When is it time and How DO You Know

[theBigKahuna]

Traumagas,

We're in an almost identical situation (and am also looking @ Leopards, specifically the '40). What we've done first is sold our WAY too big house, had our estate sale and downsized to almost nothing in a one bedroom apt (very nice but very small). My wife's logic being if we can't survive in this space we'll never make it on board. Renting our primary gives us more flexibility to 'get outta dodge' when we decide to.

Best of luck and as Simis 60 said. if the ducks are lined up...what's stopping you!

[limbodog]

One of the hardest lessons for me to learn was the opposite of what I'd been taught as a kid. I was taught "look before you leap" or some variant thereof.

But later in life the lesson is more "Trust in your ability to find your feet."

I just bought mine a few months back and am now living aboard. I've got a to-do list a mile long, and it's stressful from time to time, but I'm loving it.

Do it.

[boatman61]

How do I know.. when I want to strangle the gf..

[theBigKahuna]

LimboDog... that reminds me of the fathers quote to his son in Knights Tale "follow your feet, they'll know where to go"

[theDangerz]

Originally Posted by Traumagas

Ok guys
My wife and I are 9-5ers on the daily grind....We have been looking to take the Plunge living aboard ....we are looking at a leopard cats and have the dockage and all the specifics worked out. But What MAKEs YOU JUST Do it ? I am pretty confident Financials are in Place however long term inflation is a concern....We are TYPE "A" People and Always like our ducks in Line. Just Love to know what others have experienced when they Knew its time to JUST DO IT .

Thanks in advance with any experiences

Well??
Have you gone yet?

It seems there are (in all too many cases) 2 types of people:
- those who will take the leap and go even if the financials aren't in place and there is no plan/backup plan.
- those who may never go even though everything has already fallen into place years ago.


My advise (you did ask) would be to stop looking for the perfect window of opportunity and go now (literally, today. right now...turn off the computer and go make a deposit on a boat...any boat) to make sure you end up in the first category of people rather than the second.

What makes us JUST DO IT when making these decisions?
The fact that we don't know how many days we have left and we don't want to regret wasting or regretting a single one of them. Through that lens (and an understanding that life will always still require learning/changing/adapting as we go)... these decisions become easy and NOW is almost always the right answer.

Wait, are you still reading this?? GO! NOW!

[theBigKahuna]

well said

[jjorgenson3]

Definitely agree so please add one

[theDangerz]

Not sure if its helpful... maybe so maybe not, but we recently filmed ourselves talking about making this leap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKxyFoaFizE

At the very least know that when I say "go NOW" I mean it in 100% seriousness and I follow my own advice.

When we asked ourselves a few months ago if it was time to go (hadn't discussed living on a boat for a decade and had no previous ownership or boating/sailing experience) we put an offer in 3 days later and closed 30 days after that.

I know it seems like there is a lot to put in place or "ducks to get in a row". There really aren't. If this is your dream get out there and live it.
We only get one life (that we know of) and it's got a limited number of days and nobody tells us how many we have left.

...and if we can help in any way please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know. We clearly don't have all the answers, but we are happy to help if we can!

[Sojourner]

My favorite writer, Paul Bowles, wrote this, and it has informed this melancholic yet fairly adventurous soul every day of my life since the day I read it... I think you'll dig the relevance to your question:

“Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless.”

It's later than you think. Play it smart, but go soon... it all only seems limitless.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Lepke

I've been on the water most of 60 years. Living aboard and cruising are 2 different things. The people I have seen that become unhappy with the cruising leave mostly leave because of lack of comfort aboard, more work - hauling groceries, laundry, and the motion of the ocean. Money usually isn't the reason because a way can be found to liveaboard cheaply.
If you haven't spent time on the ocean aboard the type of boat you want, you need to lease, charter, and get some ocean time. And you need to look at chores you will have aboard that are easier on land. If you don't have laundry aboard, that's a big chore and time waster.
I've always had big boats, so it's a tainted view. But most failures I see is because of buying a boat too small. No private space, limited room for food storage, clothes, kitchen accessories, hobbies, limited fresh water, and the big one, discomfort on the ocean. .

Agree with you 100% on this part.
Its so very much easier than when we gave it a go on a smaller boat

[Boatsie]

Originally Posted by Traumagas

Ok guys
My wife and I are 9-5ers on the daily grind....We have been looking to take the Plunge living aboard ....we are looking at a leopard cats and have the dockage and all the specifics worked out. But What MAKEs YOU JUST Do it ? I am pretty confident Financials are in Place however long term inflation is a concern....We are TYPE "A" People and Always like our ducks in Line. Just Love to know what others have experienced when they Knew its time to JUST DO IT .

Thanks in advance with any experiences

From my experience as a cruiser I am somewhat ignorant of boats and weather and etc.
Don't understand what person type I am neither.
But.. I couldn't afford a boat. I used my 1 tonne pickup with canopy as my home. I own 2 houses but as soon as I moved away I became quested to buy things such that the tenants could have luxurious lifestyles. This is broken, that doesn't work, electricity bill too high, etc, etc.
After a few months, I drove home.. Stuff wasn't broken, electricity was high because air con was 24-7 high speed high compression (even when away a day).. I stayed in ute. Upgraded to a 40footer.. About a year later made profit on the 40footer and drove the mini me cruiser off again.
I was now living in paid motels and on weekends sleeping on coast. My friend whom was paid same to stay at motel lived on a 40-50foot cruiser on weekends. He lost his life. Alone, drunk, drowned. Sad. Just a common danger often not written.
Anyway.. Would of, could of been worse if I was out to sea.. Set up your responsibilities well or be played with.
Now my cruiser is a van.. You beauty.. Upgraded.
Looking at a boat (+2 years to sort stuff first.sell a house, etc).
My tenant is excellent and knows better now. Eg. We both win. He pays much less than anywhere else and I make cents; not dollars.
I'd much rather a boat as a cruiser.. Marina sorts out living much like from a house. Can still bicycle to work during working age. My problem now being that my girlfriend is the seasick type. I hope I can bull ship my way into my preferred sleeping habitat. Boat unknown.. Basically whatever combination available in a couple of years that suits my budget. I'd like a long keel that plows the bow and buries the deck. I'm ignorant of anchor with such though.. Fish finder might be a bit green faced. Speed of tri, platform of cat looks good too but I'd be scared ship less in the roaring forties while dancing with whales. A Dolphin hit breached keel above water.
Very interested in bildge keels. Lay on marina or sit on a shoal. I am ignorant. I don't know how much depth a breaker has.

But.. If you're both boaties and have shore duties organized to suit your new home. I'm glad to think you're winning.

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Agree with you 100% on this part.
Its so very much easier than when we gave it a go on a smaller boat

I don't know if you were agreeing with the quote or not, but after sailing on and off much of my life, when it came time to buy our boat, there were two schools of thought: buy a small one and "see how we like it full time" or buy one to grow into. We went big with a 53ft Amel, and I think that's the way to go... had we bought a 33 or 39 footer, we might well have quit by now: small tanks, small unsheltered cockpit, no washing machine, no privacy, cramped, no room for everything we three need or like, a rough ride, blah blah... But on a big enough boat, everything is easier to enjoy, even in bad weather.

Right now in Mallorca, we're sitting in 30 knots of cold wind and spitting rain in the big enclosed cockpit typing on our computers in sweatpants, while the gent next door on the thirty footer is up at a coffee shop the whole day... go as big as you can afford, you'll like it better

[Boatsie]

Originally Posted by Boatsie

My friend whom was paid same to stay at motel lived on a 40-50foot cruiser on weekends. He lost his life. Alone, drunk, drowned. Sad. Just a common danger often not written.

My friend was on mooring. I do not know his family. I was workmate. Just ... I've been found unconscious face down before. It is a beautiful feeling. Know mercy although need of such is such. I'm happy to have known him.

Recycle too. Pleases marine life. I love the simpler stuff too. I hope you enjoy motion.