Restless *o

[SEADANCE]

Can't sleep tonight boys.Hubby wanted me to post when I got the chance to see if anyonne has ever done this.We plan to drive to Tampa area this coming weekend to look at the boat we made an offer on and several others in case the offer falls thru. If he falls in love with a boat while we are there he will buy it, he is determined too. He plans on taking a few extra days off from work and sail the boat home. From Tampa to Biloxi. He is nervous about taking a boat this size out on his own (30'-33'). I don't want him to do this alone first time out. Am I silly for thinking this way?I am going to be stuck driving two kids back home by myself(trying to make this a mini vacation for the kids too with family in that area) and "jealous as hell" that I can't be doing this with him, but I understand the worry he has with that.Has anyonne ever sailed a just purchased boat home this way? Do you recommend him "hiring" someone to sail it back with him? Is this safe and has anyonne ever done this? How did you get along and what kind of a person do you look for when doing this. What would be a reasonable rate? How many people do you recommend and my last question..aside from him having all of the equip he'll need on the boat already what can I provide before I take off to make it a little more comfortable for him that he would not think of doing/getting himself because he'll be worrying about other things? I will try not to watch the movie Captain Ron during the next two weeks My Thanks for all of your help gentleman...sweet sleep.B/Seadance

 

[newly anonymous]

boat lust

Boat lust is a dangerous thing. The proper way to purchase a boat is to have a certified marine surveyor check the boat from stem to stern to determine such things as whether it's immediately seaworthy. The improper way to purchase a boat is to write a check in the heat of boat lust, take it immediately offshore only to discover whether it really floats. Or not.The prudent mariner is one who realizes that haste is the ultimate enemy, whether in planning a voyage or fitting out a vessel. Rule number one is NEVER to commit to a departure date until all your ducks are in order--both vessel-wise and crew-wise--and until you have a good weather window.Rookies should not singlehand sailboats. And if your husband wants to buy a boat without having it surveyed, he's still a rookie.

 

[SEADANCE]

I'm the rookie

He's not a rookie.I'm the rookie.He's been too busy with work/school and kids for awhile to have been sailing. The sale does not go thru unless a survey and engine survey is done and he sea trials it... that is our golden rule. He has a place to hang out in Tampa until everything goes thru. We are trying to think this thru...cautiously.Boat Lust...oh yes! on my part very much so and on that note Goodnight

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

You are doing what?

You are planning to drive to Tampa area this coming weekend to look at the boat you made an offer on? What if the seller accepts your offer and you dont like the boat? You are bound by law to follow through with the deal. You will at least be obligated to go as far as to hire a surveyor and pay out of your own pocket so that the surveyor can say the boat is not up to snuff. That will cost you time and money. So, exactly how was this offer made? Maybe there is just a bit of confusion with samantics, but generally an 'offer' means some kind of monetary deposit. On the other hand, I had something similar happen to me. I called the broker, we discussed the price that the seller would accept, then it was more of a gentlemans agreement that they would not show the boat to anyone else at least till i got there in 2 days. This was a courtesy since i had to drive 1200 miles to look at it. It didnt officially become an offer until it was presented in writing with a deposit to the broker to be held in escrow. Even then, it took several trips by car before the actual trip across the Gulf. The first trip was to check out the boat, we liked it and made the offer. The second trip was for the 'closing' which was after the surveyor did his thing. We then started cleaning up and preparing the boat for the trip. Then I made 2 more trips, one of which a very knowledgable friend came along and we went through the entire systems of the boat very thoroughly, including a few short trips. The final trip to the boat was the actual sailing of the boat from Fl. to Tx. With all the system checks, we still had the engine quit on us several times and my boat buddy was able to get it started every time while under way. Also note that if you buy the boat in Fl. you will have to pay sales tax. However, the broker informed us that if the boat was leaving the state, we could get a Cruisers Permit or something like that. It was about $20 and is good for 90 days. So, if you move the boat from Fl in 90 days, you get to Ms, and register it there where you wont have to pay sales tax.Anyway, regardless of all the surveys in the world, anything can still happen to the boat while in transit. Like Capt Ron said "if its going to happen, its going to happen out there".It is quite foolish and reckless to take an 'unproven to you' boat on a solo trip this far. There should be at least 2 experienced sailors, not necessarily blue water experience, but some sailing experience. In case something goes wrong and more than likely it will, one can control (steer) the boat while the other trouble shoots. The normal route would be from Tampa Bay straight to Appalachacola or Panama City. This could take from 30 to 40 hours depending on weather. The rest of the trip will be an easy coastal cruise. Again , depending on weather, the total trip should take around 5 to 7 days. Best of luck Tony B

 

[Rick9619]

Seadance, You guyssaid sort of have your ducks

in a row. If you have researched the history of the vessel and the type of vessel ie a H34, C36, for instance, your ahead of the game. And you are planning to purchase as you said contingent on pass of survey... AND as you said your hubby isnt a rookie and knows what to look for as far as "well foundness". Then why bloody not? Heck he can take the ICW most of the way up and do a short crossing. You know what.. boat lust is a great thing. Patience is another. If you hear "that thing that feels good" and are willing to deal with what that brings then. Remember though, surveyors dont reveal everything. You can go a bit on what the boat offers as far as gear, upgrades, etc and have hubby check them out. Dont get too discouraged but look at all of the boat unless your independently wealthy. You have to get in the game to get experience.cheers

 

[AXEL]

Go with him!

Even if he has prior experience sailing, it sounds like he's a bit rusty (no pun). My advice, work it out so you can sail back with him. Does the boat have an autopilot? There are just way to many variables on a maided voyage. I'm an experience sailor, been sailing 25 yrs+ and if I had the same task, I'd be looking for some company. My 2 cents.

 

[Hugh4753]

Get a Survey

No matter what you do if the boat is more than $10K get a survey done. So far as sailing the boat home a lot of people do that, however IMHO it would be wise to have an experienced person on the boat. In Tampa there should be a lot of guys around who deliver boats and most will be glad to have the owner aboard. Can't speak for costs in Fl. but here I think the going rate is $250+ per day plus expenses.

 

[Maine Sail]

What is the boat and what..

What is the boat and what is the condition and equipment list like. Even the boat model and price would give us a lot more to go on. If, by chance, it's say a 1985 Catalina 36 for $9500.00 (& I'm just using this for illustrative purposes)I'm sure most here would say, just based on the price, do not sail it alone! On the other hand if it's a 1985 Catalina 36 for say 49k then there is probably a good chance you could just leave and sail her home alone... Many, many, many times price is determined by condition and unseen mitigating factors like rotted deck core. Even a boat that appears to be very well maintained may have saturated decks that are not safe for open water sailing. You are going to do a survey.. right? With a little more info we could be of more assistance..

 

[David10790]

Been there, done that

When I bought my first keel boat (CS30) I negotiated to have the vendor sail it back with me from where it was lying to my marina - about 50 nm. A few benefits: in 12 hours I learned a lot from him about the particulars of the boat, with maximum honesty since he was no longer in "sales" mode; I figured he would not spend 50 miles on the boat with me if he knew something serious was wrong with it; it gave me someone to help handle the boat (no autopilot). Why not have your husband suggest that the vendor go on the first leg, at least?

 

[gpd955]

Bad idea

to go it alone. When I bought Victim of Fate, she passed her survey with flying colors and had an excellent shakedown sail. On the trip home, she started taking on water (came into the cabin) in a heavily traveled commercial waterway and after 18 hours of sailing, lost her steering in 10-12ft seas 15 miles off the coast. I had a crew of 4 experienced sailors (one was incapacitated with seasickenss) who all have their own boats and we had our hands full. It would have been a nightmare if I was alone.For safety's sake, he needs to have you or someone else with him at the very least! Hiring someone with some experience would be a good insurance policy, but a smart Captain will probably want to know a bit about the boat's history and even may want to take a look at the survey before they commit. Even then, surveys and test sails are very superficial as I learned!!As far as your purchase issue...did you see this boat in person before the offer was made or is the look you are taking the first one?? Don't be too hasty! Hopefully your seller has some integrity and will be honest with you about some of the known problems with the boat and the survey will find some of the other problems. I would look at other boats anyway...you may find something better!!! Plus, if you don't look at other boats, you're missing out on alot of ideas and fun! I loved shopping around and discussing the boats/gear and sellers over beers!!! Good luck. Keep us posted on how things went!BTW, the water we were taking on came from a cracked filter in my fresh water system, so other than some moments of high anxiety, it wasn't a huge problem in the end!!!

 

[Landsend]

Leave the kids at home and rent a car.

And sail back with him. However, it may take a few days for the sale to go through and provision the boat.

 

[Scott21120]

We bought our boat 600 nm away from where we live.

Like you are planning, we made an offer contingent on survey (after losing another deal because we tried to line up a survey BEFORE putting the offer in). We did purchase the boat, but I spent several weekends getting it ready to sail home. The fact that we bought it mid-winter made that a little more palatable. I took three friends with me for the delivery - two experienced sailors and one all around good guy with little sailing experience. One of the experienced sailors spent a day and a half too sea sick to do anything but lay in his berth. All in all we had a great delivery, and I would love to do it again. Personally, I would not want to singlehand my boat's maiden voyage. Even with all my preparations, we had a couple of things happen on the delivery that would have been a challenge to deal with solo - not to mention the fatigue that can set in with a disrupted sleep schedule.

 

[tom]

Time deadlines are Dangerous

If possible leave the boat where it is located for a month. Sail it locally one or two weekends to get and know the boat. Then with a good weather window sail it to Biloxi. There is only one stretch where you can't sail in protected water. It is only about a 24 hour sail. If time is a major problem the boat can be hopped along the coast over a period of a few weekends. But personally I wouldn't want to take a strange boat on a long passage. Weather permitting sailing directly from Tampa to Panama city and then along the coast would keep the boat close to protection. Once in Andrew's bay it would be very easy to stay in protected waters to Biloxi. Andrew's bay is a very easy to enter bay with a deep well marked entrance. Pensacola is the next easy to enter inlet and actually the only all weather inlet until you reach Mobile. Mobile bay can be very rough with a north wind but is great with a south wind.  Sailing single handed without an autopilot makes a multiday passage very risky. I've sailed a little over 24 hours before without an autopilot. My wife wouldn't stand watch as she thought that it was too rough for her to handle the boat...it wasn't too rough for her to sleep most of the night!!!! But except for the leap across the gulf at the bend the rest of the trip can easily be broken up into a series of day sails spending the nights anchored or at a marina. Obviously with a crew of three the boat could be sailed 24 hours and sailing directly would be the fastest option. Single handing without an autopilot makes something as simple as reefing the mainsail a risky procedure especially at night when it's rough.

 

[BarryL]

I did it

Hello,This past fall I did something similar.Saw a boat on Yachtworld that looked good, but was 5 hours away. Called the broker anc chatted for a while. Told him the truth - I was serious about buying a boat, had cash, etc. He seemed like a good guy and gave me his honest opinion of the boat. I told him that I was going to make a low ball offer because the boat would have to hauled out soon if I didn't buy it, so why not take a chance (the boat was in Newport, RI) that the owner would accept it? My original offer was rejected, but we came to a price. So I 'bought' the boat sight unseen. Of course I had an agreement with the broker that if I didn't like the boat was deal was off.I travelled that weekend and saw the boat. It looked good so I arranged for the survey. That also went well, so all that was left was closing and the trip home.I figured the trip home would take two days (about 100 nm). I took my Dad with me, and we hired a delivery captain. The captain's fees were $300 / day plus expenses. The trip was not difficult, but I wanted an experienced person with me, and someone who knew the local waters.We were forunate with the weather and the trip was very easy.It worked out very well and I would do it again.Barry

 

[Rick D]

Check With Local Yacht Clubs

...you may well find someone who would do he trip with your husband. I think everyone is right, it's too much to do himself, only because there is so much 'new'. When the boat, the boat gear and the area are all new, that's just a lot to process. Rick D.

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

Seadance, I feel your pain...

Boat lust,feeling restless-boy, have I been there. I'm going to throw in my two cents worth so take it for what's it worth. Have you thought about just having shipped overland to home? I know how appealing sailing it home can be but it is not as simple as throwing a few cans of pork and beans in the larder and topping off the water tanks, as I am sure you know. I love an adventure as much as the next gal but I have my limits. So, that is my thought but I wish you all the very best. Please keep us posted on what happens this weekend. Good luck!

 

[SEADANCE]

re: restless

Goodmorning Gentleman and Hello Princess of the Lake!After the Irwin Boo Boo and that it was because I came home and found out you bought what?? and with all of the help everyonne here has offered to me since then.. I've been very careful for him. I was worried that I asked the last yacht broker for too much when making the contract. That the verbal offer first be accepted, then a survey/engine survey and then sea trial it and then another look over and that we could walk out of this deal at anytime with our deposit back 100% if we found something that came thru with the survey was just bad or we simply decided to walk away at anytime. He agreed with a raised eyebrow to me.So this will be my same question to this broker and if he disagree's then we walk... there is another boat out there and another yacht broker. I have run across several. Some of them ehh and could not answer a question about a boat they were trying to sell and someone here posted that they can be as slimy as the bottom of a boat..I found that too. The one in Pensacola was great and I wish I could take him with us and he was the seller's broker, not ours! I don't argue with my husband much but I did argue the trip home alone idea. I tried having it shipped option and its still an option, more of a back up plan if he felt uncomfortable after sea trialing it or the kind of people he ran into hiring as help to sail it or if anything that was falling into place afterwards, like time or not being able to find anyonne. I believe he wants to sail her home because he needs the break from work and wants to get to know her in a way that only he could.I also brought up the idea of ..to have the current owner sail it with him for a day or a few hours to show him his boat, to learn what only the current boat owner knows and to see if my husband even likes the way she handles on the water. I've thrown out lots of questions...hubby do you like the rigging?Do you like the wheel or do you prefer a tiller.Its his boat and I want it to be the boat for him. It's his love affair and I want to support it and be involved.I tried the bring my mother-in-law here and watch the kids angle so that I could go but he disagreed simply because he said he did not want our children to lose both sets of parents if something happened. I tried the... It can be the honeymoon we never took angle. Bad move B. I got the, "this is not going to be a floating love shack (I beg to differ) we'll be too busy" comment! I can thank the book, "There be no Dragons" author for his chapter on how hard it is to enjoy the v-berth at sea. Okay so forget that part of it but I still wanted to go with him just to learn and watch and offer any kind of help I can! I am still working on this idea of me going.Without giving away where the boat is located or who's selling her or the make without anyonne snagging her on me..she did make a trip to the Bahama's once. That info is not sound of mind to me. I am not assuming she is sturdy because I did read up that some of those long trips are hard on the boat too?This boat does have lots of new goodies and she has been babied while she has been in her cradle...· Newly painted Topsides,complete bottom job done all new lines, s/s rigging tuned,rebuilt engine,new gps,new generator,new sails,auto pilot. I asked here because I knew I could get the answer from kind hearted experienced,intelligent sailors even if it sides with the idea of sailing her home or if the info stings a little. So please everyonne, offer your advice because I want to be careful and my deepest, sincerest thank you's. ~BP.s. I apologize for any typos, I've been out of college for awhile

 

[Rick Webb]

Good Trip to Take

If you do buy the boat. I have made that trip a couple of times. We lived in Biloxi for a few years and kept our boat in Long Beach. In fact my wife is back working at Keesler for the next couple of years. So I am real familiar with what you are looking forward to on this trip.Here is what I would recommend. Find another couple of guys to go with your husband as far as Apalachicola or Carrabelle. Place an ad at the bulletin board of the Gulfport and Biloxi Yacht Clubs looking for anyone who wants to go along for the ride. Meet him with the kids and take them the rest of the way or a portion of the trip. Maybe have the in-laws meet you in Pensacola or along there somewhere and take the kids home then you get to sail alone together for a while. It is a really neat trip through the "ditch" and Lake Wimico; the kids would have a ball.Email me through this site if you want more information than I can type in here. I'd be happy to share any information or help anyway I can.

 

[AXEL]

At the very least

Seadance,If he has to go it alone, at the very least make sure he knows how to operate the autopilot, GPS, make sure he has at least 2 working VHF radio's (one being a hand held), all safty equiment, perferably an auto inflating life jacket/harness, charts and cell phone.Good luck!

 

[Rick Webb]

May have Been a Sexist Idea

Leave the husband and kids at home and take a couple of other girls along. Would he go for that one?