Sea Ray SSS 1993 63 ft

Great looking boat. Congratulations! You must be very exited.

I know you've probably got a couple of rough lessons to learn as you take on this adventure, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a tiny bit jealous. I love this thread!

BTW, one thought, if you're already in some of the greatest boating areas in the world, and it seems you have time on your hands, why not stay a while here before you ship her off?
 
HI Rszarka,
Nice boat
Just curious who is shipping your boat? When I purchased mine out of the USA I used Sevenstar and back then it cost me $50,000US for my 400db Then Australian customs wanted gst
on the value of the boat and freight..Once it arrived it had to be inspected by Aquis (quarantine) another payout of a $1000. My boat was delivered to Brisbane so had to cruiser her to Sydney which was a really fun trip (lots of whales)

In regards to berthing you might be lucky to get a spot in Sydney harbour but if get one it will probably cost near $2000 per month. Commercial swing mooring might be around $700pm for
your boat. For a private mooring you might be waiting a number of years as there is a huge waiting lists. I am up at Pittwater ( 1 hr north of Sydney) and you can get commercial moorings quite easily (probably $500pm) and a private mooring you will need to go on the waiting list ( mine only took 3 months in careel Bay (near avalon) The other nice thing in pittwater is there are heaps of
moorings around at Refuge bay, The basin plus national park moorings if you just want to hang out for a few days... The real bugger is the cost of fuel going to nearly $8 a gallon (diesel)
I will follow you journey with interest and might even see you on the water

Ozzie
 
Hi Cop

Thanks :) I am sure i will get hit pretty hard with a few crazy things lol Although i have made sure i am plenty equipped to deal with anything that may come up!! The yacht will be in Florida until June 20 th so contemplating taking advantage of her.. I am flying to florida this coming tuesday and going to stay on her, thinking about sailing over to Nassau Bahamas for a few weeks as i grew up on Paradise Island :) And think it would be a fun way to return home for a bit. So yes very well may just take advantage of the good boating waters before heading off to Australia. May do a week in Nassau then head down to the keys and the Dry Tortugas ... i know those areas well as until recently i lived in Coral springs florida for the last 18 years!
Where abouts are you located Copb ? In the mood for some joint boating? Looks like you are in TX all i would have to do is sail around to the gulf, if i go to the dry tortugas im in your area anyways :) well a bit south lol You shouldnt be jealous your 42o looks like a real beauty!!
 
Hi Ozzie

I am using Yachtpath and i got a pretty god deal of 62,000.000 and yes i have to pay GST of 10% on cost and insurnace and shipping!! what a scam usually you get to deduct your costs not pay extra on top of them!! Looks like i will not have to do quarantine or so they say now lol
My cousin is a captain and involved in the maritime industry in Sydney so he has found me a berth for around $50.00 a month crazy on Sydney harbor!! It pays to know the right people!
Yes the cost of fuel is brutal here, in fact the cost of everything in Australia is brutal! $4.00 for a kit kat bar or can of coke lol Would love to get together for some cruising once she gets here ozzie! Looks like i will be getting her up to commercial survey since my cuz has connections in the marine construction and we can do it cheap may use her for some luxury charters or i dunno yet have a few ideas bouncing around! Have a feeling this is going to be a very fun adventure!!! Would love to make friends with all the cruising community here in Sydney!!
 
I have held my comments until now. Having read the thread as it progressed and drawling over the pictures you posted. One day the admiral and I would love to live aboard a cruiser like that. Until then the kids and grand kids love the "sporty" boat.

Fair winds and calm seas my friend. I'll be watching for your transition to your home land.
 
Oldskool, i guess i have to say this so people here on this site do not think i am some kind of rich guy showing off or gloating with my new boat. As i am far from rich!
My story real quick since i am getting to know everyone here, something really bad happened to me out of a few peoples stupidity and i got really really badly hurt. Was told i would never walk properly or do anything physical again and I was a professional athlete before that happened, loved my life in the peak of my career working for Royal caribbean cruise lines sailing all over the world as a guest entertainer!
So 4 years of medical crap went by as i lost every single thing i owned because i was unable to work, my fiance of 11 years left me, the stress from everything caused to much tension, she got hurt as well and we were having back to back surgeries taking care of each other while still recovering ourselves.. ended up with mountains of debt and almost half a million in medical bills. Of course there was a lawsuit involved which i won in the end. Which pretty much just covered what i lost out on over those years. I fought my medical situation hard and can now walk properly and lead a pretty normal life.
So i have had my funds for awhile and have been watching them slowly go away with me gaining nothing of real value in the meantime, i decided i have to put them into something meaninful! I have always wanted to live on a boat and I found this one at a really good price and found a viable way to keep her where it does not cost me much. I pretty much sunk a lot of what i have into this boat to fulfill a dream and have a lifestyle i have always wanted, I do not even own a car right now or my own home...i figured it was either a house or this boat and I chose the boat. I was not stupid about it and made sure i will be able to afford to keep her and fix her if things go wrong. But what i am trying to say here is i am just a regular guy who had some really bad luck that decided to turn it into something special for myself turn my whole life changing negative event into something positive and went way out on a limb telling myself you can do this as scared as i was to do it. Believe me buying something like this was pretty damn scary and took away my security blanket as i still have not been able to get back to work yet as i have lingering medical issues but the risk was worth it to me to have this life that I have always dreamed of! I just dont want anyone to think i am some rich guy showing off in this thread or trying to rub this boat on peoples noses as honestly it is not the case, i am a regular guy that took a huge leap and i truly am looking to the members here and others to help guide the way to succesfully owning a boat like this i cant afford to fail at this! I have spent most of my life on boats but have never owned something like this. When i was a kid my dad owned a boat around the size of Oldskools but not as nice and we used to go spear fishing 4 days a week off of Paradise Island bahamas where i grew up. That is where my love of boats began. Many friends and friends of friends all had cruisers, i always dreamed one day i too would have one to live on! never really believed i could accomplish it though! So this is way more than just a boat to me but the completion of a seemingly unattainable dream and the start of a new life after having my old one shattered by stupid people! I always said i did not care how much money i got in my lawsuit it wont make up for me losing my physical well being or the career i loved. But maybe with this boat it all wont seem so bad anymore and i can get back to enjoying life and start a new chapter!

But the truth is Oldskool if that is your dream hang on to it keep looking towards it and one day it will happen for you! WHo knows how but some how you will bring it to life, i have learned if you want something badly enough anything is possible! If someone would have told me a few years ago that i would get the chance to own a boat like this and ship it half way across the world i would have called them crazy!

Thats a beautiful boat you have there in your sig Oldskool and I am sure she brings you and your family so much joy, hold onto your dreams and one day you will have her on the back of your cruiser along with you for the ride :)
 
I wish you the best. Be careful out there and concentrate on the weather/wave forecasts and your navigational knowledge. The ocean boating guys on here will help you. Make a new post a week or so before you are heading out to Bahamas so those in the know will weigh in with crossing advice.
 
rszarka
I think Oldskool was just being cautious before he felt comfortable chiming in. Remember one thing...you don't need to justify your choices to anyone on these boards. I think some folks were skeptical that maybe you were a troll that was sort of banned from CSR (more than once) but sometimes re-appears with another alias and starts telling far-fetched stories. At this point, I think most here are fairly sure that you are not that person.

Sounds like you've been through a lot and sounds like you've thought this one through, so KUDOS to you and enjoy yourself! We're all pulling for you. You probably realize now that if you need advice, info, tips and tricks, this is the place to be!
 
rszarka,
I hope I did not imply that I was skeptical of you or your post. I truly love the boat and you don't need to validate your purchase to me or anyone else on the board.
Thanks for your kind words and I am really happy you are chasing your dream after such a tremendous loss.
The folks on this site are really great and we try to watch out for each other. We will do the same for you on your journey. Please keep us up to date on the transfer and your voyage around Australia. I’d love to be out there with you mate.
 
rondds said:
rszarka
I think Oldskool was just being cautious before he felt comfortable chiming in. Remember one thing...you don't need to justify your choices to anyone on these boards. I think some folks were skeptical that maybe you were a troll that was sort of banned from CSR (more than once) but sometimes re-appears with another alias and starts telling far-fetched stories. At this point, I think most here are fairly sure that you are not that person.

Sounds like you've been through a lot and sounds like you've thought this one through, so KUDOS to you and enjoy yourself! We're all pulling for you. You probably realize now that if you need advice, info, tips and tricks, this is the place to be!
Click to expand...

Thanks Ron and ditto on the we're pulling for you. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Thanks all

Didnt think Oldskool was implying anything. Just wanted to make sure you guys understood i was here for the right reasons and not to show off or something like that or like you said post stupid stories like that troll guy.

I will be on her this wednesday cant wait! Will decide at that point wether to take her out for a week or two or not. All depends if some experienced friends of mine can come or not, not ready to take a boat like this out yet on my own. Better to err on caution than go out and do something stupid. The Ft.Lauderdale intracoastal can be pretty narrow and congested and this thing has stuff like bow thrusters, so not going anywhere unless i have an experienced boater along lol Will really take my time with all of this. Could you imagine get a boat like this then crash it into something or sink it..... will pass on that hard lesson lol
 
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Some questions i am sure some of you would know the answer to. I am hoping to rename the yacht in tribute of my father. How do you go about that is it some long drawn out process? She is registered in the British Virgin Islands, is it ok to leave the registration there or would i have to transfer it to Australia? Sydney harbor has some pretty stringent rules about living on board a boat. But i found out if the boat is a registered ship you can have a caretaker live onboard so it would get me around the rule.

So she has banks of batteries and an inverter, What can you actually run with that? which systems, i am guessing not the air conditioning and stove but lights tvs etc? Does anyone think it would be a good idea to get one or two of the wind generators from conergy http://www.conergy.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-478/ installed ?

Is there any possible way to run say the airconditioning and the stove without the generator or shore plug in?
Well i guess the stove is no big deal as would like to get a barbecue and probably cook that way most of the time. Anyone know of any websites of marine barbecues? I looked around but seem to be having a hard time finding any.

Does anyone know if desalination plants make water that you can actually drink or is it just good for showers etc?

Anyone know of any good navigation or charting software for PC or Mac? ANy good marine programs for iphones?

Thanks all
 
Rsz
Can't help with international registration issues. Sorry.
As for what to run off the inverter, I'd think your best off running lower power consumption things like TV, lights with that and save the big draw items for the genset. I have no experience with wind generators but I suspect unless you're going to do the northwest passage, that's overkill.

I would say to run ac you must have good old fashioned 220v (not inverters). Just too much draw. Others may know better.

A real big outfit here in the states is Westmarine. Go their site westmarine.com and search MAGMA. They make a full line of propane marine bbqs. While you're in FLA you can go to a nearby store and check them out first hand. They've got stores in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and N. Miami. I think you said the boat is in Ft Lauderdale.

This is a great website for getting chart and cruising info. Not software - more for informational purposes. I'm sure other folks will direct you to some great software. www.activecaptain.com
 
Rondds,
Thank you so much for all of the information!! I will probably pick up a barbecue from Magma while I am there, that is awesome!! As for the website you suggested, it is great!! Also has the type of software i was looking for available, looks like really really good navigation software! found a great app for the iphone that any boater could use.... its called navionics marine ...has charts and downloadable maps for every region so you can work offline without wifi. Has fuel calculator and waypoint creator so you can plan your voyage before you go its realy good and available on the app store for around 17 dollars

Thank you so much!!
 
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With Regitration you may want to check with NSW Waterways they are pretty helpful. The other thing I remembered about brining my boat to Australia was that I arrived about a week
before the boat was to be shipped and lived on board as well. Then there was no ship after a few calls found out that she was running late. Uhm?? Anyway, found a site called http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml which tracks ships. After more discussion with the shipping company I was able to extract the name of the ship from them and found that
the stupid thing was still near England. It took an extra 4 weks for it to arrive
 
rszarka,
If you get a good captain he should be able to run through all your critical components for you. Very wise of you not to attempt learning this boat on your own. I have many hours behind the wheel of my boats but would be very intimidated by this size of this craft.
 
Ozzie, thanks for the info on the shipping! I will indeed get the name of the ship that will be transporting my boat and track it as I have to pay for berthing and it could affect me if the ship sailed late! Thanks a ton for the info! I would really like to get together at some point once the yacht gets here. Was thinking of like a week end up teh Hawkesbury into Berowra waters something like that I heard it is beautiful!!! Have you ever done a trip up the Hawkesbury? From all the charts i have looked at most of the waterways are pretty large and very navigable. What are some other fun cruising destinations from Sydney? Just north up along the coast? Where do you usaully go for say a week end getaway?
Again thank you much for the info on the shipping!


Oldskool, that is a very good idea! I have the contact information of the former captain of this yacht, I will probably hire him to give me a few days of lessons and run me through how to operate everything on this boat! Apparently all the manuals are onboard. Honestly i do not think i will be captaining her for awhile, will let experienced captains sail it for me while i am onboard learning! Also have them there for the first many times i take her out! I think if i crashed or sunk it or did something of the above i would probably find the tallest cliff in sydney and jump lol Really I should have probably gotten into something smaller intially but got such a good price i could not resist and figure dit this way...will not have to worry about trading up. I have been going crazy learning everything i can! Thanks for the great idea of the captain lessons OldSkool!
 
WIll be onboard my boat for the first time tomorrow!! So excited i cant sleep cant do anything!!!
 
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