Lithium batteries, Starlink, big alternators, catamaran, trimaran, or mono hull, serial hybrid, parallel hybrid, endless “review1” videos of multi million dollar boats, which anchor is best…
On and on it goes. How is anyone new to cruising going to sift through all this and actually get out there?
Hi John,
Great advice.
And cruising is one of those skills where one really benefits from respecting the learning curve and working one’s way into cruising greater distances from home and into larger boats. Learn on a small boat where you can jump overboard, stand on the seabed and push yourself off when you run aground. Find local mentors who have been there, done that. And a bit of a fixer-upper allows learning boat repair and maintenance skills where re-doing a botched job and cosmetics matter less.
And have fun.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
All good points…and yes, I have jumped overboard to push the Sea Sprite off a bar I cut to close.
Matt Marsh
September 2, 2025 5:18 pm
Agreed 100%.
Right now, within a half-hour drive of me, there’s a beautiful Northern 29 for $5000 CAD and a well kept C&C 25 for $5800. There’s a Tanzer 7.5 for $3250, including trailer – the thing draws 2’8″ and you can haul it behind any old pickup truck, cutting your annual OpEx by 70% versus a marina-slipped boat. If that’s too dear, how about a Hughes 22, on a trailer, with a 9 hp Evinrude – just $1750.
None of the above are fancy boats. They have practically no “systems” and their maintenance requirements are all things you can do yourself in your spare time. You don’t need an M.Eng in network architecture to make their engine instruments talk to their remote monitoring gateways. You just show up, run through your pre-trip checks, and get underway.
And if you can’t afford the time to own a boat? Rent one. Not all charters are $7000 a week fancy 45-footers. There’s a base near me that’ll give you a professionally maintained, fully equipped, fully checked out Hunter 28 for six days for $2100 CAD (about $1500 American). Another company will accept $375 in exchange for twenty on-water hours in your choice of five small fun boats from 12 to 18 feet, mix-n-match as you like for two full seasons.
I see a lot of people at our Recreational Vessel Courtesy Checks who are taking this approach. They don’t have the cash or the time for a big fancy yacht. But they can toss a cooler and some sleeping bags into a $2000 Alberg 30 whose seller lists it as “need gone just don’t have the time”, and they have just as much fun on their adventure as the guys who spent $200,000 on their Catalina.
Rob Gill
September 2, 2025 6:04 pm
Agree with Matt, chartering is also a viable option which allows options with more space and comfort for those with partners who aren’t “sailors”. We chartered for about five years when the kids were younger and school sports plus dinghy racing restricted our sailing out of the main school holiday.
A spreadsheet I created at the time comparing chartering vs owning a marina based 12 metre cruiser, showed our break even at around 35 charter days per annum. Less days than this and it was better for us to put money into our holiday account and take off to different locations -> no long delivery sails to reach our chosen cruising destination…!
As the kids got older and we had less commitments, we went half shares in a 13 metre yacht for about three years, which was less successful. But I know some folks who made this work fine.
Hi John,
Great advice.
And cruising is one of those skills where one really benefits from respecting the learning curve and working one’s way into cruising greater distances from home and into larger boats. Learn on a small boat where you can jump overboard, stand on the seabed and push yourself off when you run aground. Find local mentors who have been there, done that. And a bit of a fixer-upper allows learning boat repair and maintenance skills where re-doing a botched job and cosmetics matter less.
And have fun.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Hi Dick,
All good points…and yes, I have jumped overboard to push the Sea Sprite off a bar I cut to close.
Agreed 100%.
Right now, within a half-hour drive of me, there’s a beautiful Northern 29 for $5000 CAD and a well kept C&C 25 for $5800. There’s a Tanzer 7.5 for $3250, including trailer – the thing draws 2’8″ and you can haul it behind any old pickup truck, cutting your annual OpEx by 70% versus a marina-slipped boat. If that’s too dear, how about a Hughes 22, on a trailer, with a 9 hp Evinrude – just $1750.
None of the above are fancy boats. They have practically no “systems” and their maintenance requirements are all things you can do yourself in your spare time. You don’t need an M.Eng in network architecture to make their engine instruments talk to their remote monitoring gateways. You just show up, run through your pre-trip checks, and get underway.
And if you can’t afford the time to own a boat? Rent one. Not all charters are $7000 a week fancy 45-footers. There’s a base near me that’ll give you a professionally maintained, fully equipped, fully checked out Hunter 28 for six days for $2100 CAD (about $1500 American). Another company will accept $375 in exchange for twenty on-water hours in your choice of five small fun boats from 12 to 18 feet, mix-n-match as you like for two full seasons.
I see a lot of people at our Recreational Vessel Courtesy Checks who are taking this approach. They don’t have the cash or the time for a big fancy yacht. But they can toss a cooler and some sleeping bags into a $2000 Alberg 30 whose seller lists it as “need gone just don’t have the time”, and they have just as much fun on their adventure as the guys who spent $200,000 on their Catalina.
Agree with Matt, chartering is also a viable option which allows options with more space and comfort for those with partners who aren’t “sailors”. We chartered for about five years when the kids were younger and school sports plus dinghy racing restricted our sailing out of the main school holiday.
A spreadsheet I created at the time comparing chartering vs owning a marina based 12 metre cruiser, showed our break even at around 35 charter days per annum. Less days than this and it was better for us to put money into our holiday account and take off to different locations -> no long delivery sails to reach our chosen cruising destination…!
As the kids got older and we had less commitments, we went half shares in a 13 metre yacht for about three years, which was less successful. But I know some folks who made this work fine.