Hello from the west coast USA

[sailtodive]

Hello all,

I am starting research for a trip that I hope to start in less than 5 years. I am not yet retired, and don't plan to liveaboard full time. My plan is to get a boat and outfit it to be the ultimate off grid diving platform to visit some of the worlds best dive sites at my own pace. Probably just the wife and I most of the time, but also want to have room aboard for the kids or visitors. I want to leave the west coast of the US and, over many years, slowly make my way to Indonesia where I plan to keep the boat.

Wish me luck and thanks for all the future advice!

[chris mac]

Welcome to the forum, and good luck[emoji846]
We started with a five year plan as well. Now living aboard 80% of the time
So keep at it and stay motivated, the five years goes fast!
My best advice is to get out and sail. Any way, and every way you can over the next 5 years. Build your knowledge, experience, and comfort on every boat you can. And most of all ... Have fun!

[Rumrace]

Welcome fellow diver.
I’ve been and worked a few dive site. NAUI Instructor. The down side is have a compressor on board to fill aluminum or steel tanks. Not practical. The compressor in the basement of the scuba shop is a scary beast. Clubs is the best solution.
I have not been to Scapa Flo yet.
Bikini Atoll and Truk Lagoon go do that. Do Truk soon it’s all deep. If you make it to the Great Lakes look up SOS dive clubs. 5 states and Province of Ontario protecting best wreck diving around. Some from 1812 look like they sank on the weekend.
Six Gill Sharks Washington and Vancouver Are in late March early April. Amazing beasts. Have fun. Mississauga Diving Club.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, sailtodive, welcome aboard CF!

You're not the first one to have this idea. It can be tricky finding safe enough places to leave the mother boat, but with a competent dinghy (and anchoring gear for the dinghy) it can be done. People work out coral-safe anchors, floating rode for them.

For diving off the beaten path, having your own compressor is really important. Plus, you'll find yourself filling friends' tanks so they can join you on dives. It also means the boat will have to be bigger than our 36 footer was. You need a good, quiet, accessible location for the compressor, 'cause it will require maintenance, and you do want to keep it quiet, similar to gensets. People with noisy compressors and gensets are less welcome in anchorages.

Your plan is entirely doable.

Ann

[MicHughV]

I'd be inclined to carry a half dozen dive tanks (or more) on the boat in lieu of a compressor.
There is also the option of a floating dive compressor...usually fitted with two 100' hoses.

[sailtodive]

Thanks everybody for the ideas and encouragement. Definitely going to have a compressor on board. I'm going to take the time to set the boat up right. I have completely reworked two boats before (pocket cruisers) and actually have fun planning the systems out and squeezing everything in, despite the amount of work it takes. I am not yet an experienced sailor.
Currently I am considering the corsair or dragonfly trimarans, because I want to sail fast and I like that they fold. I feel that it will be easier to find places to haul them out in between trips. I know that a lot of cruisers would argue that those boats, even the flagship models, aren't really meant for cruising, but I'm not really planning to stay on the boat for months at a time. I've got a lot of years before retirement, and unfortunately cannot work remote. So I want to get where I'm going, do some diving, relax a bit, and then have the boat hauled out and pick up where I left off next season. I fully realize this is not going to be cheap, but I don't really have another option. I could vacation and dive from liveaboards, which is actually a lot cheaper that what I am planning, but I really just like the freedom of doing things at my own pace, and going where I want to go. Realistically I am looking at 4 to 8 weeks a year on the boat. I know that I will have to do some serious planning when it comes to where to leave the boat each year, when to leave it, and tons of other things that I haven't though of yet, but that's why I am here!
Thank you everybody

[JPA Cate]

One option is to get a boat that can fit into a container. Then (assuming you've made the arrangements) you can have it there waiting for you for your next time off. The Corsair may fit, I don't have it's figures, but that would be a cool deal: fun to sail, able to hold your food, drink, and water for up to 2 weeks, easily. There are also a few small monohulls that would fit, but the Corsair will be lots faster.

Ann

[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.

[thesaltytar]

Welcome aboard and good luck be with you!