Forget crossing oceans, and I can't conceive of having enough $ to afford a Nordhavn 46. What would be the requirements for a boat a family of 4 could take from San Diego through the Panama canal and spend a year or two in the Carribean? What do you think of a Defever 48? With twin Lehmans and passive stabilized (bilge keels). 850 gallons of fuel, 700 water. Other candidates for a canal transit boat for under $200K? -Jim Indiscipline http://www.starrstuff.com/jim/indy.html <")))>><

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 2/13/99, at 9:57 PM, Jim Baumgart wrote: >Forget crossing oceans, and I can't conceive of having enough $ to afford a >Nordhavn 46. > >What would be the requirements for a boat a family of 4 could take from San >Diego through the Panama canal and spend a year or two in the Carribean? > >What do you think of a Defever 48? With twin Lehmans and passive >stabilized (bilge keels). 850 gallons of fuel, 700 water. > >Other candidates for a canal transit boat for under $200K? Jim, I have to agree. The price of these hard core ocean crossers is so far out of range for most of us. The Defever 48 would make the Panama Canal passage easily with a little planning. The twin ford lehmans are bullet proof, and are reasonably easy to work on if necessary. By the way, all of these trips are based on a whole lot of proper planning. There is adequate diesel available in central america for the trip. There are many ports to put into, however, you need to be aware ot the local politics at the time and try not to run afoul of some local problem. If you feel the need to spend on some extras, a watermaker would be on the top of my priorities(sp). Jim Monahan MV Finale President 43 Seabrook, Texas <jmonah@ktxh.com>