My Boat For The Bahamas

I've occasionally been asked what/which boat I'd recommend for a Bahamas cruise. My ideal Bahamas adventure would be at least 2 months long without ever having to go ashore for supplies. We pretty much did that in the 70's when were were young, tough and adventurous, in a 27' sailboat without a generator or refrigeration.

The single cylinder 10 HP diesel ran forever on the 20 gallon diesel tank. We carried only 20 gallons of fresh water, but had a rain catcher which would fill our water tank with the slightest hint of rain. We used Joy to lather up and rinse in salt water - we could then pat dry or use a quart or so of fresh water from a garden sprayer to finish up. Wife Suzy, could take a complete shower with the garden sprayer using only a gallon. We didn't wear enough clothes to worry about laundry. With a little ingenuity and some skill you can get at least 50% of your nourishment from the sea/beach...fish, shrimp, crab, conch, coconuts. Even so, we filled every nook and cranny of storage with food - we liked the cans/bottles of vegies that were packed in water which we drank or used for soup. Between the cans, we stuffed small jars of (ready to eat) baby food. We grew sprouts. We made bread in the pressure cooker. You also need room for sails, tools and ground tackle - we carried 5 anchors, one with all chain rode. The 27 X 8 X 4 sailboat was heaven for us then, except for the ugly hot breezeless, humid summer nights when I wore socks on my hands to keep the no-seeums from devouring me, and a pillow case over my head in the  90°+ nights.

We realize now, that if we hadn't insisted on a boat that could cross oceans and be handled by either of us alone, we wouldn't have needed such a small stout sailboat. We met a very young cruising couple on a 19' sailboat (without standing headroom), who, because they ran the motor 80% of the time, said they would have been far better off with a power boat. After our three years cruising summers/working winters, while living aboard, we too calculated that over 80% of our miles were under power.

So after the sailboat, we bought a 35' trawler with all the comforts of home.

One might have thought that this would be just the ticket, but it wasn't for us. She was expensive, but earned her keep by being in charter service, but she was locked into a slip with the same starting point for every cruise, not to mention the nearest port is over 200 miles from the house. We needed a boat we could trailer.

A trailerable powerboat of some kind would work if one eliminates the 'oceans' part as a requirement. And even a small powerboat doesn't necessarily exclude the Bahamas for a savvy skipper with a prudent weather sense. With our 18' cuddy cabin outboard we covered over 50,000 road miles which included launching at well over 100 different ramps from New England to Key West to San Diego to Alaska, as well as a crossing to the Bahamas. At trawler speeds, we could spend a week aboard without touching a dock.

So, are you willing to cruise without headroom, or headroom without refrigeration or can you bear the expense of about $1,000/mo for payments and maintenance for a trawler with all the comforts?  The sailboat unquestionably offered the most freedom, but at the cost of comfort and speed. The 18' cuddy was the most versatile but needing regular fuel and stores - a very limiting factor in the Bahamas, and the trawler was a total commitment for the sake of comfort. It all depends on your priorities.

Today we are back to needing comforts, but still require trailerability and our choice is a 40 year old, 28' trailerable houseboat we call Big Duck. She easily swallows up our daughter, son-in-law, grandson and their dog in addition to my wife Suzy, myself and our faithful four legged companion, Merlin.

Where you are in life determines the boat best suited to your needs.