where to leave sailboat May-Nov. 08?

[Lottie]

We are an American/English couple going to Florida this winter from England to buy our first sailboat, about a 30-32'. We know the type of boat we want. We are beginning coastal cruisers and will live aboard, until we return to England for about 6 months. The big question is, where do we leave the boat in the US? We have a strict budget, so it must be reasonably priced, on the hook or on the hard? Any suggestions are appreciated!

[seamyst]

You will have to leave the boat north of St.Mary's Georgia, for insurance requirements.
A good marina is Brunswick Landing, in Brunswick, GA, many crusiers leave them there including myself.

[sailingdog]

Lottie-

Welcome to sailnet. Will you be working while living aboard or just living aboard and cruising. The reason I ask this, is that most people who are living aboard while working a day job will require a bit more room than people who are just cruising. It may be difficult to find a boat that you can liveaboard and get ready to go to a day job from in that size range.

It would also help if you said what your budget, both for the boat's purchase and the storage of the boat would be. Also, would you be selling the boat when you return to England or keeping it with the expectation of returning to the boat and cruising further?

If you are coastal cruising, and not planning much in the way of bluewater passages, a smaller catamaran like the Gemini 105 may be a better option than a monohull. Again, a lot of this depends on both your budget and your future plans for the boat.

As for storing the boat for May–November 08... it would depend a lot on what boat you got. May–November is basically the prime sailing season, and slip prices are pretty high. Storing it out of the water may make more sense. Be aware that getting insurance on boats in Florida is getting very expensive and fairly difficult to do, as many insurance companies have withdrawn from the market. This is particularly true if you plan to have the boat in Florida area during the hurricane season, which is June–November.

What may make a lot more sense is bringing the boat north to the Carolinas or the Chesapeake and storing it there for the six-month layup period. This would drastically reduce the cost of insurance, and probably reduce the cost of storage. However, unless you and your partner are able to deliver the boat to the area prior to storing it, you'll have to figure in transport costs.

[camaraderie]

Lottie...you will want to get the boat out of hurricane country which means either to the Chesapeake Bay....or take some chances and leave it further south. In the Chesapeake Bay...many euro cruisers leave boats in the Deltaville VA area as prices are reasonable and there are also skilled workers if anything needs to be done. Many of the yards there also permit do-it-yourself work.

If you can't get that far north, Brunswick landing is good but has been booked up solid for the last couple of years...so an early reservation is necessary. In florida itself, nowhere is truly safe but I might consider Green Cove Springs, inland up the St. Johns River from Jacksonville...or the Oasis boatyard in St. Augustine on Oyster Creek.

[Lottie]

Thanks for those tips. We will not be working, just learning to sail initially. Yes, May to Nov. is prime sailing...but we will be hopefully enjoying the English summer then on our narrowboat and back on the sailboat Stateside to avoid the English winter. We will be keeping the sailboat with plans to eventually sell the narrowboat and go full time on the sailboat. We plan to spend $20,000-25,000 for the sailboat.

[AjariBonten]

Lottie, I'm surprised that someone else hasn't made this suggestion yet ..... but I'd be happy to look after your boat from May to November ...

Just kidding, sort of ,

Welcome aboard, this is a great place to test out new ideas...

Fred

[cardiacpaul]

Lottie,

send me an email.

[Lottie]

Right now we are looking at a Pearson 323 and 303. Possibly a Catalina 30, Ericson 29-30. We are RYA Day Skippers with limited experience. We plan to gain experience in coastal cruising and then the Bahamas/Carribean or up the East Coast of the US. Possibly back to England???? Any thoughts on the above boats or something similar? Prices for 1980s boats?

[mccary]

Lottie, I own a Catalina 27 and keep it on The Chesapeake Bay, West River, just south of Annapolis. The first comment I would make is that the boats you listed are good costal cruisers, but I don't think I would be taking them across the Atlantic. Costal cruisers tend to be light displacement boats, and transatlantic cruisers need to be heavier. Looking for a place to leave it for six months, I would find a good marina that will haul it and properly block the boat. Staying out of the hurricane zone is a plus, but bear in mind that places like the Chesapeake and Long Island Sound and MA Bay, while not in the zone do get the occasional hurricane and get plenty of bad storms capable of severe local damage.