Ahoy!
I am a fairly experienced sailor owning a 33 ft Catalina 320 docked in San Francisco Bay. I live by myself in a 750 square foot 1 bedroom apartment. Selling my beloved Catalina, and moving from my rented apartment, I am now seriously considering buying a larger boat and become a liveabord! Unfortunately sailboats are out of the picture for liveaboards for me, I considered living aboard my sailboat but it is way too small for me, I really need a lot more space (even for a single person) to comfortably stay and work. My biggest considerations are:
I will probably continue sailing with a club so the main purpose of the boat will be a liveaboard. I mean I am not planning to log a lot of hours taking the boat around, probably day trips in the bay once in a while.
I am reasonably experienced with sailboats but nearly clueless when it comes to motor boats. I single-hand a lot on my sailboat and I can see myself doing the same on my new boat if make that switchover. I have never been a racer and speed has never been a major concern for me. Coming from sailing world speeds and not being worried about tacks and jibes, I think any speed around 10 knots will be more than enough for me
What kind of recommendations would you have both in terms of characteristics of the boat and brands and other things? What should be the key things that I pay attention to? My initial research so far got me to trawlers, hence my post in this forum.
As an example, I have found a 55 Symbol Yachtfisher and a 56 Ocean that really look nice from their photos. They are both from early 90s. But I haven't physically seen them. I don't know how they compare in terms of brand value, perceived quality or market acceptance, I am really in the very early stages of my research. Once again, the interior and liveaboard conditions are really important for me. And if it doesn't burn hundreds of dollars an hour, it will be good as I want to move it once in a while, even in shorter distances. And right now, I move around only with the sound of wind!
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I am a fairly experienced sailor owning a 33 ft Catalina 320 docked in San Francisco Bay. I live by myself in a 750 square foot 1 bedroom apartment. Selling my beloved Catalina, and moving from my rented apartment, I am now seriously considering buying a larger boat and become a liveabord! Unfortunately sailboats are out of the picture for liveaboards for me, I considered living aboard my sailboat but it is way too small for me, I really need a lot more space (even for a single person) to comfortably stay and work. My biggest considerations are:
- A spacious and bright saloon/living area which I can also use as an office (I work from home most of the time, doing IT work). So I need to move my large wooden desk with all my electronics on it (several monitors, phones, docked computers etc).
- A comfortable and large master stateroom. A big bonus if it can get some light in.
- A comfortable shower with enough water pressure, hot water etc (this has been the major issue in all the boats I have been in, they are good for a few days but not a full time liveaboard. I like my long showers and I don't like going to the marinas or yacht club for taking shower)
- Washing machine/dryer onboard.
- Owning a sailboat, I well know that boats are not investments and they do deprecate in value. I accept it. But the more it can retain its value over time, obviously the better it will be for me. I would hope to be able to sell it for a reasonable price if I decide to move on to something else.
I will probably continue sailing with a club so the main purpose of the boat will be a liveaboard. I mean I am not planning to log a lot of hours taking the boat around, probably day trips in the bay once in a while.
I am reasonably experienced with sailboats but nearly clueless when it comes to motor boats. I single-hand a lot on my sailboat and I can see myself doing the same on my new boat if make that switchover. I have never been a racer and speed has never been a major concern for me. Coming from sailing world speeds and not being worried about tacks and jibes, I think any speed around 10 knots will be more than enough for me
What kind of recommendations would you have both in terms of characteristics of the boat and brands and other things? What should be the key things that I pay attention to? My initial research so far got me to trawlers, hence my post in this forum.
As an example, I have found a 55 Symbol Yachtfisher and a 56 Ocean that really look nice from their photos. They are both from early 90s. But I haven't physically seen them. I don't know how they compare in terms of brand value, perceived quality or market acceptance, I am really in the very early stages of my research. Once again, the interior and liveaboard conditions are really important for me. And if it doesn't burn hundreds of dollars an hour, it will be good as I want to move it once in a while, even in shorter distances. And right now, I move around only with the sound of wind!
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!