Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

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Jaysen
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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by Jaysen »

jacquesmm wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 11:07 am https://spacecoast.craigslist.org/boa/d ... 92126.html
I can't believe the price!
This one... This is the one someone typing this post is going to get in trouble over. I don't need a 40' boat.
My already completed 'Lil Bit'. A Martens Goosen V12 set up to sail me to the fishing holes.
Currently working on making a Helms 24 our coastal cruiser.
“Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens” wrote:Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.
Jaysen wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 3:44 pm I tried to say something but God thought I was wrong and filled my mouth with saltwater. I kept my pie hole shut after that.

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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by jacquesmm »

Jaysen wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 11:39 am
jacquesmm wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 11:07 am https://spacecoast.craigslist.org/boa/d ... 92126.html
I can't believe the price!
This one... This is the one someone typing this post is going to get in trouble over. I don't need a 40' boat.
It's an old fashioned hull but well proven and solid, New sails plus the equipment equals the asking price. It has everything and you can leave right away.
Except that it is the wrong place, far from Alaska.
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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by BB Sig »

jacquesmm wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 12:04 pm
Jaysen wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 11:39 am
jacquesmm wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 11:07 am https://spacecoast.craigslist.org/boa/d ... 92126.html
I can't believe the price!
This one... This is the one someone typing this post is going to get in trouble over. I don't need a 40' boat.
It's an old fashioned hull but well proven and solid, New sails plus the equipment equals the asking price. It has everything and you can leave right away.
Except that it is the wrong place, far from Alaska.
Isn't that part of the adventure?! :lol:

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Jaysen
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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by Jaysen »

I’m far from Alaska. That’s just an 8hr drive from me.

Mrs is currently muttering something about blocking my access to any boat sites.
My already completed 'Lil Bit'. A Martens Goosen V12 set up to sail me to the fishing holes.
Currently working on making a Helms 24 our coastal cruiser.
“Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens” wrote:Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.
Jaysen wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 3:44 pm I tried to say something but God thought I was wrong and filled my mouth with saltwater. I kept my pie hole shut after that.

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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by narfi »

Those are cheap for sure. One of those you listed is probably cheaper than you could charter a catamaran for a month. However a month would be about the max Mrs. would want to be on it....
She really likes the catamarans (as do I) because while it is still a boat with less space than a small apartment, it does have well defined and livable spaces with good headroom, bedrooms, bathrooms, showers, living rooms, back porch, and front lawn....... for full time live aboard it would be very difficult to talk her into a monohull unless it was ridiculously HUGE, and thus impractical in terms of building space and upkeep.

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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by Netpackrat »

Evan_Gatehouse wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:53 pm Stay away from Bruce Roberts. Plans are incomplete and the structural adequacy of some of his work is very questionable.
And his boats are ugly. Life is too short to build an ugly boat.
Heh. Yeah, the Spray 27 checks all of the boxes for my "All weather trailerable sailboat" at least on paper. Can be trailered, has enclosed head, pilothouse version, aluminum. construction available... But no, because Bruce Roberts. A little bit of internet research sets off all kinds of alarm bells. Not only design wise, but then there is the matter of the decades long legal battle between BR and the company that actually legitimately owns most of his designs (he sold them years ago, and has been trying to weasel ownership back for years). Be afraid, be very afraid.

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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by Evan_Gatehouse »

Is that something that designers usually have included, or is it assumed the design is just the structure and the builder is responsible for figuring out all systems?
Most designers leave out mechanical systems or give information at a basic level. It is often up to each builder to design systems to suit their needs. Exception: inboard engine installations will often have details of shafting, engine beds, exhaust all sorted for the builder.

We met a couple in Mexico aboard a Derek Kelsall 36' catamaran. He had been a Bering Sea fisherman his whole life and this was his retirement boat. He built it on Kodiak Island, where the nearest neighbors was an Inuit village about 20 miles away. All supplies came via US Post. Including barrels of resin and rolls of glass. He said it really sucked when he needed a fastener and the next mail delivery was a month away... :)

Yes on a catamaran you build getting rid of the 4 heads and cabins, and having a dedicated workroom/storage room would be nice. I had a workbench with tools right there in the middle of one hull, but a lot of projects were done in the cockpit (better ventilation).
designer: FB11/GV10,11,13/ HMD18/
SK17,MM21/MT24

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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by Matt Gent »

I would think real hard about the scope of project it takes to make a 2-stateroom, live-aboard boat. Building by (mostly I presume) yourself.

I love a project too, and I'm dabbling in near-retirement designs for say 15 years off. Being honest with myself I can't make the time to build something of that scale until I'm retired, then I'd spend the best / most capable years of my retirement building a boat instead of enjoying it.. And buying used, using, and selling used is by far the more financially prudent approach.

Paying someone to build a custom boat will surely exceed the cost of a production equivalent, if available. I think there is a production approach with some small yards in aluminum, where I could buy the structure and fit it out myself, that might be viable. CNC cut panels, self-fixturing, and un-faired to cut down on fabrication time/$.

All too often you can find partially, or even mostly complete projects where the builder ran out of energy or years to finish the dream. I don't want to be that guy!

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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by narfi »

For sure, there is a lot of validity to that. I do enjoy projects though.... so want to explore my ideas and options fully.

I started a spreadsheet with some of the designs out there in the 40-50ft range.... ill add more as i research more, perhaps even add a tab with prices I find on used ones to keep that aspect of my thought process grounded.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

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Re: Retiring and/or Snowbirding on the water

Post by Browndog »

I had a goal of doing the great loop as a 50th birthday achievement. I knew that my current boats would not make for a comfortable option. I did a lot of research and contemplated building or buying something that would work.

My wife who has been supportive told me that she wasn’t interested in being away for weeks and months. She gets seasick and that would limit which sections of the loop she could join me on.

I started to enlist crew. But, I concluded that I wasn’t wiling to do the trip mostly by myself. It’s been almost three years since I turned 50 and I fill the void with other trips and adventures. Cruises and land tours.

Still holding out some hope to do the loop though.

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