Wishful Woman Indeed !

[Boracay]

40' is getting into the realm of comfortable cruising boats, and are quite highly sought after. If yous can fit into something smaller (say a 35'-36') then the price may drop and the quality may improve while the running costs could be less.

If you can really get cosy then a small trailer sailer (22'?) on a trailer is going to be a fraction of what you are currently looking at. Much easier to buy and sell. Keeping a long distance boat has got to be a pain in the neck.

The 40' is a full time live aboard/cruise size. If you can wait until you're ready to go then you'll have that much more money in your kitty.

5 or 6 year old ex charter boats under 40' look to be going for under $90k. My opinion is that, if you can wait and get your experience on a much smaller boat while saving, they are the way to go.

[sailcruiser]

Originally Posted by Wishful Woman

All good (and welcome!) advice, comments and more!


I did post about how the heck would be the best way to get a 40'-er from NJ (or elsewhere) to FL. A couple other boats we've seen online are in fresh water lakes. I just don't know what "problems" to look for. Wondering if there is there is a registry somewhere that we could search a history similar to the way you can search a VIN on a car for flood damage, etc.?

Oh well, I've gone on too long again. Thanks for reading.

ttfn!

You can hire a crew for delivery. Also there is a registry at least for insurance claims. Google boat history. I think I paid $35 for a report. My surveyor recommended this. Hope this helps. SC

[sailcruiser]

Originally Posted by Sam Plan B

I don't know much about motor yachts. But if you would consider a motor sailor there are some good old boats around. A search for a Morgan 41 should turn up lots of boats. Also a Gulfstar 41 could meet your needs. Both are center cockpit with staterooms aft and forward. Lots of them wre built in the mid to late 1970's. Prices now would be from $30k to $65k depending on condition. You should keep in mind, any boat older than 10 years - regardless of condition - will be cash only. You will not be able to finance it conventionally. You may be able to borrow against your mutual funds account or something like that.

I'm not sure if it qualifies as conventional in the sense above but our credit union financed us as a used vehicle. (ie like a car). This may not be practical for your goals but most will go 72-84 months on a used car loan. The interest was significantly lower than marine financing too. It's essentially used car rates. They expected the traditional 20% down. In the price range above this may be workable. Just thought I'd toss it out for exploration. SC

[Wishful Woman]

Can't begin to thank you all enough for your welcome, tips and advice! My boating friend will be in FL next week for work so more time may be spent looking at boats than marinas! Obviously not a good idea to rush into anything without weighing options. I also got lots of good advice on another thread re: cruise vs. transport from Wildwood NJ to FL.

[Svsilvergirl]

She had it all figured out. Warm weather means take your clothes off what more ya need to know ?

[Wishful Woman]

Originally Posted by Svsilvergirl

She had it all figured out. Warm weather means take your clothes off what more ya need to know ?

Hahaha! Ok! Ok! Busted!

[Svsilvergirl]

Now that's a photo album worth sharing

[Eleven]

Perhaps get a dinghy for your boat first, add an outboard (you'll need one if you want to keep costs down by anchoring in the bay rather than paying mooring fees). Then if the sun is shining go for to the nearest river/lake/large puddle and start learning. More people fall overboard from dinghy's than from the mother ship. Get used to the wobbly one first.
All the approaching a pontoon stuff will come to you without insurance claims, acceptable wind and wave limits, managing fuel burns, distance and time management and so on. Plus fresh fish for the freezer!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you posting here and getting great advice.
kind regards,

[beiland]

Originally Posted by Wishful Woman

Hi all,
I'm a newbie for sure, but with LOTS of enthusiasm and ready to learn a lot here and on my own with books, videos and more. I also look forward to the day I can give back to other new boaters! Here's the scoop ... a friend and I are looking at fulfilling a dream to have a live aboard boat in a warm climate. We'll continue to have a place in Virginia because of work and family members, but ideally we'll find a used motor yacht (40' ish) and choose a marina in Florida. We're leaning towards Ft. Myers area or northernmost Keys, but haven't really researched that yet either. I'll be posting questions in all the appropriate categories to seek tips on the best way to get it from it's origin (e.g. NJ) to Florida (trailer vs. cruise) either this winter or next spring, broker advice, tax tips and just plain old good advice you people have to offer! Is this just wishful thinking? I hope to fulfill my wishes and his too. We're great friends and life is too short not to act on our dreams.

If you are still working in VA, do I assume that you will be taking 'vacations' down to the vessel in the winter months? Or will you be living on it 'full time' for months at a time?

I imagine you may be unaware that their are a number of marinas that do not allow liveaboards?.... or charge a premium to do so? I'm not trying to discourge you at all with this fact, just trying to point it out.

I've lived on several vessels for several years when I was younger, both here in the Chesapeake, in the Keys for a short time, and in the islands. And I have actually been entertaining the idea of doing it again...part time you might say...6-7 months per year while I'm in the USA along with my Thai wife. Then we would be spending the 'USA winter months' in warm Thailand where she lives presently.

So I've been researching the market as well, particularly since there are some good deals out there at this time. I've also had a look around some FL locatios I had not really spent much time in my youth....St Augustine, St Johns River, Goodland, etc

[Wishful Woman]

Thanks again for input from everyone on so many topics. Much appreciated!
We did contact a broker referred by a seasoned member here on CruisersForum and got a quick reply as well as a comparison of sales prices of models similar to one we found and liked. Great start!

Because of work, there are no firm plans as to how we'll be able to divide our time between Virginia and Florida. Also my partner already showed me a couple of his top picks of marinas that allow liveaboards, so I appreciate that Beiland pointed out that some allow that and others don't. I've learned a lot in the past several days!

Do any of you have tips or experience regarding our intent to let a 40'-ish fiberglass hulled boat sit idle for weeks at a time, and in some cases possibly longer? Once we have fine-tuned our plan of action a little more, I'll probably post again asking that specific question, but feel free to advise here!

Again, many thanks to everybody!

Cheers,

Wishful Woman

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Boracay

40' is getting into the realm of comfortable cruising boats, and are quite highly sought after. If yous can fit into something smaller (say a 35'-36') then the price may drop and the quality may improve while the running costs could be less.

If you can really get cosy then a small trailer sailer (22'?) on a trailer is going to be a fraction of what you are currently looking at. Much easier to buy and sell. Keeping a long distance boat has got to be a pain in the neck.

The 40' is a full time live aboard/cruise size. If you can wait until you're ready to go then you'll have that much more money in your kitty.

5 or 6 year old ex charter boats under 40' look to be going for under $90k. My opinion is that, if you can wait and get your experience on a much smaller boat while saving, they are the way to go.

Trailer boats have a huge advantage. Here, on the central coast of west Florida, Biscayne Bay is only 4 hours away by trailer -- and south of there, the keys. It widens the area you can sail in, especially if you're not yet retired. You don't have to sail 36' (or more) straight to get to the keys, as you do where I am. You can drive there and then launch.

On the other hand, handling and maintaining a trailer is a whole new set of skills. If I'd had to learn sailing AND outboard AND trailer all at the same time I think I would have ended up in a padded room!

[beiland]

Are you primarily looking to 'live on the water ' (escape to) in that warm climate during the cold winter months, or actually take the vessel out cruising?? That could make a great difference in the vessel and price you might consider.

With your limited experience at this time don't even consider a mooring situation for the most part. Until you get use to it self-sufficiency away from a dock for a liveaboard is a challenge unto itself.

I did look at an interesting place on the St Johns river that could offer dockside for a portion of the year, then a relatively ssfe mooring for the non-livaboard (storage) time.
Green Cove Springs Marina in FL, United States

Cruiser's Net » Archive » Green Cove Springs Marina (St. Johns River, between Jacksonville and Palatka)

Former Site of the Green Cove Springs Reserve Fleet

Green Cove Springs Fl is a nice little town that's somewhat akin to stepping back into the 60's era. The St Johns river is really a much bigger river than I had ever given it credit for. Litterly you could go 'inland cruising' from Jacksonvile Fl down to Orlando thru the series of rivers and lakes...all in protected waters.


Goodland Florida
Goodland Florida
Now this was an interesting little place that was just below (almost connected to) Marco Island (way down on the west coast). From this marina you could easily make a run down to Key West.

I put an offer in on a custom built houseboat that was for sale located there. I think I was a week to late.

I had been contemplating building a Thai or Bali style 'cottage-boat' at one time....one for use in Thailand, and/or one here.

[beiland]

Regrettable property (land) owners in the USA get general mad about 'liveaboards' on the water. And this is even more true of 'houseboats'. At least they have not forced the outlaw of vessels yet.

My alternative to the houseboat is a canal barge like many in Europe. Here is my favorite design Roi Soleil....
Inland Waterway Cruising; Boats, Barges, etc. - YachtForums.Com
....now lets find a way to shorten this design down to 60-65


BTW, heres another liveaboard subject thread

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Svsilvergirl

She had it all figured out. Warm weather means take your clothes off what more ya need to know ?

Getting caught up reading from the weekend .................... need more details for this. having a hard thing with it, what's that saying about pictures and words?