[blahme]

if i wanted to travel from the US to the bahamas, carribbean, central america by boat with my husband whats the safest/cheapest but liveable boat to look into?

[45cal]

Think Sail as the price of fuel is $6.00 in the bahamas> If you get to south America the fuel is much less> THINKING CHEAP WON'T BE SAFE AND WILL YOU NEED $$$$ to keep it going>

[stinkydoor0788]

sail cutter rig LOA 40-42 feet, 1 head, aft cockpit, roller furl headsail, watermaker, solar panels to provide battery charging (4-6 42 watt panels) minimum 2 anchor sets-ups and good windlass. When we got ours ready for extended offshore it was about 21,000 lbs of which 6,000 was lead keel.

Area you mention has more shoals than Pacific, so I would look for a shoal draft.

Others will undoubtly mention multi hulls. They have their own problems. Available moorage spaces being only one.

[Earthling5984]

sailboat
full keel
mono-hull
self righting
fiberglass
You will regret it if you buy a wooden boat, wood rots. I make my living building stuff and fixing all of the problems dealing with wood on boats. I have job security.
Make sure all of the hardware is bedded well.
Look anywhere you can fit your head and a flashlight for water damage.
Get one that's been cared for, it's usually worth the extra money.
Go see a mental health professional if you want a fixer upper unless you know a hell of a lot about boats.

[OlBill]

Wouldn't go about it that way myself. Speaking for us only, our approach has been to learn to sail over several years on a small cruiser on local waters. Get comfy and experienced first, then maybe more later. Sailing is an involved art form, and least we forget, the sea can be a worthy foe.

Bill

[SailorKev]

I would recommend a fiberglass mono-hull sailboat, sloop rigged, around 35-40 feet in length. Solar and/or wind power is a must, and a diesel engine for the aux. Don't be too dependent upon electronics and gizmos...they will never take the place of good seamanship and good sense.