Allow myself to introduce myself

[mayday51]

Good morning,
I've only posted one question so far, regarding two boats we've been looking at (Bavaria 47 vs Dufour 50). I though I'd introduce myself, because I anticipate asking many, many more questions!
So there's me. My wonderful husband, and two children (son, 10, and girl, 8). When we married, in the 90's, we honeymooned on a Moorings Sailaboard Stateroom and loved every minute of it. We obtained our US Sailing Bareboat certification shortly thereafter, moved to San Diego, and bought our first boat (O'Day 32), which we lived upon and sailed sporadically for two years.
Work forced us back to the East Coast, where we decided to start a family, and our sailing came to a screeching halt. Well, we took another Moorings vacation, but that was about it. We joined a boat club, but it just didn't work for us (a $15,000 mistake; what wouldn't I give to have that money back!)
Here we are, years later, and we are both still bit by the sailing-life bug. Ergo...The Plan. In our case, it's a two-year plan, which sounds both a million years away, and two seconds away, you know what I mean? We have a lot to do, like, I don't know...get a boat! Sell zero, one, or two of our homes and the contents therein. Make sure we'll have adequate internet for one or both of us to work from the boat. Sort out the schooling for the kids. And did I mention, we'll have cats on board, too? And on and on...
At the moments where it seems overwhelming, we just put one foot in front of another. We have ASA 101/103 training coming up in the spring, which will be exciting, for us and the kids.
Anyway, sorry to bother you good folks with my long-winded post. I look forward to picking your brains frequently as we move toward realizing our dream!

[Waterway Guide]

Welcome aboard! Sounds like a good plan!

[Sandero]

Welcome... You DO have a lot ahead of you... but the good news is that many have done it before so rest assured it's doable!

You haven't stated when you plan to make the move... As a general comment I would think it would take multiple seasons to become intimately familiar with the boat and the systems... not to mention familiar with sailing the boat in all manner of conditions... because you have no control over the weather and you simply need to deal with it.

You have some familiarity and training....now you need to get hands on with the boat that will take care of you as you take care of it.

Unless someone is familiar with the details of the boats you mentioned you won't get much help. I am an expert on my boat but not on others. It's true I can identify features which work for me and might work for others, but many of these things are subjective. And many of the good things I wasn't aware of until I was sailing the boat for years.

Taking 2 years to find the boat seems not unreasonable... and it will take several seasons of a lot of use in all conditions to become comfortable with the boat and "shake down" all systems... find what works and what doesn't work. There are many solutions and many different needs which have to fit to the same boat. The good thing is that the boat is tunable/alterable to your needs!

A 50' boat as a starter seems a challenge but sensible for your family. That's a lot of boat... it will keep you occupied ;-)

But by all means pick brains! Sailors are helpful, and amazingly clever and knowledgeable.

[Curious Sailor]

Welcome!


http://curioussailor.blogspot.com/

[oceancrossroads]

hey Mayday51 ! fun to see other then us are in the same boat ! we are in a 1 1/2-2 year plans with kids for a year long sailing voyage ! our kids are 8 , 10 ....and 2 ! we are feeling the same way 2 years but seem an eternity and we are overwhelmed at the same time ! And i have a web based busyness too so keep posting how the project going , its nice to know how others are doing it !