Who knows anything about boats?

[XMan]

I'm totally clueless; if you could point me to a good site that might have any information about boating, that would be great . . . all of this basically evolves from a debate that arose when some friends and I saw "The Perfect Storm" - nothing to do with the main story, arc, but the people who were sailing to Bermuda. How would one go about doing something like that? Can you "park" a yacht at a dock like you would a car? Could you save on a hotel room by living on your boat?

Stupid questions, I know, but this is something that has piqued my interest . . . any help would be appreciated!

 

[Brooks]

It would depend on the yacht club I suppose. I know that some places would have berths at their marina that you could rent on a nightly basis. So yeah, in that circumstance you could stay on your boat. Alternatively if you went to a yacht club u could just anchor your boat slightly off shore for free and if you want to go online use the little boat you're dragging behind What was the debate about?

Brooks

 

[SirFshAlot]

what would it cost for a 3 hour tour?

 

[Capn]

I don't know any webpages, but I think there should be a few out there somewhere. As far as docking charges that's really a "your mileage will vary" type of thing. I'm sure once you get into the bigger ports that docking charges go up. Plus you've got to consider getting pumped out (waste if you're not three miles out) and electrical hookups and all that good stuff. I know when I used to work for the harbormaster in my town docking charges were mad cheap compared to the surrounding towns. It would be about $20 a night for a 30' yacht depending on when you came in and so forth. From what I gathered from people that in fact *did* sail from europe over to the U.S. and things like that, the docking charges we're always a surprise as to how cheap they were. Of course this was nothing really more than just a tie up with no electrical or water hookups. If you don't have much boating experience and are looking into getting into boating, I'd suggest get a good friend to teach you some basics. It's really not that hard, but I've been nearly swamped by too many jerks who think cause they own a 30' powerboat they don't have to pay attention to channel markers and general rules of navigation.

 

[Brooks]

Depends on the boat!

 

[XMan]

Brooks, half of us thought it was pretty damn stupid to be sailing to Bermuda in a 20 foot sailboat . . . the other half (the former Navy guys, of course, LOL) said go-fer-it! Of course there was the guy whining about how he saw typhoons in the sea of Japan that were more impressive than the "perfect storm", but I digress . . .

 

[Scarpozzi]

I agree with Brooks. I'd just anchor the sucker off the coast and invest in personal safety devices(really big guns). Also look into motion detectors for on the top-deck. You'll want to know if you have any intruders....then you can just shoot em and use em for shark bait.

 

[cxim]

most marinas rent dock space. cost from $1.50 to $3.00 per linear ft (boat length) per night.

yep some folks live on their boats. save money ? costs a hell of a lot more to rent a yacht than a hotel room. fuel is a bear. power boats get gallons per mile.

It is indeed possible to motor around in the islands & live on your boat. most folks that do that use a sailboat.

It is not as easy as it sounds. storms are a b#tch living on a boat !

 

[Farbio]

xerox, yes you can dock your boat at a yacht club like a parking lot. it depends on the yacht club as to whether or not u can just pull up and dock for the evening, the nicer ones require reservations, esp if you have a larger vessel. and yes, you can save on hotel fees by sleeping on the vessel, usually slip rates go by the footage of the boat, with electric and water almost always provided, and even cable and phone at the nicer marinas. like brooks said though, you can anchor in a harbor near a marina for free, but no amentities are provided and you're pretty much stuck onboard unless u have a dingy to get to shore and such.

 

[XMan]

So how big of a boat would be sufficient to make a long trip? If you were going to sail from Europe to the United States, which would obviously take a while, how big of a boat would you want? What would be the best kind of vessel to take?

 

[SaxOphoneKid]

Are you referring to a sailboat or Powerboat?
For any long distance cruise, you would be the most computable in most Sailboats or Powerboat over 30ft. You can pick up a mooring at most harbors. If you have a dingy, then you just need to find a sheltered cove to anchor in. Ocean crossings are very complicated and should not be attempted by the novice. You would want to look into classes in your area. For instance the local Jr College here offers Coast Guard Certified Classes covering the in sailing to advanced navigation.

I have several links that might help you on my home system. I'll try to remember to post them here tonight.

 

[XMan]

It's not actually for me, it's for a fictional aspect of my imagination, LOL.

And the boat in question is a 40' catamaran (winner by default since it was the kind I found the most information on so I don't sound like a total moron when describing it, LOL). . . and the sailing trip wouldn't be as far as Europe to America; more like the Caribbean to Baltimore . . .

 

[Brooks]

I guess it depends how crazy u are The atlantic has been crossed in tiny boats!

I think the boat in that movie was longer, like maybe 30 feet? EIther way...I supose a 20 foot boat could be "reasonable" to do it if you're good, but that guy was a damn fool anyway admitting that he never plots courses and just points the compass and follows it. Thats dumb!

Brooks

 

[MotoKamui]

A 40' cat would do fine for a trip like that, assuming you're talking about a cruiser cat, and not a pure racer. I don't know the prevailing winds or currents on the east coast, so I couldn't really speculate on how long it would take though. I personally have taken a sailboat from San Francisco to Maui(Hawaii)... I think it took about 2 weeks. But seeing that I was 3(I had my birthday out there ) at the time, the only thing I REALLY remember is the tuna my dad cought flopping around in the cockpit. The damn thing was bigger than I was.

I haven't seen the Perfect Storm yet, but if the guy was doing near coastal sailing, and knew the area, he COULD get away with dead reconing... if he's going blue water then he's playing it rather risky. Granted, Europe is a pretty big place, and if you don't care WHERE in Europe(or maybe Africa) you ended up, you'd get there... eventually.