Hey ladies and gents-
Finally signed my job offer so it's time to actually start asking questions.
I am presently in graduate school and I just signed a job offer with an outfit in the Miami area. Will be starting the job this May. I have always wanted to try the live aboard lifestyle and I need help selecting a boat. I have been sailing my whole life and although I haven't single handed anything larger than 20ft I did do a round trip from Key Largo to Key West with some friends on a Morgan 41 OI.
With that in mind, here is what I am looking for-
I will be single handing most of the time when at sea, so smaller is better. That said there are a few creature comforts I want:
Center Cockpit with a queen aft berth, centerline preferred. My impression is you need at least 40ft to make this a remote possibility
Shower on the boat. I don't want to be using marina showers unless I have to.
I am 5'8" so ridiculous headroom is nice but not a requirement.
Something reasonably forgiving. I haven't done any real serious cruising and I am sure I will make mistakes. I see heavier boats as a plus due to this.
Something that sails well. I don't want a lightweight racer but if I wanted to motor around I would look at Trawlers. Basically, once I am off the dock can it get me from point A to point B without the diesel in a reasonable amount of time?
As far as area of operation, I imagine on what little time off I would try to get out to the keys. Would eventually like to take a year off and cruise but even then I would not want to stray from the Bahamas or keys. At the most, my parents have a vacation home on Grand Cayman and I would like to be able to make the trip out to see them without getting on an airplane
.
So far, I have identified three boats that fit most of these requirements.
1. The Morgan OI 41. No centerline birth, but tanky. Concerned about poor sailing performance, like the low price tags
2. The Endeavor 40/42 CC. LOVE the aesthetics on this boat. Would not buy one that hadn't had tanks replaced within the last 5 years.
3. Pearson 422
Budget is ~120k, although I am happy to make some sacrifices to save some money
Your thoughts on any of those boats, comparisons between them, or any other similar boats I may have missed is MUCH appreciated!
Finally signed my job offer so it's time to actually start asking questions.
I am presently in graduate school and I just signed a job offer with an outfit in the Miami area. Will be starting the job this May. I have always wanted to try the live aboard lifestyle and I need help selecting a boat. I have been sailing my whole life and although I haven't single handed anything larger than 20ft I did do a round trip from Key Largo to Key West with some friends on a Morgan 41 OI.
With that in mind, here is what I am looking for-
I will be single handing most of the time when at sea, so smaller is better. That said there are a few creature comforts I want:
Center Cockpit with a queen aft berth, centerline preferred. My impression is you need at least 40ft to make this a remote possibility
Shower on the boat. I don't want to be using marina showers unless I have to.
I am 5'8" so ridiculous headroom is nice but not a requirement.
Something reasonably forgiving. I haven't done any real serious cruising and I am sure I will make mistakes. I see heavier boats as a plus due to this.
Something that sails well. I don't want a lightweight racer but if I wanted to motor around I would look at Trawlers. Basically, once I am off the dock can it get me from point A to point B without the diesel in a reasonable amount of time?
As far as area of operation, I imagine on what little time off I would try to get out to the keys. Would eventually like to take a year off and cruise but even then I would not want to stray from the Bahamas or keys. At the most, my parents have a vacation home on Grand Cayman and I would like to be able to make the trip out to see them without getting on an airplane
So far, I have identified three boats that fit most of these requirements.
1. The Morgan OI 41. No centerline birth, but tanky. Concerned about poor sailing performance, like the low price tags
2. The Endeavor 40/42 CC. LOVE the aesthetics on this boat. Would not buy one that hadn't had tanks replaced within the last 5 years.
3. Pearson 422
Budget is ~120k, although I am happy to make some sacrifices to save some money
Your thoughts on any of those boats, comparisons between them, or any other similar boats I may have missed is MUCH appreciated!