Questions on boats

[Mrcuff]

I am very new to the community, I would love some information I am having a hard time finding.
So my wife and I have been looking into live aboard options.
We believe it would be a great adventure we where originally looking at getting a motor yacht to live on and it is still I the possibilitys. But we are looking seriously at sailing my uncle owns a couple sailboats I have sails with him on a 24 ft sailboat and of course if we go with a sailboat we will learn first hand everything to be safe.
So here it goes my question is we want a boat that has a little more home feel to it a open living area. We really only need 3 beds or so we would like a full kitchen and a enjoyable living area we want something that can be managed by two people. So as of right now we are looking at about a 70 ft sail boat, possibly a sail motor. For about 250 k or less.
We are willing to do a lot of work and put some money to change things we essentially would like to get something nice and make it more modern threw the years we are wondering one how much change can you do I a boat like can you knock out a wall and expand a room and such. Also we want to make sure it isn't silly to think we could handle a boat that size my uncle thinks we can. We are wanting to Mainly stay between Florida and the carabbiean. Possibly go up California's coast as well. We are young and are at the beginning of this all please any advice would be great and constructive criticism is fine thank you.

 

[RichardS]

Welcome to the forum.

That's a big question with a big budget and a big boat.

I can't answer much of that other than to say that a 70 foot boat is a lot to handle for two people unless you have a lot of experience. It will also be expensive to keep in marinas and probably expensive to maintain. Moving the internal walls around is also not a simple job on a boat so you would be best to find one that suits you from the start. Having said that, with such a large boat you will have so much space for two people that you probably won't need to move stuff around.

I have a catamaran which I don't live on but if I did I would value the fact that it is very "open plan" with a lot of light so maybe for a monohull a deck saloon model might be preferable?

Richard

 

[Tranona]

Welcome to the forum.

It is perfectly possible to live on a sailboat. However 70' is very large, and far larger than is required for 2 people particularly if you intend as you say to actually go to sea rather than have a static houseboat. The interior of yachts are as they are for very sound reasons. Many of the bulkheads (walls) are structural which means you may not be able to take them out without compromising the strength of the boat. Also at sea large open spaces are not good as the boat moves around and heels as you are sailing so you do not want open spaces to be thrown around. You will also find that a boat that size will be difficult to sail with only 2 crew, particularly if you have little experience.

Suggest you look around and see what other couples use to live aboard and sail around. You will find they are mostly in the 35-50' range which is perfectly adequate for 2-4 people. In the larger sizes in that range you will find more than enough space with separate sleeping cabin, often with a double bed and a large galley plus plenty of storage space. $250k should give you a wide choice of boats in this size range, but beware that older boats can be money pits if they need work and it is better, particularly for a first buy to get a boat that is ready to go, even if not the perfect layout so that you can get going and find out what you really like. The first boat is rarely the only boat and many people use it as an opportunity to test out what they like about sailing and the lifestyle. If positive then use the experience in buying a second boat. Don't make a lot of personal changes to the first boat as that may limit the market when you come to sell and move on.

 

[vyv_cox]

When we bought our present sailing yacht 20 years ago it was widely stated that the ideal size boat for two people was 35 ft. Many people would consider that far too small nowadays, although we live comfortably aboard ours for half the year. We see beginners who have bought a 50-55 ft boat as their first and in many cases they are terrified of it, unable to manoeuvre it at close quarters and therefore committed to anchoring outside harbours. I suggest that about 42 ft is perfectly adequate for you, and if you buy the right boat, very comfortable. As size increases, especially above 40 ft, costs of everything increase exponentially. It is true of every boat that things fail all the time, unlike other forms of accommodation that largely remain the same for years.

 

[Mrcuff]

Thank you for all your answers we will look at smaller boats. I have been told before 40 ft is plenty for two people. My wife has just been looking into motor yachts for there stability and space I enjoy sailing and the savings of fuel. My wife wants to live aboard but wants to feel as if she is not living in a camper per say, I personally love the catamaran because the open space and so dose my wife more or less. She wants a open floor plan boat something that the enjoyable living space. And would like room to have a few guest aboard. And that is what brought up the size. Any boat suggestions would be great we have been looking a lot trying to find the right style. And there are so many options we have found.

 

[RichardS]

Thank you for all your answers we will look at smaller boats. I have been told before 40 ft is plenty for two people. My wife has just been looking into motor yachts for there stability and space I enjoy sailing and the savings of fuel. My wife wants to live aboard but wants to feel as if she is not living in a camper per say, I personally love the catamaran because the open space and so dose my wife more or less. She wants a open floor plan boat something that the enjoyable living space. And would like room to have a few guest aboard. And that is what brought up the size. Any boat suggestions would be great we have been looking a lot trying to find the right style. And there are so many options we have found.

If you are thinking about catamarans as well as monohulls then definitely forget about 70 foot catamarans. You could organise a game of football (American) in one of those!

A 40 foot cat would give some similar overall space to a 55 foot monohull (my estimate) and be a lot easier to manage with two people in most situations. There are plenty of threads in YBW about cat vs mono.

Richard

 

[Tranona]

Thank you for all your answers we will look at smaller boats. I have been told before 40 ft is plenty for two people. My wife has just been looking into motor yachts for there stability and space I enjoy sailing and the savings of fuel. My wife wants to live aboard but wants to feel as if she is not living in a camper per say, I personally love the catamaran because the open space and so dose my wife more or less. She wants a open floor plan boat something that the enjoyable living space. And would like room to have a few guest aboard. And that is what brought up the size. Any boat suggestions would be great we have been looking a lot trying to find the right style. And there are so many options we have found.

As you are in the US it is difficult to make suggestions of boats to buy as this forum is more European orientated. Think you (or your wife) need to recognise that living on a boat is not a direct substitute for living in a house and expecting the same sort of space. However it is perfectly possible to live comfortably on a boat, either a monohull or catamaran in the 40-50' range.

Suggest you charter a boat for a holiday to get a feel for what is involved in living on a boat for a week or two. If you get one with a skipper you can also learn a bit about sailing which will help you decide if it is the life for you.