Liveaboards - Do You Sail ?

[zeehag]

i lived aboard in sd for too dang long then i did the finishing repairs and sailed 1500 ish miles--now i am living in mazatlan and repairing-- will sail at november's end to stormy season....is too expensive to gust go out to sail for a daysail..... fuel and such isnt cheap nor easy to obtain-- requires a lot of long walking to and from boat with jugs for diesel.....so i sail to somewhere when i wanna.

[lancelot9898]

I lived aboard for close to 20 years and the key to going sailing at a moments notice is to keep things stowed away. Many friends who were also living aboard seldom went out because of all the hassels in putting things away. Even people at the dock who had circumnavigated would seldom go out for a day sail and when they started their journey again would be on autopilot whereas I seldom put the auto pilot on and just enjoyed sitting behind the wheel or in some cases just balancing the sails and going forward and sitting in the bowpulpit letting the waves hit my feet.

[gonesail]

living aboard is one thing .. living aboard and working full time is another. sailing on the weekend is ok but then you have to compete with the power boat crazies. c'est la vie.

[ardoin]

Not so many power boats this year. Price of fuel may be keeping them down...
I sail, not as often as I would like because of the 15 min rule. This year the problem has been all the boat projects that take several days to complete (e.g. 8 coats of varnish), etc. I prefer to sail out for a long weekend. I usually do not day sail on my boat unless friends are asking to sail and the wind is up. For day sails, I have a friend with a 24' boat just down the Bay.

[stillbuilding]

When I was weekend sailing out of a marina in Westernport on our 40' yacht, I watched one yacht jar sitting with the occas visit by working O. Then unannounced a stream of shopping trolleys, the sails uncovered and he was gone - to Valparaiso via NZ!

[rusky]

Originally Posted by gonesail

living aboard is one thing .. living aboard and working full time is another. sailing on the weekend is ok but then you have to compete with the power boat crazies. c'est la vie.

Yep, its very true. We are either cruising or in a marina and working. Weekends are full of the weekend warriors and too crowded for me.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by RainDog

. . . The people who never leave the dock are almost all on boats > 40 feet. The people who sail are all on boats < 40 feet.

I would agree as larger boats involve a lot more "putting stuff away" before you can go sailing. Live-a-boards in larger boats have stuff "set up" in the various areas so they can move from one area to another to do their work or little projects. Kind of follows the axiom - the bigger the closet the more things you stuff into it.

[sv Winterlude]

Love to sail, love to explore, love new anchorages and clear water. Hate stuck at a dock. Usually at anchor 150+ nights every 6 months. Last year, not so much, working on a minor refit on the boat. Hopefully this coming year will revert to the six years out enjoying the clear blue water somewhere!

[imagine2frolic]

When I lived on Frolic on S.F. Bay. I worked about 60 hours a week, and manged many evening sails, and weekend sails all the time. I probably sailed a couple of times a week. When I cruised Mexico on Frolic I still went for day sails.

On Imagine we cruised the Bahamas for 4 seasons using Miami as a hub. We day sailed Miami all the time, and of course sailed while cruising. While at the dock near Jax Fl. during hurricane seas. I believe we day sailed maybe 3-5 times in 7 years. Being on the St.. Johns River had no visual stimulation. The river was very dark brown, and just flatland with trees. Then there were the traps even in the channel...........i2f

[Sailor g]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I have a 15 minute rule. The boat always is ready to go within 15 minute rule.

I also go by that rule. If I can't be underway in 15 it would be too much of a hassle to sail (my decorative pillows sit on the bed just fine under sail). We also don't buy anything unless we have a spot or can remove something else to make room.

We have been out the past week, at anchor the past 3 nights and are now on our way to Ensenada,Mexico for the month of July. We are out most weekends-even anchoring out off the local pier (where fishing boats go to fish) just to anchor for lunch. We did cruise Mexico for 1 1/2 yrs and plan on going back next yr if I retire. So we may not be typical.

[Hudson Force]

I also follow Sailorchic34 and Sailor G's 15 minute plan. It's a choice in your style of living aboard any size vessel to be ready to leave the dock. We secure a TV and one lamp below and then the remaining 14 minutes & 55 seconds of our 15 minute plan is for unplugging the power cord; warming the engine and releasing the dock lines.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by brak

I am pondering the liveaboard life - and this is a question that I cant' answer without experience. Say you are a livaboard in a marina or on a mooring, with amenities within reach. After a while - do you still sail? Do you get away for a weekend or a week (or a few hours)? Or does the boat necessarily turn into a floating condo at that point?

IMO the trick is to prevent your belongings from yielding to Sir Isaac Newton and ending up on the floor.

I made something I called "snap panels." They're just pieces of cloth with snaps on top and bottom. They cover all the open shelves when I sail. I made them with ties at the top so they can just be out of the way when I'm at the dock.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

...............I made something I called "snap panels." They're just pieces of cloth with snaps on top and bottom. They cover all the open shelves when I sail. I made them with ties at the top so they can just be out of the way when I'm at the dock.

This is a great idea although, sometimes fids and fid boards can suffice.



The bottles on this shelf may appear at risk, but they stay secure with little movement....



This glassware remains secure with their bases in slots and braced together with the cardboard plugs. I like the cloth panels that Rakuflames suggest, but there are many good strategies.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by brak

I am pondering the liveaboard life - and this is a question that I cant' answer without experience. Say you are a livaboard in a marina or on a mooring, with amenities within reach. After a while - do you still sail? Do you get away for a weekend or a week (or a few hours)? Or does the boat necessarily turn into a floating condo at that point?

It's not necessary, but what stops a lot of people is all the stuff they collect that go tumbling around when they heel over.

My Hunter 31' has two rows of shelves on each side of the main cabin. I made what I call "snap panels." They snap over the unenclosed shelves (some have sliding doors) and restrain the contents from flying across the boat. They were easy to make. Since each ended up a different size (doncha just love boats?) I leave them in place but with ties attached to them so they can be tied up when at dock.

Just look for ways to secure your belongings EASILY. If you put some kind of awning system to keep the heat down in the summer, make sure it's easily removed, easily stored and easily put back. If you have to spend six hours getting ready to sail, you won't sail much.

[osirissail]

I would suggest that as the boat gets larger the full time live aboard owners are less enthusiastic to move the boat or use it to go somewhere. As the boat reaches "home comfortable" invariably there is an ever increasing amount of "stuff" that cannot be easily stored away and is left out.
- - Putting all that stuff away is both traumatic and time consuming (takes a whole day with my boat). On the other hand, once the stuff is stored away there is a tendency of large boat folks to not want to stop anyplace for very long, but to keep on moving. Once you stop you invariably need to unpack all that stuff which again is time consuming and traumatic.
- - So I would say, the smaller the boat the more it moves or is used to go anywhere.