[123456Wannasail654321]

I've held the dream of cruising for quite a while, and frankly I'm not getting any younger. I was wondering in the boards opinion, If I were to get a boat that was well found say anything from this list Atom Voyages - Good Old Boats List. but needed work (not a complete refit) but some TLC new running rigging, bottom paint, maybe new standing rigging etc, Maybe sails, but not much interior work, or some but not all of those items... sorta like that.

What is the bare minimum equipment a less experienced than you sailor should purchase or have done to his boat before he sets sail down the inter coastal water way and crosses to say the Bahamas from South Carolina and /or points south of course there will be other sailing for training, skill development etc... Or from NC to Bermuda?

to cut the boat down thing. lets say its an albin vega. Two people. Both not highly experienced but have some. say 100 hours of sailing.

 

[Minnewaska]

A good onboard weather tool. Ipad with wifi/3G works.

 

[Skipper Jer]

Tow insurance. This time of the year, a good cabin heater, a dinghy. VHF radio, standard safety package (PFD, horn, flares, ect), either paper charts or an up to date chartplotter, binoculars, boat hook, ground tackle, MONEY, depth finder other than your keel. You will gain experience as you travel the ICW. Its not too big of a deal to cross over to the Bahamas from Florida, check the weather, don't be in a hurry, go at night to arrive in the morning. Bermuda is several days and nights away. Get some more experience before going there, there is no where between the US and Bermuda to duck out of nasty weather. And a passport.

 

[krisscross]

First, make the boat sailable and have a decent engine and decent dinghy. Start sailing in small, easy trips. Anchor a lot, talk to sailors on the way, and very soon you will get a good idea what you will need. Start small and build on it slowly. Do not be in a hurry to make long offshore passages. There is so much fun just gunkholing along the way south.

 

[TQA]

VHF you can use from the helm. Handheld is fine.
Paper charts and pilot guides.
Basic GPS [Garmin 72 does the biz for me.]
Depth sounder.
A pair of binoculars.
A cockpit cheat sheet on signals, buoyage, VHF protocol etc.
The above are the essentials.

As to the boat don't obsess about finding some bullet proof southern ocean circumnavigator. Most boats will do the job for coastal USA and the Bahamas. l think the Bermuda trip might need a second look for something more capable.

I would not worry too much about sailing school or classes although they can't hurt, the kind of sailing a cruiser does is 99% common sense.

 

[Skipper Jer]

I respectfully disagree with TQA concerning the capability of an Albin Vega. It wasn't too long ago one sailed around the Americans, non-stop, captained by Matt Rutherford.

 

[travlin-easy]

Ditto to all of the above.

Gary (the old codger.)

 

[Cruiser2B]

EPIRB if you plan on going offshore, all the basic USCG required stuff, harnesses and jacklines to keep you on the boat.

I would seek the help of those that have done the passage before for when the best weather windows are....I'm guess in late spring. Middle of Aug -Oct prolly not a good time to plan a trip out into the Atlantic.

Any of those boats on James Baldwind's List are good candidates if found in good repair. If you require an inboard diesel, buy a boat with a good one in it, far cheaper than putting one in yourself.

As far as the Albin Vega goes,

Matt proved they are nearly indestructable(although his did show signs of wear after 309 days of sailing

Check out Voyaging Under Sail, Cruising Lealea Home, two people cruising all over the Pacific. They have documents their journeys quite well on their site as well as youtube. I am a fan of the Alberg 30. The A30 can be found with a diesel, farely well equipped for 15k-20k.

Good Luck

 

[sails4me]

I'm a little surprised that no one mentioned an auto pilot. What does the forum think?

 

[Skipper Jer]

I'm a little surprised that no one mentioned an auto pilot. What does the forum think?

I didn't mention or consider an auto pilot because the OP said two people, ICW, minimum equipment. Maybe one is needed when sailing several days offshore. Since the OP has another person on board they can take turns at the tiller as they travel down the ICW and during the overnight trip to the Bahamas. IMHO.

 

[TerryBradley]

I respectfully disagree with TQA concerning the capability of an Albin Vega. It wasn't too long ago one sailed around the Americans, non-stop, captained by Matt Rutherford.

And Don't forget Chuck and Laura Rose who have sailed their Albin Vega across the Pacific to Hawaii a couple of times and are currently wintering in Alaska. The Vega is an extremely capable boat.

 

[123456Wannasail654321]

So what would the running cost? Say a comfortable pace 50i/day on the ICW until I duck out in Georgia down to Florida (depending upon compfrt level. S Probably take the safest easiest route out of florida to the Bahamas. Maybe a staying at a marina 1X a week (anchoring otherwise) until the Bahamas when I'll be using the boat as a hotel.

Starting from NC (morehead/beaufort) how long would it take this way

 

[Skipper Jer]

A lot of questions Wannasail. Normally the answer to "How much does it cost" type questions is how deep are your pockets, how big is your boat (marinas charge per foot, they have some strange thinking that people who have big boats have big bank accounts).

 

[travlin-easy]

Figure on about 50 miles a day average on the ICW, marina slip fees average about $2 a foot. There are a fair number of places to anchor if you draw less than 6 feet, and preferably less than 5 feet.

DO NOT attempt to run the ICW during hours of darkness - it just ain't safe!

I would bypass Georgia, but some folks think it fine to run the inside in GA and claim they've had no problems. For me, I head offshore at Paris Island and come back in at Fernadina Beach, FL. That's an overnighter, but you can stay relatively close to shore and take advantage of the southerly stream eddy that forms within 10 to 12 miles of the coast and still have lots of water beneath you. And, there are several places where you can duck into an inlet of the weather turns nasty.

Good luck,

Gary