Future Liveaboards

[dsmangan]

My wife and I are planning on retiring in a little over 4 years. As of yet we do not have a boat and my boating experience is on lakes. I am currently taking different courses on boating and plan on taking the Captains course for the knowledge. My plans:


1) Get boat about 45 to 60 foot
A) Dual Diesel engines, Inboard
B) Generator (Diesel) large enough to run all boats electrical when needed
C) 2 State rooms (teenage daughter will be going with us)
D) Fly Bridge (Looking at Hatteras type of boats)
E) Wife likes the older wooden boats, I like more modern

2) Trips planned
A) Alaska
B) Panama Canal
C) Bahamas
D) Lake Superior (More kids live here)
E) Having fun until health says to stop. Hopefully 3 to 5 years from start.


Any help or advise is greatly appreciated. I am trying to do my research now so we can relax and enjoy later. Broad question I know, that is how much I need to learn, please help me.

 

[Shrew]

I wouldn't even consider an old wooden boat.

 

[Russell Clifton]

You guys just need to get out there and start looking at many different kinds of boats. Go to some boat shows, Trawler Fests, start looking on Yacht World. Make notes of what features you see that you would like on your new boat. Make a list of what features are a must have and what features are a "like to have".

Then figure out what size of boat would likely have those features. Also, what type and models will have those features.

When looking in Yacht World, enter in your price range you have set and see what kind of boats come up in that price range. Go see some of the boats you think you might like.

This process will most likely be a several year adventure.

If your plans include cruising as far north as Alaska and all the way to Panama, the boat will need to be some what blue water capable.

 

[OldDan1943]

E) Wife likes the older wooden boats, I like more modern

You can find 'glass' boats that look like the 'older wooden boats.'

The rest of your list is a personal choice.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. What Sierra Vista do you live in? Where do you plan to base the boat or are you going to be on the move all the time?

One thing to consider with a flybridge boat is the ladder. We sold a flybridge boat because my wife has had a shoulder replacement multiple times and could not easily climb the ladder. Now our flybridge boat has 3 steps up from the sundeck. We do not consider boats with built in furniture due to back issues. Those are some of our requirements in a boat. You need to figure out what your requirements are and that will help you figure out what you should look at.

I would absolutely not even think about a wood boat. Many marinas will not let you in and some insurance companies won’t insure wood boats. And the maintenance is never ending...

Good luck.

 

[dsmangan]

So, from the replies I see, it sounds unanimouse. No wooden boat. Thank you for your input

 

[dsmangan]

I have been looking online at different boats, so many choices and not sure what works for what my wife and I are wanting to do. I appreciate any and all input. Thank you all.

 

[dsmangan]

We live in Sierra Vista, AZ. We plan on selling the house in four years and buying our boat, we will probably move all the time.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard Mr./Ms. ds. http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/boat-search-101-a-14905.html


As mentioned, a wooden boat may not be a good solution. Given the type of cruising you anticipate doing and the waters involved, Mr. RC's comment regarding blue water capability should be heavily factored in to "the" boat IMO.



I know we've just met but what VERY general area of budget do you have in mind?

 

[JLD]

Do you have an estimated budget?

Might be tough to meet you wants on $100,000. Probably really easy at $1,000,000!


Jim

 

[mcarthur]

My wife and I are planning on retiring in a little over 4 years. As of yet we do not have a boat and my boating experience is on lakes. I am currently taking different courses on boating and plan on taking the Captains course for the knowledge. My plans:

1) Get boat about 45 to 60 foot
A) Dual Diesel engines, Inboard
B) Generator (Diesel) large enough to run all boats electrical when needed
C) 2 State rooms (teenage daughter will be going with us)
D) Fly Bridge (Looking at Hatteras type of boats)
E) Wife likes the older wooden boats, I like more modern

2) Trips planned
A) Alaska
B) Panama Canal
C) Bahamas
D) Lake Superior (More kids live here)
E) Having fun until health says to stop. Hopefully 3 to 5 years from start.

We're in almost the same boat - uh, position .

We agree on 1 A,B,C,D. We decided on the type of boat, size of boat, and other factors then looked before we considered structure. As it turned out, our decision was for a long range power catamaran (covers 1A-D) and we found one out of aluminium at a price for us. If we'd limited ourselves to a material - which would probably have been foam sandwhich - we would never had found our boat. So I suggest listing all of the many important features, then as you look around you'll find which ones you personally will need to remove or compromise on; no one else can do that for you.

Definitely look around on the sales search engines for possibles to get a feel of the market and what's out there. inautia, yachtworld, etc. Go beyond your local/national horizons and there's a whole world out there that's different.

We also agree with 2A-E, but in our dreams add in the Great Loop, the Med, French canals, the Rhine across the Danube to the Black Sea (sometimes called the European Great Loop), Japan, Thailand, and the many, many pacific islands.

 

[dsmangan]

Sounds like we need to be going with you,��
Thank you

 

[Comodave]

We live in Sierra Vista, AZ. We plan on selling the house in four years and buying our boat, we will probably move all the time.

We spent 30 years in Tucson. Worked at the fort in SV for a few years. Don’t miss the heat now that we are in Michigan.

 

[Lepke]

It sounds like most of your cruising will be on the ocean. If so, you need a deep hull - better ride. And traveling the ocean, you need a strong hull. Fiberglass, steel or aluminum. If you don't know boats, a wood boat could be a disaster. Most wood yachts aren't really designed for the ocean - big (breakable) windows, weak cabin structure, poor hatch design - all accidents waiting for a big wave. I have a 83' wood boat, but I'm a shipwright and the hull was designed for the ocean. But it costs about $2000 a year in maintenance if I do the work, not including haul outs. Wood hulls in the tropics have to be hauled often. If worms get in they start eating 3/8" holes through your timbers and planks.

If price is an issue, Chriscraft made some steel boats, 50' or so, twin diesels. If the steel has been taken care of... Otherwise fiberglass is the best bet. It can go several years without much maintenance.
If you're going from a lake boat to a big boat, when you get the boat, get an experienced captain to teach boat handling and docking. It will save a lot of time and anxiety in the future. Most yatchtsmen only learn a form of bumper cars.

 

[Ejdakins]

Go find your self an old aluminum fish boat and convert over, lots out there. Wood ! be my next choice, bit more work, Fiberglass if you staying on Lake Ontario or at the dock great, logs and fiberglass do not mix,up north big issue insurance getting out of hand 10X more fiberglass being repair than aluminum,steel or wood.
Either way you go make sure you look at the power before the beauty{Aluminum,Steel,Wood,Fiberglass or Rubber }it will be the best boat on the water and you will love it, welcome aboard, have fun, see you out there !

 

[caltexflanc]

I've given versions of the following soliloquy here many times.

Don't start with the boat, start with actual boating.

Do some charters in various locations, and taking the on-the-water courses most charter companies will provide (for instance Northwest Explorations in Bellingham, WA , Southwest Florida Yachts or Chitwood Charters in FL or Club Nautique in the SF Bay Area).

First of all, this gets you out there on the water, now.

Secondly it helps you determine whether the cruising life really is for you and yours.

Third, it is invaluable in putting together your personal specs and standards for what you folks want in a boat and what you will be comfortable on.

Fourth it will help inform you as to where you want to go cruising.

It is a very personal (for all involved) choice and what any of us may post here as suggestions is at this point irrelevant.

 

[OldDan1943]

SMILE
You might consider buying the charts now and plotting your voyages, picking out spots you want to stop and visit.
Dont plan your trip so that you cannot modify it, if you find you want a few more days to explore and also allowing for weather.
Yes, the charts will definitely change over the years but, it will fill your evening and 'down days', gathering the input from the wife and daughter. SMILE
AND, you will have a starting point, when you buy the boat and start serious planning.
You are considering a boat with a draft of 5+ feet..... watch the chart depths.
IF you really want to get into the planning...... check the weather, historically, for time and place.
Yea yea, I know that will change with the coming ice age but at least you will have a have a rough idea. Ie, swim suits or thermal underwear.
Those 3 or 4 years will melt away with the planning and buying and preparing the boat for travel.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. ds. As well as Mr. OD's excellent suggestion, you might be able to augment your planning regime by using Google Earth (GE) or a similar program. I have trouble sometime converting a 2D chart to a 3D view and GE or Bing maps has been invaluable.


Pick a spot on a chart then go to that spot with GE. To me, at least, it gives a whole different perspective.

 

[OldDan1943]

I still suggest planning be done on paper charts. As you get closer to the departure date, then move the planned trip to the electronic charts.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

We became full time cruisers ( for some reason liveaboard has become negative) around early 2014. You are starting early enough and the search 101 will help. We bought our boat before we retired so we could refit and upgrade.

The hardest thing for you and especially the Admiral will be down sizing. We down sized twice. Space on a boat is very limited, so you and the wife will be giving a lot of stuff away to family and friends.

Welcome aboard

 

[OldDan1943]

"The hardest thing for you and especially the Admiral will be down sizing. We down sized twice. Space on a boat is very limited, so you and the wife will be giving a lot of stuff away to family and friends."

Or in my case, I lock the door to the condo in Atlanta, tell the neighbors I should be back in March.
Of course I downsized again after the 46Nordhavn was destroyed in the yard.
I now have a storeroom, near the boat, too. LOL
Slowly but surely, I have been giving things away from the store room. I keep giving away lines and fenders stashed in the storeroom. The more lines I give away, the more lines I seem to have remaining, sort of like wire hangers. I think they both bred in the dark.

 

[Moonfish]

Don't start with the boat, start with actual boating.

Excellent advice!

Chartering trawlers/motoryachts is the best way to find out what you really like and don't like. Also, you might consider Boat B&Bs. Spend weekends on different boats and pretend like you are living aboard.

 

[dsmangan]

Thank you for all the advice. I have been taking boating classes as I am familiar with lake boating and somewhat with ocean boating. I plan on taking the Captains course and getting my Captains Lic. Nothing more than the knowledge, I do not want to rent out or pretend to be something I am not. I have some charts at home that I have been looking at and have been looking at different boats. Lots of choices and with the input from everyone I will be narrowing it down to a few different types, thank you all for the support to a novice. I was looking at a power catamaran, any input here? From what I can see they are pretty good on the gas mileage, True/False? Are the power catamaran's any good for what I am planning, open seas ect? Or are they like a cork on water?

 

[OldDan1943]

desmangan, "lots of choices and with the input from everyone I will be narrowing it down to a few different types, thank you all for the support to a novice."

Remember it is your wife who has the final say in this, not us. (Fight her tooth and nail when it comes to the decision between a wooden boat vs. glass or steel boat.)

IMO, the disadvantage of a catamaran is finding a place wide enough to dock it.

 

[dsmangan]

OldDan,
Yes I am VERY aware of "If mama ain't happy, then nobody's happy". BOY, am I aware!! I usually narrow things down so she does not get overwhelmed and we will pick out what we like together. I believe that with showing her everyone's input here and other areas, I have steered her away from a wooden boat. Thank you

 

[dhays]

I've given versions of the following soliloquy here many times.

Don't start with the boat, start with actual boating.

Do some charters in various locations, and taking the on-the-water courses most charter companies will provide (for instance Northwest Explorations in Bellingham, WA , Southwest Florida Yachts or Chitwood Charters in FL or Club Nautique in the SF Bay Area).

First of all, this gets you out there on the water, now.

Secondly it helps you determine whether the cruising life really is for you and yours.

Third, it is invaluable in putting together your personal specs and standards for what you folks want in a boat and what you will be comfortable on.

Fourth it will help inform you as to where you want to go cruising.

It is a very personal (for all involved) choice and what any of us may post here as suggestions is at this point irrelevant.

Best advice ever.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
We still don't know what the budget range is yet. The planned itinerary CAN be accomplished in a "Coastal Cruiser" simply by keeping a very sharp eye on the weather and sea states AND having a lot of time and patience.



Looking for "the" boat with a $500K maximum (+ extra $$ for contingencies) will open a much broader market wrt. age, on board equipment, ammenities and capabilities than with a $100K limit.

 

[dsmangan]

I would say that I could afford a boat maximum at $200K (cash), preferably half that. Monthly income would be about $5K


Most of the boats I have been looking at are $100K or less.

 

[OldDan1943]

I would say that I could afford a boat maximum at $200K (cash), preferably half that. Monthly income would be about $5K


Most of the boats I have been looking at are $100K or less.

Unless you are VERY lucky, the $100K will be a nice DOWN PAYMENT for 40ft+ boat that is NOT A PROJECT BOAT.

You do not want a project boat, TRUST US ALL on that point unless you wish to get divorced because your wife will constantly remind you of the growing cost. (Honestly, I say that in a nice way.)
You want to buy a boat that will allow you to get onboard and 'go' today, Not 'next year'.

For what it's worth, I read somewhere, a boat less than 10 years old. SHRUG I dont know about the validity of that statement.
Noah's boat was less than 10 years old. Christopher Columbus's boats were less than 10 years old too. Neither one of them updated their electronics either.

 

[dsmangan]

OldDan,
I agree, I do not want a project boat. Like you say, I want to take my wife and daughter to where the boat is, get the boat loaded with what we need and go. That is the plan anyway.


So, not trying to argue, the boats that I have been looking at (Pop Yatch) for $100K or less that say they have been inspected and are in top condition, basically a turn key boat, is probably hiding a bigger issue? (Not including all boats) How would I know for sure that there are no big issues with the boat (no matter what the cost)? There has to be inspectors that are A1 certified, correct?