Future long-term-cruisers starting to learn

[AlanSqB]

Hello all,

My wife and I are nearly to the empty nest stage and we are natural nomads. We currently live waterfront in Central Florida and are getting bored with it. We've lived long term in Florida, Colorado and Washington but have determined that we always need to be near/on the water. We also both have a strong desire to migrate as the seasons change and enjoy spending more time in places than we typically can on a vacation. I work fully remote and she is preparing to transition to remote work over the next two years so location is no issue.

We have been talking for quite a while about going full time in our fairly large RV for a year or two, but we've seen so much of the interior of the country, it just really didn't get the excitement level up that much. We've seen all the "dirt and rocks" and been to a fair share of cute highway attractions. We were looking at new trucks to facilitate this process and just couldn't work up the desire to buy one, even if it would make road trips safer and more pleasant. We're both just tired of being on the roads with so many idiots and angry people.

So recently I started looking at the long term cruising* option and surprisingly she is very excited about the idea. We've probably looked at a few hundred boats online but haven't been to any shows yet. We've been on our neighbors 65' trawler and we have our own 21' bow rider that's been all over a good part of Puget Sound and some of the Florida ICW. However, that's pretty much the extent of our experience. I sailed as a teenager, but I'm not sure I could sail downwind in a sunfish anymore without some re-education. We're considering doing a trawler school and/or some charters to build on that experience.

We love the idea of a trawler and trawler speed. That's our speed. We like to go slow and look at things and stay a while. We frequently just shut down and drift to enjoy the scenery, wildlife and quiet. We know we probably need something in the 45-60' range, preferably very comfortable for 2 and minimally comfortable for occasional guests. We're torn between the "buy your second boat first" wisdom and the "buy a cheaper (but still nice) boat that will get you some experience" wisdom. We are both very comfortable putting in the time and effort for repair and restoration work. I'm comfortable with engine and mechanical maintenance. For anything "pretty" like paint, fiberglass and carpentry, I'll bring in an expert because I know my limitations.

Our plan would be to spend the first few years cruising the east coast and the islands to gain experience. We love the northeast, but haven't gotten to spend as much time there as we really want so that would be an area of focus. We're not really into the idea of the loop, but maybe some time in the Great Lakes to see the sights there. After that, maybe something that would get us over to the west coast so we could spend some time in our old home grounds and even head up to southern Alaska.

We have no dreams of or desire for circumnavigation, but we are the type who likes to use what we have to the limit. We've discussed having a boat that could get us across the Atlantic to spend a year or two cruising around Europe. That's the "second boat" I mentioned. Something like a Selene or Nordhavn**. We're adventurous but not crazy. It would need to be southern route and preferably with a group. My wife has EU citizenship so it really opens up options to stay indefinitely if we find places we really like.

I've read enough posts on forums to know this sounds just like the musings of hundreds of others who never go through with it so take this all with a grain of salt of course. I am certain we're going to end up as nomads, we're just too restless, the only question is how and when. Looking forward to continuing our research, getting advice and touring lots and lots of boats.

Thanks
Alan

*technically "live aboard" as we're selling the house, but I've read it's better not to use that term
**yes, I'm aware I've fallen for their marketing hype ;-)

 

[READY]

Welcome. You are including a wide range of "missions" that you might tackle. No right or wrong answer but I might consider a 35-45 coastal Cruiser for the east coast and loop for a few years. Easier in so many ways, especially in the transition. Plenty big enough for 2+. Dock space will be easier if you stay small. When you are ready to go to West/PNW you have an option to sell and buy something there. You could avoid a very long and expensive transit. Working on a long distance transit where ports are not so close together presents another challenge. You will be busy doing "boat" stuff.

Just tossing out for consideration.

 

[AlanSqB]

Thanks for the advice Ken. That sounds a lot like what we will likely end up doing once reality sets in. Of all the missions we've talked about, the east-west is not one we would do until much later after semi-retirement would allow us to take the time to enjoy the transit by spending a few months on it. Right now it just sounds like a slog.

I see you have a Hatteras 48 LRC. That's a configuration we really like. There was one in GA recently that looked terrific and just sold. Hopefully if we decide on option A, something like that would be available again.

 

[tiltrider1]

The fact that you already own a boat means you have a better idea of the difference between reality and dreams. If you have slept on a boat at anchor then you know how much different it is than sleeping on land.

I normally try to hit dreamers in the face with a big dose of reality to save them some serious pane. In your case I think you have a better than average understanding of the lifestyle.

My only advice is go for the smallest boat that does the job.

 

[READY]

The one in GA looked nice on paper so not surprised it sold.

 

[Seevee]

Alan,
I'd second Ken's advice and get the smallest boat, but popular boat, that will be good enough for coastal cruising for awhile, until you get the feel for what you really want. If you don't like it, sell and go for the next venture or after some experience you can narrow down your next boat.
Can you keep a boat behind your house? That's allows for easy shorter "week or two" trips and return to a place where you can do maintenance, improvements, etc., easily.
Make a run up to Canada and do a small loop up there, triangle loop or run the Trent up to the north channel and come back thru the lakes. You'll get plenty of experience and have a lot of fun with those kinds of trips. We did the triangle last year, up the ICE, Erie canal, Kingston, Rideau, Montreal, Sorel, and Champlain route back. Had more maintenance issues on that trip than all my travels before, so got a good dose of "shxx happens". Some things I could fix and some I needed help with. I hired out the toilet motor repair because I found a guy that would do it cheaper than I would. Not that the boat was in bad shape, it had just completed the loop prior to me buying it and overall it was in excellent condition. Stuff failed that was brand new and stuff failed because it just wore out. Got the boat back home (behind the house), fixed a few more little things and playing with some coastal cruising on west Florida.
As for traveling to other countries, sure it can be done and a lot of folks on this forum have or are doing it now, and you can get info from them

 

[Bacchus]

I'll second and not repeat the advice from Ken & Sevee.
IMO There is a lot of great cruising on the E & especially NE.
between the coasts, canals, rivers and Great Lakes you have many enjoyable years of exploring. A well chosen 1st boat could serve all of those cruising grounds very well and provide years of enjoyment, and experience.
Bybthe time you cover that territory you and yours will likely have sorted out how far and where you'd want to venture next and that would dictate if you want/ need a second boat to accomplish it with.

Best of luck with the adventures

 

[AlanSqB]

Thanks for the additional advice. We can't really do the boat behind the house thing because that would be pretty limiting on lenght and draft. I would probably not get away with much more than 30' and it would need to be pretty shallow draft. Even then I'd have to get a new lift to get it up out of low tide. I've also got a height limitation of 14'8" here due to a low bridge on the way out. It's a shame because my monthly mortgage is not much more than a nice live aboard slip rent.

I think we're going to rent out a few options while we're learning to get a feel for things.

 

[Captain_Michael]

Go to the Trawlerfests. Good advice on the how and why of selecting a boat. Good advice on financing and insuring a boat. The latter is getting more difficult and expensive every year, and the experts at the fests can fill you in on what to expect now and potential trends. An insurance company is simpy not going to issue you a policy on a 45 foot trawler without a lot of experience and training.

 

[AlanSqB]

Thanks. The Trawlerfests are absolutely on the calendar. I live close enough to the one in Florida and any excuse to get back out to Puget Sound is good for me. I plan meeting with the finance and insurance folks at these events long before we start shopping.

I'm looking to keep the boat in the range where financing shouldn't be an issue. Hopeful to be able to purchase fully (older Hatteras range) or at least 3/4 of the cost if we decide to go with the higher end (older Selene range).

I am reading lots of info that agrees with your post that insurance is really difficult. I'll keep looking into that and if we get a cheaper/older boat to start I may just have to go with liability/catastrophic insurance at first. I'm considering joining the local CGAUX and looking at other opportunities to get more log-able hours. If I have to, I'll look at a smaller boat (but bigger than my 20') to "fill the gap" and gain hours. Cruising the Bahamas and the Keys in a 30'ish interim boat doesn't sound exactly like torture .