Interested in a boat for 2018 TransPac

[CRC1965]

Starting now for 2018 Transpac is not as far in advance as you might think....especially if you have a job. I started about this time for 2016 with Ventus and was amazed at how much there was to do and how quickly time could slip by. It is comforting when you leave to have gone over every inch of the boat in detail....things will still surprise you...but the more you can take apart and put back together the better. The advice about spending lots of time sailing (given already) is excellent but at times hard to accomplish with boat prep. Enjoy the process it is part of the fun.

[jamottep]

Long shot but just thought I'd ask anyway ... don't ask don't know ...

Would anyone be interested in renting me a boat for the next 18 months or so? I don't think it's such a far stretched idea. Look at it this way - and this is just an example: $750/month for 20 months, that's $15,000. The boat would need to be near ready and improvement required would be paid by the owner, or if portable I'd take care of it (e.g. portable VHF). More details to be worked out of course. I would have priority for all SSS races until after the 2018 SHTP.

Yes, I read all the comments about how I need to know the boat inside out and that one way to do this is to prepare a boat from scratch.

Oh well ... merry parties to all ...

[CRC1965]

A completely different option (apologies to the single hand community) would be to get a ride on Hula Girl (J-World) to the Islands.....well setup full on race boat......

[Steevee]

Yes, I read all the comments about how I need to know the boat inside out and that one way to do this is to prepare a boat from scratch.

Buying an already outfitted boat sounds like an awesome idea. It may save you money in the long run...and during the next 18 months you can sail the shit out of it and break stuff and learn the boat. You'll spend more time sailing than working on it, in which experience and seamanship is a bigger factor in a successful race than the boat... 89% of all rescues at sea are due to operator error, fatigue, illness, injury, etc.(boat prep included). Only 11% of the time was it the boat construction itself to blame.

[CRC1965]

If you are willing to consider 2020. You could alway wait in Hanalei Bay and offer cash. At that point you could have had Ventus for 25 cents on the dollar.......

Seriously you are on the right track. Many of the expenditures for offshore have little to no wear on them, but have depreciated at lot once used......

[svShearwater]

If you are willing to consider 2020. You could alway wait in Hanalei Bay and offer cash. At that point you could have had Ventus for 25 cents on the dollar.......

Seriously you are on the right track. Many of the expenditures for offshore have little to no wear on them, but have depreciated at lot once used......

Ha! Spadefoot was for sale in Kaneohe Bay this summer for a fine price too! Now, not so much. Amazing what selective amnesia can do.

[SeanRhone]

What would be the cost of equipping a bare boat to SHTP standards? Life raft, e-rudder, storm sails, autopilots, etc. It's a chunk of change and you have the time required to buy and install all that stuff. It can eat up 1.5 years in a hurry. Realistically, very few people at this point could buy a boat that wasn't very ready to go now and make it to the startline in 2018.

I bought boat a bare boat similar to an O30, 23 months before Pacific Cup and just barely got the boat ready in time. And I had two people committed to the job.

Question - Did you barely make it because of time or budget? I'm working on getting my Hobie 33 ready for this race and my biggest problem is money.

[SeanRhone]

If you are willing to consider 2020. You could alway wait in Hanalei Bay and offer cash. At that point you could have had Ventus for 25 cents on the dollar.......

Seriously you are on the right track. Many of the expenditures for offshore have little to no wear on them, but have depreciated at lot once used......

That is a heck of an idea! I paid $18k for my Hobie 33 and will probably put another $30k into it to get to the finish line. Not having to spend $6k or $7k to ship back and also haul it back to the east coast.

I can see where some people would consider an offer.

[svShearwater]

Question - Did you barely make it because of time or budget? I'm working on getting my Hobie 33 ready for this race and my biggest problem is money.

For us, it was mostly time. Because it was a new boat to us we wanted to sail it a lot. So, we weren't working on the boat every weekend. We were also fortunate to already have a lot of the major safety equipment; life raft, sat phone,etc. still, just getting the electronics installed, the charging system, e rudder, and a million little details, took mucho time.

Oh, and it cost us $3500 to ship a 28 footer via Pasha in 2016. Better pricing than previous years, I think.

[mike cunningham]

Assuming you do not plan to sell the boat upon the completion of the race you may want to add another couple of grand to the budget for repairs upon return. Part of my pain was a result of my decision to have the boat sailed back so additional stuff wore out/broke on the return.

In my case

sail repairs at Marchals - $500
rig repairs and replacements $1K
- new main and jib halyards
- new vang tackle
- rebuild traveller
- repair mast and camberspar damage - OK, I spent three weeks doing three days of work - my bad.
Electronics repairs
- replace VHF antenna, twice - $50 Plus mast haul out included in mast damage
- repair and replace stng block and wiring after electrical short - $100
- replace ST to stng converter which failed $100
- repair failed wind instrument - $200

And a LOT of elbow grease to do all of the above. Of course you don't have the time pressure like you do getting ready for the race but its still a lot of work. Having said this I can't believe I am already thinking about the next laundry list to get everything in shape for the 2017 LongPac. Crap!