Suggestions for good liveaboard/Cruise boats?

[pgcarroll]

Heidi ...

Check out Burnt Store Marina in Charlotte Harbor. It''s near Punta Gorda - north of Ft. Myers and south of Sarasota. We have chartered out of Burnt Store for years now - with Yachting Vacations. Their location is wonderful from a water standpoint - essentially 12 km from the Boca Grande inlet. You will be hard pressed to find a prettier sailing ground. Don''t miss anchoring in Pelican Bay, but watch your depth, as anything over about 4''6" will have trouble at low tide. It''s worth it, though, and Cayo Costa is one of the treasures.

From a land standpoint, Burnt Store leaves a lot to be desired. If you don''t have a car, the nearest large grocery store is about 8-10 miles away. Burnt Store is in a residential community, so there''s golf, a restaurant, laundry, showers, ship''s store, pump-out station, fuel, water, etc. If you''re looking to provision, you can probably find a better spot.

You would do well to pick up a copy of A Gunkholer''s Cruising Guide to Florida''s West Coast by Tom Lenfesty. He gives a lot of really wonderful information. Have fun!

[svdragonseeker]

I have a Hans Christian 33 I will sell.

[svdragonseeker]

My neighbor on the dock just lowered the price of his Brewer 45 It started out at $137
but when he listed it with a broker it went down. The contract time is up now and it has been reduced again to $79k I beleive this to be a great deal for someone looking for a strong confortable crusing boat. I am not a broker or anything but just thought I should pass this info along.
Bill
svdragonseeker@yahoo.com

[southernman]

Wife and I purchased a 1984 38'' Irwin CC for the same purpose you mentioned.
Sailed and docked in the Chesepeake last season. Got to know our boat. Will be there this season also to finish adding what we feel we need to go. Hope to retire and head down the ICW late Oct. 03 into the warm weather and beyond.
Contemplated a new boat 33'' but after comparing price for basic new, additional equip. and getting along in a smaller space then a house we opted for used and a bit larger. More bang for your buck. Prior and only owner took good care of her. Looked at a number of boats and as they say, "you''ll know it when you see it". And we did. No hesitation.
Two nice size berthing areas. Two complete heads. Access aft from the salon port & starboard sides below. Nice galley & salon. Large center cockpit. 50 hp engine in case with easy access. Two 30 gallon fuel tanks. Two 90 gallon water tanks. Two large ice boxes with one turned into a refridgerator. Also a lot of other items included.
Intend to add a windlass and inverter along with some homey type things.
We got more for our dollar then new. BUT also get some extra problems but nothing we can''t & are not dealing with.
IT''S FUN AND EXCITING. DON''T NEED SPEED IF WE ARE RETIRED.

Ray & Joanne
Dream Catcher

[rakuqueen1]

Where is the Brewer. I looked on Yachtworld.com and couldn''t find it. We looked at a Pan Oceanic this fall. It really needed more work than we wanted to commit to. We are also looking for a crusing boat and have been looking at Tayana 42''s.

Jane

[aphil138]

So where can we found out more about the Brewer 45?

[rleslie]

There is a 45'' Brewer anchored in Panama City, Fla next to the Hawks Nest Rest. which is for sale. It is posted on YachtWorld.com

[rakuqueen1]

We ended our search with the purchase of a Tayana 42, ''81. We will sail her back across the gulf next week to rest in Texas. We then fix and get her ready to leave next Jan.
Good luck to all of you still looking. This has been a six year project, getting at least one child in college(fall ''01), selling the house(summer ''02), changing colleges(fall ''02), buying Parcae(winter ''03). So no more change in colleges, no more spending every weekend walking the docks, now scrubing, cleaning and lots of other grunt jobs plus a hugh grarge sale all before December. Wish us luck.
Jane

[Tinawburgess]

Try looking at Morgans, We bought our 416 last July and sailed her back across the Atlantic to England. Great boat and no probelms handling very big seas and 40 knt winds. In light winds we used our cruising chute to great effect.

Wouldn''t swap her.

Geoff and Tina