Hello all,

I am a newbie to the forum and this is my first post so I hope my questions haven't been asked a thousand times before (I had a scan through for answers prior to posting).

I own a catamaran a QB2 but that is the limit of my sailing experience.

I have like many people always had a dream of sailing along the coastline of Australia and I have been looking for a larger cat or tri that can be lived aboard to do so. I recently sold up and moved from the big smoke in Melbourne and bought a little place on a canal in Gippsland Vic. After 15 years without a holiday it's a dream come true. I have a little jetty and now all I need is a boat that suits the area, and to gain plenty of sailing experience before venturing out to the coastal areas.

The budget is tight and it seems that all the decent sized reasonably priced boats are up north. I am wondering how I would go about finding someone who is experienced and 'up for an adventure' to help sail a boat back. I have enquired with yacht delivery services and the costs seem a little out of my budget and I am definitely not experienced enough to sail back solo. Does anyone have any suggestions? Obviosly I would be paying for someones airfair and food, etc.

Many thanks for reading,

Regards,
Dean.

If it's a 50 foot beneteau I'm there!

On a 50' Bene I'm already home

Welcome DeanSailing to forum, hope you stay for while with us
few things I like to add
...taking yacht from anywhere to Gipsland is more than
adventure, that's real sailing
...if you with us here, we find a creew,
...that trip gives you enough experience, you'll be
comfortable sailing Gipsland Lakes and practise before
you wander to Bass Strait
....it is buyers market, plenty to choose from
..... your right boat could be anywhere not just in Qld
/ mine was in Spencer Gulf SA, for instance /
.....just a warning, unless you buy a boat locally, there
would be delivery and a Bass Strait at the end
~~~boat must be in fully seaworthy condition ~~~
otherwise, you on your own.
Guess that would be a biggest challenge, don't listen
dealers, the most cheap boats are ready for
full aver haul , not for a trip to Gipsland .

If the boat you like is close by our members,
we can check for you.

Charriot said..
Welcome DeanSailing to forum, hope you stay for while with us
few things I like to add
...taking yacht from anywhere to Gipsland is more than
adventure, that's real sailing
...if you with us here, we find a creew,
...that trip gives you enough experience, you'll be
comfortable sailing Gipsland Lakes and practise before
you wander to Bass Strait
....it is buyers market, plenty to choose from
..... your right boat could be anywhere not just in Qld
/ mine was in Spencer Gulf SA, for instance /
.....just a warning, unless you buy a boat locally, there
would be delivery and a Bass Strait at the end
~~~boat must be in fully seaworthy condition ~~~
otherwise, you on your own.
Guess that would be a biggest challenge, don't listen
dealers, the most cheap boats are ready for
full aver haul , not for a trip to Gipsland .

If the boat you like is close by our members,
we can check for you.

Many thanks for your warm welcome Charriot. I look forward to reading and contributing wherever I can and being part of the forum. Thank you for your advice too... Yes, it's a daunting task trying to find the right boat... one that is seaworthy... My head has been spinning... the right boat for my circumstances according to my inexperienced opinion would be the following...

1.) I have a jetty so I would like to have a boat that is too large to tow otherwise I could have bought a much nicer home one street back with a big shed and lots of land and then towed my boat to the water! (Also the bigger the boat the more manly I will become!) I am allowed a maximum of 36 feet.

2.) I am told by the locals that it's best to buy a boat with a shallow draft because if I want to explore the waterways there are a lot of shallow areas, rivers, estuaries, etc. Also 90 mile beach is all that separates the lakes from the coast so it would be great to beach the boat and as the public jetties get booked out over summer.

3.) Fuel costs... living on an unbelievably tight budget for the last 15 years I don't think I could splash out hundreds of dollars in fuel to have a day trip somewhere so a sail boat would really supplement the fuel costs and off all the things I have done in my life sailing has been the most wonderful experience of them all.

4.) One of the nice things about owning a boat is that you can share it with your friends. I like the idea of a boat that a group of friends can spread themselves out on the hull or trampolines in summer and enjoy the fun of sailing.

5.) Eventually I would love to travel up the coast or perhaps even across to Tasmania so it would be great to have a boat that is sturdy enough to handle that sort of trip and of course would need a toilet, shower, and cooking facilities.

So I feel like I have a challenge ahead of me - If I do find the boat that meets my needs I do have to get it checked out professionally as to it's seaworthiness which is my main concern and then if it's not a local boat, brought back home somehow... also not a huge budget to work with... and of course it would be nice to find something this summer... I'm joining my local sailing club this weekend so I will start my huge learning curve soon.

no worries dean have a look at the 850 seawind they are a great little boat
just a tip when looking for a cat ,underwing clearance is the most important
thing to have in any offshore multihull ,500mm is a bare minimum for anything
over 8 meters long cheers ray

Whoops got the two links the wrong way around - the first is the custom

radar said..
hi dean the tri in south oz looks the goods very similar to the crowther buccaneer 28
but modernised ,if its as good as it sounds and it suits your needs go for it,
looks to me like it would be a great coastal cruiser ,just make sure you can get it
insured ,alot of insurance companys wont insure trimarans unless the are factory
built like corsairs ect

Thanks for the advise Ray I will contact the insurance company and find out if it can be insured - these are the important things that can easily be overlooked by a newbie! I do like the look of the boat and watching the video she certainly doesn't hang around... comparing it to a video I just watched of the crother buccaneer 28 I observed that the stabiliser hull on the custom seemed to penetrate the water a lot more than the Crother hull... someone told me tri's and cats can 'dig in' and topple over forwards - would that be something I should be concerned about?

hey there Dean any progress on your sailboat shopping ,have a look
at the formula one catamarans by simpson they are factory built
with no problems to get them insured and are very affordable
with good accomodation and turn of speed cheers ray