Evan Gatehouse wrote in message
...

"John Murfet" wrote in message
...
I'm planning on finding a used 38' boat in the USA east coast,
outfitting,
then sailing on to Europe. My questions are : how much visa time would I
be
allowed (I'm an Australian citizen),

How about contacting the US embassy / consulate closest to you?

and if I spend 30 - 40k on a boat would
that time be enough to ready the boat for cruising? I'm a single male,
how
difficult is it to find crew willing to share expenses?
Any help is very welcome.

30-40K (USD) doesn't buy too big a boat - budget at least 10K for
outfitting
for cruising.

How much money do you have to outfit the boat ?

I should have about 70K USD all up

How much experience do you have with working on boats?
I am competent enough to do any of the repairs or outfitting, provided I can
get the tools and have the time.

If you have to hire somebody to do all the work, do you have the money?

Outfitting a boat to cross the Atlantic does take some time, especially if
you have to budget in time to actually buy the boat too (1-2 months I
would
expect).
The trick seems to be to buy the boat, get it outfitted (maybe repaired) and
get underway before the visa expires. An American guy tried to do this last
year in Sydney. His boat was unfinished so he had to almost give it away so
he could get out of the country before being thrown out.


--
Evan Gatehouse

you'll have to rewrite my email address to get to me
ceilydh AT 3web dot net
(fools the spammers)f

On Mon, 1 Nov 2004 22:25:28 +1100, "John Murfet"
wrote:


Evan Gatehouse wrote in message
...

"John Murfet" wrote in message
...
I'm planning on finding a used 38' boat in the USA east coast,
outfitting,
then sailing on to Europe. My questions are : how much visa time would I
be
allowed (I'm an Australian citizen),
snip

I'm still surprised at the number of people I encounter who are "out
of status" on their visas....two, three years on a 90 day visa.

Being Australian, and not needing a visa, except if you do not meeting
certain condition, such as having a secured passage back home, or at
least off the North American continent, you would have only 90 days...

Since you would be leaving on the freshly re-fitted boat, you would
need a visa because you've not proof of passage on a secured carrier.

While you could hide, quite successfully, I'd hate to think what would
happen with being out of status and trying to get your zarpe for the
next port.
..


I should have about 70K USD all up
snip

You can spend it all.

The trick seems to be to buy the boat, get it outfitted (maybe repaired) and
get underway before the visa expires.

Yes, that's always the trick


An American guy tried to do this last
year in Sydney. His boat was unfinished so he had to almost give it away so
he could get out of the country before being thrown out.

.....sounds like he was under capitalized as much as anything else that
a weekend trip to New Zealand, or Fiji wouldn't handle.

Horace Brownbag wrote in
:

On Mon, 1 Nov 2004 22:25:28 +1100, "John Murfet"
wrote:


Evan Gatehouse wrote in message
...

"John Murfet" wrote in message
...
I'm planning on finding a used 38' boat in the USA east coast,
outfitting,
then sailing on to Europe. My questions are : how much visa time
would I
be
allowed (I'm an Australian citizen),
snip

I'm still surprised at the number of people I encounter who are "out
of status" on their visas....two, three years on a 90 day visa.

Being Australian, and not needing a visa, except if you do not meeting
certain condition, such as having a secured passage back home, or at
least off the North American continent, you would have only 90 days...

Since you would be leaving on the freshly re-fitted boat, you would
need a visa because you've not proof of passage on a secured carrier.

While you could hide, quite successfully, I'd hate to think what would
happen with being out of status and trying to get your zarpe for the
next port.

Being an American citizen I've never needed a zarpe from the US to
anywhere. Does the US issue zarpe like documents when a foreign vessel
departs the US for a foreign country?

Also, virtually no one has ever looked at my passport exit stamps from
the previous country when entering a new country. Then again, my
passport is so full of stamps that finding the correct stamp would
require a lot of effort.

-- Geoff

I should have about 70K USD all up

That should find you a boat and have enough to outfit it. One thing I am
finding with equipping my current boat is that time gives you the luxury to
seek out the best deals.

Have a good bunch of prospects lined up and contacts with brokers already
made. Fill your luggage allowance with tools. Check www.yachtworld.com for
a good search of boats for sale.

If time is tight, you're almost forced to pay retail. In your case, I would
talk to the local West Marine store manager into giving you or using their
"Port Supply" account; provides almost wholesale prices on most items,
because you will be likely be spending a lot at their store in a short time.

On our last boat, a 30' moderately equipped fiberglass boat, we bought it
one fall, did essentially no work over the winter/spring, and spent 1 month
working 7 days/wk, 10-12 hours to get it ready. It wasn't 100% ready but it
was servicable and all the safety aspects were taken care of. I wouldn't
recommend it but in your case it may be required.

I'd take care of the safety aspects of the boat, and go to the Bahamas for a
"shakedown" cruise of a month or so. Then return to the US for more
equipment/outfitting if you can get another visa. You only need to have the
safety aspects taken care of - the cosmetic & convenience items can be done
as you travel. Heck we met people who have lived aboard for 7 years
traveling in Mexico who still had uninstalled solar panels in their
quarterberths

Time for doing this - probably the best time is to buy in the spring, cross
Atlantic in June to avoid hurricane exposure.


--
Evan Gatehouse

you'll have to rewrite my email address to get to me
ceilydh AT 3web dot net
(fools the spammers)

"Evan Gatehouse" wrote in message
...
I should have about 70K USD all up

That should find you a boat and have enough to outfit it. One thing I am
finding with equipping my current boat is that time gives you the luxury
to
seek out the best deals.

Have a good bunch of prospects lined up and contacts with brokers already
made. Fill your luggage allowance with tools. Check www.yachtworld.com
for
a good search of boats for sale.

If time is tight, you're almost forced to pay retail. In your case, I
would
talk to the local West Marine store manager into giving you or using their
"Port Supply" account; provides almost wholesale prices on most items,
because you will be likely be spending a lot at their store in a short
time.

On our last boat, a 30' moderately equipped fiberglass boat, we bought it
one fall, did essentially no work over the winter/spring, and spent 1
month
working 7 days/wk, 10-12 hours to get it ready. It wasn't 100% ready but
it
was servicable and all the safety aspects were taken care of. I wouldn't
recommend it but in your case it may be required.

I'd take care of the safety aspects of the boat, and go to the Bahamas for
a
"shakedown" cruise of a month or so. Then return to the US for more
equipment/outfitting if you can get another visa. You only need to have
the
safety aspects taken care of - the cosmetic & convenience items can be
done
as you travel. Heck we met people who have lived aboard for 7 years
traveling in Mexico who still had uninstalled solar panels in their
quarterberths

Time for doing this - probably the best time is to buy in the spring,
cross
Atlantic in June to avoid hurricane exposure.


--
Evan Gatehouse

you'll have to rewrite my email address to get to me
ceilydh AT 3web dot net
(fools the spammers)


Thanks Evan, and others
It seems I'm on the right track. How will I stand regarding finding crew in
spring, and for an earlier shakedown trip?
It looks like Florida might be the state with the biggest choice of boats.