unatainable??

[phil4321]

im really interested in becoming (correction: im dead set on becomming) a live aboard ( i really love the water and i really love boating) and am thinking of having a custom yacht built. i was thinking something in the 70 -90 ft area. this will basically be where all my money will go excluding food and other fees involved in owning a boat. i want the boat to be my house and i dont require a car so no money goes for that. my question is this, is owning a boat this scale only obtainable by the rich and famous? i am a coumputer network technitian and do pretty well for myself but its very hard to get an idea for how much boats like this cost becuse the only places with actual prices are people selling their boat online and those allways seem to be skewed beyond belief (its like auto trader where 5000 dollar cars are sold for 15000). im not against chartering either. one thing i really want to look into is being the captain on my chartered yacht. is this possible if you have all the neccassary licensing, skills and experience? thanks alot for any input.

[Auzzee]

Phil Maaaate, You must be a very successful computer techo. A half-way decent custom built 70' yacht will set you back more than $2 million....a 90' Perini Navi, about $30 million. You can live in extreme comfort with all mod-cons in a 45-55 and you can buy a good second hand one for less than $250,000. Bear in mind annual maintenance can cost 5% to 10% of the value of the boat and you will see your costs drop significantly as does the size of the vessel...leaving more money for fun and the occasional beer. To get an idea of values, I suggest you look at the web sites for brokers (look in Cruising World Magazine) and understand that most people will not negotiate a selling price rebate of much more than 10%. Best of luck in your quest. David.

[Bedouin]

Hi Phil. If you feel the prices asked for yachts in the size range yout thinking of are inflated then the answer is simple - they are out of your price range. There is usually a price haggling margin but it's not 2/3rds of the advertised price. Some will consider 10% but most will look seriously at 5%. Any boating magazine will have adverts on new vessels and a phone call will give you the price. There are some mags dealing only with 2nd hand yachts or have a look on the internet. If your set on a custom built one about 70' I think Auzzee is well off on his $2 million. He may not be taking into account the design fees, electronics and final fit out plus the usual overbudget blow out!!! If you haven't got the qualifications yet to be a charter skipper then why not consider a smaller yacht in the 40' range to learn your skills and that sized yacht is very capable of being lived abourd and being sailed solo. Starting off with a smaller yacht will make you a lot better skipper.

Regards

Peter

[Charlie Jones]

bear in mind also- in the US at any rate, any boat 65 feet and over MUST have a licensed skipper aboard when ever it moves, either you as the owner, or someone you pay. Plus you're gonna need crew to run it. Just flat to large for one person (or even two) to safely manage. The gear and forces are just too large.

Personally I consider 32 to 35 feet the largest I'd want to try to maintain and sail by myself or even with just my wife as crew. If you REALLY need the space a yacht of that size will give you, seriously look into a multi hul. Many cats in the 40 foot range rival much larger boats for accomodations.

[bvimatelot]

Right on!! Catamaran is the only way to go: it keeps the size sensible and properly set up, is perfectly easy to single-hand. Tony

[phil4321]

yes i have every intention of owning a 30 footer in the extremly near future (like 6 months if im lucky) to gain some needed experience. but after a few years i really want to custom make my own i think 90 feet is a little excessive, but atleast in the 70 foot range is where im looking. how much money would you need to make per year to afford a boat like this, are we talking like 150,000 a year? keeping in mind i have no mortgage or car payments. im thinking that if i charter it it will severly offset the cost of the boat as well but im not really comfortable with people i dont know taking my boat out for a spin for a week lol. i really want to look into getting all the neccessary licencing/training to be the captain of my chartered yacht, or atleast have some sort of position onboard. how much do captains usually make to pilot these vessels?

[rugeley]

I bought an older 33 foot ketch for about 17,000. paid 1/3 cash, 2/3 on credit cards. I pay about 250 per month on slip fees, about 280 to service the debt. the boat is in good shape and i can sail whenever i have time. i live on teh boat and spend my spare money readying it for a year or so cruise which will begin in a year or so. I bought the boat on a highschool teacher's salary. New job since allows me to dump alot into it. You can buy and live on a boat cheaper than an apartment or house. i say go for it.

Hugh

Houston, TX

[rugeley]

I bought an older 33 foot ketch for about 17,000. paid 1/3 cash, 2/3 on credit cards. I pay about 250 per month on slip fees, about 280 to service the debt. the boat is in good shape and i can sail whenever i have time. i live on teh boat and spend my spare money readying it for a year or so cruise which will begin in a year or so. I bought the boat on a highschool teacher's salary. New job since allows me to dump alot into it. You can buy and live on a boat cheaper than an apartment or house. i say go for it.

Hugh

Houston, TX

[Yachtmaster81]

Phil,

whatever you decide to do, good luck mate!

[Jackiy]

My husband and I live on a 60' sailing ketch, with our disabled daughter. We bought an older hull and have spent three years and a lot of money on a refit, still not finished. If you have a dream you might as well make it a good one. If you want 70' then go for it, if you can seriously continue to earn that kind of money while living on a boat. In Australia you would pay upto $4000 per month in mariner fees, depending on location. My only suggestion (if you have not already) is you learn to handle that size boat well before you get one. Start at TAFE and work your way through the courses. Also go sailing with a recognized sailing school.

Dreams happen with a little persisents

Jackiy

'Behemoth'