Which boat?

[Conachair]

Well, looks like I might just be joining you lot before too long. Set a date of December next year to finish work & move on board. Plan is to go to Ramsgate & take it from there, less cast in stone is get south, maybe caribbean, who can tell. I've just hit 40, only been sailing for couple of seasons but think I'll be ok out there, done a load round Thames eastury, france a few times & ostend as well, mostly single handed.
Biggest question is what boat should I get. Main parameters are yacht between 30' & 36(?)', I'll be singlehanded (just know Kate Moss will say no) not hugely bothered about luxurys but headroom quite important (6' & a bit).
Steel hull is very appealing - will bounce off containers & reefs & for me a more familiar material to work with. Maybe one that's just come back - is it easier to replace worn out bluewater bits or start from scratch? Spent considerable time on yachtworld.com, buying one in states (exchange rate makes it even cheaper) or even caribbean not out of the question but would be nice to sail from home. Doubts are what if I get it wrong & don't like the boat? Could take forever to get rid of it if steel hull. Budget is prob about 50K, thinking 30ish for boat, 10K to sort boat leaving 10k for kitty. I can see flying back north for freelance work (which shouldn't be a problem to get) to top up kitty.

2nd question is tax, if I rent out my house is it easy to go tax exile? not researched much yet, looks like min 5 years, presumably you need to be resedent in some country.

3rd question. Am i going to be this excited for the next 2 years??

All advice welcome

<hr width=100% size=1>Paddy

 

[salvex]

For what it's worth I'll chuck in my two penn'orth and answer in reverse order.

3 - you bet! Just the planning and dreaming is enough to keep you energised. Just don't lose sight of your goals and make them realistic so you stand a good chance of achieving them.

2 - my partner and I have been out of the UK for several years as 'tax exiles'. I consult for a UK firm but get paid into a US account (long story) so I never 'earn' in the country where I work and don't open bank accounts or anything there. My partner has a house in the UK in her name - the place here in Nassau is in mine. Neither of us pay UK taxes and any monies earned there (like renting out her house) are covered by signing the right forms to say we don't pay UK tax. She continues to pay UK N.I. contributions - I don't (another long story).

1 - the right boat? Only you know what that is. You've already mentioned one of the criteria though - headroom. So, I'm sure if you sat down and thought dispassionately you'd actually come up with quite a list of things you want in the 'perfect' boat (which doesn't exist, by the way). Where to look? Well with the Sterling/dollar exchange rate I would suggest Florida or a country with a fixed exchange rate to the dollar. Huge range of boats in Florida/Caribbean some of which are abandoned 'around the world' projects and very well kitted out. Easy and cheap to get to Florida and worth the investment in my opinion. We were in Barbados when I started looking - went to Trinidad, BVI and Puerto Rico before buying. Looking back, could possibly have got a better deal but I'm not complaining. Lots of ex charter boats for sale in 'the islands', especially BVI but you would need to be careful and they're not kitted out for long term cruising. Also buying in the States means all those extras are also cheaper.

Just some thoughts - hope they help and good luck! Go for it!

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[Conachair]

Thanks for that. Reading your post & my original strikes me that I'm asking an unanswerable question about the ideal boat. Maybe it would be better to go from the opposite end - what don't I want in a boat.
Don't want a stiff neck. (headroom)
Don't want to worry about a hole in the hull if I hit something. (Steel / grp hull??)
Don't want to be reliant on complex systems or electronics.
Want to be able to sail out of trouble if engine packs in. (Ability to sail to windward)
Many many more no doubt but thats a start - from you people out there doing it , what else don't I want??



<hr width=100% size=1>Paddy

 

[AndrewAndVicky]

I guess you'll get loads of advice. The thing I didn't believe when we bought our boat was the maintenance costs. That's come to £20000 over three years which was far more than we thought, particularly as the boat had everything! It's amazing how you can spend £500 on shackles and odd bits of safety gear.

The other thing I'd get is a decent windvane like hydrovane, particularly if single handed. If you get a long keeler, you can just let it steer you everywhere. We sailed under spinnaker for ten days in mid-Atlantic just using the hydrovane which shows how wonderful this piece of kit is.

I'd go for chunky GRP, but then I hate chipping rust. I'm sure the steel people will disagree!

We were all set to cruise round the world and have altered our plans a ridiculous number of times. Now heading back to the Med this summer after 2 seasons in the Carribean. It has been fantastic.
Anyhow, good luck!


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[sailorgirl]

Only 20,000 in three years.... we've just completed a 'refit' (the other half's term for spending lots of money). After over 9000 nm in 5 years we thought our pride and joy could do with a bit of TLC - new sails, new rigging, new prop and a few other bits and bobs have left us with a sizeable dent in the bank account region! Still she now goes nicely to windward and actually makes progress in any direction in winds less than 15 knots - pity we didn't do it before we did our Med trip in 2001/2 but at least now we do appreciate the results.

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[Conachair]

Crikey, thats a lot on maintenance! Hearing figures like that makes me tend towards the lower end of the 30 - 40' range. I was looking at a few Nicholson 32's today on yachtworld.com, seem to have a reputation s being chunky GRP good sea boats but still very undecided, sailed recently on a friends 34' steel hull which didn't seem sluggish at all as I'd been led to believe. He doesn't seem to spend all day chipping rust but then the boat has just been finished. Do you think 12 - 15k ukp to live a year sound excessivly low keeping major maintenance / flights home etc put of it?



<hr width=100% size=1>Paddy

 

[smee]

Even 'chunky' GRP doesn't dent! Steel can at least be dented a long way before it breaks and lets in the briney! Why should a steel boat be sluggish... if its a good design there is no reason why it shouldn't sail as good as the rest!

Keep on top of the rust situation and you don't have to worry about it, let it slide and then its a major task... in other words keep a brush and sandpaper handy, its a lot quicker to touch up a small patch when you first see it, than redo the lot when its gone too far.

Budget? Think of a number double it, add a bit, add a bit more, triple it, and you usually get your required figure, whichever type of boat you go for. The same goes for time spent trying to do things on said boat, use the same formula!! ;-)

If you buy a hull, beware of things such as the welds! There was an article in PBO "Building The Dream" where a couple bought a hull and then had to redo all the welds, that would knock a budget sideways. But there are loads of Bruce Roberts steel boats/hulls/part finished projects out there that would fit your budget.

I remember once having an ongoing argument with a friend over the merits of steel versus GRP, he claimed GRP, GRP, GRP - I claimed steel only. 3 years later I found he'd finally bought himself a boat.... yep it was steel!

Good luck!

PS- I can't imagine Kate Moss would be much cop at Navigation, so no loss there!!!



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[jimboaw]

For the past six years we have lived aboard and cruised the US E Coast and the Carribean aboard our Angelo Lavranos designed Crossbow 40, a centre cockpit cutter. She was built in S.A. and the previous owner sailed her throughout the Indian Ocean and then here to Fl. Built like a tank but still sails well. A sister ship was for sale in the B.V.I and I heard on the grapevine she could be had for less than 100K U.S. Spoke to the designer before I purchased mine and he said his design objective was a "safe" boat for a prolonged family cruise. I believe he got it right!! Only 27 were ever built up to about 93. Might be worth a look

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[AndrewAndVicky]

Actually, that 20000 did include things like insurance lift outs and storage, not just repairs, so I'm sure 12 to 15 k pa is OK. If you get to the Caribbean, the good news is that even though the food is about double what you spend in the UK, anchoring is free. We have even been in places where the rum was free, though it may have been paintstripper. (Some of the rum shacks store them on the same shelf). There are people surviving on a lot less and a lot more than we are, but we have had to return to the UK to work and top up funds. Not for long though! Out again week after next!!!!

Best of luck whatever boat you go for.
Andrew


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[mocruising]

I can't really help wrt which boat as we are going through the same process. I have been non resident in the UK for 23 years but own and rent out property there. Any income derived in the UK is liable to tax but I don't pay any. Your allowance plus allowable expenses plus interest on the loan should cover the tax angle.

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