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Just received a notice from Bayswater Marina that Auckland Council are about to carry out hull inspections in the marina for pest species and growth etc. If their divers find anything suchlike on your hull , you will get a notice from the council and have to clean it. I actually don't have a problem with us having to antifoul and keep our hulls clean of crap, but what I do object strongly to- is that while the divers are inspecting my [ carefully antifouled ] hull, they are completely ignoring the huge amount of fanworm adhering to the marina piers right next to all our boats! If w

Something you need to consider is what is your cashflow going to be? Scaling down to a trailer sailer will definitely free up income for living and paying for other things, but running a bus will chew through a lot of that and more. Heavy vehicles are $$$. A decent size campervan is going to set you back +50k. An actual bus, in running order might be had for as little as 10K, but there are no guarantees regarding the condition. The one I linked would swallow at least another 20k turning it into something you might live in. Do you have a heavy vehicle license? Any experience driving large ve

I have a soft spot for the Cav as it was my first keelboat. Lived aboard for 9 years and sailed all over the Pacific to Alaska and the Caribbean. Looks like a good one.

Yes there are house buses around towing trailer yachts. If you do your NZ tour tag Rotorua, Lake Rotoiti for a look at OkawaBay. 105 trailer yachts in the compound there. Some owned by bus owners.

It was always the plan to swap between Christchurch and Auckland each year. Auckland Unlimited has a whole big month long sea festival based around the Sail GP.

Moving fouled boats only applies if you then clean the hull in the new location. Marine fouling stays put on the hull. Sure, the bloody things reproduce, but they do it by laying eggs in the water, so on your hull or the marina, it's the same. Clearly I don't pick up organisms when I'm out sailing, so I get infected from the marina itself. And some marinas have the cheek to say that you cannot clean your hull in the marina. Its" please go elsewhere to do it, and spread the stuff even further"

My first thought would be a smaller boat. Plenty in the 30 to 35ft range that are basically capable and the price difference is dramatic. Learn to live in less space.

Sounds like you read the Lotus Eaters too many times. The economics of liveaboard crising are not as they are depicted on YouTube. As IT says above, getting to Cat 1 (off-shore) could cost up to twice your stated purchase budget, or may not even be attainable depending on the yacht. In your price range, you wiill be getting a very used vessel. It will be either badly compromised in design, or nearing the end of its service life. Thats fine in sheltered waters within easy range of whatever you call home. Outside that, its a recipe for disaster. Operating costs alone for a 35

Sorry to sound pessimistic, but unfortunately I do not believe this is realistic. To have a vessel capable of RNZ or to the Pacific requires a boat in good order and well equipped. To go international you need to have a boat surveyed to Cat 1 standard, or you won't be given the paperwork to leave. The first time I did Cat 1 it cost me more than your budget to buy a boat, and my boat was already pretty tidy. Unless you buy a vessel registered offshore (Cat 1 not then required - but for a NZ resident GST would be immediately due), in which case you MAY find something, but it wont

I also use the Sikkens product on coachroof handrails