Retiring On A Boat

Welcome to YF. Sounds like you're at step one of a thousand or ten thousand. Your initial buy amount may be a little low (but not by much), but your monthly looks OK. You'll probably be looking for a trawler style, so start there. Use the search button above and put Live aboard into the key word. You'll find a wealth of info. here's one linh to get you started: http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/popular-yacht-topics/4976-living-yacht.html?highlight=live+aboard
You'll have to live a long time to cover the grounds you've mentioned. I'd put the Pacific to the side for awhile. You don't want to be in the Carib. or Florida Jume to November (heat & hurricane season), and you won't want to be up north in the winter (cold).
You'll want to start getting experience ASAP. Rent a boat, charter a boat, go out on friends, hang around docks & yards. Study charts and read cruising guides.
Most live aboards don't cruise anywhere near as much as they imagined coming in.
Good luck.

Hi,

Welcome to YF.

The answer to this and a number of other questions that you should know the answers to by the time you cast off will be covered by two reasonably simple words.

Voyage Planning.

Amongst your planning for buying 'the ideal boat' you should also plan to take some courses in Navigation, VHF, diesel maintenance and perhaps first aid.
In the UK such courses are run by various nautical schools sanctioned by the RYA, do the USCG run a similar programme?
These are an investment in the safety of yourselves and friends who may visit. They will give you a measure of insight into voyage planning as suggested above and may also introduce you to individuals who can assist and advise more locally.
Do not discount learning to sail, a very good friend's brother retired at 65 7 years ago having never sailed and he's been around the Med on his 42' Bavaria pretty much since.

Dive gear takes up lots of space. BCD's, regulators, tanks, repair kits. Diving is great and I would like to do some diving from my boat but if I were living aboard, I would need to minimize the stuff on board. Might need to enjoy it with mask, fins, snorkel? Splurge and bring the hawaiian sling No tanks.

If you are in shape enough to cycle 22 miles per day, certainly sailing should not be over-exertion ... and ... if I were going to attempt to travel on a pretty tight budget, I would consider a sailboat.

Purchase price can be one of the smaller costs associated with boating. Insurance, maintenance, fuel and storage can be very significant.

Both the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the U.S. Power Squadron teach classes ranging from basic boating to celestial navigation.

For a live aboard/ cruising boat you might also consider catamarans either sail or power. Good economy & stability, plus good space.

I think given the limited knowledge, something like an older grandbanks trawler around 42-46' would be a good choice. Maybe a Hatteras LRC. Learning to navigate, sail and everything else might be a bit much starting out. A trawler should be pretty economical to give you good range for your buck. I would look at something used, and actually shoot for a boat with good mechanicals and in good condition for $200k or less. That way, you'll have plenty of cash cushion in case something large does break, and you can get a good idea of what you like or don't like and could always trade up or sideways if you find your wants are different. I think sailing may be too frustrating if you don't have the mindset of you'll get there when you get there.

A sailing catamaran would also be a good choice, just make sure it has diesels and can cruise at 8 knots under motor. However, then you have to figure maintanence on the sailing gear which can get pricey if you need to replace sails and rigging over time.

Before doing ANY of this I would recommend chartering for a week both a catamaran in the BVI's and maybe a trawler out of Nassau for a week each or some other destination you'd like. That way you can enjoy boating, and see for yourself what it's all about and what each boat has to offer before buying one.

i think the first thing you need to do is decide what you really want to do and where you REALLY want to go.

on your budget, you can easily get a boat large, comfortable and seaworthy to enjoy the East coast from Maine to FL and the Bahamas, possibly the Carribbean. further than that (you mentioned the Pacific) i think you will be pushing a bit especially considering your limited experience.

the above is even more true for power boats than it is for sailboats which are, generally speaking, more seaworthy. again, I said "GENERALLY SPEAKING"

if you're in reasonable physical shape, there is no reason why you coudlnt' handle a sailboat in the 50' range although it will be steeper learning curve than a trawler as you will have to learn the basics (Nav, weather, safety, etc...) plus sailing. doable though, others have.

the reason for my remark about deciding what you really want to do is that the characteristics you need in a boat suite for offshore passages are very different from what may be the best boat if you stay on the east coast and bahamas.

not just bigger, but more redundant systems, better stability and seaworthyness, some which may be not needed for coastal cruising but also take space, make the boat harder to handle, and of course cost more.

for instance, a boat suited for offshore cruising will typically have more draft which may hamper your ability to get the most of coastal cruising on the east coast and bahamas,

You may be better off "settling" for something limited to coastal cruising and in a few years "upgrade" to a boat which could take you further.

Retire on a boat

We have been living aboard since 1992 in the pnw, first suggestion is to analyze your wifes requiremants as to daily living, storage space for clothes and personal items, bathroom size, hot and cold water at all times, private space when required, without due and serious consideration to the above you may just lose your life partner.

I doubt you can be fully comfortable on anything less than say a 58 wide body Hatteras or something longer.

We have cruised Mexico, the Caribbean and Alaska in comfort and relative safety due to having the right "gear", I have been semi retired since 2000 and fully retired since 2006, we are both well into our 60's and believe safety and comfort are the two most important issues, we just completed a 1400 mile trip here with family and friends , a total of 8 of us on the boat and no problems of space and comfort, (70 ft Motor Yacht)

We also are fortunate enough to have a boat in Florida also although much smaller at 43 ft, this is for the winter months only and we fly back and forth for a 5 or 6 weeks at a time so the smaller space is easily tolerated for a short time and as we are "exploring" it is lots of fun.

So, think about long and hard, visit lots of boats and buy only quality brands.

Good luck, it's the best lifestyle ever if done right, misery if done wrong.

I tend to jump. My wife doesn't like to take chances. I pull her forward and she keeps my from making too many foolish mistakes. I've also learned that if she's not happy I certainly won't be. So good for you. One big problem with sailing is lack of creature comforts/space. However, some sailing experience is great no matter which way you end up going. It teaches you how to account for wind, current and draft.

Not exactly sure what you mean by this. Any vessel can be sunk no matter the size or style. Cruisers will generally have a more shallow draft, somewhere between 3' & 5' in the size you refer to, and their props are generally exposed. They're generally made to make upward of 18kt cruise speed. Of course more speed you want the more expensive it will be to cruise. Trawlers will generally cruise under 15kts and often more like 8 or 9 kts. They have a similar draft to the crusers, but often have a keel which helps protect the props in the event of a grounding. They also will often operate one engine which makes cruising much less expensive and gives you more interior space. With the keel they are also less affected by wind when docking however a bowthruster is a big help in docking.