I was twelve my Grandmother came to visit us in Ft. Lauderdale from Missouri. She must have been about my age now, but she had never seen the ocean. I was excited for her experience when we drove to the beach with only a rise of the sand dune requiring her to stand and see my "playground", the ocean, but she never got out of the car. She was fearful what she imagined the huge expanse to be and returned to Missouri never having seen the ocean.

Still, haw1961 is right. I taught for a few years at a Jacksonville, Florida inner city high school where most of the 15 to 18 year old students had never been far from their neighborhood or ever seen the ocean.