So.. anyway.... thinking about buying a boat
 

You know because.. we truckers have so damn much time etc hehe.

Seriously ive wanted a sailboat since i was a kid. And someday plan on seeing the world for a year or two. Thing is the only even moderately sane way to own a boat is to store it at home when not in use. But... i want a decent sized sailboat for ocean use. A 35 foot morgan out island in particular. That's wide though like 10'5"

So i have 2 real options. Buy land somewhere on a coast (maybe florida on the intercoastal?) cheap as i can or.. buy a flatbed or lowboy and store it on that. Just what i saved on hauling it from where i bought it would about pay for a cheap flatbed. My thought is buy the trailer, buy the boat and rent a truck for a few days or a week (penske i'm Guessing may rent a tractor for 4-500 + .20 per mile for a week?). Haul it where im storing it then when i want to take it out do the reverse. Just storing a boat that size at a marina would cost $500+ a month plus about that again 2 or 3 times a year for maintenance etc so as i see it it's worth my while to do it my way.. especially when there may be years i dont even get time to sail it. etc etc.

Any of you have experience advice etc on this? The boat can't be smaller.. wouldnt be safe for ocean sailing. With this new job dropping a grand to get my boat in the water shoudlnt be a biggy. I'm just not sure about hauling sailboats mostly and the feasability of this. I guess i could try to rent a truck/trailer for a week. I'm not sure what permits cost either of course. I'm in asheville nc fla is a pretty clear straight shot. Anyone have experience? Critique? Suggestions? I'd ask on a sail forum but honestly those people think if you dont pay $500 for a guy to spray off your boat youre not rich enough to own one.

Question, have you ever tried sailing or is this a whim, get a boat and just go? If you haven't done it before then go get a small dingy(1 and 2 person) and sail that a few times, make sure this is something you'd like to do more. When I was younger I would go out on the Chesapeake Bay a few times in one, it was doable but definitely not safe when winds got up to 20 knots. Personally I think a large catamaran is the way to go BUT, it would not work as well for what your looking at as far as storage. As for getting it trailered in, how do they get it off? Do you back the lowboy into the water like a normal boat trailer or do they have to use a crane? Same way with putting it back on to transport it home. That large dagger board sticking out the bottom would tell me they have to use a crane for it.

The crane launching fee would probably cost a lot, I have no real idea as the biggest I've got is a 15' canoe!
One thing I'd check on first, can you as a private person rent a tractor from Ryder? Don't assume! I think I remember something about that.

Have to plan for hurricane season June-November, storm comes a shore and boats should get out of the water or stored inland, could be costly...
good luck nice dream to have...

Timberwolf

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...and10/0268.jpg
(stagger-stagger wobble)


Yar harr m8… good luck sez aye. To rent those tractors, you have to go under someones authority, because of insurance.

Get a bigger boat, because trust me, it won't be long, and you will want to plunder and pillage, and you'll need the cargo space.

And a few Greek slaves. Buy a motel with a dock, as they will want hometime.

Owning a boat of any size can be expensive. It sounds like a nice dream. It would be great to sail around the world in your own sail boat. Have you considered the type of rigging for the boat? I agree that if you have never sailed before that you may want to start with something small to get a feel of what it is like to operate a sailboat. I think you would most likely need to use crane to load and unload a sailboat of that size. It would be difficult to be able to back a trailer in water deep enough to accommodate the boat that you could safely pull out of the water.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...and10/0268.jpg
(swagger--swagger--squish--) (Hog steps in something)

Gar har harrr, he will only be able to mount 8 pounder cannons.
Them little balls will do, that's for sure, but it's the laughs you hear, when you thrust yer cannons avast.

Better to become a pirate than to be plundered by pirates!

Boat = Break Out Another Thousand.

Of course, so does car, truck, camper, whatever you might find as fun. So, enjoy it.