Years to collect info

[frndrfoe]

Hi,
I am in my mid fifties and don't expect to be shopping for a trawler until my mid to late sixties unless lady lottery intervenes.
This won't keep me away from boat shows and living posthumously through the youtube liveaboard folks. My plan is for a 50-65 ft trawler to sail the Eastern US coast, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.


I look forward to learning through the coming years as I lurk the forum.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Wow. 10 year plan. Yup, see the NEW boat you want now at the show and in 10 years it will be for sale and affordable. Interesting.

 

[HopCar]

Welcome aboard! First suggestion is don’t live it “posthumously” try vicariously.
It’s much more fun. Better still would be to start boating now. Start with a small boat and work your way up. You’ll pick up the skills you’ll need over time and when you get your big boat, you’ll be ready. You can also try a crewed charter or two and when your ready a bare boat charter.

 

[frndrfoe]

Ooh, wrong word choice. HAHA!

 

[GregBrannon]

Welcome, and don't wait. Go smaller and affordable; go now!

 

[caltexflanc]

Yes, start boating now, and you don't need to buy one to do it. Tomorrow is promised to no man, and there is a real chance that "posthumously" was no slip of the keyboard. Charter trawlers, take lessons, these get you out there to discover if the cruising life is for you, and are absolutely invaluable in helping you select a boat if and when the day comes.

Somehow I am reminded of the great Mike Tyson quote: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". We've seen this happen innumerable times with folks who spent years studying and gathering information and planning only to get "punched in the mouth" by life, mother nature or some aspect of boating and boats in the real world.

 

[dhays]

Folks have made some very good points about starting now instead of waiting. It is a big jump from going to not owning a boat to buying a 60’ boat.

I was a very active runner back in the day and ended up helping a lot of new runners. Many would have a dream of running a marathon and decide they wanted to start their running career with that goal. I always tried to dissuade them. If they have never raced before they don’t even know if they like racing, let alone the high cost in time and pain of training for a marathon. My advice was always to start running and see if they liked it. If they do, then train for a 5k race and see if they like racing. Work up in distance from there.

In a way the same advice would hold for you. You may have a dream of cruising on a 50-65’ boat but there lies a lot of reality behind that dream. Start now. Charter boats for long weekends or week vacations. Find out what you like and what you don’t. Get a feel for the different features in a boat that meet your needs. In 10 years when you have more time, you will have a much better idea of what you are looking for and some experience to help you enjoy it.

 

[Shrew]

Starting in your late 60's with a 50 -65 foot boat?? If this is your first boat, that is going to be an aggressive plan. It'll require a bit of luck that health and mobility don't intervene along the way.

Start living the lifestyle, when you can, with as big a boat as you can reasonably afford. Waiting until you have the time, money and the dreamboat will likely leave you with remorse.

 

[frndrfoe]

Yes, Thank you,
I am planning to do charters in the 40-50 ft range in the coming years. I know I can't just jump on a 65 and shoot off in to the ocean
I don't live in a good place right now for trawling and certainly not where I would want one long term. I was raised in Houston and we had Bertram 31, Custom 42 and a Hatteras 50 in the old days so I am at least familiar.

 

[Bacchus]

Don't wait
Start small - start w/ short trips - but start

You are only 2 hrs from Great Lakes - lots of folks do that sort of commute and Great Lakes provides some great cruising grounds

Good luck w/ the adventures

 

[dhays]

Yes, Thank you,
I am planning to do charters in the 40-50 ft range in the coming years. I know I can't just jump on a 65 and shoot off in to the ocean
I don't live in a good place right now for trawling and certainly not where I would want one long term. I was raised in Houston and we had Bertram 31, Custom 42 and a Hatteras 50 in the old days so I am at least familiar.

If you have some familiarity with boats of that size than you will pick up operating a boat very, very quickly. Do the charters and see how it goes. You may find that a boat in that 40-50’ size range would actually meet your needs very well.

 

[Shrew]

My commute to the boat is typically 2.5 hrs each way in the summer. (It tends to be around 2 hrs offseason when I do projects).

I started with a 28 ft express and cruised that boat for the first 10 years or our boating career.

 

[kthoennes]

I'm 56, expect to retire in about 9 years, when my wife and I will ship the boat to Duluth and sail off to the world with our boys. Over the past 10 years we bought a 19, then a 32, now we're in a 37, 42 loa. Each boat taught me (us) a huge amount. Yes, it starts the money hemorrhage earlier but I wouldn't trade the education for anything. And we charter with friends every year, last year a 50-footer out of Nanaimo. And some sailing lessons (Colgate). Every minute on the water makes me more skilled and useful and resourceful and confident. There's value in climbing the learning curve steadily.

 

[caltexflanc]

The wonderful thing about chartering is that you also get to try out all kinds of destinations... Pacific Northwest, Caribbean, Florida, Northeast to name just a few. We were living in Dallas TX, so when we were ready to buy we knew what we wanted in a boat and where we wanted to live on and cruise it full time.

 

[boatpoker]

He who hesitates has lost.

 

[clyde]

go read all the archives...begin at the start! lots of info, etc...takes a while, but is worth it...clyde

 

[Lepke]

Don't wait too long. I'm 70 and had many friends that didn't make 60. If you can, do it while you're still able, it doesn't have to be a perfect situation.

 

[clyde]

lepke...when we are up in central BC fishing, near shearwater marina, i monitor about 7 channels, as most use vhf marine as fone, 2 boats called shearwter, on the vhf, wanting moorage, 1 was 80', the other was 85'...they were told to go across the bay and anchor, we`ll call you when we have room...they said thanks, and then asked where the PUMPOUT station was located!! we referred most of
them as...ALASKA VETERANS!!...i think the moorage guy was laffng so hard, he could`nt answer...clyde

 

[BandB]

Hi,
I am in my mid fifties and don't expect to be shopping for a trawler until my mid to late sixties unless lady lottery intervenes.
This won't keep me away from boat shows and living posthumously through the youtube liveaboard folks. My plan is for a 50-65 ft trawler to sail the Eastern US coast, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.


I look forward to learning through the coming years as I lurk the forum.

Years to collect info......actually a lifetime....but

Don't wait until you have all the info, because you never will. Don't wait for the perfect time, because it will never come.

I don't believe in 10 year plans. It's fine to imagine 10 years ahead but I believe we're incapable of planning it. Too many things happen in the interim. People here have mentioned the bad things that can happen but good things can do. Maybe you will win the lottery or maybe you'll just find things you really enjoy. Maybe some opportunity will come your way.

If you want to boat, maybe you'll run across the perfect boat for now that doesn't require the lottery. You hear people talk about buying their last boat first, but that's mostly BS, as very few actually do that. We're not that smart, nor is it that time and place in life. If we wait to do that we miss so much.

You're in your mid fifties and intend to work well into your sixties, so my advice to you is to determine what you'd like to do in your fifties and do that. If it includes owning a boat, do it. If it's chartering two weeks a year, do it. If it's an RV you use occasionally, do it. If it's time with kids and grandkids, then do it. You can't get these five years back. When I was 30, I fell in love with someone smarter than me and I've lived life to it's fullest since. I can't get the first 30 years back though and I did a lousy job of living them. I worked, but didn't enjoy. I learned my lesson though.

I say think about five years, but in business I spend very little time on five year plans, just mathematically extend. The real emphasis is next year. So, I tell you the same thing I'd do for a Business Plan. Plan 2019 right now. Set goals and action plans. Figure out how to make it a great year and don't overthink beyond that. We've not even planned our boating for 2019 yet. We just decided to do Fantasy Fest this year and that's where our planning effort is going. We weren't even thinking of it two weeks ago, just decided. Enjoy life and take advantage as it comes to you.

 

[frndrfoe]

I guess I should clarify the reason for my plan even though you have me rethinking it...
I currently am a single parent with two boys in college. There is no money for anything but launching these kids so I don't have to support them for the rest of my life. My original plan was to sell the house at retirement and use those funds to buy a live aboard using retirement money to b.o.a.t. every month or so.

At best I would think a 4-5 year plan is as good as I can do to get into something cruisable. I have no interest in running a trailerable in the rivers here. Being raised on the Gulf, the rivers just don't do it for me. Docking in Erie could be fun though.


Thanks for all the input...

 

[Shrew]

Both myself and my wife were fortunate enough to walk with our degrees free fromcollege loan debt. There is no doubt that that was life changing for us. I'll admit that was a different time and college costs have risen exponentially since those days.

However, it would break my heart to think that it was a life changing experience for our parents if it killed their dreams in the process.

 

[BandB]

However, it would break my heart to think that it was a life changing experience for our parents if it killed their dreams in the process.

Wifey B: Having kids was life changing and while killed some dreams gave better ones. Kids are an extremely high financial commitment. Yet, I don't know any parents who would say they weren't worth it. They do delay and eliminate some other dreams. No child should ever be apologetic over it as it's the parents who made the choice.

 

[kthoennes]

...it would break my heart to think that it was a life changing experience for our parents if it killed their dreams in the process.

Now there's an excellent way to look at it. I worked my own way through college, every penny plus grad school. Granted it wasn't a billion dollars like it is at some schools now, but I see tuition at my alma mater (U of Alaska Fairbanks) is $5,700 per year now. That won't kill anybody. Well, maybe the cold will, but not that tuition bill. Gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment, and my parents didn't have to sacrifice or defer life dreams - at least not for my schooling. But now we're going off on a tangent...

 

[frndrfoe]

The best times of my life were conceiving the two boys followed by seeing them grow up. They are awesome and I would not begrudge them any advantage I can give them to get launched on a good footing. I had great parents who gave me every opportunity even though I all but pissed it away. That might be where my feeling of obligation comes from.
Two well adjusted successful kids are more important than boat rides.

 

[dhays]

Two well adjusted successful kids are more important than boat rides.

Very well said and so true.

As I look to the future, I want to be around my adult kids and grandkids. Not that I think they need me, but the experience enriches my life. Grandparents can be an important part of a happy family life. I want to be able to provide that. As such, I’m going to plan my future so that I can spend as much time with my kids and grandkids as I can.

 

[frndrfoe]

Very well said and so true.

Thanks, but I will do them both!, just not today

 

[markpierce]

I didn't purchase my boat until my boys graduated from their universities and paid off the mortgage on my home. Still think that was wise.

 

[Shrew]

The best times of my life were conceiving the two boys

You do mean when they were BORN, right? I think everyone enjoys the process whether a conception is involved or not.

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

Yep, 10 yr plans are tough. But about 6 yrs ago my wife and I were on a trip and I picked up a boating magazine at DFW. Didn't look at it til we were in the air - opened it up to a page showing a map of a boat trip around the eastern half of the USA - said, "Damn! didn't know you could do that!!" Flight attendant asked if I was ok Started planning then. Bought the boat a month ago (after two yrs of looking at boats - we had a great time!) with plans to leave on the LOOP this time next year. I just turned 63 (on Tue), and the Admiral (she loves that term) is 62. Don't wait too late to get started - life has a way of throwing curve balls your way. Just got one last week when our 28 yr old son was badly injured in a 4-wheeler/atv wreck. He is getting off of the ventilator today - prayers answered He was turned down by the Shepherd Center in Atlanta - said his injuries were not severe enough - best news we have had!! It will be a long recovery, but things are looking much better. oh, and our boat will be in a marina 2 hrs away - no problem - go for it!!