Buying First Boat as I Retire

Actually, I've found that a woman's shoes tell you a lot about her. If she knows the words "Manolo Blahnik" look out. Same for 150 pair. One of the first things that attracted me to my wife was that she was wearing "earth shoes". That told me that she was a low maintenance, hard working girl.

And what does is say that you know those words?

I don't see this at all. I do A LOT of freighter loadings for all of the large shipping companies in South Florida. The boat's I've seen being bought and shipped permanently to another country are coming from further and further away because there's nothing local. I just loaded 3 going to C.R. permanently, they all came from the Panhandle. I ran one to Texas where the buyer bought it in Seattle because there were no others for sale closer. I just ran one up here from Marathon that's going to Turkey because there are none for sale closer (it's only a $75k boat). I see very little inventory in South Florida and a lot of empty docks on all of the canals.....if they are getting filled it's with owners buying brand new very expensive boats....... a 47' Intrepid fisharound with 4- five sevens on the transom.......stuff like that......

I can tell you that since 2008, I have loaded hundreds and hundreds of yachts (probably close to 500) that were bought by foreign buyers and shipped out of the country never to return. I have an Australian customer that just bought his second boat since then from here to be shipped to Australia as well as a classic car. Also the U.S. buyers have been buying down here and running them North......3 yachts I managed long term, in the past year sold to Carolina buyers that took them up there.

I prefer the women with 150 pairs of 6" heels over the earth shoe girls......anyday of the week.....but I have no plans of living on a boat outside of work......LOLOLOL

You just confirm what I am saying that it is a strong buyers market.

A large segment of the traditional boat owner/buyer has aged and are leaving the boating scene. They are not being replaced at the same rate, even with the international market that comes here to "poach" the market.

South Florida has been a transient boat market anyways, no surprise of movement back/forth to the Gulf states or up North. Wall Street and big Oil are great drivers of that trend. The used boats that are selling are going at bargain prices, and until they start to be bid up, it will stay a buyers market.

There are some boat builders doing much better than 2009, hiring is coming back for them, but the sales numbers are no where close to their peak averages pre 2009. But there are certainly some of the Center Console guys who are smiling during this down sizing trend.

dang'it NEO56, everything was going great til she read your post on shoes.....now she is on Ebay bidding on shoes to get her 4-count up to 6....she found some of those Mano Blanko mentioned and already bid $27.00. There goes my beer budget for the first week !!!


thanks for replys...I will contact those mentioned, and for sure attend the Boat Shows that are coming up.

Well, I don't have 150 pairs. I do have 6" heels. Yes, even carry them on the boat for nights out. But all the talk about shoes did get me curious. So, I counted. Best estimate because some are on boat, I have about 80 pairs. My hubby has about 30. Mostly bought by me. Lots of ours are tennies and deck though. Typically on boat cruising, I carry about a dozen pairs. Part of why we have so many is we do keep some on the boat so have duplicates.

Sorry, no earth shoes.

Cruising shoe wardrobe for 2 month cruise:
3 pairs, general tennis shoes, great for walking.
3 pairs, deck shoes.
1 pair, basketball shoes
1 pair, tennis shoes for playing tennis
2 pairs, dressy casual shoes
4 pairs of heels for nights out, got to have choice of colors

Hubby
3 pairs, general tennis shoes
3 pairs, deck shoes
1 pair, basketball shoes
1 pair, tennis shoes for tennis
2 pairs, dressy casual shoes
2 pairs, dressy night out shoes

Oh and for Alaska you could add another 4 pairs for me and 2 for him for cold and rain and such.

Shoes don't take up that much space and his take a lot more than mine.

All that and no earth shoes....sorry dudes.

Shoes are the easy storage. Cold climates, coats and layers of stuff take the space. But still none of it comes close to food, water and supplies. It's things you must have that you don't think of. Like toilet tissue for 10-12 people for a month say. Bottled water or soft drinks if you drink them. Now so far we haven't had a real problem because haven't been anywhere for more than three weeks that we couldn't easily replenish.

1 pair mtorcycle boots
2 pair sneakers
2 pair boat shoes
2 pair construction boots (one high, one low tops)
2 pair dress shoes
1 pair of flip flops
1 pair rubber boots

I feel spoiled with that.

The lady has retired the earth shoes, and I was a bit shocked when I saw the number of shoes she now has, but most are fairly sensible. No 6' heals, but I appreciate any woman willing to wear them. Did you catch a couple of years ago when the pointy toes were in fashion and women were having their toes cut off to fit.

If no paper do not linger, Robinson Crusoe used his finger

LOL Sorry MoZZ, I didn't mean to kick a hornet's nest, but in all fairness, she was an Events coordinator for a large drug company, and a plus size model, so I guess there was "some" justification to her stash. Although, when we hit the Ft. Lauderdale boat show, after about an hour of cruising the docks, she went barefoot and yours truly got to walk around the rest of the day with a pair of high heels! The other little tidbit that I told her would have to go was doing away with her "Princess Puff". For those of you not familiar with that term, it consisted of approximately 1/8 of a roll of toilet paper, balled up to the size of a baseball so that she could blot properly. This was a bigger blow to her than the shoe discussion. I envisioned pulling all the plumbing out of the boat, and replacing it with 3" OD to keep my plumbing flowing properly. And you think you have problems! Send me your address and I'll get you a check for the 27 bucks, it brings tears to my eyes knowing a fellow boater has to go without beer for a week!

To any retiring on a boat with a wife or girlfriend. Accommodate each other's quirks and preferences and don't start off by arguing over things like shoes or toilet paper. Choose a boat together and she'll figure out what fits. She may start with too much, but no big deal. The cutback will happen naturally. She'll realize just as you will that there are things on board you don't need and other things you need instead. Start taking away comforts of home too quickly and the boat will never feel like home.

While there are a few people trying to escape everything from the world they live in, most aren't. Most want to take some conveniences with them. Not forsaking all worldly items. Heavy coats, comforters, extra sets of bed linens, all the towels from home. These are space eating items. Pots and pans. Most of us have things stored in our kitchen cabinets at home we haven't used in years. You'll find out along the way and both make choices. And, just like any home, you'll fill the space you have-all of it. We just do that. Then when it can't hold any more and we want to add something, we get rid of something.

If this is going to be your first boat and you are going to move aboard after retirement. I would definitely start boating now and charter multiple boats before jumping in both feet. Amazing what one can live without, I am down to 1 pair of flip flops, boat shoes 1 pair, running shoes 2 pairs, 2 pair of work shoes and various work clothes. Living in Florida I have about 6 button down shirts a few t shirts and a couple pairs of shorts and 4 bathing suits. I used to have a lot more on board but realized it just took up space and I never wore the stuff anyway. As far as what is livable, my 48 foot Californian fits the bill. I could go slightly smaller but no reason to. It is way cheaper than dirt dwelling and all of my costs have been cut significantly. The one thing is this is not for everyone, I have been wanting to make this move for 20 years and finally made the jump and could not be happier. Keep researching the boat forums but remember there are a lot of "experts" out there and if you ask 10 people the same question you'll get 11 varying answers, ESPECIALLY when it comes to boating. My maintenance costs have never come anywhere near what most of the "Experts" say it will cost you, my boat is a 25 year boat with Detroit diesels and just the mention of that will send some people into a tizzy.

Buying guidelines

Before buying a boat make use of these points:
Make quality a major consideration. Don't try to get the largest vessel that your budget will allow. Better to take a step down in size and a step up in quality.

If size is a major consideration, seriously consider used versus new as a means of staying within your budget.

Look beyond glamorous interiors, luxurious upholstery and racy designs: the beauty may only be skin deep.

Calculate the full cost of ownership, including depreciation, interest, insurance, dockage, fuel and repairs. Figure maintenance as an annual percentage over the period of ownership.

Seriously consider gas rather than diesel for boats under 35' for which you don't expect to get much use.

Once you've decided on several possibilities, take a tour of a marina or boat yard and see how the products of those builders hold up over the years. Talk to their owners and see what they have to say.

Consult a surveyor before you buy. Most surveyors will be glad to help you make a choice.

Take the time to find the best surveyor in your area.

Make your purchase decision only after you've read the survey report.

Consider the advantage of getting major machinery or parts overhauled or replaced based on a reduction in price.

Excellent first post William, and welcome to YF. I'd like to add or expand on just a couple of things.
1) Definitely think hard about used vs, new. I always recommend pre-owned. For starter look at the post from the fellow in Redwood City yesterday with the Carver. Wish I could say he's the exception rather than the rule, but I can't. The first owner gets to deal with the new boat bugs. Even if things are covered under warranty you could still lose a season or two dealing with them plus he expense of running the boat in for service (how many hours of running each way at how many gph, etc.). The first owner also gets to pay for the equipment (GPS, radar, autopilot, and the smaller items like anchors, spotlights, loudhailers anchor windless, etc which aren't cheap). Then at the use these boats get. On average 100 to 200 hours per year. A good diesel motor will last thousands of hours before rebuild and can be rebuilt many times. (Gas engines not so much, but they're also much cheaper.)

2) Never fall in love with a boat until you are married to it, much like a lady.

3) Determine how you intend to use the boat before shopping. We all have dreams, but buy based on reality. William is correct that under 35' you should stay away from diesels UNLESS you intend to do serious cruising such as what we're doing now with the Great Loop. If your intention is lunch runs, going out for the day with the family, etc. stick to gas. Over about 38' though go diesel. You'll have a hard time reselling a gas boat in that range.

Hi William and welcome to YF. Very good post. This question is primarily directed to NYCAP123 and Capt J...Neither one of you have any desire to live aboard, I would think that with your knowledge base, that it would be a no Brain-er! Although many years ago...a buddy of mine offered me a job on one of his offshore work boats as a chef, and I turned him down. My reason was that I didn't want to lose my love of being on the Ocean because it entailed "work". Am I close to your rationale? Also NYCAP123, you said "Never fall in love with a boat unless you are married to it, much like a lady". I can understand falling in love with a boat...but it's not much of a marriage...yes you do get a great amount of pleasure from her...but other than that...it's pretty much a one way relationship. She want's/needs something you shell out for it....no questions asked. But I go back to the old saying I heard many years ago, you can't rationalize buying a boat, plane, motor home etc. You just have to want it. Is it possible that most people who buy boats aren't educated enough to anticipate the costs associated with it, and realize that it's more trouble than it's worth? That could actually explain a lot.

I think you very much answered your own question on all counts. How many people have you known who have fallen in love (lust) fast, jumped into marriage and then found out they really should have rented instead (boats and spouses)?

I'm currently living on a 56' Hatteras about 2 weeks out of every 5 or so. After about 10 days the thrill is gone and I can't wait to get home to where there's seldom a more pressing job than my lawn needing to be mowed, my car and bike are garaged and I can shop for provisions about every 3 weeks because I have room to stock that much and more. Also to my neighbors whom I've known for years. I can open the back door and let my dogs out in the enclosed yard and i don't have to worry about my cats falling in the bay. And then there's my reliable source of air conditioning and heat.

Hi Neo,

I'm in the same camp as NYCAP, I like to stay on board for 10 days and then I'm ready to get home. I can't count how many times I've had to get out of bed at night to adjust a fender that's making noise, lines, reset shorepower, fix a bilge pump, investigate a strange noise, or whatever. I also really appreciate a shower I can comfortably fit into and having room around me. The living on a yacht gets cramped pretty quickly and you give up a lot. Headroom is another consideration. Having to play with sewage and pump out the holding tank once or twice a week is also a pita. The other deal is the inconvenience of getting groceries and stuff from the car all of the way into the refrigerator and little things like that. To me, it's nice for a vacation, but it's not anything that would entice me to want to live on a yacht long term. Kind of like, given the choice, would you rather live on an RV that's parked on the same lot/pad 355 days a year, or would you rather have a nice house there to live in.

When I did the Great Loop, I lived on the boat for 2 months straight on the way up and a month straight on the way down. The boat was a 75' Hatteras MY and setup about as best as you could to do that trip. The owner let me use the master stateroom for the trip (it was a delivery). We had a full size built in propane BBQ, satellite tv, internet, full galley, and it still was sort of like camping.....and it still got small after a while.

You ran the Great Loop as a delivery?

Yeah Cap, been meaning to ask. Did you come through the St. Lawrence? or else you must have done some serious stripping to make the Erie Canal and the bridge in Chicago. Also finding dockage must have been interesting, especially the electric.

Yes it was a straight delivery. I tried to get the owner and his wife on board, even for the Erie canal or something like that, but no such luck.....why I don't know.....I ran the boat for almost a decade and would deliver it to various places and then the owner would run the boat himself with his large family. Sometimes I ran it with guests of his, but never with him or his family on board. I ran the boat to Chicago, left it there for the summer for the owner who lives in Chicago, then flew in and left Chicago October 15th for Fort Lauderdale. We did 1000 rpms- 10.3 knots at 13 gph (15 with generator) 95% of the time (or slower if we had to). In 5300 NM I burned 7500 gallons which included anchoring 3 out of 4 nights due to our size and running a gen 24/7.

We took the Erie Canal. The boat was a 1988 65' Hatteras MY with a 10' cockpit extension. It was actually easy to get it down in height. The radar arch was already hinged. We lowered that and supported it with 2 rubbermaid adjustable sawhorses, we then unbolted the mast heads 4 bolts and turned it 45-60 degrees (because the radar support then stuck up too high) and secured that on a rubbermaid type square adjustable table about 3'x3' (I think it was a table saw extender or something like that from H.D.). Then we just removed the Bimini top and folded the supports down. Windshield height was 18'6". We got it totally stripped down in about 3 hours and put back up in about 3hrs. Second time around it took half that time. You could also run it from the FB if you didn't mind the sun. BUT, we lost Sat tv, and use of the built in BBQ grill while it was down so we were in a big hurry to get it back up......We took it down in Troy, raised it in Oswego, NY. Then we took it down in Chicago, and raised it in this marina in ILLinois right outside of the canal on the Mississippi.