I am considering a new (to me) boat for my retirement!

How does a used 32-36' SV sound?

Is this something my wife and I can live aboard if need be for an extended
period of time?

How much money USD should I expect to spend?

does anyone have any brand/age recommendations?

Fredo

Fredo,

One can live aboard for extended periods on almost any boat with a cabin.
The question is how much room do you require to live the way you want?

Are you prepared to get rid of virtually everything you have except some
limited wardrobe items or to place them in storage?

Do you want to do all of your laundry at the nearest coin wash facility?

Are you going to want reliable and efficient heat and air conditioning?

Are you and/or spouse prepared to cook meals using the very limited space
and appliances typical of a smallish boat?

For a time my wife and I very seriously considered living aboard. This was
25 years ago so our conclusions are probably out dated. However after a lot
of thought, boat show visits, literature study, and talking to folks living
aboard we concluded that the smallest vessel we would want to live on was a
42 footer. Specifically a Kady Krogen Pilothouse 42 with double sleeping
cabins and a single diesel with a diesel generator. YMMV, but a 32 to 36 SV
would get very old very fast for us.

As to how much you will have to spend, that depends entirely upon the boat
and lifestyle you chose. Slip rent is a major factor. Add on insurance and
maintenance. Will you be cruising? Short term slip rent is much higher as
is insurance. With an SV sails will require replacement and repair now and
again. With an MV fuel and extra maintenance is costly. IMO, living aboard
in some reasonable level of comfort is not a money saving proposition.
Unless, you want to be a boat bum who always anchors out, fishes for food,
does odd jobs around the marina, cuts his own hair.... you get the picture.

Butch
"FREDO" wrote in message
.. .
I am considering a new (to me) boat for my retirement!

How does a used 32-36' SV sound?

Is this something my wife and I can live aboard if need be for an extended
period of time?

How much money USD should I expect to spend?

does anyone have any brand/age recommendations?

Fredo

Fredo, you don't say whether or not you have any previous sailing
experience. You can certainly learn the necessary skills on a boat in
that size range but if you don't have any previous experience sailing,
then you are not in the best position to evaluate the decision of sail
vs power. The vast majority of people living aboard and cruising in
sailboats spend very little time actually sailing. It's a fact. A
small trawler in the mid 30 ft range will have vastly more liveaboard
space than a sailboat, and be a great deal more comfortable. You will
also end up with better fuel and water tank capacity and room for a
decent generator, all of which are generally lacking on sailboats of
that size.

That said, there are plenty of people living and cruising on mid 30s
sailboats. One of the better ones for that purpose in my opinion is
the Pearson 365 but there are others as well. Look for a heavy
displacement boat with good tankage, a solid diesel engine, and
generous accomodations/storage space. Shallow draft (less than 5 feet)
is a plus also. Plan on spending at least 20 to 40% beyond the
purchase price for equipment upgrades. Typical improvements would be
such things as a high capacity alternator, spray dodger and full
bimini, solar panels, wind generator, high capacity battery bank,
upgraded refrigeration, inverter/charger, RADAR/Chart Plotter, auto
pilot, sails, etc.

"FREDO" wrote in message
.. .
I am considering a new (to me) boat for my retirement!

How does a used 32-36' SV sound?

Is this something my wife and I can live aboard if need be for an extended
period of time?

How much money USD should I expect to spend?

does anyone have any brand/age recommendations?

Fredo



If this is to be a live aboard I would suggest something much bigger. We
would spend up to a week aboard our 32 footer and although it was fun we
were glad to get back home after that. I could not imagine living aboard a
32~36 foot boat.

If you want to live aboard a sailing boat I suggest you look at cats. They
have a lot more living space that a traditional sail boat.

"FREDO" wrote in message
.. .
I am considering a new (to me) boat for my retirement!

How does a used 32-36' SV sound?

Is this something my wife and I can live aboard if need be for an extended
period of time?

How much money USD should I expect to spend?

does anyone have any brand/age recommendations?

Fredo