Interested In Boating Classes & Other Questions

I am replying to this while laying in bed on my 60' Searay Ill try to answer a couple of your questions.

This was my second boat with the first being a 40' Searay. That boat was absolutely too small for longer days in the ocean. You mention 45 miles away to gamble. I personally would not go with anything smaller than 60'. The 40' no one could be downstairs because it was too rough a ride. With 60' the wife and kid lay down and watch movies when we are on a longer trip.

I too Loved the Von Dutch. But be warned, the ONLY thing that boat is good for is cruising the harbor with a bunch of hot chicks laying out in bikinis. Ive been on a Van a couple of times. If you tried going 45 miles away, everyone would get wet as ####. The sun BEATS down on you all day. Thats cool cruising the harbor with a bunch of chicks, but 4-8 hour boat trips in open water would suck real quick. You want to be able to take the party from outside straight to the inside when it gets to hot or cold.

Seriously, Von Dutch is cool for a really short time, then your over it. By short, I mean if you get it on Friday, your regretting it by Sunday LOL.

Maybe consider something like a Cruiser type boat. Something like a 60' Sunseeker. Being you like the Van Dutch, maynbe look at a newer 60' AZIMUT. Those are very sleek and modern. Trust me, you will want a boat you can party and have fun all day on, then go inside and relax when the sun goes down.

As for learning. I never had a boat and everyone said I was crazy for buying a 40' to start with. As owner operator, no licence was required here in CA. I did hire a Captain to take me out and teach me for the afternoon. HeSchooled me on the systems of the boat. Showed me how to pump out waste at sea. Within a couple hours I was comfortably docking and maneuvering with dual engines (No Bow thrusters). I then had the captain take me to Catalina Island. About a 4 hour round trip. During this time he taught me basic navigation, reading charts, operating radio, and how to moore the boat. On the way back it was dark so I got to learn using the Radar. After this I was good to go and have been on my own every since. When I got the 60', I hired the same guy for a few hours of coaching as the bigger boat was a bit intimidating. Turns out the bigger one is eave easier to maneuver, Especially with the bow thrust-er. He got me up to speed and sent me on my way. SInce then I have been up and down the coast and out to the Island many time. This boat is one of the best things I have ever bought. We are constantly sharing it with friends and family. Being together with them all on the water really is hard to beat. I absolutely love boating.... In a 60' that is I certainly didnt like it near as much in the 40' as we where always limited to the amount of people that could come and the distance we could go. I think a 72 footer would be absolutely perfect. Any bigger you would need a full crew. At least with the 60', I can maneuver it while my Wife or Friend ties us up. Any bigger, we would need a couple deck hands.

Something to mention too is that The newer models have joystick control which makes it so a 10 year old can drive it.

As far as prices go, I would NEVER buy brand new. Boats are not like cars, They depreciate much much worse. ReSell can be a pain if you buy the wrong boat too. The first owner is going to take a HARD hit. You haven't seen depreciation until you drop 2 mil on a new boat and sell it for 1.2m 2 years later LOL. Anyway, Thats just me, I would look for at least 1 year old


Expect about 10% in boat cost for annual maintenance and upkeep. Really depends on what you pay for docking as thats probably the largest expense. I pay $3500 month for my slip here in CA to give you an idea.

Maybe you should just book a trip and come to CA. I can take you out on my Cruiser and give you a quick 101 to get you going. We could then go 2 docks over and take the Van Dutch out for a test drive I am friends with one of the main guys. They have a Van Dutch dealership here. I think they just got a 55' in this week. No Joke Feel free to PM me your number and I will reach out to you and answer your questions a little more in depth if that helps.


Patrick



This pic is from today, Took a quick trip to Long Beach (About an Hour away) for Lunch :

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My 2 cents wroth, although I'm a yachtie...

1) No idea where you learn in the State, but a quick goolge search shows you need a lic in Florida; all yours online for about $20! I doubt this would teach you much other than don't drink and drive and wear a lifejacket. In the absence of a formal course structure, Patrick's approach is a good one as it can be tailored to what you want to do / where you want to go. If you want a serious course, search Royal Yachting Association and look at their syllabus. Passing a course endorsed by them is generally recognised world over for chartering.
2) Van Dutch, nice boat, but as Patrick says its for popping from Monaco to Portofino with some bikinis onboard; or as a tender to a superyacht. They are planning boats, so unless you are happy at 20 plus Knots for 3 hours, then probably not for what you want to do (and even in flat calm waters that is going to be an endurance test all round!!). A semi-displacement like Patrick's would be much more suited; but you wont get the speed.
2a) Are they safe for a 48 mile offshore trip? Something to ask the manufacture. Are they coded for this area? Coding is a combination of design/build standards and equipment you carry. You will want to investigate this as it will affect any insurance policy as will probably your qualifications/experience.
3) Running costs are generally taken as 10% of purchase price, that's before you leave the dock.
4) No harm in acting the newbie, just don't take the first offer, and like everything do your homework. The more people you speak to the more you will know. And one of the things you will very quickly find out is if you thought there were an abundance of cowboys and idiots in the car market, just wait until you get into boating!!!!
5) New boats, as Patrick says, but if you are set on one, buy it at a boat show in the winter; good offers because of the time of year and the show boat is always reduced. For used boats, all depends on how motivated the seller is. Motivation generally goes up in the fall, as they wont be using it over the winter, and even more so late winter as next years mooring fees loom

Best advise I could give...charter a few different boats before you take the plunge (pardon the pun).

Good luck, and post pics!!!

 

PAtrick
I owned a boat just like yours for 9 years truly a great boat.....we had ours up and down the coast and all through the chesapeake bay. Loved the boat sold it about 2 years ago we bought it new and sold it for about 50% of what we paid ...
I would agree the operating costs BEFORE leaving the dock are about 10% of the cost

 

Pro tip. Stay away from the Van Dutch.

I'm in Ft Lauderdale. I go to Bimini and the Bahamas all the time. I did 1200NM and 10 or 12 trips across the Gulf Stream last year. I'm crossing next week. Bimini is 45NM from Miami and crossing is weather dependent. I've crossed many times in a 24' boat. June-October you'll be able to cross 80% of the time in a 30' boat. Do you want to stay on the boat? It gets complicated in a hurry. If you like it, you'll want to go places other than Bimini. Many of the new boats are easy to operate so you can come up the learning curve pretty quickly. Lots of expense. Fuel ends up being one of the least expensive things but is the one most are concerned about on the front end.

 

Not in any way a expert and have owned 6 boats, If I could make one recommendation that is, "Buy your last boat first"

 

How far north and south did you go on the East coast?