Cyric30's Search for a Boat

[Cyric30]

Hay all,
im a bit under the weather right now, stomach bug, im keeping up with thread, but cant concentrate enough to get solid responses yet, give me a day or 2 :(

[Jim_ME]

Charlie, that is an impressive accomplishment to have built that trimaran. Glad to see the photo of her.

I understand that you had a larger crew in those days, and if you were thinking at the time of going to the Southern Islands, then you would have been cruising and living aboard for extended periods. I can understand why you would have thought that you needed a larger boat then.  :)

[Jim_ME]

...cant concentrate enough to get solid responses yet...

As you can see...this never prevented me from posting... ;)

Speaking of Baldwin, Charlie...Just posted an ad for a nice old Triton 28 in the SellFar Section (to try to tempt Joe)...and she's two years older than Tehani! ;)

Get well, Joe!

[CharlieJ]

Very nice guy. Spent an afternoon ( and lunch) with he and Mei some time ago.

[CharlieJ]

Yep- wife and teen aged son. Here's a very fuzzy pic of the boat sailing in the open Atlantic

[CharlieJ]

Couple of points on the SailFar idea. ALL of my boats have really been sailFar boats.. Simple, basic.

NONE of my boats has had shore power built in. When we DID need it, we used an extension cord. Wind generator on the top of the mizzen mast. NOISY!!!

NOW I prefer solar- it's quiet  ;)

None of my boats has had refrigeration- only ice chests. Ice not readily available? We did without.

And in my entire final year of cruising that tri, she didn't touch a dock a single time- ALWAYS on her own anchors

[CharlieJ]

Charlie, that is an impressive accomplishment to have built that trimaran. Glad to see the photo of her.

I understand that you had a larger crew in those days, and if you were thinking at the time of going to the Southern Islands, then you would have been cruising and living aboard for extended periods. I can understand why you would have thought that you needed a larger boat then.  :)

Thanks- yep- for 3 years she was my only home. And part of that time my wife and I were both working as computer Programmers :o and the boy was attending school.

THEN we went cruising :)

[CapnK]

That Triton at $7800 is a *steal*...

[Cyric30]

Hello All,
Feeling better now, thankfully i didn't get as sick as most at work.
Jim-E thanks for consolidating all my Messes into one large mess  :o

There is so much to relate, and i have been remiss in posting most of it.
I guess i should start with a State of the Cyric address LOL :)

Alrighty Then, lets back up. In Late Aug. I bit the bullet and Hopped a train (first time on a train, if you've never been across country in a train, try it some time, was fun)to Galveston. where i took ASA 101, 103/4 at a school down there, got a taste of sailing both good and bad. spent a week living on the boat in a marina (the school was nice enough to let me stay instead of having to find a room) can say on the whole it was very enjoyable, and productive experience. The instructors said i did better than about 95% of the other student that come through ( which unfortunately i can believe having been on the boat with some other students, and which is frankly sad, as all i did was read the book and learn to tie some knots). but i digress. Anyway I'm still here after the experience, dreams intact.
After that i got some other projects i was working on to a decent stopping point, and now saving money for the next sailing endeavors.
If you would like more info feel free to PM me as there's alot more story behind the classes.
So that's where I'm am at the moment.

Ok. i seen CapnK ask if my thoughts had changed over the course of time since i originally posted this. yes and no. :), let me expand on that :D
my thoughts have changed a little on my ideal blue water boat. the inboard vs. outboard motor, if its got a diesel for sure keep it , a gas inboard is a tossup to me, i can work on gas engines pretty good, but I've also watched a few vehicles burn to the ground from old gas engines as well, am not keen on having that chance on a boat. I still would like a outboard mount though, just in case of an emergency, could use a dingy motor if worse comes to worse. the beam of 10' still would be nice, but most likely will have to compromise on that one, just to few boat fall into that category. but that's about all the things i would like to change for a blue water boat i would like to find.

What has changed the most is my perspective on things. while i still would like to own the boat in my beginning post, and hope to some day. i now know that i don't need that much boat to go some of the places i would like to go, so i have scaled my original goal back to a long term thing to work toward.

What i hope to do initially is find a smaller boat that will take me around the Bahamas for a few winters to gain much needed experience. i think that would be more cost effective use of my time and money. the Article Cj posted from the Duckworks was an eye opener. i had labored under the impression that once you bought a boat that was it, you would never get your money back when you sold it, it was always a loss situation, and i guess outfitting a boat for blue water work that might be true. but finding a boat that will make the hop to the Bahamas, that is simply neglected and needs some TLC, seems a much easier boat to find at a good price, and get your money back when you move on, than buying the "Bluewater-Walletbuster5000 MK IX-B" :)

So my scaled back initial goal is Cheap 25-26' shallow draft boat that needs some TLC (trailorable would be nice as well) to make the hop to the Bahamas for the winter i could work on as i sailed, bring it back and get my money back out of it.

Any ideas, comment, am i messing up.?

So That's how my thinking has evolved since i posted 10 Months ago. what do you guys think.? short term Experience and Bahama, Long term the Worlds the limit LOL :)

I still would like to get some more experience before i tried to do anything on my own, hope to find someone who needs some crew for a week or 2 over my vacation to get some time in. still so much i don't know how to properly do. :(

I would like to keep things going, these post encourage me to keep at it.

Cyric

[Jim_ME]

Hi Joe, Glad to hear that you are feeling better.  :)

You're welcome, It's true that by consolidating and generalizing, I can pile on and help make this into an epic marathon of advice and encouragement...

[Edit: to remove State of the Cyric30 response humor...tired...] ;)

What has changed the most is my perspective on things. while i still would like to own the boat in my beginning post, and hope to some day. i now know that i don't need that much boat to go some of the places i would like to go, so i have scaled my original goal back to a long term thing to work toward.
What i hope to do initially is find a smaller boat that will take me around the Bahamas for a few winters to gain much needed experience.
...that is simply neglected and needs some TLC, seems a much easier boat to find at a good price, and get your money back when you move on,
So my scaled back initial goal is Cheap 25-26' shallow draft boat that needs some TLC (trailorable would be nice as well)...

Any ideas, comment, am i messing up.?

I (and many here, as some have already written) do believe that this will give you the minimum risk and best chance of success...that is, getting out there and enjoying yourself.

If you find a good deal or opportunity, it doesn't have to be a "cheap" [low quality] boat.

If you are thinking about trailering the boat (as I am myself) any distance behind a conventional vehicle, then that puts some parameters around your options. For instance, a Triton is a large boat to trailer any distance, without a super heavy duty tow vehicle and trailer.

I think that an Ariel/Meridian 25-26 ft/5500 pound sized boat is about as large as is reasonably convenient as a trailer-sailer without having to go  heavy duty with tow vehicle/trailer, etc. I like the Cape Dory 25/Allied Greenwich 24 at around 4,000 lbs and 3 foot draft, I've seen some great deals on the CD25s and they are quite seaworthy and can be made offshore capable, if you should need that. I especially like the Hurley 22 as a small trailerable voyager, in the 4000-lb range.

From reading CJ and Craig's reports, the Bahamas can get quite choppy with those winter fronts so if you go much smaller than that...say to a Catalina or ODay 22 shoal keel/centerboarder then it is going to have a pretty uncomfortable motion to sail and try to sleep aboard. You can ask Charlie what he feels Necessity would be like to cruise aboard in the Bahamas in winter. I suspect he would say that it is possible, but with considerably less comfort (and seaworthiness) than Tehani.

Having a trailer-sailer will allow you to keep living where you are, if you want to. You will be able to tow the boat to wherever you want to which is nice if your time for cruising is limited by a job part of the year.

Well...3 am, so I will leave it here for now and get some sleep. [to be continued...]

[Grime]

If I was looking for another trailer sailor I would stay with the Starwind 22. They are heavier built with a heavier swing keel than the Catalina 22.  I was told a number of times from people that had been to the Bahamas that Miss Froggy would be good to cross on a good weather window. 

[Travelnik]

With talks like these...I think one of the most important factors is for the purchaser to be totally honest with him(her)self as to how they will actually use the boat. Not in their dreams...but in reality.

I agree with Frank also. I dreamed of sailing around the world, and living on a boat, but the reality is that I probably never will.
I may cruise around the US coast, Canada and the Caribbean, but a RTW sailing trip has lost some of its appeal to me.

So, what I really needed is a boat that I can trailer to the local lakes, or less than 100 miles to the Red River, and from there to the Mississippi and the ICW.
I don't need a large liveaboard boat with its large cost of upkeep. I did end up with a boat that has crossed oceans, and is perfectly capable of doing it again.

In my situation, the boat called out to me, and it was love at first sight! I go into some detail on this blog post: http://www.travelnik.com/2013/04/love-at-first-sight_29.html

Be honest about your real needs, and then see if a boat calls out to you!

[CharlieJ]

Oh man- do I ever know that feeling :)

That's why I  have Tehani. I'm in love with the boat :)

I know some may be tired of seeing these pics, but here's before,  after, and in full cruising mode

[Jim_ME]

I know some may be tired of seeing these pics, but here's before,  after, and in full cruising mode

Never tired of seeing those Charlie, and being inspired. :)

[CharlieJ]

Thanks, but personally I much prefer seeing her like this-

At anchor, Pipe Creek, Exumas

[Cyric30]

Jim, Seeing Charlie doesn't really inspire me, but looking at his boat sure does  ;D

Sorry couldn't resist :)

Charlie
Much prefer the Exumas, they look good on Tehani, you should wear them more often :)

I know some may be tired of seeing these pics, but here's before,  after, and in full cruising mode

Never tired of seeing those Charlie, and being inspired. :)

[Jim_ME]

Jim, Seeing Charlie doesn't really inspire me, but looking at his boat sure does  ;D

Maybe seeing Charlie on his boat... :)

Hey, I saw this boat for free not that far from you (far as I can tell...). Looked at one of these to buy many years ago, and it made quite a good impression on me.

Maybe see if you can get the "Sails (bunches) and all deck hardware" from the previous owner for a reasonable price. A bit larger than the 25 footers we were last talking about, but not too much heavier than the Bristol 24 that you last mentioned...(and the price may be right?)

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/4842256375.html

[Cyric30]

Hello Jim.
I seen that boat on another list im on, But Im afraid thats one that i'll have to pass on, its more than i want to bite off for a firsts timer Pretty boats when there maintained well, but all that Teak seems to take alot to maintain :( also seen a Free Columbia 34 with fiberglass damage for toe rails, but thats more boat than i need :). right now, if not forever..LOL here it is for your viewing pleasure. http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/boa/4843834299.html

[Jim_ME]

but all that Teak seems to take alot to maintain...

Here ya go...Cheoy Lee with a teak planked hull...that will keep ya from watching too much TV... ;)
http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/31590

[Grime]

I know of a Watkins 27 1978 for sale for $1,000 over in Wanchese, N.C.  Don't know much about it other than running engine, jib and main. I could message you the guys email if you like.