Looking for the right boat

[Adam041987]

Hey,
I am wanting to liveaboard and cruise from BC to the coastal Alaskan rainforest, and eventually down to coastal Chilean rainforest.

I want to include a 36" wide woodstove that I already have.

I'm trying to live off grid, providing for all of our food needs, and have minimal contact with society.
I will have my wife, a dog, a few goats, chickens and rabbits.
When we settle down in a region, we'll garden and farm raise livestock.
When we are ready to move on, we'll harvest and preserve the food, pack up, load the animals into kennels for transit and move on.

I will be taking a canoe, 2 kayaks and 2 bikes along.

I've got about 25,000$ for the purchase of the boat.

Finally, my question:
What boat should I be looking at?
I like the look of the trimarans, but the weight I intend to carry would probably prove disasterous, as has been previously pointed out.
That's a lot of weight putting a lot of stress on a boat not designed to be loaded up.

I also like trimarans for their shallow draft. A few monohulls that I've looked at had previously run aground, and were fixed up. I thought I might avoid running aground if I could make a trimaran work. Perhaps there are other boats out there with a shallow draft that I don't know about. Perhaps I just need to not run into things with any boat!

[Sailor647]

Laughing out loud. I have tears running down my cheeks.

Don't forget the chainsaw with a 36" bar. You'll need it for cutting firewood.

Hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!

[Adam041987]

Nah, I don't need a chainsaw. I have axes and a hatchet, and stones for sharpening.

Which part about it do you find funny, or implausible?

I know that with minimal contact with society maintenance of the boat will eventually become an issue.

I know that space on a boat is pretty tight, and that taking livestock on board is very out of the ordinary.

[SteveInMD]

I suggest an ark. They have a ton of space, and due to the wide beam they are fairly shallow draft. I would also suggest diversifying the livestock a bit... and be sure to get two of each.

[Don C L]

Well Noah, there used to be a boat in Santa Barbara called "Vacquero" that the ranchers used to haul cattle from the islands. I wonder whatever happened to that boat? Bet you could get it for a song. Scrape out the cow patties, change the oil in the engine, load up the goats and chickens and away you go! No sail though, need to trade goat's milk for diesel. Seriously though, I enjoy the dream of being off the grid too, but if this is a truly (somewhat) serious post you'd need a boat like this one to do it, and you'll need crew. And $25,000 might cover one haulout. If you can trade the barnyard for a high protein fish diet you'll have a better shot at it... but $25K still probably won't get you there. It'll be fun to hear how this all plays out though!

[Adam041987]

Originally Posted by SteveInMD

I suggest an ark. They have a ton of space, and due to the wide beam they are fairly shallow draft. I would also suggest diversifying the livestock a bit... and be sure to get two of each.

That is actually kind of helpful. I forgot that bit about a wider beam might have a shallower draft.
Thanks.

[Adam041987]

Originally Posted by Don C L

If you can trade the barnyard for a high protein fish diet you'll have a better shot at it... but $25K still probably won't get you there. It'll be fun to hear how this all plays out though!

Yeah, the goats are definitely the hardest to deal with.

I've seen a few boats for a bit less than 25,000, in ok condition.
Might need to save up a bit more.

Thank you for taking it seriously.

[Sailor647]

Originally Posted by Adam041987

Nah, I don't need a chainsaw. I have axes and a hatchet, and stones for sharpening.

Which part about it do you find funny, or implausible?

I know that with minimal contact with society maintenance of the boat will eventually become an issue.

I know that space on a boat is pretty tight, and that taking livestock on board is very out of the ordinary.

Really? Goats on a boat? Impossible. We once raised goats for meat and dairy. And chickens for eggs and eventually meat. Have you given any thought to their feed and water requirements? Last I checked, they need fresh water to drink. And, you won't be able to get them into any country without a quarantine period. They won't survive the journey.

We used to heat our farmhouse with wood. We know what it takes to process firewood. And you'll need heat at night all the way down the entire North American coast. We know. We did that, too. Plus, where the hell are you going to stack it?

You clearly have no clue how to do these things on land, much less on a boat.

Buy a camper instead. Or homestead in Idaho.

[Don C L]

You, your wife, and a dog... leaving out the goats, chickens and rabbits for a moment, you are realistically referring to something around 40 feet. Personally I think a dog on a boat is animal cruelty, but I've seen people do it. The boat will need a good, sound and strong diesel, you will be relying on it as you go up to Alaska. It is hard to find a well-found boat with a good diesel in that $ range. HOWEVER I do not advocate abandoning ALL of this dream. As someone who in younger days flirted with ideas of floating self-sufficiency, I think you may be started on an amazing journey of some sort... though it may not include as many four-footed (or winged) crew.

[Shrew]

A 36" wide wood stove???!!!!

1) Where are you going to put that massive piece of cast iron??

2) Where are you going to put cords of wood?

3) A 36" inch stove is a large stove. How much do you think you need to heat? That would heat a large house and would be way overkill for a boat.

I burned wood as a primary source of heat from birth until my mid 20's. I never had a wood stove that large.

There are many marine solid fuel stoves out that that will fit the bill for what you're trying to achieve. This idea seems a little 'land-lubbery'. Like trying to figure out how to get a land-line on a boat.

[SV Siren]

Adam,

What you are proposing is an interesting and I am sure that you are not the first, I have never heard of anyone trying this route, and there may be a reason for that.

I just want to give you my thoughts, and also to give you some ideas to think about and problem solve.

The woodstove is an interesting idea, but as others have raised, there is a great deal of weight, and storage space that would be needed. To re-supply said stove in exotic locales raises some serious questions. Where are you going to find the wood in the first place, as lands are either public or privately owned lands. Publically owned lands may have restrictions on wood harvesting more than just a few pieces of wood, and if the wood is not dried, then it takes a good 6-12 months for wood to dry enough to be burned efficiently. Privately held land, well, that is another can of worms, and can be very dangerous going on to someone else's land to basically steal, and trust me, can get you shot. Bringing such things as wood aboard also raise issues with the critters you don't want, bugs and termites, ants, and the like. Many cruisers when buying supplies remove such things seemingly benign as cardboard before bringing it on board, for good reason. Wood will be 10 times worse.

Bringing livestock into a foreign country is also a huge no-no in many cases, or just plain very difficult. If the letter of the law is not followed in some countries it may involve seizure and forfeiture of the boat, or fines, or just plain bribery..

When you talk about settling down in a region, where exactly do you plan to farm and raise livestock? Finding a kindred spirit who will allow you to come in and farm and raise livestock on their property will be VERY hard to do, you just can't sail in, drop anchor and expect to be able to farm the land...try that on my land and you would be escorted off poste haste. Between having to erect fencing, supplying water from some source, and being able to feed yourself at the same time, this takes on a serious workload, if it's even possible. You also have to consider how will you be able to get this livestock to shore? Are you considering more than chickens and goats?

Basically what you are proposing is exactly what the Pilgrims did in Jamestown when they finally arrived. They could not sustain themselves, even with the addition of active hunting to farming. Many died of starvation and they eventually turned to cannibalism in a couple of cases.

May I suggest that you re-consider the farm animal route, and look more into living off the land, or in this case, the sea. They have already been fed and watered, no need to do all that work, and waiting for animals such as goats to get big enough to eat/breed, and they will start to look good once hunger sets in.

I wont even get into the appropriate boat aspect, because the aforementioned issues will need resolving before you can more accurately set parameters for your boat needs.

Good luck, feel free to reply back with your thoughts, and any research you have done on this type of lifestyle on a boat.

[Ded reckoner]

Is this a serious post?

There was a Hinckley (Bermuda 40, I think) at the 2016 Kemah Boatshow. I was surprised to discover it had a wood burning stove of about 1 foot or less in the saloon. My experience with a 3 foot diameter wood burning stove in New Hampshire is it will drive you out of the room in a 2500sq ft house. A diesel heater is much more practical for a boat.

In days gone by, I raised beef cattle and egg-laying chickens for years. Putting aside daunting quarantine issues, I can't image being on a boat with livestock unless there was a separate hold. Even then, the entire boat will quickly smell like a barnyard.

Doubtless, serious cruisers need to have great capacity for independence. Skillsets need to be continually sharpened and expanded. But, modern economics recognizes the advantage of specialization, and currency is used as a medium of exchange for best advantage. Have you thought of working, saving, and buying what you need?

[chris mac]

Don't worry about bringing the stove, and get a small boat. All those bodies pumping out heat will keep it cozy. Plus too much heat with goats and chickens... The smell alone will have you sleeping in the cockpit

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Adam041987

Nah, I don't need a chainsaw. I have axes and a hatchet, and stones for sharpening.

Which part about it do you find funny, or implausible?

I know that with minimal contact with society maintenance of the boat will eventually become an issue.

I know that space on a boat is pretty tight, and that taking livestock on board is very out of the ordinary.

Well if you do get a chainsaw, be sure to buy a Husky(they come in orange). The only one that really starts on one pull, cuts clean, and is durable. Bigger chain, better design, and easier to clean out.

[Tayana42]

In the great age of sail it was common for ships, freighters or Navy, to carry live stock. Without refrigeration it was the only way to have fresh meat and dairy. So this idea isn't so far out. But, those were big ships with big crews. And even so it was common to have to throw the livestock overboard when water ran low. So think about weight, feed, water and space needed for farm animals aboard a small boat.


S/V B'Shert