I feel your pain zero - I used to be a diesel mechanic many many years ago.
It's actually how / why I ended up in Aussie Was going to go an work in the mines and make millions of dollars..
What sort of yacht are you looking at? I'm more a power boat kind of guy myself - but appreciate the "purity" of moving with the wind.. I have a lot of friends who are into sailing - and a mate in San Fran has offered to take us sailing around Alcatraz when we visit in April - Should be awesome.
The last boat we owned was a 35ft Mustang - Made on the Gold Coast - Was an awesome boat and really well made.
Had two 400 litre petrol tanks - Used to cost a grand to fill it up!
Got to be expensive fishing when we would head over the Gulf to Edithburgh for a day or two - sleep on the boat - catch 2 snapper - spend $600 on fuel - $200 on alcohol - and 3 hours cleaning the boat when we were finished!
I have often thought one day I would like to sell up - learn to sail properly ( I can handle an 18ft Hobie) - buy a big ass catamaran and spend a few years sailing around the world. I think it would be a really enjoyable way to spend my latter years.
