What 50 to 60 Fly would be suitable for the Caribbean

I second Older Boater; what you think you want changes the more you do-know-see. My 10 year ideal concept of a 44’ trawler to do the loop and Bahamas morphed into a 54’ Flybridge Motoryacht. I realized I could have the economy of a trawler if I kept to 8kts- but I could go 24kts if I want to beat weather or Cross Gulf Stream to get somewhere. I have 700 gals so with 20% reserve my 550ish useable fuel can get me 500nm@10kts or 350nm @ 20kts. Good range, but not awesome range.

I was looking at Krogen Express and Fleming’s- both awesome- but stumbled onto a well kept 2007 Pama 540 with twin Volvo D-9s. Built in China - sort of like the Genesis car brand- high fit and finish for an Asian maker. Actually I looked at 2 of them; one was awful- not kept well— then saw ours. Couldn’t believe it was the same brand and age.

For us she has been awesome; great layouts, engine room and lazzarette, teak & holly, and a great Flybridge, davit and 13’ tender. The bimini on the Flybridge is great shade and rain protection, and I bought 2 blow up kayaks that we can use for sight seeing.

we have 210 gal water tank so our 2 heads with showers are great: maybe more pressure than home. Maybe not Multiple 10 mins due to my heater capacity, but plenty long. We just refill &Marina and I also have a water maker. Laundry on board is awesome, and the grill on FB among with my convection microwave and 3 burner range - we can seriously cook. And the ladies can get seriously foxily dressed up for a night on the town. The only thing I wish I had were stabilizers; the Side power fins or a sea keeper; I could retrofit but don’t want to spend that serious money. Maybe put that in your list

You’ll probably never regret getting a bigger boat than you thought you wanted.

We have 2 queen staterooms and converted an office into a 3rd bunkroom where we sleep if we have 2 couples with us, or where my Cap’n sleeps when I bring him to someplace new. He always came rhe first 6 months , and now I take him the first time we go anywhere tricky, Abacos or to/thru the Keys/Naples/ Okochobee waterway.

your TdF France metaphor is apt; maybe more so than you can appreciate. Some days unfortunately the trip is like climbing Alpe d’Huez or Col du Colubier.... some days feel like a time trial... some windy/rainy nights are like the Paris-Roubaix cobblestones—- after 2 years of cruising I find my guests like being there more than getting there.

Not sure where you live but guessing Midwest; so seeing and stepping onto a boat is way more important than reading and researching. PM me if and when you get to South Fla.

Finding a 50-60’ boat to charter will be hard; most are much bigger. You can find big motor cats to charter in the BVIs ...

As a Midwesterner I (and my guests)love cruising experience from FLL to Palm Beach or FLL down to Miami without having to worry about crossing oceans or international flights.... the we reached out to Bimini, Abacos, Keys....

This summer we had planned to head up East Coast but COVID stopped the trip: we’ll do it when things tx settle down- and luckily the Illinois River work should be done so I can make progress on the loop: my wife will join me in dun cities and I’ll have pals to be my “peloton” until we meet up.

it’s a good goal and time well spent. Good luck in your search.

Tiara makes a 53' flybridge and it has decent performance and range, comes in both shafts and IPS. Sabre has fans but in flybridge they skip from 48' to 66'. The 66 is worth considering. Hunt (Hinckley) has a 63' flybridge. Fleming 58 would be a great boat if you could get them to install a bit bigger engine. Unfortunately cruise with 800 MAN's is only 16 knots or so. (WOT 20).

That's a ridiculous thing to say. With a watermaker and the right stateroom, the owner should be as comfortable in his/her stateroom and his/her shower. NO 2 minute showers or any of that, or CAMPING, we're talking about yachting here. Given your new objective, the answer is easy. A Hatteras 54' GT or equivalent sized Viking SF. 2 generators can be had in the 54' GT as well as water maker, plenty of freezer space, seakeeping, speed, range and anything else you're looking for.

The Sunseeker 65'/66' is a great boat and would serve your purpose very well, but outside of the size limitation......

Nobody has written about the Riviera in that range. Any reason why??

Riviera 54 fly looks like a solid contender for Michael’s needs

Why? Just asking why that number is so important to you?

It's a possible. Didn't cross my mind as I'm less familiar, then some aspects I don't like, such as the lack of lower helm and the lack of outdoors space due to the enclosed bridge, but OP may be fine with those.

Olderboater, the riviera 54 or 57 fly offers a lot more space than SF and a beautifull aft kitchen with access to the aft deck. I do not know about blue water capacities but some other participants probably can comment. After reading some of the boat tests, it seems these boats have the range for island hopping. I would love to have Cap.J comments .

Riviera and Maritimo both would serve the OP's needs, they're more bluewater than some of the motor yachts mentioned. They're fairly good seaboats as is the Tiara, none of those would be nearly as good a sea boat as a Hatteras or Viking SF. Think of Riviera as the Ocean Yachts of the SF market......+/-, they'll get the job done, but aren't a Hatteras or Viking in ride or overall strength.

OP, I get what you're saying about wanting to go to hotels, but many times you'll find yourself getting tired of schleping your things to and from foreign hotel rooms......Find a yacht with a really nice master and then if you still feel like hotels, then stay in a hotel.......

Horizon Marine in Alexandria Bay NY (1000islands) is a Riviera Dealer.
There's a few here including Riv's other brand Belize.

Additional well-fortified thought is probably useful. Although your conception of life on a boat isn't all all like ours. We don't do 2 minute showers, etc... and enjoy our own cooking... we always have our own stuff with us...

Anyway, with this post in mind, some alternatives:

Bag the 55' big boat idea; replace it with a 45-50' express boat, hop from island to island, get off, stay in a hotel, have somebody else to the boat work for you. Options might be things like the Sabre, Tiara, Hinckley, Cantius models, etc.

Bag the 55' big boat idea; fly from island to island.

Bag the 55' big boat idea; charter boat hops from island to island.

Bag the 55' boat idea; combine the last two options somehow to get from island t island.

My impression -- not meant to be slighting, in any way -- is that you're not actually after being boaters... instead just travelers. No need for a boat (and all the work it entails) to do that...

-Chris

Many boats are in the 55 to 60 foot range in the 1000 islands. In fact , a the Ivy Lea marina a third of the boats are in that range.Neptinus,Cantius,Sea rays,Carvers,Meridians are all 50 to 60 feet loa.Lake Ontario as well as the other Great Lakes can be pretty rough. Some of these boats have 4 to 4.6 draft and can navigate anywhere in our corner of the lake. Some our friends did the Trent in a Neptinus 60 with no problem at all. Aft kitchen and a lot of space to relax. First class all the way. Sleep on the boat every nite. Went out for diner 1 or2 times a week. With a bigger boat more place to live,less confined.