Thinking about selling everything and buying a yacht?

You've got a lot of reading to do my friend. The good news is that most of the info and answers can be found right here. Hit the search button above, type live aboard and new boat into the key word box and hit search. The world will open for you. There are both classes and hands on lessons available to teach you things like navigation, operating, maintenance, etc. One thing that concerns me is the money though. Buying and maintaining a Boat can get rid of a couple hundred thou pretty quick.

NYCAP is right. I know a lot of guys that got lost in the "fantasy" of owning a yacht. They could certainly afford to buy it but never factored in maintenance, fuel, and dockage. Leave yourself at LEAST 12% of the purchase price for this but understand it will most likely be more.

Hi,

I have followed this thread with a bot of interest from the initial post.

Once you heave up and steam down the interstate to Florida to move aboard your boat have you given a thought as to how you are going to support it and yourself?

From my understanding of the current economic climate well paid jobs are not a dime a dozen anymore, I hope you are making enquiries as to possible work as well as asking here where and how you can spend the money you have accumulated so far in life.

If you are hoping to buy a boat and spend the rest on some "inexpensive living quarters" you might want to look somewhere other than So Fl.

The problem, k1w1, is precisely that good paying jobs are a dime a dozen; that is to say if you get a dime from working a dozen hours you should consider yourself well payed. Perhaps he means a conex container for living quarters...

However if you don't make it all the way down to Florida cold isn't that bad. Buy yourself an electric mattress pad and a thick comforter, buy some good thick wool socks, perhaps learn to knit, and develop a love for bacon. Incidentally an afghan covered with a bedsheet makes a great combination, don't reverse the two, warmest blanket ever...

I'm always puzzled by these numbers. If I bought a new 60' motor yacht for $2.8 million, I should budget $336,000 per year for docking, fuel and maintenance? $28,000 per month for an owner operated boat seems really high. What am I missing?

Hi,

N844AA - Is there any particular reason you chose the mystery 727 Tail No as your handle?

I'm fascinated by the mystery surrounding this airplane, that's all.

There has been some interesting comments here!
If I can add my .02 here as well. We all would love to do this and we have experience, therefore we assume this individual is going to be moving this boat around.
I would suggest first he find a job in area that would provide use of aliveaboard boat. The one caveat should be that the winter does not drop below 50 degrees. By a suitable boat in that area, spend the next year living on it but not going places since he doesn't have a clue how to run it. During this period learn the boat, take courses, find someone who needs help moving their boat who can teach you a few things.
When the year is up, now you can make decisions about moving the boat if you want to.

I would agree with all of this and I would add: Get an 18-24' center console for that year to get hands on experience with boating and learn the local waters. Take the Power Squadron Safe Boating course first and then start using the outboard. If you aks someone from the Power Squadron will probably go out with him the first time or so. When it's time to start learning the big boat hire a captain for some local cruises. Learn what to do to get it ready to leave the dock and how to dock it from someone with experience.

I was boating literally before I could walk. My parents took me and my playpen sailing on Clark Reservoir near Augusta in their Lightning before I could walk. I was sailing my own boat on the Wilmington River at 10. A succession of bigger or faster boats gave me a 10 year learning curve culminating with a 48' DeFever and a 50 ton Ocean Operators License.

Interesting as it is indeed. I remember when it was first in the news.

Africa is a deep dark continent in more ways than one.

It could have also crashed in the sea and vanished forever.

My theory is it has been re-registered and repainted and was being operated by Hewa Bora Airways and is visible parked pointing southeast at the southwest ramp at Kinshasa International in the Congo using Google Earth imagery dated July 13, 2008. As of Nov 2009 this airplane was no longer seen at Kinshasa.

Of course, I have been wrong before...

Well sir we are speaking not of a 2.8 million dollar yacht but more like a $100,000 boat. I wasn't saying 12% per month but per year. So a boat that costs $100,000 at 12% would be $12,000 I think that is average for a liveaboard that takes his boat out occasionally. Please correct me if you think I am off.

Got it!

I think you're both a bit off. That formula works better when talking about more average boats, but you're not getting away with $12K a year to take care and cruise of a 60 footer. That would just about take care of the dockage. Although some years you'll lay out more or less I'd say $60K would be more like it. Of course as you do more work yourself you'll whittle down that number and the fancier places you stay at you'll increase. Remember things like rebuilding motors won't happen often, but have to be averaged in. Descent Isenglass for a 60 footer could easily run 20K every 8 years or so. Then there's little things like running aground and having to replace running gear (3 to 5K for a prop). Will fuel be $2 or $5 a gallon? Truthfully, I don't know what kind of formula can be used these days with prices from fuel to dockage to mechanics wages going through the roof. I think the rule to follow is that if it's even close don't get involved. Investigate what you'll want to do get as many real numbers as possible, put them together; then double it. If that number doesn't make you gulp, go for it.