www.oceanwest.net.au/

If not sailed before I'd start with these guys or something similar.

I am sure others can give advice which yachts to choose, I am looking too at the moment.

Best advice I can give is DO IT.

BT.
I wish you well with your adventure.
I have done exactly what you are planning.
My wife, my dog and I left Perth in a Steel Bruce Roberts 38 in Mid March 2011.
You need to get a move on if you want to take advantage of the late seabreezes and the start of the nice Easterlies. Too soon you'll be getting NW storms hitting from Geraldton South and you'll be forced to seek shelter of which there is limited choices.
Abrolhos Islands are amazing (surfing, fishing etc) as are Steep Point area. But the diamond is the Monte Bellos. Incredible place. Mid winter is magic up that way but the Easterlies can get very fresh.
We then checked-out in Dampier and sailed 7.5 days North to Benoa, Bali. Motor sailed 40%. Sailed 50%, motored 10%. Pretty flat crossing. Could cook every day etc.
Then it was 3 months up past Java and onto the Mentawaiis. Telos etc. Yes, surfed all the spots.
Then Thailand, Malaysia, back to Sumatra, back to Thailand... and still going.

Anyway, you questions...
Our 38 is steel and fully loaded with fuel & water we do 4.5knts under motor, because we are 16tns. Need a good breeze which you don't get often in Indo.
Wish we were better in light winds. Properly have reefed 10 times in 3 years!
You will definitely motor a lot. So think about light wind performance. More useful than storm sails & sea anchors!
We have hit reef 3 times, each time going very slow because we knew it was getting shallow or didn't know the spot. +1 for steel. No damage.

We draw 2m. Would be handy to have a shallower draft to get into some spots.

You will spend a lot of time anchored. Definitely don't get a tender boat (easily leans over). If your anchoring near surf you don't want to be rocking and rolling all day & night. A catamaran is best of coarse, but I too couldn't budget for one. I've shared waves and bays with another yachts. Some were gunnel to gunnel at the anchorage. And I thought we rolled a bit. But I they were fast. So you have to compromise on one or the other.

Get a great dinghy. Something bigger that planes. You will be thankful for it getting to beaches etc. Properly 15hp. Any bigger gets heavy.

Put in lots of fans that draw low power. You will sleep under their soft purring.

38 feet is ideal for 2.5 of us. Easily handled. Can do everything single-handed if needed. I think over 40' and you are looking at more work and heavy grade everything (anchors, sheets, chains, etc etc)
Make sure you have a good auto-pilot. It's your best friend.

As far as space goes. Maybe plan out what you are taking... surfboards, dive gear, bikes, fishing gear etc and then think where that will go on each of the designs. You will hate having to move stuff around everyday just to get about. Dangerous too when it gets rough.
Clothes... you'll need about 1/4 of what you take. Boardies, t-shirts and a spray jacket 90% of the time.

Get a life-raft.

Wish you well.
Can offer more advice regarding Indo C.A.I.T's etc if you want to email me.

Good on ya BevanTay,

I too started with charter trip to the Ments. Be warned.... it's a hell of a lot different on your own boat!
You are constantly thinking about safety, winds & anchorages etc. And after surfing until your knackered you have to cook your own meals!
Very, very different to being a guest on board.
Tip: Find out / follow the charter boats into the overnight anchorages. Then you can get there anytime day or night. Sheltered spots are gold.

Cisco: Sorry mate, what a load of rubbish. Lambs to slaughter?? Talk it up??? There are 100's of Australian Registered yacht/boats plying Indonesian waters right now without any problems.
Really, what a useless comment.

Thank god some people get out there and live. I did, after deciding the identical thing to Bevan 3 years ago.



BT. If you can sail to Rotto & back in any weather, day or night. You can sail up the coast no worries. After all, going on a big trip is simple. Just break it down into day sails or overnighters. By the time you've reached your Australian departure point you'll have learnt a lot! Then when you point north for 700nm it's easy... nothing to hit and you might stay on one tack for days!!

Ignore the neigh Sayers

Go for it BT, you will never regret it. We (my wife, dog and I) just got back from 9 months away, on the East coast! It's a great time to be buying a yacht in aus at the moment, a real buyers market. My top ten tips in a nut shell;

1) go steel, not just to save yourself, but for peace of mind - there's enough other things to worry about out there.
2) Go GOOD steel, check out the adams 40s will sail in light airs (about 12 tonnes), and motor at 5.5 - 6 knots on small hp engines (about 30 hp) draw about 1.8m and sit like rock in the anchorage.
3) Don't go over 40 foot, it's hard work on your own (and you'll be on your own a lot)
4) Furling headsails (and non furling main sail for simplicity) don't leave home without em!
5) Get a really good anchor (like a Rocnar) and at least 80m of chain! Peace of mind once again.
6) plenty of solar panels - they work really well in the tropics.
7) get a portable Engel fridge/freezer and use it as a freezer for meat. Use the built in as a fridge (otherwise it will suck all your power).
8) get a good duck with an aluminium hull (around 3.1-3.4 m) and put a tuhatsu 9.8 on it, it's the only engine of that power which weighs under 30 kg.
9) Don't sweat it if the boat is not loaded with electronic navigation, get an ipad to do most nav work. If you can only afford one piece of electronic nav gear, get an AIS with integrated chart plotter - it will stop you being run over by shipping traffic, you can see them (and identify them)and they can see you!
10) Don't fret about the boat or the setup, just select and go! There are hundreds out there in all manner of craft doing the same thing. Some big some small, some fast some slow........but they all seem to end up in the same spots, and they are all having fun!

I, know I said top ten, but one final trinket.......be meticulous about the cleanliness of your fuel system. Whilst you do use the engine to get around when there is no wind, more often than not, you start the engine because you really need it........not just because its convenient, and you don't want it failing you then!

Fair winds

A little caution is required with AIS. You are more likely to be hit by a fishing vessel than anything else. I nearly collected a SH maxi one night!
Fishing boats don't carry AIS. Only large ships and they are not compulsory to be switched on in our local area [NSW]. If your sailing along with in 20 miles of the coast you have a better chance of running into a trawler even though there are only about 14 left in NSW. Trap and line there are about 100 but the biggest threat is amateur fishermen. They are everywhere and damn hard to see till your on top of them. I regularly have a good look ahead and then go below to the stove and glance through the window and see a runabout pass by. Last week I was watching my mate in his trawler heading away from me and I went below for a few minutes. What I did not realize was he was just finishing his shot and changed course for home. Thought I heard voices and glanced out the hatch to see him passing astern!

Thanks all for your time and input.

I appreciate the advice and will certainly put it to use.

It gives me some reassurance and further direction in my search.

Cheers!!!