comments interspersed ...

"Todd" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I am retiring from the Air Force in 5 months and am looking for a new life.
I haven't traveled near as much as I would have liked in the Air Force and
am looking forward to traveling/exploring until age/health concerns dictate
otherwise. Buying a house and settling down just doesn't sound appealing.

I have considered RVs for traveling throughout the US, Canada, and Alaska. I
also have a two seater Cessna airplane that I use to explore. I really
loving flying, but what I really like about it is the traveling/exploring.
After considering sailing, it seems better than buying a house, RVing, or
flying. I know everything has it positives and negatives.

I've run into a number of retirerees that winter on a boat in Florida, and
summer on an RV.


Of course, I don't have any experience with boating/sailing (except for
being on a few small boats on lakes), and would like to ask a few questions.

1) If the boat is paid for, what is the cost range to cruise full time?
What would the life style be like at the lower end of the annual income
range? To be honest, my retirement income will be $42,000.00 a year. Is
this way to little, adequate, or not nearly enough?

It should be doable, though it won't be "lap of luxury." You'll find cruisers
that live on under $1000 a month, and others that blow through $10,000 a month
easily. If you get a slip at a marina on a nightly basis, it could be $60 to
$100 a night, so "marina hopping" can get you up to $30K a year pretty quick.
Or, if you live on an anchor, your fees go down to zero. You can do your own
mantainance or pay someone else $100 an hour. An expensive boat deserves
insurance, a few K a year, but many go without. And so on ...



2) I have noticed that not all sailboats are considered suitable for blue
water sailing (for one reason or another). Does that same thing apply to
catamarans? If so, what are some suitable boats for blue water sailing?

Why do you want "blue water sailing"? Most cruisers don't need, or have such a
boat. You can spend a lifetime cruising almost the entire Western Hemisphere
and never be more than 100 miles from shore. You should learn enough about
cruising to make an informed decision about your own needs. You may be one of
the few that loves to cross oceans, but most of us just want to hop to the next
island.

Catamarans offer a broad spectrum of designs, just like monohulls. There are
some that are more suited to coastal cruising, others are good long distance
passagemakers. My boat, a PDQ 36, is really a coastal cruiser, but several have
crossed the Atlantic and many of them have gone to Bermuda. I have done
neither, but I have traveled the entire East Coast several times.

You will find catamaran detractors, but the simple fact is that in the last 20
years or so there have only been a handful (under 5) cases of cruising cats
flipping while cruising, and almost no sinkings or fatalities. Their safety
record is considerably better than monohulls. The one problem you will have is
finding a good one under about $100K.



3) My wife hates the water, sand, and hot weather. Is there any chance
that she will end up liking cruising? Any of you with spouses/significant
others that thought they would hate it, but ended up loving it after they
gave it a try?

I waited to see how my wife liked the cruising life before proposing. Loving
hot weather and sand are not a prerequisite - I have long time liveaboard
friends that hate that. They summer in Maine, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland,
and in the winter go no further south than South Carolina. This year they're
wintering in Newfoundland!

However, living on a boat is not easy, and living cheap can be a full time job.
You're really going to have to ease into this one!


I have a thousand more questions, but these are good to start with.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ask away, but the bottom line will always be that you should learn how to sail
and cruise before making a major commitment.


Thanks,
Todd