Return of Wanderlust

It has been 8 months now since our nighttime collision with a commercial fishing boat ended 7 years of cruising and living on a sailboat. It is 6 months since we sold the boat and were 100% out of boating and it is 4 months now that we have been living in a dirt dwelling.

I can say that we like the dirt dwelling life a lot more than we liked living on a boat in a marina when not cruising. But we both miss the actural cruising and travelling. Facebook seems to take pleasure in reminding us of that by showing us memories from postings almost everyday. So I have been mentally entertaining a return to some cruising.

My goals, wants, and wishes are a lot different now than when I first put us on a boat cruising life path 15 years ago. So, I don't feel we need the same type of boat and I also don't want to tie up a lot of our assets. That kind of leads me to a mid to upper 30-footer power boat in the $20-30k range. This seems livable for a few months at a time and which I wouldn't feel the need to maintain to the same level as a "nicer" boat to reduce ownership costs. I know the market for this boa would almost nothing in a few years so the low price would me to just "walk away" if needed.

I come to this knowing a lot about our spending habits from the 8 years of detailed monthly cruising records. That means I think I understand the costs of the boat living and I feel it is easy to know the cost of maintaining our house while not there. The biggest cost problem I currently see is the cost of storing the boat when not using it. But I will need to think it through more with time.

I mentioned to my wife, and she definitely is not mentally ready to be on a boat again yet. So, I feel I have a year or so to sort it out more.



In the meantime, anyone with more lessons learned of the part time cruiser I welcome them being posted here.

One big thing you'll find is that having a dirt house to go back to and not being on the boat full time makes finding space for stuff on the boat much easier. Plenty of odds and ends aren't used frequently, so they don't necessarily need to be on the boat, you just need to have them.

For example, I keep certain tools like a prop puller at home. If I'm pulling a prop myself, it's not going to happen in the water, so it's not a tool I'll need on short notice. No reason to take up space on the boat for it.

As far as what boat to get, there are tons of older powerboats in the 35 - 40 foot range. If you're ok with gas engines, finding something worthwhile for $30k should be quite doable. And some of the boats in that range are capable of pretty decent coastal cruising with a few minor upgrades. If you keep the boat in good condition, a boat like that may not sell in a day, but probably won't sell for much (if any) less than you bought it for when the time comes, as you're buying a boat that has already come close to bottoming out its depreciation curve.

As an example, it looks like there are quite a few at least decent looking examples of my boat (Chris Craft 381 Catalina) available in the $30 - 40k range, although none are overly close to you. One of the examples even looks to have a nice hard top on it, meaning more room to mount solar or things like radar plus less canvas to maintain over time.

I find our costs for the boat fit into 2 basic categories: fixed costs of having the boat and usage costs. The fixed costs are a slip for the summer, winter storage, insurance, basic maintenance, etc. Usage costs are things like fuel, transient dockage, some increase in maintenance cost for using the boat more, etc. I don't consider things like food to be a factor as our food costs aren't drastically different whether we're on the boat or at the house. In our case, the boat's home slip is a 3 mile drive from the house, so it's easy to get what feels like enough use out of the boat even when we're not cruising.

Welcome back Don. As you probably know, we've been cruising our 36-foot Willard 36, a relatively small 36-footer for 6-months. I'll summarize some of our experience and choices.

We have had a blast cruising down the Pacific. We didn't have a lot of expectation, but have been pleasantly surprised at how much fun we've had. We are sort of medium-social and have really enjoyed the people we've met along the way.

We are both retired and frankly could afford to purchase a much larger boat. If we were to cruise full time, a Nordhavn 57 would probably be our choice (well, mine). We've had such a good time that we've talked about it. But frankly we like doing it part-time. Cheryll and I have been together for 28-years and are both comfortable in small places. We'd like a second stateroom, but both feel our Willard 36 is a perfect boat for Florida and the Bahamas for a few months at a time. Plus, it's pretty economical to berth, especially for us since we have a condo with a deeded slip.

A friend recently purchased a Mainship 34 that immediately came to mind when I read your post (Here's one in SC - https://www.boattrader.com/boat/1978-mainship-34-9436780/). I could easily see living on one for 2-4 months at a time in the Bahamas. As far as keeping it, might be small enough to dry-store but I don't know what's available in JAX area. I do really like a sedan style for the Bahamas - great aft deck for hanging out, easy on/off a dinghy.

We met a hive of part-time cruisers in Mazatlan. Most have had their boat there for 5+ years and got there in November and cruised through April. Some went up the Sea of Cortez, others went south to Banderas Bay. It was a really hot setup - one couple from London was especially interesting. I mention it not because Mazatlan might be of interest, but because it was a cruising model that might work for you, maybe out of New Bern NC which seems to be a hive of cruisers.

Best success in your next endeavors.

Peter

mvweebles said:

We are both retired and frankly could afford to purchase a much larger boat. If we were to cruise full time, a Nordhavn 57 would probably be our choice (well, mine)

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I have an Aussie cruising friend with 1 of those I could probably get down to $850k for you if interested

Don L said:

That kind of leads me to a mid to upper 30-footer power boat in the $20-30k range.

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mvweebles said:

A friend recently purchased a Mainship 34 that immediately came to mind when I read your post (Here's one in SC - https://www.boattrader.com/boat/1978-mainship-34-9436780/). I could easily see living on one for 2-4 months at a time in the Bahamas.

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Upper 30's -- with flying bridge, ideally enclosed -- might be about the shortest I could envision us being comfortable on for long periods. And some of our long over-winter sessions aboard were on our previous 42.

Maybe you'd be able to compare space, focus on boats that offer at least as much room -- and features -- as your sailboat. Can't remember that length, but almost any powerboat that same length, especially flybridge boats, will offer more usable space.

We had one of the early Mainship 34s. Great boat. Wouldn't actually recommend for your mission, partly because of our own mental exercises about it at the time. What would be better? More beam. Helm door. Stairs to the bridge. Better stateroom. Hardtop. Et cetera.

Turned out, Mainship's 350/390 -- developed with Mainship 34 owner input -- checked almost all those "better" boxes. And then there are several other boats that might offer similar features.

-Chris

mvweebles said:

A friend recently purchased a Mainship 34 that immediately came to mind when I read your post (Here's one in SC - https://www.boattrader.com/boat/1978-mainship-34-9436780/). I could easily see living on one for 2-4 months at a time in the Bahamas. As far as keeping it, might be small enough to dry-store but I don't know what's available in JAX area. I do really like a sedan style for the Bahamas - great aft deck for hanging out, easy on/off a dinghy.

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I saw that posting before starting thread and it was among the boats that made me feel my part time cruising would be possible in the price range I gave.

Ref my comments on Mainship 34 and 350/390...

I forgot to add my standard "not a recommendation, just an observation" disclaimer.

An additional thought: boat selection depends on what "cruising" means. (Probably a "Duh!" for most, here.)

But in general, a boat for local "circle" trips or hub-and-spoke cruises of 5-days-to-2-weeks-or-so... can be a lot less spacious, capable, complicated than one for long-distance cruising for months at a time... with maybe even no return to any kind of home base.

Our MS 34 was great for local trips, and my thoughts at the time made it seem the 350/390 would be a nifty improvement. (But we never actually made the leap and bought one... so much of my rambling is about theoretical comparison to the 34.)

Since then, some of our winter cruises have morphed into 120-150 days aboard... and we still do various local trips... so our ideas about suitable elbow room (and some specific features) have gradually "grown" along the way, too.

Our preferences not really relevant here, but thought it might be useful to offer the ideas about contrasting ideas of what "cruising" might mean.

-Chris

I know how to cruise

Don - you've done more cruising than vast majority of folks on TF. To me, your idea of a "disposable" 35-ish footer sounds perfect for cruising Florida and Bahamas for a few months at time. Smaller boats are easier to use, though more weather sensitive. Of course, it's the same cost to berth a 35-footer regardless of whether it was $30k or $300k so you've isolated the difficult part of the equation.

I can't add anything except encouragement. I'll be interested to see if your plan progresses. We enjoy part time cruising - leaving our boat on the hard in southern Mexico has been great so far and relatively inexpensive, though that's a long way from Florida. We look forward to cruising Florida and the Bahamas.

Peter

Waiting for a new build has given us an excellent opportunity to think about what cruising lies in store, and at the same time, a perfect chance to do some land cruising. We've seen a lot of the northwest now and ready to get back on the water. Our new trawler is scheduled in Everett late next month. Our first extended cruise, after a rigorous shakedown in local waters, will be back to SE Alaska in 2025. There are so many beautiful anchorages to visit that I suspect we will return North many times, travelling near and far. Fortunately, we can have both a home on land and also a trawler large enough to live aboard comfortably for several months. Wish you Don, a successful boat search and a return to cruising.

ranger58sb said:

We had one of the early Mainship 34s. Great boat. Wouldn't actually recommend for your mission, partly because of our own mental exercises about it at the time. What would be better? More beam. Helm door. Stairs to the bridge. Better stateroom. Hardtop. Et cetera.

Turned out, Mainship's 350/390 -- developed with Mainship 34 owner input -- checked almost all those "better" boxes. And then there are several other boats that might offer similar features.

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I think the original 34 should be a top contender. It's true that the 350/390 are widely regarded as "better" choices, but they're also much higher priced and likely out of range for the OP.

The challenge as usual is finding a 40+ year old boat that's in decent shape and doesn't need major restoration.

mvweebles said:

Don - you've done more cruising than vast majority of folks on TF. To me, your idea of a "disposable" 35-ish footer sounds perfect for cruising Florida and Bahamas for a few months at time. Smaller boats are easier to use, though more weather sensitive. Of course, it's the same cost to berth a 35-footer regardless of whether it was $30k or $300k so you've isolated the difficult part of the equation.

I can't add anything except encouragement. I'll be interested to see if your plan progresses. We enjoy part time cruising - leaving our boat on the hard in southern Mexico has been great so far and relatively inexpensive, though that's a long way from Florida. We look forward to cruising Florida and the Bahamas.

Peter

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I never would ever have thought I would be considering a "disposable" boat. Prior to our collision we were thinking a change to a bigger full time trawler type boat.

I have Canadian friends trying to sell their CHB36 that is in Florida and are asking $35k. There is barely a market for these boats.

Don L said:

I know how to cruise

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Certainly, obviously... didn't mean to sound like I was suggesting otherwise.

Just meant the boat should ideally be OK with the style of cruising you choose to do... since there's cruising, and then there's cruising. And since your future cruising sounds like may not be the same as your previous life aboard, full-time.

-Chris

Don L said:

I never would ever have thought I would be considering a "disposable" boat. Prior to our collision we were thinking a change to a bigger full time trawler type boat.

I have Canadian friends trying to sell their CHB36 that is in Florida and are asking $35k. There is barely a market for these boats.

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I have no idea how much it costs to have a yard chop-up a boat and have it hauled to the dump. Would be a good question to know ahead of time. Idea of using an orphan boat for a couple years and somehow bypassing the lengthy/expensive sale process waiting for a buyer is appealing. Maybe donating to a youth organization though I'd guess they are picky about what they take too.

A CHB 34 on Lake Lanier was just sold via TF. Asking price was $15k and I had the impression it has languished for a while. I think pricing a low-budget item for resale is tough. Pricing too high will naturally scare-off buyers. But too low will too. Many years ago a good friend listed an old pickup truck in the classified ads for $200. Not a peep of interest. The following weekend he raised the asking price to $700 and his phone rang off the hook. Go figure.

I once met a fisherman-nut in the Sacramento Delta. He had a 30-ish foot Uniflite sportfisher that had topside blisters all over it. Was an impressive crop of blisters unlike anything I had ever seen before. He said the fish didn't know the difference; and he bought the boat for a song. The only downside was the constant barrage of Captain Obvious types walking-up saying "Hey!!! Your boat has blisters!!!" I guess it gets a bit old.

Peter

IF you live on a 58 foot flybridge cruiser, I can see how moving to a Mainship 350/390 or 34T would be a compromise. We live on ours for 6 months a year and find it fine. Could i use a seperate salon and Settee? yes, but other wise it is fine.

The 34T is a newer, more expensive boat. The difference is the 350/390 had a second stateroom. The 34T has a single stateroom and the galley is down where the guest stateroom used to be. However, it makes the salon much larger.

The older mid 80's 34 MKI, II, and III were completely different boats.

All of these boats are way over the 20K - 40K price range.

Plenty of mid 90's 32-34 express boats in that price range.

A simple, single diesel trawler would probably be desired here for low running costs, but they there isn't the same over-supply of them in good condition as there are for some other types of boats. So they're not as cheap.

Don, do you have any specific things you know you want or don't want in a boat? Does it have to be diesel, or are gas engines fine? Those kind of questions might help narrow down some ideas to point you towards. There are lots of decent cheap-ish boats out there, but it doesn't help if most of them aren't something you'd want.

rslifkin said:

Don, do you have any specific things you know you want or don't want in a boat? Does it have to be diesel, or are gas engines fine? Those kind of questions might help narrow down some ideas to point you towards. There are lots of decent cheap-ish boats out there, but it doesn't help if most of them aren't something you'd want.

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I mainly am looking for lessons learned by those cruising on a mid 30's power boat for 3-6 months at a time. I had some old threads about moving from sail to power and am sure some of that still applies. I believe I would prefer diesel.

But I also understand my choice would really be what is available when and if I decide to do it.

No rush. I fully understand the look my wife gave me yesterday!

One thing that comes to mind is the question of how you want to do your short term cruising and where. There are 2 basic ways to do it. You either cruise for a period of time, then leave the boat somewhere for a few months while you fly / drive home. Then you return to the boat later and continue. Or you cruise for a period of time and then end the cruise with the boat back at a home slip you maintain for it, giving you the option to use it for days or weekends while you're home before the next cruising period.

Glad to see you back Don. I've always appreciated your no nonsense perspective. I think the older Mainship 34 or an old Taiwanese trawler would fit what you're looking for.

Shrew said:

IF you live on a 58 foot flybridge cruiser, I can see how moving to a Mainship 350/390 or 34T would be a compromise. We live on ours for 6 months a year and find it fine. Could i use a seperate salon and Settee? yes, but other wise it is fine.

The 34T is a newer, more expensive boat. The difference is the 350/390 had a second stateroom. The 34T has a single stateroom and the galley is down where the guest stateroom used to be. However, it makes the salon much larger.

The older mid 80's 34 MKI, II, and III were completely different boats.

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Well, yes, our current boat influences my thoughts... but only a little (I think overkill, but couldn't find a decent smaller choice at the time)...

And I didn't get here all at once, anyway. And I really meant I suspect the 350/390 would be a great example of a boat for long-ish cruising. (Along with the raft of other similar boats with similar features.) I think better than an original '80s 34, for any significant extended length of time aboard.

We started with the older 34 Mk III 30 years ago, and I still think it's a great boat... but that's the one I kinda remember not really ever panting to be on for more than about 2-3 weeks or maybe a month at a time. Hazy memory, of course, and we were both still working then... so vacations longer than a week or so were rare anyway.

-Chris