Still using the excuse you can't afford that boat?

[exkma367]

Deb and I were hilltop in Georgetown, Exuma looking down at our $300.00 ebay Columbia 26 we had sailed down from Baltimore, when a Gunboat Cat sailed past our boat. We took a couple neat pictures as their beam was about equal to our total length. We were sitting in the bar later that day talking about what it would be like to have all that room and luxury. The group next to us at the bar overheard and introduced themselves as the crew of the Gunboat. They told us that as they passed our boat they commented to each other how nice it would be to have the freedom of a small low cost boat.


Our anchors were in the same sand, butts on the same bar stools, and hearts in the same place.

[PatMc57]

Great post. Appreciate your authenticity and honesty. I thought that we were within a year or two...Then my wife had Grandbabies.....it's over...will be a charterer for the rest of my life....am trying to find peace. The counter arguments are also valid....So be it. Any owners who want to charter to a qualified NE US boatless Captain..let me know..It may be as close as I'm willing to get for now.
Relatively short passages/deliveries are also welcome.
Sheesh...tough pill...but...
Patrick

[Scott Berg]

My first cruise was on a loaned Brewer 30, 9K nm over a couple of years. I think I spent 5K US$ per year. After a short bout co-owning a charter boat (Morgan 60) I picked up a wonderful S&S designed Hughes 38 in the mid 80's for 25K. Wonderful sailboat, would recommend one to anyone... my friend Fatty took his twice around the world! Now, late in life, we have a wonderful 60' Ketch. At different times you go on different boats... just GO!

[PatMc57]

Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming

Shhhh...dont tell anyone, we bought our boat for 30,000. Deck, hull, sails, engine etc all good. Now it does need work on the rudder, but nothing expensive or time consuming. We had to slow down our plan as there was far more to do than we expected, (to wrap up land life) but come next year we join the ranks of others fixing boats in exotic locations.
The couple we bought our boat from had been actively cruising her. Her systems are aging but in good working order. We will replace or upgrade as parts give up the ghost.

So no more excuses. We dont expect to get compliments on her, but we get to cruise!
Like us, Gitana is not pretty, but capable.

I would think that more people a year are killed by long term complacency and apathy. Fair winds to you .

[Cruisingscotts]

Although I do agree with the sentiment of the OP in the virtues of breaking free and just going, I've said the same in other threads, I can't help but see the irony in most of these threads. For me the very core of the lifestyle is to be as "free" as humanly possible to live your life the way you want. Yet people pile on top of each other trying to quantify and put value to exactly what that individual freedom is. It's like arguing with a freegan about why, even though you accept that half eaten sandwhich in the dumpster may be ok, you are not particularly hungry at the moment.

No matter where you go there you are....live in the now.....

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Guy

We have a dock neighbor on the Rio that once they got there,
kind of quit and have been there for 8 years. They plan to go somewhere someday when they get the boat ready again.
On my other side is a 38' IP with all the good stuff , new gen set, 15hp rib. A ready to go cruising boat, $90K

Yes, the Rio is one of those places that swallows cruisers...many have not left for years, but at least the they cast off and got that far.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

And then you have the people who have the boat but can't get moving because 'the boat isn't quite ready yet'.

If you wait until everything is 100% you will never go.

Knew a guy once who turned around a couple of days out because he had found an unpainted cupboard door and had resolved not to go cruising until the boat was finished.

[Kenomac]

We fix stuff daily. Everyone we know out cruising (going places), does the same.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by PatMc57

I would think that more people a year are killed by long term complacency and apathy. Fair winds to you .

The actual truth is probably texting and walking at the same time.

[REsCat]

What kills the dream for many people that do get out there and experience it, especially for more complex,expensive boats is the continuous need for repair,replacement and upkeep.
It simply wears couples out... especially ones that are not "handy" or enjoy doing it.

Paying so called "Marine Experts" at yards etc to do the above quickly kills the dream for many.

Small, Simple and Cheap and going NOW is an undisputable truth but many Cruisers or potential ones are not willing to try it or do that approach.

Booze has killed the dream for many couples as well.

Bob

[SSgtPitt]

It's the dream that gets me through my day. 51 years old, bought my first boat, an immaculate 1982 CD36 and sailed her from Pensacola to Corpus Christi. 11 months later she resides in the municipal marina while we figure out how to wrap up our affairs and make repairs to the things that make her sail. She's still absolutely beautiful, but just like a beautiful woman, there are always "issues"
Like so many others, the dream is to sail the world. Coming and going as we please, no schedule, no deadlines, no pissy ungrateful clients, no excuse laden contractors
Until we truly "shove off", the dream and thoughts of what lies ahead make us happy and give us something to look forward to and dream about.
The comments about "forever fixing and never leaving" are very poignant and keep me vigilant so I don't do the same.
The guy with the unpainted cupboard door probably likes the dream better than the reality.......and that's ok too.

[zeehag]

i watch as folks experience death of their dream. sail from cali or pnw and find boat is for sale now..cruise ready.
ok..10 years later, same boat, still cruise ready is still for sale in same place.
ok so it was moved from maz to san carlos then back. price dropped very slightly a s owners continue to believe their dream is worth their original purchase money to someone, despite lack of .......
ok so when i first moved aboard i had vague ideas of sailing out of cali. didnt know where i would go--hell i stole my kids inheritance and spent it on a derelict boat in which i lived, repaired and went to a professional gig as management level pacu rn.
time passes and i gained and sold boats as i went-- found this one, traded equity in ericson for it--ha ha ha day before market fell thru cellar floor.. got this one for 4650 usd.. not bad deal-- replaced basics and left with bells on my ass
didnt expect to stop where i did, but it is all part of the game called life on boat cruising.
so we break down. so what. is part of what is called use of item. **** happens boats break, especially low budget ones. i had my first few years actively able to move until the engine ranaway-- but that was 3000 miles into this misadventure.
i learned very young that boats are work. tha twas half the fun of it all.
i think many of the ones buying brand new boats to cruise and who find these brand new boats aint cruise ready is only part of the inertia causing dream fail.
sailing life is a wonderful dream--we all have it from an early age--but effecting it takes a boatload of effort just to ditch the stationary inertia keeping boats to docks and in yards as folks effect the repairs that could easily be done at sea after departure.
some of those who sell all then run away find they are not amenable to this not easy lifestyle and run away. ok more room in anchorages for me.
missing grandkids and family--learned behaviors, and not insurmountable--face time on apple products and skype and google hangouts help remove the distance between folks. most folks donot remain on board year round, so that is a lame excuse. sorry it is. leaving makes folks want to see you more. staying-- you are in a rut anyway--need to jump out of that, or die with regrets. is a matter of choice.
folks say to me--when you sailing again--i say --i sailed my boat to near death, now i am doing cpr and performing surgery on her so i can do it again.
i KNOW what is out here, i know how it feels to drift without enough fuel to make port.. ha ha ha ha there is always a way....
i give up NOTHING to have my lifestyle and travel in my ketch.
i may have lost a brother and a dad, but i gained 2 guardian angels.
there is nothing gonna keep me in port after i am done refitting. when you are under way, there is a reason for the breakage, as all is being worked hard..
when ye dock queen, there is the opposite reason to stay in port--neglected systems fail.
so.....if your dream was to dock queen, awesome. some only have that as a goal. beautiful nonfunctional boats. gorgeous.
they make my used to hell boat look bad.. but i care not about my rough looks as much as i care about function. looks be damned--is why i donot get clobbered for my useless resaleable items. shiny is a sign of pride in your stuff, but it is also a rat magnet.
2 legged type.
some worry unnecesarily about this aspect of cruising.
which brings me to another reason why folks donot get off their butts to cruise---ono the state of the world in which we live!!!!! we are gonna die at the hands of pirates! even tho it is safer to cruise than to cross many streets in detroit or lost angeles.
ok.
the hotspots are still in general same location since 1990. indian ocean is a nogo.
vene is a nogo. mosquito coast is a nogo....st lucia is a mebbe . heck even pago pago has had pirates clobbering cruisers. (nogo to those afraid of the unknown...be wary to the rest of us)
we cannot spend time worrying on stuff we cannot change. all we get is regret and ulcers and early cardiac death.
but the choice is still there--go vs no go...

the death of my brother almost stopped me cold. all my pix i took for him to see what i was doing.
the most difficult trip of my life was to be with momma after his death. this cruising--is easy peasy next to that loss. but, now i have no partner in crime wiith whom to show my pretties. we had sailed together from 1955 to 1968 on antique eleanor.. we learned responsibility for our mischievous actions on board eleanor. even talked dad out of assisting us in our punishment. we did it we had to fix it. concur with uncle phil, our guru.hauled him up mast when donny was 7 and i was 8 because we befouled the first masthoop with the gaff throat. oops. only made us want more.
his loss feels horrible. but it will not keep me from continuing

btw--VARNISH is a rotten excuse to remain in port--can be done at sea or anywhere.

[oldsalt_1942]

"'I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas,” some men say, “but I can't afford it.'

What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of 'security.' And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine--and before we know it our lives are gone.

"What does a man need--really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in--and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all--in the material sense. And we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade.

"The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it the tomb is sealed.” - Sterling Hayden “Wanderer”

[barnakiel]

Sure there is one million excellent excuses not to do something. ;-) Not having this or that is probably at the top of such a list!

But at least we have the opportunity to talk about boats and lives and dreams!

I am OK with whatever motivation people may have to come to a forum and TALK.

Cheers,
b.

[a64pilot]

Now admittedly I am still working out the "bugs" on our boat and the systems I have installed, the little gen requires so much attention that my Daughter has nicknamed it my little Buddy, but I have come to the belief that growing up and chasing professions that have as their basis mechanical aptitude is almost required, if I tried hiring people to fix things as they broke, even if I could afford it, would be so frustrating I'd quit.
When I was in the Dry Tortugas we met a couple down on their 65' Viking Sportfisherman. Next morning they came by in their dinghy to drop off a gl of gas I had asked to borrow and mentioned they were having battery problems, I offered my services of course. Anyway I got over there and met the Professional Capt they had hired to drive the boat, anyway what was wrong was they had a shorted battery that the charger had overheated, the fire system on the boat had detected the hot battery as there was a sensor for that, it had disabled the engines, armed the Halon system and closed the huge ventilators the twin 2000 HP engines breathed through.
They were stuck because nobody at Viking would answer the phone as it was a weekend, I found the hot battery with my IR thermometer, disconnected the overheat sensor and advised him to turn off the charger to that bank. When I disconnected the sensor the overheat condition of course was no longer detected and the fire suppression system enabled the engines, disabled the Halon system and opened the ventilators.
7 million dollar boat, disabled by a hot battery, a couple stuck and a professional Capt., from an overheated battery.
You wouldn't have believed the bridge in that thing, looked like six big huge computer monitors, Pro Capt's biggest concern was if there was enough in the bank to power the Nav system.



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