What would you buy...

[Timepiece]

If you had a wife and 2 VERY young kids, and planned on cruising, by motor, around Europe, up and over to North America, down to the Bahamas, and through the Panama Canal, up the West Coast of America with a final destination of Cortes Bay, Canada. AND if you wanted to spend no more than £50k on a vessel, and a further £50k to get her ready?

That's the simple question, further info for those who are interested...

My wife spent most of her life as a child/teenager aboard a 65ft steel trawler that was made in The Netherlands and made the same journey when her parents first bought the boat.

I am by no means an experienced sailor, I did buy and renovate with great (financial) success a sail boat many years ago in California. I worked in the recreational dive industry in Australia for a few years, and have plenty of experience gained during that time, both in coastal waters and further out to sea on a live-board dive charter.

We have started the process regarding official training, and will not be leaving until we have the required knowledge/experience, but plan on buying the boat at the end of this season.

So far my feeling is something around the 12 meter mark, or slightly less to reduce mooring costs. Semi Displacement hull, or a catamaran. Preference for Cummings or Cat twin engines or at least a decent get home.

Really like the look of boats derived from the Halmatic family, with Aquastar standing out. Also Elling is desirable but probably not within budget.

Not at all worried about the internal condition, as our 2 young kids will no doubt have a field day with woodwork, so would prefer something that needs a bit of a refit internally, which we would undertake at the end of the voyage.

Open to something that cruises with a bit more pace, as we will be spending a lot of time cruising close to the coast, and after the journey no doubt it will be used for ongoing family fun, which as the kids get older might require a bit more pace.

Its obviously important that it has a good range but obviously we can store additional diesel for longer voyages. Not really worried about styling, although we both are in love with the Ellings

 

[petem]

What are you budgeting for fuel, mooring costs and repairs once underway? Could easily be in the £100k range too.

 

[Timepiece]

Petem, we are in a lucky position,we run a tattoo studio, and the work seems to be quite popular, as we are booked months in advance. Its quite normal for artists to work "guest spots" in other studios...we have hosted people from as far away as Argentina, for months at a time, so its pretty easy to organise relatively well paid employment along the way. The plan is to organise the trip around the work, my wife will be tattooing a few days a week and I will be renovating the boat as we go. In addittion, i have in the past earned a bit from cleaning and inspecting hulls, based on my scuba abilities, so that might bring in a bit of cash. But of course, we will have a healthy reserve budget.

 

[Nautical]

That's a tall order for a mobo in that price bracket. You are going to end up in a lot of remote places with no facilities for 100's miles around so you'll need to be a dab hand at repairs and mechanical fettling for a start.

Why Semi displacement ? if you are planning those sorts of passages you are going to need pretty big range so the moment you open up to SD speeds your range will plummet.

Family living on a 12m or less boat for weeks at a time middle of the ocean , that's a tough one, even the most hardened sailors find it really tough living for such long periods cramped together on a small boat.

TBH you would be better looking for a big ole steel ex trawler 60-70' , big thumper of a Kelvin or Gardner and few thousand gallons of tankage.

As Pete also mentions, buying and refitting a boat for that sort of passage is just the start, you could double or triple that without sweat for fuel, maintenance, parts, stores etc.

Also consider sail boat, running costs will be a fraction of running a mobo over those distances.

 

[Whitelighter]

I wouldnt.

Id wait until I actually had a workable budget. Or as N suggests, buy a sailing boat.

 

[Timepiece]

I wouldnt.

Id wait until I actually had a workable budget. Or as N suggests, buy a sailing boat.

What budget would you suggest, and what would you use for budget for?

My thinking was that an older molded boat would be stronger, assuming it was in good condition, and I have experience working with those materials. I had also thought that any boat thats got years on it is going to need a number of items replaced, so perhaps its better to buy an older boat, where the seller accepts that many upgrades are required, hence its reflected in the price, instead of owners who feel that their equipment is "fine".

Any reason for suggesting a steel hull over a glass/composite/mold, given that they all have their weaknesses ?

Motor was the preferred option, with 2 young kids on board, should we need to make land in a hurry, I would like the power to do so, without reliance on wind.

Budget is not really that much of a concern, we will be selling our house and business to finance this trip, and as I said, we have means of earning a comfortable wage along the way. We are happy to be here saving and learning so we are in no real rush, although I have to admit that the miser in me feels it makes economic sense to buy an older boat for less and bring it up to the condition required. I am comfortable stripping engines and rebuilding them so I am not so worried about the maintenance side of things although we will not be leaving until the boat is in tip-top condition.

I also assume a smaller, lighter boat is going to use a lot less fuel that a large 60/70 ft steely?

Thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming

 

[Sandy Bottom]

These guys managed pretty much what you want at that budget - they're still doing it too, lots of good advice and rationale.

http://cruisingunderpower.fastmail.net/index.html

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Or as N suggests, buy a sailing boat.

Agreed. My stepdaughter, her boyfriend and their 2 young kids are currently somewhere in the Pacific on their way to Australia having started out from Inverness 18 months ago. Their boat is a 36ft steel hulled yacht bought a few years ago for about £30k in Australia which they sailed back to Inverness and this 2nd stage of their trip will complete their circumnavigation. They are doing this on a very tight budget and their only major expense in recent years has been a new engine for about £7k

I don't think the OP can do the kind of trip he's planning in a mobo with the budget he's got and he would be better off looking for a sailing boat. If the OP wants to stick with a mobo, then IMHO he needs to be looking at a displacement hulled boat with a single engine. He'd be very lucky to find one with stabs though

 

[Sandy Bottom]

Agreed. My stepdaughter, her boyfriend and their 2 young kids are currently somewhere in the Pacific on their way to Australia having started out from Inverness 18 months ago. Their boat is a 36ft steel hulled yacht bought a few years ago for about £30k in Australia which they sailed back to Inverness and this 2nd stage of their trip will complete their circumnavigation. They are doing this on a very tight budget and their only major expense in recent years has been a new engine for about £7k

I don't think the OP can do the kind of trip he's planning in a mobo with the budget he's got and he would be better off looking for a sailing boat. If the OP wants to stick with a mobo, then IMHO he needs to be looking at a displacement hulled boat with a single engine. He'd be very lucky to find one with stabs though

FlopperStoppers could replace Stabilisers.:encouragement:

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

FlopperStoppers could replace Stabilisers.:encouragement:

They couldn't actually because flopper stoppers are designed for boats at anchor! Maybe you mean paravanes?

 

[Sandy Bottom]

You can put Paravanes on FlopperStopper gear or have combined ones just like the Bahamian cray fishermen do Mike.

Or as these guys do;

http://cruisingunderpower.fastmail.net/Cruising%20Life/flopper_stoppers.htm

 

[Timepiece]

These guys managed pretty much what you want at that budget - they're still doing it too, lots of good advice and rationale.

http://cruisingunderpower.fastmail.net/index.html

Thanks Drumbeat, I stumbled across that blog a while ago, and really enjoyed the positive experiences they shared. Like them, our boat will be our home, and as such, our expenses will be a lot less than those who have a land and water home. A great, and inspiring documentary, which sort of relates to a similar way of life is Life Without Bounds, which chronicles the life of those who live a mobile life, on land...different factors, similar reasons...

http://documentaryaddict.com/without+bound+perspectives+on+mobile+living-12833-doc.html

 

[Blackfeather]

I may be missing something obvious here but how on earth would you get sufficient fuel on a 12m mobo to get across to the US?

 

[petem]

I may be missing something obvious here but how on earth would you get sufficient fuel on a 12m mobo to get across to the US?

It's a conversation that we've had a number of times here. I think the consensus was that you can't as it would require substantial auxiliary tanks that would increase fuel consumption and dangerously affect the buoyancy of the boat. Not to mention the hassle of trying to pump the fuel to the main tanks. All that on a 12m boat with rolling seas and very young kids on board. No way.

As per the above, sails are the way to go.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I may be missing something obvious here but how on earth would you get sufficient fuel on a 12m mobo to get across to the US?

Nordhaven took one of their standard 40ft models around the world so it is possible to cross the Atlantic in a mobo around that size

 

[petem]

Nordhaven took one of their standard 40ft models around the world so it is possible to cross the Atlantic in a mobo around that size

Fair point Mike but they're purpose built for long distance cruising. Single engined and a lot more expensive than £100k I'd imagine. Completely different to a twin engined mobo designed for 200-300 mile passages.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Fair point Mike but they're purpose built for long distance cruising. Single engined and a lot more expensive than £100k I'd imagine.

Yup, I guess you'd need min £200k or more. However this might be worth looking at for the OP

http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/2004/Diesel-Duck-38-2599206/United-States#.VT0Dl1yM7dl

I know it probably doesn't look like it but these Diesel Ducks are designed for bluewater cruising

http://dieselducks.com/Duck38study.html

I'm not sure I'd want to spend 3 weeks crossing the Atlantic in one of these though!

 

[TwoHooter]

Nordhaven took one of their standard 40ft models around the world so it is possible to cross the Atlantic in a mobo around that size

Cheapest N40 in Europe is about £300k. Same for N46. All the obvious ocean-going boats (Nordhavn, Kadey Krogan, Selene, Fleming, Seahorse, Bering, etc. etc.) are well outside OP's budget.

But there is this with an asking price of £125k
View attachment 51211
http://www.mjlewisboatsales.com/boats/cygnus-38-motor-boat-grp-trawler-yacht-long-range-cruiser/
The drawback is tankage. It is driven by two big Listers so the fuel capacity of 3010 litres might be a bit low for a transatlantic passage. All the serious passagemakers have a single engine.

I know it probably doesn't look like it but these Diesel Ducks are designed for bluewater cruising. I'm not sure I'd want to spend 3 weeks crossing the Atlantic in one of these though!

Here's an edited post from another blog a few days ago, I shouldn't repost it, but I can't resist:-
'...just finishing a 4 day S. China crossing from Hong Kong to Subic Bay in the Philippines .... on my Diesel Duck 462... By picking the perfect weather window between the monsoon seasons there was never more than 15 knots of wind and 4 foot seas. Fresh caught Mahi Mahi and tuna for dinner. 99% of the time was spent on the flybridge in the shade of the bimini with a cool breeze. The voyage was broken up by stopping the boat and going for a long swim in the clear blue 1000s of feet deep warm water. Just floating with mask and snorkel looking down into the blue and seeing what swam by was unbelievable. You would be amazed at the sea life 100s of miles from shore. Fortunately nothing large and hungry ever swam by..... The boat burned less than 2 gallons an hour at 7 knots with its John Deere 4045 with many high load runs due to the new engine break in requirements. With the boats 2000 gallon fuel capacity and the fact that this trip was only 600 miles, range/fuel consumption was of no concern...'

BTW - is OP still with us? Or is this one of those threads where OP asks a question, everyone chimes in, and we end up talking to ourselves?

 

[Timepiece]

BTW - is OP still with us? Or is this one of those threads where OP asks a question, everyone chimes in, and we end up talking to ourselves?

OP is very much with you all, and highly frustrated that all my reply's are held in the void awaiting moderator approval...not sure what they think I am going to do with free reign, but no doubt its for the greater good.

I have been reading everyone's reply's, and researching their thoughts, as well as working my way through all of the other knowledge shared in previous threads.

In relation to a previous question, excluding trawlers, there is a range of boats sharing the Halmatic hull, that have a range of around 600 NM.

Its approximately 300 NM from Kollafjordur Harbor in the Faroe Islands to the Port of Budir, Iceland. From the Port of Bildudalur, Iceland, to the port of Tasiilaq, Greenland is around 390 NM.

In July this route is an option, Greenland has night time sunshine allowing for longer periods of travel, and in southern regions the temperature reaches over 20° C (68° F)

http://ports.com, http://www.worldportsource.com and http://www.noonsite.com/ all offer some wonderful insight.

 

[Sandy Bottom]

Been there, done it. (not me).

http://uk.boats.com/power-boats/lowland-471-trawler-12765654/