Experienced couch sailor

[Nailhead432]

Thought I’d introduce myself. I’m David. My wife and I need a boat. A big boat. Why? Glutton for punishment I guess. Must come with a big stick. I’m super cheap, but very handy. But before we list the house and sail off into the sunset, maybe someone here can point me in the right direction so we can better understand what we are getting into.

[Celestialsailor]

Welcome to the forum. There are many threads in "Our Community", Challenges", "Monohull sailboats" and "Construction, Maintenance and Refit". That should keep you going...enjoy.

[Fore and Aft]

Nailhead 432 the term super cheap and big boat are usually never said in the same sentence. Marinas and boatyards all charge by the foot so the bigger the boat the bigger the bill. You can do your best to avoid marinas etc but at some stage you will have to haul the boat out of the water and then if the boats big enough you start bleeding cash fast. Just google the price of antifoul paint to start with. I am not sure what you consider big, but plenty of Beneteau's and Juneau's in the 40-foot range have stacks of interior room.
I have been watching a big project (50 foot) for almost a year now and the owner has spent way more than the boats initial purchase price on hardstand fees alone. The boat is nowhere near going back in the water and it still has an old motor and rigging.
Cheers

[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.

[Nailhead432]

I’m of the philosophy buy once, cry once. My wife and I went to the boat show to get on board and see first hand what we like vs don’t like. We left there with a puzzling question, why do we or don’t we like certain features? Neither of us have practical experience on boats, much less as live aboards. To answer the question “how big?”, 40ft, 50ft, 60ft, 100ft. I think what I need a better understanding of is, what am I willing to sacrifice to live this lifestyle? Ideally I would want to bring all my things and creature comforts with me, and obviously my wife is asking the same question. I hear the best way to do it is start down sizing now. Go from our big home, to a smaller home / apartment. Then continue to do that until we are comfortable in a 400 sq ft studio apartment. Once we find comfort in that small of a space, then we are mentally ready for living on a boat. So, starting that is the first hurdle. The next, in my opinion, is our 3 little dogs. We are lazy dog owners, that’s completely our fault. We open the back door when they need to go out, this never leash trained them, and consequently never socialized them. I’d prefer to get rid of them, but they do bring great joy in my wife’s life, and don’t want to take that away from her.
It seems upon reflecting on this post, I may have answered my own questions. So here is a biggie. How do I start to change our lives? Obviously there are 100’s of other details that have to be worked out, money, health insurance, etc. We are tired of watching our lives waste away, and the years just keep clicking by. It’s not why I was put here on this Earth. Advice? Baby steps?

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Nailhead432

My wife and I need a boat. A big boat.

Must come with a big stick.

I’m super cheap, but very handy. But before we list the house and sail off into the sunset, maybe someone here can point me in the right direction so we can better understand what we are getting into.

Why big? Budget?

Why sail? Do you already sail? (Editorial comment: Lots o' work involved in sailing. But see my avatar to recognize my bias. We do know how to sail, just choose to do less work.)

Super cheap and big boat in the same paragraph borders on oxymoronic.

Originally Posted by Nailhead432

I’m of the philosophy buy once, cry once. My wife and I went to the boat show to get on board and see first hand what we like vs don’t like. We left there with a puzzling question, why do we or don’t we like certain features? Neither of us have practical experience on boats, much less as live aboards. To answer the question “how big?”, 40ft, 50ft, 60ft, 100ft.

I think what I need a better understanding of is, what am I willing to sacrifice to live this lifestyle?

Good to think features up front. Must have, nice to have, don't want. Separate lists, eventually ameliorated. Helps solve many issues during your shopping phase.

You'll likely get some things wrong. Be prepared to buy twice, cry twice. At least. Your "ideal" will move, as you learn more about what you're talking about. Subsequent purchases tend to come closer to your moving mark, though.

Big brings space, and in turn brings more systems.... that in turn brings more maintenance. Be aware: you will spend every day of your life servicing, repairing, or cleaning something. Or planning for what you'll service, repair, or clean tomorrow.

Your journey shouldn't involve the word sacrifice. Ideally you are mentally moving toward something, not away from something.

Go look at boats on yachtworld.com (or similar) and make notes about what appeals and why. Pay attention to prices. Report back, to let folks here give you better input.

-Chris

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Nailhead432

I’m of the philosophy buy once, cry once. My wife and I went to the boat show to get on board and see first hand what we like vs don’t like. We left there with a puzzling question, why do we or don’t we like certain features? Neither of us have practical experience on boats, much less as live aboards. To answer the question “how big?”, 40ft, 50ft, 60ft, 100ft. I think what I need a better understanding of is, what am I willing to sacrifice to live this lifestyle? Ideally I would want to bring all my things and creature comforts with me, and obviously my wife is asking the same question. I hear the best way to do it is start down sizing now. Go from our big home, to a smaller home / apartment. Then continue to do that until we are comfortable in a 400 sq ft studio apartment. Once we find comfort in that small of a space, then we are mentally ready for living on a boat. So, starting that is the first hurdle. The next, in my opinion, is our 3 little dogs. We are lazy dog owners, that’s completely our fault. We open the back door when they need to go out, this never leash trained them, and consequently never socialized them. I’d prefer to get rid of them, but they do bring great joy in my wife’s life, and don’t want to take that away from her.
It seems upon reflecting on this post, I may have answered my own questions. So here is a biggie. How do I start to change our lives? Obviously there are 100’s of other details that have to be worked out, money, health insurance, etc. We are tired of watching our lives waste away, and the years just keep clicking by. It’s not why I was put here on this Earth. Advice? Baby steps?

There’s simply enormous differences between 40 and 100.

We live full time on board 9-10 months ( well I bugger of to do deliveries a few races etc )

We’re in a 36 and our goal size would be 39 .40 max.

Really build some experience , why not do a few charters etc. looking at a boat show boat and read life can be way way different

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Marinas and boatyards all charge by the foot so the bigger the boat the bigger the bill.

Yes, but the extra cost in the total picture isn't as much as many say. We have a 41' boat and are on it full time now 6 years and keep track of costs. I estimate, by going through our records, that a 30' boat would only save arounds 3% of our total yearly cost. For 2021 it would have saved us $528 total.

[stormalong]

To make a wise decision you need experience. What experience do you have? Handling a boat is very different than a car. There are no brakes and the boat does not track like it is on wheels. There are many skills you need to master to handle a boat.

Make your plans and gain that knowledge before you look at boats.

[TrentePieds]

Nailhead:

Welcome to CF :-)

The first thing you do if you would become a cruising man, is accept that you know not whereof you speak :-)! We, here on CF, get these sorts of introductory posts from new members quite frequently. Those people rarely stay for very long. Cruising is NOT what many landlubbers imagine it to be.

The second thing you do, since you live inland far, far from the sea, is accept that you CANNOT get even the merest smidgen of knowledge of seafaring without going to sea!

Please do yourself an immense favour and get yourself off on the right foot by contacting these people:

https://www.mobileyachtclub.com/

If they do not themselves have a sailing school, they can point you in the direction of one so you can "get your feet wet". Blow about six or ten grand on formal sailing lessons for your wife and yourself before you even THINK of buying ANY kinda boat!

Then when you have those lessons under your belt, blow another 20 or 30 grand on chartering a cruising boat either on the Gulf Coast or in the Islands to see if you can really handle living aboard for even so much as three weeks. Do that before you even THINK of buying ANY kinda boat!

Now, not tomorrow, but now, go to Amazon and buy a copy of a book called The Proper Yacht, by one Arthur Beiser. Beiser knows whereof he speaks! The book reflects that in a wonderful long treatise on what a "proper yacht" really is, and interspersed, by way of illustration of points made in the treatise, are descriptions and discussions of many particular boat types of different sizes right from a 27-footer to Beiser's own luxurious 58-foot ketch.

When you have read that book - and understood it - you will have your foot on the first rung of the ladder that leads to successful seamanship and therefore to happy cruising!

All the best to you :-)

TrentePieds

[Don C L]

If you don't know already that you love to be out on the ocean and love sailing or boating in general, the size of the boat won't make much difference. If you just want a liveaboard, then you can go cheap and big. If you love being out on the ocean and love sailing, then there are some good 40 foot choices IMO.
This site may help:
https://bluewaterboats.org/

When I was a kid and going to college I lived on my 24' boat. I had VERY few possessions to my name, and most of those were stashed in my car in the parking lot. But the boat served me well, and once I cleaned it up (the laundry and dishes and bike and rain tarp,) I could go sailing too! I look back on that time as when I was the wealthiest. I had everything I wanted and needed!

Living on a boat won't be like living in a house. If you think in those terms you will be very disappointed in the first week or so. Moving down to a 400 sq ft apt. is a good idea, but 3 dogs? That will be a tough one. I think you are in the market for a large catamaran.

In the process of downsizing, or BEFORE it, get a lot of time on the water with lessons and crewing on other people's boats to see if you really enjoy it.

But also, go back to what you said... why were you put here on Earth? KNowing that should come before the boat.

[Don C L]

In case I sounded negative, I want to amend what I said. I am one who'd say it is a great idea to look at lots of boats and think a lot of the romance of what you are dreaming of. It is a worthy dream. And then go out and buy 2 Lasers for you and your wife to learn on separately. Once you both catch the bug for sailing, switching from house to boat will make a lot more sense.

[MicHughV]

The answer to your quest is simple.

Go charter a boat.....or several boats....to see what you like...or don't like..and if you think you and your wife could manage such a boat on your own, with or without pets.

Once you've attained that level of understanding, you can throw out some $$ numbers and see what sticks where...

[sailorboy1]

ought that chartering is like trying to find out if buying a condo is right for you by going to on a vacation to a beach house

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

The answer to your quest is simple.

Go charter a boat.....or several boats....to see what you like...or don't like..and if you think you and your wife could manage such a boat on your own, with or without pets.

Once you've attained that level of understanding, you can throw out some $$ numbers and see what sticks where...

Yes, BUT the OP has no practical experience. What charter company would trust him with a boat?