Caribbean cruiser for sub $30k

[islandpete]

Hi all -

I'm new to the forum and currently reside in the Turks and Caicos Islands. I will have a 6 week vacay in Sept/Oct and am considering purchasing a boat to head south and explore the caribbean. I am a novice sailor and am looking to spend less than $30k (less the better). My main concerns are:

-safety (of course)
-ease of handling as I'll be by myself on parts of the trip
-draft as its very shallow in the TCI's

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. I'm assuming I'll have to pick the boat up in S. Fl and sail it to the TCI's initially (probably to the Bahamas and then south.

thanks, Pete

[Mimsy]

How many people are you traveling with?
30k might be a little tight for a boat properly outfitted, but it can probably be done. You'll need to go small in order to keep your budget in check. What size boats have you sailed thus far?

[tager]

Get a little 22 footer or something and enjoy yourself. It will be cheap, easy to outfit, and have shallow draft. Then you can sell it, all for way under your budget! Put the rest in CDs and thank me in ten years.

[OsmundL]

Originally Posted by islandpete

I am a novice sailor .....
My main concerns are:
-safety (of course)
-ease of handling as I'll be by myself on parts of the trip

Pete, you're scary. You are a novice, you will sail by yourself, and you don't know the boat yet?

If that is the equation, I agree with tager: Get a small boat - stretch to 26ft if you must - and reserve a good chunk of your budget for easy, comprehensive navigation aids - charts, GPS (plotter?), and comms (VHF/SSB). If you are as inexperienced as you say, the risk is just too high that you'll find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, or not find yourself at all.