Hi!

I would love some advice and help on a longterm goal I have. I have been working in Sumatra for the last few seasons on surf charter boats, I've met some amazing people out there, with their own boats, surfing around remote islands - and I want that lifestyle one day. I would love to know where to begin. In my head, I put my head down and save a lot of money in the next few years (I'm guessing over $100K) and then go over to Phuket and buy a boat. I want a small catamaran. I have no proper sailing experience - I have seen sailing courses around there so I'm guessing this would be the best place to start. My goal is to sail down the west coast of Aceh and get down to the Banyak Islands, perhaps even the Mentawais one day. I want to be on the ocean for most of the year. I have a few questions. Are there any websites to look at for second hand catamarans in S.E. Asia? I am right in one of those sailing schools as a good place to learn? Am I completely out of my mind thinking that sailing down Sumatra is a good idea with little experience? I have friends that are doing this currently and they are in the Mediterranean doing 6 months at a time then coming back to Oz? What are the general rules when it comes to checking in and out of ports and how long can you stay at sea for? I'm guessing Indonesian harbour masters are fairly hard to deal with. What would be an ideal cat to start with? How much should I spend? I'm sorry for the vagueness of my post, I just saw the response to another rookies post and the forum members were so helpful in their comments. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would be so stoked. Thank you.

http://www.schionningdesigns.com.au/brokerage
Puddy tat 80K
strip plank your own out of western red cedar .plenty of designs around
another is the the old traditional Warrham ply and you can make on in a normal house yard and trans port the two hulls to the water lash the cross beams with spectra , raise the mast and rigging and you have a good cheap cat there usually cheap on the market second hand might need a little TCL but there honest but don't point to well. But who wants to point to well when your cruising
Good luck what ever you do. follow your dreams old age comes up very quick

You might even find a Wharram builder in Asia they be a good cruiser and very practical for any repairs you would need to do in isolated areas
www.google.com.au/search?q=Wharram+cats&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=58-TVKC-B8OhmQWo-IJA&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=2560&bih=939

Charriot said..
Hi Alex, Great ideas. where you wont a start, just too messy.
....how long can you stay at see......as long as fresh water last or
I met a guy in FNQ, on $10k boat! he left Holland 6 years ago.
.....saling experience, can you read a map? good get GPS plotter witch charts
hoist the sails, too windy-drop the sails and start the engine.
here is good start, if you have guts to start of course

Thanks Charriot. I've got the guts. I just need to put my head down for a couple of years so i can make it happen.

From what I've seen of cruising people that venture into Indonesian waters they have had no more problems with Indonesian harbour masters than with any other harbour master. The trick is to be polite and courteous at all times, have all your paper work up to date in triplicate (at least) with lots of rubber stampings on it, they all love officialdom.

Depending on where you are thinkging of venturing it may pay to keep an eye on this web site for their weekly around the world update on piracy ...

http://www.oni.navy.mil/Intelligence_Community/piracy.htm

Catamarans in SE Asia are usually very expensive and few and far between and trimarans even more so.

Some of the local used boat dealers in the area are :-

In Phuket

www.leemarine.com/

In Langkawi

www.langkawiboatsalesandservices.com/en/
yachtbroker-charters.com/
pippenmarine.com/

Singapore

www.simpsonmarine.com/en/