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NotQuiteLost · 05-10-2010, 23:23

Lots of great stuff in Jonathon's post. Read it, and re-read it.

I absolutely agree that a fiberglass boat is pretty much the ideal starter. If you're good with google, you can find pretty much all of the things that can go wrong with one and how to fix them.

Places like this are a great resource for building up your knowledge base, and bouncing ideas off of people who have gone through similar situations as yourself.

Make sure you don't get seasick, and learn as much as you can about sailing. I'll subscribe to this thread to keep updated on your status

Joli · 06-10-2010, 03:57

I think the best definition of a wood boat is "an amalgamation of leaks".

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharlieCobra

I know of several 50-100 year old wooden boat and own one of them. I don't know of ANY glass boats older than 50 years, mostly younger than that. Don't let folks blow smoke up ya about wood. Yes it requires maintenance and usually when ya get a used wood boat cheaply, it requires a lot of work to get it to a point where the maintenance isn't much more than a glass boat. That said, there ain't nothing like wood....

omdufro · 06-10-2010, 08:04

Wow, guys. I'm touched, seriously. Thank you all for the great pointers & wisdom! Jonathon, feel free to go on for as long as you want - I'm taking the sponge approach to all of this, and soaking up all the info I can get!

NQL - Thank you! [= I plan on going down to the US / British VI to learn to sail at Fair Winds. They have a base on Lake Erie, which is closer, but I've never been out of the States, and this is a fantastic way to change that. Plus, it's getting to be winter here in OH, which is definitely not my season of choice lol.

So... note to self: Fiberglass, not wood (at least not for starters). Annnnd learn how to fix stuff lol.

**s/v Beth** · 06-10-2010, 08:53

You have a sense of humor and humility- that is a great way to start. Don't be afraid to run around the docks and ask questions. Some people will be too busy, but a bunch of them will help out, esp if your willing to lend a hand when they are doing something that requires more than 2. Life on the water alot of fun.

**Adelie** · 06-10-2010, 09:19

See the following post I did for someone asking a similar question.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post463157

Books I would add to that would be
Cruising for Cowards, Liza Copeland
This Old Boat, Don Casey
Piloting and Dead Reckoning, Shufeldt & Dunlap
The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat, John Vigor

The Boat Repair Manual by George Buchanan is a nice complement to This Old Boat, BRM has lots of illustrations that greatly further understanding of what TOB discusses mostly in print.

This thread (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...nth-33935.html) is very long but has lots of good info, groprisko contributed a lot of material I liked.

If I were starting from scratch I would buy a Laser now at the begining of the off season and sail it regularly for as much of the next sailing season in OH as I could. I would also do as you intend and go to school in the Caribbean this winter. At the start of the following off season, I would buy a Cal20/Catalina22 (trailerable if you have the vehicle and the trailer). As the new season starts, sell the Laser and start sailing the Cal20/Cat22. Being trailerable you can take it to visit the bigger water if you have longer periods available and daysail it locally on weekends. These are two very good starter boats, with enough accomodations to overnight with a guest (or two

, though I think you might have to take turns in the V-berth

)

CAL 20 Sailboat details on sailboatdata.com
CATALINA 22 Sailboat details on sailboatdata.com

omdufro · 06-10-2010, 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adelie

These are two very good starter boats, with enough accomodations to overnight with a guest (or two

, though I think you might have to take turns in the V-berth

)

LOL well, I'm sure I'd come up with something, should "company" arrive. Gotta start putting that sailor's ingenuity to work! Now I just have to come up with a way to make the "We've got to huddle together for warmth!" argument fly in the Caribbean.... something about a faulty EPIRB and freak cold fronts....

On a more serious note, I think the round-the-world cruise on 15k was the first thread I read, followed closely by the $500 / mo. budget one. I'll look them over again, and hunt down those books you recommended!

Bash · 06-10-2010, 09:39

you may want to check with local marinas about their requirements for living aboard and the availability of liveaboard slips. A few of the marinas I've lived in have had policies that prohibits people living on boats under 35 feet. When the harbormaster hears that you're thinking about living aboard a W.W. Potter 19, you might be shown the door pretty quickly.

a freelance writer without a college degree? yikes. I used to freelance for textbook companies, and when I got my 1st masters degree my page rate jumped from $75 to $125, which meant that I was earning more than $500 more per week. Back then, that was a big chunk of change.

Things to think about.

omdufro · 09-10-2010, 19:01

Well, thanks to the info I'm getting here, I may not be looking at a W.W. Potter any more.

As for university, it's not that I hate it, or won't ever go back.... it's just that I need a break. Lol an extra $2k a month is STILL a nice increase!

NotQuiteLost · 09-10-2010, 20:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by omdufro

Well, thanks to the info I'm getting here, I may not be looking at a W.W. Potter any more.

As for university, it's not that I hate it, or won't ever go back.... it's just that I need a break. Lol an extra $2k a month is STILL a nice increase!

If you can make $1.5-2k/month freelance, and could do your work from SE Asia, I'd actually recommend you hop a plane and come someplace like here. It's a bugger of a plane flight length-wise, but it's really not that expensive.

Heck, I've got spare bunks aboard my boat right now (free of charge, even!). Coming here would probably change your perspective on a lot of things, some for the worst, but I think mostly for the better.

We could go putter around on my little boat I told you about, and you could learn everything you wanted to about island hopping. One of the nice things about that little boat is if you beach yourself on a sand bar or somesuch, you just get out and push yourself off

Heck, even if you decide sailing isn't for you, this place is worth testing. For the last year or so I lived in a beach house (probably 2,500 square foot house, on 3/4 of an acre with 130 feet of beach frontage) for ~$1k/month with a full-time groundskeeper. Rent, food, water, power, everything. Now, I'm a bit of a shut-in, but that was my total 'cost' to be there.

For most of us, sailing is about dreaming to get somewhere like this, kick our feet up and relax until we've had our fill. Most of us never quite reach the top of the tank, though...

omdufro · 11-10-2010, 10:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotQuiteLost

If you can make $1.5-2k/month freelance, and could do your work from SE Asia, I'd actually recommend you hop a plane and come someplace like here. It's a bugger of a plane flight length-wise, but it's really not that expensive.

Heck, I've got spare bunks aboard my boat right now (free of charge, even!). Coming here would probably change your perspective on a lot of things, some for the worst, but I think mostly for the better.

We could go putter around on my little boat I told you about, and you could learn everything you wanted to about island hopping. One of the nice things about that little boat is if you beach yourself on a sand bar or somesuch, you just get out and push yourself off

Heck, even if you decide sailing isn't for you, this place is worth testing. For the last year or so I lived in a beach house (probably 2,500 square foot house, on 3/4 of an acre with 130 feet of beach frontage) for ~$1k/month with a full-time groundskeeper. Rent, food, water, power, everything. Now, I'm a bit of a shut-in, but that was my total 'cost' to be there.

For most of us, sailing is about dreaming to get somewhere like this, kick our feet up and relax until we've had our fill. Most of us never quite reach the top of the tank, though...

Wow.... NotQuiteLost... I don't know what to say! This is really generous of you. Thank you VERY much!

As for being able to do my work, I'd need good (as in reliable, decently fast) internet. As long as I can send in my assignments & get paid via PayPal, I'm good to go. How is the connectivity in your neck of the woods?

^^Speaking of, if you don't mind my asking.... where in the Philippines are you? I guess a better question would be whether I should use Cebu or Manila's airport.

You have no idea how seriously I'm considering taking you up on your offer lol. I mean, one, it's starting to get cold, and two, I have the travel bug reeeeeeeeeal bad. I was (tentatively still am) planning a move to Mexico, but Boracay, Bantayan, or some such other beachy place was my first choice, so the Philippines would definitely suit me just fine.

I would absolutely LOVE to putter around and learn by actually SAILING. Haha I'm glad you gave me that tip about the sandbars... Something tells me I'll need it.

^^That's the thing, though: I have ZERO SAILING EXPERIENCE, not to mention fixing boats. If I take you up on your offer, you'll be getting the greenest of novices haha. I just want to let you know that up front.

As for sailing not being for me.... unless I have incurable seasickness, I think it will be. And hey, when the worst case scenario is a dirt-cheap paradise with great food & super-friendly people... I think that's a bet worth taking.

I have some questions for you:

1. The internet thing. See above.

2. What expenses & stuff would you want me to pick up? I don't mind doing it, but an idea of what / when would be nice.

3. Do you have a time-frame for all of this? I mean, I don't want to keep you or inconvenience you at all... I'd have to save for a plane ticket (and wait for my passport to get here

), but after that, I'm free til Question Mark.

4. Most importantly, will there be pillaging, sea chanties, and an assortment of buxom wenches?

Ok. I think this is sufficiently novelesque lol. Truly, thanks again for this - it means a lot. Reply here, if you want, or PM me, and I'll give you my email.

I look forward to hearing from you!

NotQuiteLost · 11-10-2010, 16:28

Private message sent to you, omdufro. Lemme know what you're thinking. Also, as far as the title of this thread goes, I think it only fair to point out that while I probably am a cruising 'Jedi,' I'm guessing I'm closer to Anakin than to Obi-Wan. Still, the dark side ain't so bad...