a boat for $5000 to sail the carribean??

[warrlok]

am i Dreaming,,, and what boats would u guys suggest to sail down the cost from N.C. to the Viirgin islands and Bahammas the bigger the better for up to 4 people+

[sailingdog]

Not too many boats out there that are safe for sailing from NC to the VI and Bahamas for that price. Most aren't going to work for 4+ people either. IMHO, most boats capable of long-term occupancy by 4+ people are larger than 40' in length.

Here's a list of boats in your price range, but I seriously doubt that any are in good enough shape to sail that distance. The most likely candidate is the Cape Dory 30' cutter. Cape Dory makes a very solid boat that is exceptionally seaworthy...however this is a storm damaged boat....so YMMV.

[yotphix]

Unfortunately, if you expect to pay 5000 for a boat and then hop in with 4 people and sail to the virgin islands with 3 crew, you probably are dreaming. Not to say that it isn't possible, just that you would need to be EXTREMELY lucky.

The difficulty is that even if you found a decent boat for 5000 dollars (and it would be small for 4 people on an extended trip) it would still need more equipment and work, almost without exception, before you could take your trip.

Small boat voyaging, on extremely tight budgets can and has been done, (search voyage of the atom for one exceptional example) but you need to be very skilled, very resourceful and, more than a little, lucky!

Given that you are dreaming though, go ahead and dream. People who are determined to do a thing often do it. Though sometimes dangerous things end in disaster so keep that in mind.

As for specific boat recomendations, like I said, you will have to get lucky. I doubt whether anyone here will be able to recommend a boat that normally sells for 5000 dollars that will suit your needs. You need to be on the lookout for someone elses broken dreams!

Good luck

edit While I was typing that, SD, a wise man proved me slightly wrong! there is you first specific recommendation!

Here is another voyage of inspiration for you. http://www.sailaway.us/blog.php

[seabreeze_97]

Uhhhh, Carnival Cruise lines? But you have to give it back. Think of it as a short-term group lease.

[yotphix]

Originally Posted by seabreeze_97

Uhhhh, Carnival Cruise lines? But you have to give it back. Think of it as a short-term group lease.

hehe, only if there is a special! four people remember?

[sailingdog]

A Cape Dory 30' Cutter for $1500 is probably going to require more than $3500 worth of work, even if he does the work himself, considering it is a storm damaged boat with damage below the waterline.

However, if he and his three crew are willing to put in the sweat equity... then this might...and a very slim chance of it, be possible to do.

Two other boats in that list might also be viable candidates... The Morgan OutIsland 28 and the Islander 29. While neither of these boats are storm damaged, or at least don't say so in the listing, they will probably have some issues with either deck delamination, the rigging or some other major element to the boat.

In any of the three, I would get as thorough a survey as possible, so that you know what needs work, what can be left as is, and what needs to be replaced.

A couple of things I would point out.

First, on boats this small, the four of you will essentially be living in each other's back pockets... and only if you're the best of friends and willing to tolerate each other in the confines of what is essentially the size of a small closet, with absolutely no where else to go, especially once you're on a long passage... then you might be able to make this work. Most people, even very close couples, aren't able to tolerate this type of close proximity.

Second, the four of you must have some serious sailing experience among you to make such a passage on such a small boat. The boat will probably be fairly heavily loaded, as you will be requiring provisions and gear for four people, rather than the usual one or two on a boat this size. Sailing a heavily laden boat requires more skill and luck than sailing one that is not so burdened. Your ability to carry surplus stores, which would be required in the case of a longer than normal passage will be much more limited than it would be for a boat this size carrying its more typical complement of just one or two people, and getting the best performance and making the fastest possible passage is critical. Finally, the boat will be slower than it would be, so your skills in executing an efficient passage will be very crucial.

This isn't to say that all four of you need to be "expert" sailors....but I don't think this would even be feasible to attempt unless two of you are very experienced sailors with some bluewater passages beneath your belts.

If all four of you are relative novices, the combination of a small boat, heavily loaded, with limited stores is likely to lead to something akin to the Donner party on water...

[tdw]

There's a bloke over at SA called MooseKnuckle who you might want to have a chat with.

[sailingdog]

TDW-

That was evil... funny as hell, but really evil...

[sailorjim99]

G'day Salingdog.
I just went thru your list. I saw a ROBERTS 25 in there with a diesel.
Would you believe this boat in Australia would go for $23000 to $25000.
I kid you not.

As for a lot of the others, in reasonable condition, would go up to $30,000.

Just thought you would like to know how lucky you guys are with these prices.

Go to www.boatpoint.com.au and check'em out.

Pity the freight kills the deal. Plus our GST, import duty, quarrantine inspection and charges, fumigation and clean down.

Jim.

[sailingdog]

There's the rub... "in reasonable condition"... which I doubt is the case with any of these boats. This is a list than includes what appear to be salvaged and storm-damaged boats among them...and that says a lot about the condition the ones that don't mention any specific damage are going to be in.

Of course, you might just get lucky... but I wouldn't count on it. It might also be possible to look at boats with prices say up to $8000 or so and hope that you can negotiate a final price of $5000. However, my experience has been that even a boat that is in bristol shape will require the buyer to spend at least 10-20% of the purchase price doing modifications, upgrades and repairs to the boat to make it work for their particular needs. This amount generally goes up quite a bit if they are planning on taking the boat bluewater.