Why do you want to do a trip to the Caribbean in such a small boat? If you go back and look at some old archives there was a lot of information on a 25 foot purpose built boat--of Aluminum in New Zealand. Boojum was the design. Lots of hoopla about the boat. The boat was going on its own bottom to the US. After sea trials every thing got very quiet. Last I heard the boat was shipped to the PNW on a freighter and now sits in a shipyard in Port Townsend. See: http://kastenmarine.com/trailerable_trawlers.htm http://www.xsw.com/boojum/ I grew up on a 24 foot boat--one which someone at one time thought they would take to the S. Pacific. Fortunately it was not my father! I saw Robin Graham off on Dove, a Lapworth 24--he bought a 33 footer before his around the world trip ended. The motion on a 24 foot trawler will be a very difficult problem on a trip to the Caribbean--Yes, you can carry enough fuel to make the trip slowly. Water is taken care of with a water maker...but the comfort level is just not there. I have a lot of experience in small boats--currently I own a 22 foot C Dory, and may be buying another boat about 26 feet long--but these are fast, short trip type of boats. The bare minimum I would consider is something like a Willard 30. Very affordable, good sea boat, can be fitted with paravanes, has the range and separation necessary for a long trip (private space becomes a necessity, no matter how close your are with your mate). You talk about ventillation. With a boat this size there will be a problem keeping the seas out of the boat--I don't know if you have been in the open sea of the Caribbean--but going up hill on the Thorny Path, the seas can be considerable--you can be very wet in a low freeboard boat. Going between islands, the seas will be on the beam with lots of rolling. Even in a 55 foot boat it can be rough going up wind in the Caribbean. You will want something like a good Dorade vent in this size boat. I would worry about safety if the doors or windows were open in a seaway. On the St. Lawrance you will be dealing with wind against current. Even folks who have done this in a large boat have had problems. I think of these size of boats as weekenders, with an occasional week or so. The used one I see for sale currently has a coleman camp stove and a Kooltron refigerator/box. You want to be comfortable on a trip--and be minimalists does not always mean a small boat. Bob Austin