Hello everyone We are Miriam and Tim.
This journey started with a simple question. What do you want to do for the rest of your life? A simple question that led me down a path to where I am today. A Boat Owner.
Why a Boat you may ask?
Both of us love to travel; I have traveled quite a bit for work and was tired of dragging my bag to and from a hotel and always having to fly everywhere, stay in hotels and eat out all the time. It may sound glamorous to some. But after a while for us it becomes too routine.
For us to enjoy our style of travel this is not what we had in mind.
A boat allows us to:
· Travel at our own pace (not tied to a flight schedule or checkout time)
· Spend time in more non touristy areas
· Get more involved with natives we visit outside of the big cities
· Make new connections with other like-minded people
· Be closer to our natural surroundings
This led us to decide to travel by boat.
My sailing experience started when I was 6 years old, learning how to sail an 8ft sailing dinghy. I sailed this for 4 years and once in while sailed a 16ft sloop. Eventually my family moved on board a 56ft Sailboat and lived on her for 2 years. Then right after I graduated from High school. I found and was able to join a crew and sail to Hawaii from San Francisco (2350 nm). I recently just completed this same trip in 2023. Miriam has had very little experience of sailing and living aboard a boat.
How did we buy the boat?
We bought our boat via a mutual connection and the sale was a private sale. There are pluses and minuses to this kind of sale which I will elaborate on that a little later.
We had some criteria about the boat we wanted to buy:
· Boat Location
· Price
· Will it need repairs?
· How long can we stay if in a foreign country?
· Sailing conditions where the boat is located
· Boatyards nearby if repairs are needed.
· Chandlery nearby for parts
Charting our Course:
The process started over 3 years ago with searches on websites such as www.yachtworld.com (Usually boats for sale here are with a broker) and www.boats.com. (Private and Brokered sales)
I started looking at the biggest boat manufactures models of boats and began learning about features that are available, such as:
· Bimini dodgers
· Bimini covers
· Electric winches
· Autopilot
· Water makers
· Generators
· Battery bank large enough to support us for a few days
· Location of the water and fuel tanks stored (This turned out to be a key point for us)
· How long can we stay out before we have to provision
· Safe cockpit design
· Ease of handling sails with 2 people
· Good handling in different sea states
· Cost
Over time and discussion with Miriam we narrowed down our desired criteria and importance of what we wanted.
· Hard dodger (protection from wind and waves).
· Bimini cover protection with Side Panels
· Electric winches
· Autopilot
· Water maker
· Generator
· Sufficient battery bank
· Ample storage
Mistakes made:
· Communication and misunderstanding of what the seller was really asking for. I think this is where a broker earns their money the most keeping both parties clear of what is expected. I was able to get this corrected and clarified. But there was a lot of stress on my part to get back on track.
Lessons Learned:
The Purchase process and private sale were very new to me. The private sale was a new process to learn. It is very true the devil is in the details. Even more so the quality of communication or understanding of how the sale is expected to proceed is very important. The lack of a broker to smooth out the details of any misunderstanding or miscommunication was also missing.
· Through a referral I was able to find an agent who was able to file all the required documentation for the purchase and USCG registration of the boat.
· I had a referral from the Amel boat forum for an Amel Super Maramu 2000.
All of the research methods I used:
· You Tube channels
· Forums for the make and model of a boat I was considering. It was helpful to hear the opinions and experience of other Amel owners
· Checked availability of parts around the world
· Visited yacht clubs in our area, walked the docks and looked at different boats.
· Connected with a yacht broker to see availability in the area and refine our search criteria. We stepped on board 10-12 boats one of them being the same make and model we finally bought. This helped to encourage us that we were on the right track.
Reluctant Partner to willing sailor:
This is an area for future owners that needs to be done with great care. Remember, we are asking our significant other to join us on an adventure that can test the best of relationships. I approached this part of the journey very seriously and carefully. Since I have previous experience in sailing and living aboard, I knew I had to ease Miriam into this type of lifestyle. It all started with a sailing course with instructors I knew she could trust. This where www.cruisersacademy.com (a great school for all levels of sailing experience) was able to provide Miriam with an introduction and formal lessons on sailing. Plus, it was on Lake Tahoe where the weather changes throughout the day and provides a great learning environment.
The next step was to get on board a similar boat we were considering purchasing. Fortunately, we were able to find a program that provides an Orientation Cruise, where we spent 1 week on the boat sailing and learning her systems and operations. This gave Miriam a lot more confidence that she could live aboard this type of boat this made and was the right choice.
Finding the right boat:
I made a spreadsheet of boats I was considering. As I did my research, I would delete boats that did not meet our criteria. I considered of the number of cabins, heads, additional features such as solar panels, sail management easily handled by 2 people, Solar arch, and possible repair costs.
Boat Inspection:
After finding a location with 3 possible boats, I booked my ticket to Grenada for inspection and survey.
The surveyor who had some experience with this was hired to find major issues with the boat under sea trial and haul out.
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