Greetings from Montana... brrr!

[Daoism]

Greetings,


I can't tell you how many times I have come to this forum and read countless posts from this community. Today I decided to make register my own account and start participating! This wall of text is brought to you by general unrest and a desire for a fulfilling lifestyle.


In an attempt to obtain more information to help guide myself down a path to reach a goal/dream of mine, I am now a member of your thriving online community. I have been sailing for about 15 years now and for the last seven years I have been racing a j-24 as well as limited experience racing other types of boats. I have reached a proverbial fork in the road in my life and am in a position to make a decision on which path to take. I know there is a life to be lived that I am missing out on. That life is doing something I love while being able to survive. I have this dream of living aboard my own boat sailing where I please or where the wind takes me. More realistically finding a career that involves something I love and am passionate about. A career/job on the water sharing my enthusiasm of sailing and adventuring with others would be a big step.


There are many things about living/working aboard a boat that I don’t know but am anxiously looking for ways to learn and apply this knowledge. I keep telling myself that getting involved in the field will open up many doors leading to fulfilling my dream. Finding a job that enables me to start learning these skills such as repairing the engine on board if something fails, learning more about electrical systems on board, navigation, sail repair and energy generation through solar and wind generators that would be applicable to onboard systems.


My idea at the moment is to find a venue that would enable me to learn more about these skills so that I may apply them to my own craft and others’ boats. I have the luxury of living debt free and have a burning desire to find a fulfilling lifestyle that I enjoy. This is an attempt to lay some ground work towards planning my future on the water.


I am hoping to at the very least open up some dialogue about reaching this goal. I am in need of some direction, encouragement (here in Montana most of my peers think I am crazy, as I think they are for wanting a 9-5 routine), and possibly an opportunity to achieve a fulfilling lifestyle. I have excelled at anything I have put my heart/mind into. I am service orientated and have been obscenely successful in customer service/relations as well as maintaining these professional relationships.




Thank you for your time and consideration of my ideas/thoughts.

[Celestialsailor]

Welcome to the forum...I spent time in Wolf Point Montana. It's where i learned to drink black coffee...

[Daoism]

Yes black coffee is a staple in these parts... Finding a good drip can can make or break your morning. Montana coffee traders usually makes it a breeze. Although I prefer a good mocha personally... Even if it is black coffee with a packet of hot chocolate added (poor mans mocha).

[Celestialsailor]

1977 I was in Wolf Point searching for oil. Upon arrival in the local restaurant, I asked for coffee. When the waitress brought it, I asked for cream. She looked at me like I was a Canadian (which I was) and stated..."Honey...We drink our coffee black in Montana. We don't got no cream". And off she went. Since that time forward I have acquired the taste. Sure makes it convenient on a passage.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

1977 I was in Wolf Point searching for oil. Upon arrival in the local restaurant, I asked for coffee. When the waitress brought it, I asked for cream. She looked at me like I was a Canadian (which I was) and stated..."Honey...We drink our coffee black in Montana. We don't got no cream". And off she went. Since that time forward I have acquired the taste. Sure makes it convenient on a passage.

Reminds me of the first time I ordered coffee in Utah. Must have been around 1972. The server told me that they had a coffee machine, but nobody in the restaurant knew how to run it.

Welcome to the forum, Daoism. I've heard that if you learn about marine refrigeration, someone will need your services in just about every crowded anchorage in the world.

[Celestialsailor]

That...and sewing canvas I hear

[Daoism]

Thanks for the ideas.

Marine refrigeration you say? As in repairing systems on peoples boats? Or selling Ice for drinks wherever I go (chuckles). I do like the idea of being able to service sailors refrigeration units on the water. The keel-cooled systems are quite fascinating. Quite efficient I read as well.

Sewing canvas, that is a great idea as well. I am sure that would apply to so many applications. And something I can start learning right away. I will start looking for guide book.


A question. About celestial navigation. I am an amature astronomer and have a pretty solid back-ground in our northern skies up here as I have been looking at them most of my life. As an interest I would like to think this would be a useful skill. Do any of you practice this skill? As I know about astronomy I haven't applied this to navigation. Finding latitude shouldn't be much of a challenge, but longitude I'm not completely clear on how that is gauged other than needing to keep a good record of time traveled and speed maintained. This of course, in my mind is if the GPS fails :P or just for fun. Anyway just trying to open dialogue and meet some of the community members here.

Cheers

Ian

[Intentional Drifter]

Welcome to CF, Ian! Always nice to see a long-time lurker sign up!

ID

[Redcoat]

Ian your already from Montana so all you need now is a boat. I am from Montana. And as we both know to live there you have to be able to use every tool in the box.
So go for it.But don't let Rowdy on the boat.

[Redcoat]

This is the most I got out of him.

[Daoism]

Redcoat...

Yes I know I need to buy my own boat! It's all i think about when I ... no actually it is all I think about. I've been looking at Boats for Sale, New and Used Boats and Yachts - YachtWorld.com and a few other places to look for what is in my price range. Like I have been discussing in another forum page about a modest plan of finding a boat that is in a harbor and looking for a job in a related field/area that may provide me with an opportunity to liveaboard while maintenance my boat and gearing it up.

Deciding on a boat is going to be a monumental task I can tell. I don't have an huge budget but I figure I will have lots of time to make modifications and doing small improvements like recovering cushions and refinishing teak. I've been looking for a craft with a decent engine as that is the department I know the least about. I know much about 12v wiring systems so that doesn't worry me much. I Notice that as a j-24 racer I'm attracted the more sleek faster boats but I've looked at a few older 'ketch' boats and they look like a small apartment afloat.

Anyway, time for breakfast!

Ian

[Redcoat]

When I bought my boat I looked all over the place. Soon I found that the more boats I looked at the less I knew about what I was doing. My dreamstate and my wallet never matched up with my vision. First I was in Montana and the nearest ocean was in Washington so I began there. Turned out that was the best choice for me because of costs.

1.Haulouts and repairs are always needed along with surveys for Ins and banks.

2.Port Townsend is the best yard on the west coast for working on your own boat and parts and other peoples experience make for a great learning center.Not to mention the price is half of everywhere else.

3. There are boats everywhere and once you figure out the type of sailing you want to do there is no better place for a real shakedown.
IE: Nobody goes anywhere with out a understanding of tides and curent there.

4. When your budget is say $50,000 for a boat and you look at what you get @ Yachtworld for that you have to ask yourself what are the cost going to be to get it away from the docks. And to keep it at one.

5. Slip rates in Washington and Oregon are cheap compared to the rest of the world. My slip rate in Port Hadlock was $200.00 dollars less than they are in Mexico.

So when you find a boat that suits your needs .Go to the Puget Sound and start stomping docks. look at all the boats that ring your chain in your price range and consider cost.

Ketches are nice, sails and rigging are expensive and so is crew when you want to go.

Electronics are a must so do your homework and buy one with the most current stuff you can find.

Wood is beautiful but a lot of work. Only a few banks will prefect a loan on one. Cement is is great when it's great but try to get a marina to accept one challenging. So find something that fits two people in comfort.

And sail away.Nothing is worst than a boat wasting away in a slip.

[ljsailing]

Eric Hiscock wrote a series of books in which he owned several types of boats from steel to wood. He and his wife spent a lifetime sailing the world. The reading is interesting and informative.

[rioct10]

I use to run the empire builder thru wolf point.
jack

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you posting here.
Yes, many of us do use celestial navigation but only if we really feel like killing a few hours each day. Very easy to hit the power button on my GPS.
If you desire to learn celestial I'd recommend Celestial Navigation by H. O. 249 by John E. Milligan for a good start. Studying it will let you know if you really want to pursue it. Just keeping up with the purchase of Nautical Almanacs and other related gear will far exceed the price of an inexpensive GPS unit. However, it is very valuable knowledge when the power goes out or sunspots interfere or the military turns off the satellites.
kind regards,