What happens to all the wannabees?

[Normanby]

Well this wannabe just went for the inaugural sail!
Everything worked, and I hardly hit anything.

I've moved aboard about eight weeks ago but this is the first time I've sailed her. It took me a while just to get the hang of living aboard.

I motored out of the marina backwards after discovering that she won't turn to starboard in reverse, turned around when I had room, crossed the ship channel, turned the motor off and raised the main - went up nicely what with half a can of silicone sprayed earlier. We just sailed across the bay, gybed (because there wasn't enough wind to tack - I chose today for the light winds) and went back, then did the same twice more; two gybes and two tacks. Then motored back to the slip.

Some slapstick moments docking on my own (the bloody dog's no help at all) but I didn't hit anything expensive.

There! This boat is no longer my floating condo, in a floating trailer park. She's a proper sailing vessel and I'm a proper sailor (up to a point).

Take heart my fellow wannabees, keep at it and you'll pull it off, sooner or later.

[DumnMad]

Congratulation Normanby!!!
Prop-walk moving the stern to port. I changed to a more suitable slip to get the prop-walk and normal sea breezes to make berthing a bit easier.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

One day you will have to downsize to one room and take only the laptop and a few trinkets

living on a boat IS downsizing to one room

[goat]

To turn starboard give a shot in reverse then put the boat in neutral, as long as the prop is turning you'll have prop walk to port (which is quite useful if you want to swing her arse end around)

[MoxieGirl]

My compliments to the OP, Atoll, for starting this most sobering post.

I am, at this very moment, a wannabe. I'm dreaming of sailing with no, or virtually no, experience. I know I don't get motion sickness on boats and I used to scuba dive (something else I want to take up again). But fully grasping all that is required to see this dream of mine come true, to have a catamaran and live not the ocean, I can only imagine a fraction of it.

However, I do have a solid history of doing what I set my mind to. This history started with soloing in a single engine plane at 15. Then university, the US Air Force... 5 years ago I established my own business, and now have a successful company. Granted, a company with one employee, but still it is quite successful.

I wanted to learn archery, so I did. That was a few years ago and up until earlier this year, I was competing regularly. The reason I took a break from archery, was so I could get a qualification in Holistic Massage Therapy, which I now have. All of those things were goals, dare I say 'dreams' at one point. They are now realities.

I hope this puts me in a good position to fulfil this dream. If not, I shall do my best to come back and tell everyone why I changed direction. If I succeed, I shall (as I'm also a writer getting ready to publish my first novel - another goal) come and write all about it until you are all fed up of me.

I know it's not going to be easy. But I do firmly believe that when I'm old and grey, I will be overflowing with regret if I don't try.

MG

[Seagull111]

Welcome MG. We could use some more good writing here. Lots of knowledge available for the asking. Cheers

[Wolfy]

I have been wanting to scribe for a while now, it's been a couple of years since I set off from Ft Lauderdale, single handed on my 72ft Frers Steel Hulled Ketch down the Thorny Path, through Mona Pass and direct to Trinidad....with no bloody Auto Pilot, leaky Fuel Tanks, leaky Water tanks, no A/C, Faulty Water Maker, Almost Dead Batteries (wouldn't hold a charge for more than a couple of hrs with just basic nav equipment on), Cable / Chain Steering Box came apart mid Caribbean sea, Generator intermittent Starting etc.etc. Basically, everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
The previous owner swore to me that all was ready to go, and the inspections carried out at the dock in a canal in the middle of Ft Lauderdale hardly revealed the problems to come.
Anyway, I made it to Chagauramas, intact...barely.
After she was hauled out and Sand Blasted is when I realized just how lucky I was, there was more rust than plate, it was the fairing and paint that kept her water tight, three 4ft x 8ft 3/8" plate steel was used to repair the hull rust spots, the deck require another two sheets....all was very cleverly concealed by this con man that sold me the Boat, paint can hide a multitude of sins...and a falsified Survey doesn't help either.
Anyway, 2 years on the hard, completely rebuilt the beautiful boat, new wiring, plumbing, Bow Thruster, Batteries, all LED Lighting and everything else that was suspect has been changed out and finally the light at the end of the tunnel is near....Feb 2014 she'll be wet again and after a shake down cruise to St Lucia, if all is 100% then we'll be back on track to head to Panama, Galapagos to the Marquesas at long last.....
It's been an expensive lesson to learn, but, now that the major pain is over I am looking forward to enjoying retirement, lost a couple of years, lots of frustration.....but, it's over now and I will be posting updates.....oodles of them as soon as we cut loose......you'll all get fed up hearing from me I'm sure ;-)

Fair winds to all....

S/V Lindisfarne

[MoxieGirl]

Wolfy, thanks for the post. I'm very sorry to hear of your troubles, am very glad they are at an end and very thankful for the knowledge.

Buying a boat, it seems, is a lot like buying a used car. You don't really know what you have till you get it on the road (water) for a really long drive, despite what the mechanic says.

MG

[jcknox]

After a couple of years of being a Wannabe I now have my sailboat and currently liveaboard in St Pete while refitting to take the next big step.
This forum and its' contributors have been an indispensable resource and I'm glad to be a part of it.

[SimonV]

I would say that there is a plethora of ex wannabes on this forum. I was one of them. Some take the leap into the deep end and some paddle in the shallows building up to the leap. The only thing holding back a wannabe, is reading too much of the negative, or over the top information passed on and built upon by some.

[Prairie Chicken]

MoxieGirl, welcome to the group. Congrats on your accomplishments so far. Obviously you're not prepared to watch the world go by between your toes. Yes, you can do this, and truly enjoy the life. I have some similar interests to those you've mentioned above and certainly enjoy my time on the water. There are some things you--or a participating partner--will need an understanding of though.

Someone on board needs to understand things mechanical. You can learn, or hire help, but when you're out sailing, alone at sea, someone will need to understand what is going wrong and how to best resolve the problem. Unlike in aviation where you identify the problem and then follow a checklist or your training to address the failure, on a boat you can & frequently will repair the issue and carry on. Similarly, there needs to be an appreciation of all things electric. To me, electricity is PFM--a total mystery. Again, it's necessary someone on board has an appreciation of how to make all those electrical gadgets work for you. Plus, having someone to share your dream with is really nice. Enjoy!

[zeehag]

dearmoxie girl. donot let nay sayers get to ye.
i am out here cruising now for 3 years in my own boat and a year in opb prior to this. ok i am still new , only 4 yrs into this lifestyle, but ....
i am solo in my decrepit formosa 41 refitting as i go because i am fortunate enough to know something about how to fix boats, which saves ones skin when dealing with unscrupulous male boat n,,,err workers......
my boat floats. ok. masts are upright and steps are sound enough...sticks are good, rot free, and booms are being repaired...yes wood. my boat is glass with wood masts and coach house.
my deck is sound enough to hold windlasses and anchors without peeling or delaminating or falling in..lol....bowsprit hasnt yet broken in anchored situations with seas and winds....haint sunk her ..yet........and sails kinda still work... engine is being rebuilt here in tropical locations....at much lesser price than in usa....
i was not able to do in san diego what i am doing here for 10-30 percent of usa prices, so far, depending on location.
i see many come and leave boats and some do not return
some of these boats are for sale....
i understand there is a fresh crop of cruise ready boats in baja sur these days.......

[MoxieGirl]

Prairie Chicken,

Very good points, but I think I may be in luck there as well.

I grew up on a farm in Iowa, and if you've even done any farming, you know 'jack of all trades' is part of the job description. I was driving tractors at the age of 10, started repairing them at about the same time too.

One of my brothers was seriously into Hot Rods, and he and I once took a Corvette 307 engine, combing with a Chevy 352 (if I remember correctly) - both engines having seen better days, and built one very good engine out of them that got me university and back, a 12 hour drive each way. The car always ran really well for me. Several years later, I pulled an engine out of a Saab and repaired it, all on my own. But, I was raised part grease monkey.

Another of my brothers (I have 3) is a master electrician. He and I have done a fair bit of re-wiring, everything from ceiling fans to mains outlets. I also took 2 semesters of electronics and 1 semester of wood working in school, but that was an age ago.

At university, one of my minors was stage design and construction for the theatrics department. I build countless stages, mostly on my own, from scratch using the small wood shop we had behind the stage. I say small, I dream of having all those tools and stocks of wood today!

When I was into flying, my dream then was to build my own airplane, and I very nearly reached that point. I did read up A LOT on fibreglass construction, and what is involved.

Sadly, I think, the biggest thing I lack that a lot of skippers seem to have is a partner. My best friend and I are very close, might as well be sisters. And she has a desire to travel and see the world, but I'm not really sure how she'll take to living on a boat long-term like I'd like to. But, not going to let that stop me.

Thanks Zeehag for the encouraging words. Luckily I'm one of those people whom, when told 'you'll never be able to do that', gets fired up by the words and all the more determined to prove them wrong. So bring on the nay sayers. Worst case scenario, they'll be right. But that is leagues away from the end of the world and concerns me not. People will say what people say, I'm just going to do what I'm going to do.

MG

[Tim R.]

Originally Posted by Wolfy

I have been wanting to scribe for a while now, it's been a couple of years since I set off from Ft Lauderdale, single handed on my 72ft Frers Steel Hulled Ketch down the Thorny Path, through Mona Pass and direct to Trinidad....with no bloody Auto Pilot, leaky Fuel Tanks, leaky Water tanks, no A/C, Faulty Water Maker, Almost Dead Batteries (wouldn't hold a charge for more than a couple of hrs with just basic nav equipment on), Cable / Chain Steering Box came apart mid Caribbean sea, Generator intermittent Starting etc.etc. Basically, everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
The previous owner swore to me that all was ready to go, and the inspections carried out at the dock in a canal in the middle of Ft Lauderdale hardly revealed the problems to come.
Anyway, I made it to Chagauramas, intact...barely.
After she was hauled out and Sand Blasted is when I realized just how lucky I was, there was more rust than plate, it was the fairing and paint that kept her water tight, three 4ft x 8ft 3/8" plate steel was used to repair the hull rust spots, the deck require another two sheets....all was very cleverly concealed by this con man that sold me the Boat, paint can hide a multitude of sins...and a falsified Survey doesn't help either.
Anyway, 2 years on the hard, completely rebuilt the beautiful boat, new wiring, plumbing, Bow Thruster, Batteries, all LED Lighting and everything else that was suspect has been changed out and finally the light at the end of the tunnel is near....Feb 2014 she'll be wet again and after a shake down cruise to St Lucia, if all is 100% then we'll be back on track to head to Panama, Galapagos to the Marquesas at long last.....
It's been an expensive lesson to learn, but, now that the major pain is over I am looking forward to enjoying retirement, lost a couple of years, lots of frustration.....but, it's over now and I will be posting updates.....oodles of them as soon as we cut loose......you'll all get fed up hearing from me I'm sure ;-)

Fair winds to all....

S/V Lindisfarne

Glad to hear you have made it through the darkest part and moving forward. Can you please elaborate on how you received a falsified survey? It could be a great lesson for others in the future.

[Prairie Chicken]

Moxie, you'll do just fine!

I grew up on a farm north of you so I know where you're coming from. I learned to drive the 4020 and the grain trucks real early, and considered it as a career for a while but just didn't have the mechanical aptitude to go it alone. Then I learned how to fly and that finished the farming idea.

Take your friend sailing. She might love it. This prairie farm girl would never have dreamed I'd love it as much as I do!

As an aside, I've always noted a lot of pilots like to sail, and a lot of sailors are interested in flying. Is it just me, or are there a lot of pilots on this forum?