Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[hpeer]

I have been ignoring this thread for quite a while. I can't believe it is at 147 pages.

Retirement is soon to be upon me. Close enough that I'm starting to get scared of the changes.

I'll be getting SS and have a few bucks in the bank.

The boat is paid for and in good shape.

Sounds like I'll be OK. No?

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by w1651

The only thing I have against this boat is there's no place to get out of the rain.

Well, you could stick to Southern California...

I seem to remember a pop song from my youth... Mamas and Papas maybe??

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I have been ignoring this thread for quite a while. I can't believe it is at 147 pages.

Retirement is soon to be upon me. Close enough that I'm starting to get scared of the changes.

I'll be getting SS and have a few bucks in the bank.

The boat is paid for and in good shape.

Sounds like I'll be OK. No?

I think you're doing it right. Smaller boat, your life paid off and a small income. I'm in the same "boat" as you. I have a house paid for to rent out and SS kicks in a few years ahead. My health has been rebounding nicely now and I find that I am more labor intensive than the boat is...

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I have been ignoring this thread for quite a while. I can't believe it is at 147 pages.

Retirement is soon to be upon me. Close enough that I'm starting to get scared of the changes.

I'll be getting SS and have a few bucks in the bank.

The boat is paid for and in good shape.

Sounds like I'll be OK. No?

Depends, which boat are you gonna sell?

[wolfenzee]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

I'm guessing you REALLY want a cat, but can't offord one. I was in a similar position so I built mine.

Anyway, we met a family of 4 living on a little Wharram and having a ball. Certainly doing it on a tight budget, and doing it well. They spent a fair proportion of their time fishing, (line and spear) and crabbing. Also collecting coconuts and other "bush tucker".

IF I got a multihull it would probably be an ocean racing tri (not one of those party platforms with two hulls and a stick). But I am quite happy with my old school mono hull thinkyou

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

IF I got a multihull it would probably be an ocean racing tri (not one of those party platforms with two hulls and a stick). But I am quite happy with my old school mono hull thinkyou

Ding... Ding...

What round are we up to now...?

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

IF I got a multihull it would probably be an ocean racing tri (not one of those party platforms with two hulls and a stick). But I am quite happy with my old school mono hull thinkyou

Yes, so you keep saying. And saying. And saying.....

So why does the price of cats bother you so much? I mean, Buggatti Veyrons are expensive too, but I really don't care because I don't want one. Certainly not going to keep ranting on about how happy I am with "old school" walking because they are so expensive.

[Scotty333]

Originally Posted by Mark Johnson

Regarding how "unsuitable" our boat is for our needs... I don't agree.

Oue Searunner 34 is seaworthy enough for a family to go around the world by way of Cape Horn. It has been done, on the same size sistership! This is not counting the dozens of other circumnavigations, and hundreds if not thousands of major passages made on Searunners in general. They are certainly in the top 5 of the most seaworthy of all designs of either variety, if you count successful, safe, sea miles, over 45 years, by mostly husband & wife crews.

For us, cruising was more about the diving in clear tropical water, and just living an adventurous anchored out life. We lived on Delphys as our ONLY home for over 12 years, spent thousands of nights on the hook, (100% solar powered), rode out NUMEROUS hurricanes, visited well over 20 countries, and covered something well over 20,000 miles... (Although, that was never the point).

For us "the point" was about leisurely walks on shore to "mingle", the thousands of hours spent free diving for dinner, and hundreds of visits from our cruising friends in the anchorage, to share that dinner with us. As much as possible of this, was in a mellow, friendly, clear water, tropical place. THAT was OUR point... Searunners are GREAT for this!

Compared to a 34' monohull... It just couldn't do OUR "seasteading" lifestyle at all, (EQUALLY EQUIPPED), without total kayos living conditions, with stuff mounded all over on deck, tied to the lifelines, and/or no room left below.

On our boat, without crowding or ANY stacking of one thing on the other...
TOTALLY WITHIN THE AMAS: We have an inflatable kayak, 6 empty water jugs, 3 empty fuel jugs, the "bagged" Fortress hurricane anchor, 600' parachute rode, a complete dinghy accessories/seat & oars kit, the garden sprayer shower, clothes washing bucket, clear bottomed viewing bucket, 2 @14' long awning poles, fishing poles, 2 spear guns, a SCUBA tank, an 8 HP OB motor, the spinnaker & sock in a bag, 4 large fenders, a bin of boat spares, an epoxy & paint repair kit, misc. crab pot floats, 6 life jackets, Padded waterproof backpack, telescoping & folding dolly, etc. ALL this @ under 200 pounds per hull, for safety reasons.

Up on deck, we have ONLY one thing tied down on the entire boat, it is the deflated & strapped down 9.6" RIB on it's cradle, which is utterly storm proven here. It is easily launched with the roller on the back of the wing.

The three "dry hatch/self draining & vented wing anchor lockers, contain 3 of the 4 anchors, their rodes/chain, ALL dock lines & extra long spares, the hull bottom maintenance kit, and both my & my wifes dive gear & 4 wet suits, boots, fins, etc.

None of this large, wet, and/or stinky stuff goes below, or decreases the space below, NOR is it piled on top of a lot of other stuff in a cockpit lazeretts.

Below the 6' + SQUARE cockpit, in this middle 1/3rd of the boat, is all of the explosive fluids in a draining sub floor & LP tank in the same area. The dinghy motor tank goes here too. Further down, under this sub floor, is space for the 5 tool boxes, batteries, engine, ALL tankage, hurricane rodes, HUGE awning, etc. This puts the really HEAVY stuff, which equals a large portion of the weight of the boat, easily accessible, at or below the WL, in the middle 1/3rd of the boat. Regarding motion & knockdowns, it is the most seaworthy arrangement in multihulls to date!

The front cabin has a dedicated head compartment, with it's 30 gallon holding tank below the sole, made out of the glassed hull itself. Then comes the sit down dressing area. This "vanity" has both a seat & sink/counter, as well as 2 off season clothes storage areas in the wings, that are the size of the trunk in a mid sized car! almost in the middle of the boat, under the cockpit seats, there are two 4' wide by 7' long bunks... each with sitting headroom, ports, lights, and fans.

In the back cabin there are 2 nav and/or galley areas of about 4' X 4' each. further back is the "sterncastle", that seats 4 comfortably. There has a sliding table, with the refrigerator under the sole, "in the coolest place". There is a rolled up cushion further back that makes the floor into yet another bunk. (The best place for off watch, when going to windward in 40 knots & 15' seas). YUCK!

In these conditions we stand watch under the hard dodger that connects to a complete cockpit enclosure, for relative comfort.

It's not only suitable... It is the best layout of any 34' boat I have ever seen, for the type of cruising that we choose to do. The "just @ 3' draft" with the board up, allows us to anchor in FAR more circumstances than with deeper draft, as well as far more hurricane tie off options. (We can run the East Coast ICW with no marina stays)! Our regular speed of 8 or 9 knots, (even to windward), when others would be going 5 or 6, has been both fun AND a great safety feature! It allows us to out run a lot of bad weather, and our "Trinidad to Beaufort NC sail" in just 12 sea days, (during H season), would've been much more dangerous on a boat that doesn't really sail well.

It is NOT, however, a good marina boat, or good in cold winters. It isn't soundproof at all, and is hard to heat or air condition, (although we have done both). This is why, when we had to go back to work, we rented a house to keep the boat in cruising mode. This is where she really shines, and we now cruise locally as much as we can... Until the next BIG one!

Starting 21 years ago, right after we got married...
Because we lived in a camper while we built a house out of pocket "ourselves", and then built the boat. The cost of ALL of this was relatively low. (Like $5,000 to $8,000 per year) When money got low, we stopped spending money on the project.

When the boat was done, we sold the house at a profit for the "cruising kitty", and she became our only home. Because we NEVER use debt, on the house or the boat, we could pull up and "go" at will. Because we had no health, or boat insurance, and no jobs at the time... (= no income taxes), our expenses were solely food and boat maintenance. While cruising, we always avoided marinas. There were occasional inland trips, like inland Guatemala, Areciebo PR, all over Eleuthera, etc. and this is where I wish the most that we had had more money to spend.

While we were certainly among the least funded cruisers we met, (especially those over 50), we managed to "live cheap" while enjoying life at the same time. Our having a boat design that so perfectly lends itself to the "seasteading" lifestyle, was a large reason that it has worked so well for us.

Mark

ok Im jealous... any room for an acoustic guitar?

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

Depends, which boat are you gonna sell?

THAT is a problem. It involves marriage counselors, which how we ended up with two boats in the first place.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Yes, so you keep saying. And saying. And saying.....

So why does the price of cats bother you so much? I mean, Buggatti Veyrons are expensive too, but I really don't care because I don't want one. Certainly not going to keep ranting on about how happy I am with "old school" walking because they are so expensive.

Comes a time in the lives of many Bikers when it is time to give up the thrill of motorcycling.......and strap on a sidecar

Some people get old. others are born that way........

[44'cruisingcat]

Bikes are Ok. If you want to go slow.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Bikes are Ok. If you want to go slow.

If you dont want to go far...

[w1651]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

Well, you could stick to Southern California...

I seem to remember a pop song from my youth... Mamas and Papas maybe??

I'd rather buy a $5.00 Tarp!

[w1651]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I have been ignoring this thread for quite a while. I can't believe it is at 147 pages.

Retirement is soon to be upon me. Close enough that I'm starting to get scared of the changes.

I'll be getting SS and have a few bucks in the bank.

The boat is paid for and in good shape.

Sounds like I'll be OK. No?

Don't retire. Retirement means you sit in a chair and do nothing. If your on the boat sailing or sight seeing in a foreign country you are NOT retired. People who retire DIE !!!!
So get ready for the adventure of your life or sit back in a chair drooling and waste away. It's all up to you.
I'm going with the first option myself.

[w1651]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Comes a time in the lives of many Bikers when it is time to give up the thrill of motorcycling.......and strap on a sidecar

Some people get old. others are born that way........

I'm glad no one's here stirring the pot...

Can't we all just get along?

Hey if the animosity amongst cat owners and mono owners is like this on a sailing site. What is it like at a anchorage? We should start a show. When anchorages go bad and sell it to Sailing TV.
Gotta Go!