Greetings from Seattle

[Lovelyr3ta]

Hi everybody!

I am brand new to sailing. Long story short: I found myself in a position where I needed cheap, immediate, short term housing and ended up living on a sailboat that's three minute's walk from work. Two weeks into it, I had fallen head over heels in love with the boat, and with the lifestyle. Happily, the boat owner was looking to sell it to a good home, so here I am, a first-time boat owner and a liveaboard. I am reading up as much as I can and looking into sailing classes, but also planning some crash courses with the previous owner. Anyway, just wanted to say hello and hoping I can get some good advice for a total greenie in this fantastic sport called sailing. Thanks!

[MarkJ]

Hi and welcome

Before you buy that boat you need a expert to come and have a look at it and prepare you a report.

A Marine Surveyor doesn't come cheap, but its pretty importnat to make sure its not going to sink at the dock and make you liable for removal fees.

I'm sure you will be fine and have a great boat to learn the fun and adventure of sailing

Mark

[Ocean Girl]

Coronadas are great boats, they do have a bit of deck delamination problem (but what old boat doesn't?). It sounds like you have everything in hand considering you have found your boat and are living aboard, good job at going for it and I hope you have many adventures aboard your fine vessel. BTW what is her size and what are you going to name her?
Cheers,
Erika

[Maggie-K]

Join the Sloop Tavern Yacht Club ($95). Great bunch and you will get a lot of help from the gang.

[Livia]

Welcome from your friendly neighbors up North!

[Microship]

Welcome from Nomadness and Dervish, currently in Oak Harbor. We're just in the process of moving aboard two sailboats, and envy the speed with which you made the transition! Sometimes being nudged by circumstance is a Good Thing.

Steve

[Stillraining]

Welcome Aboard

[FxdGrMind]

Just Amazing! That's Quite the story too, I sure couldn't go cold turkey like that! But Congrats on the switch, you have a plethora of green with envy landlubbers with dreams of doing what you just did in short order.

Welcome and maybe some of us will see you out there on the sound soon.

Cheers

[Jesse]

Welcome aboard

[MABell]

Your in a great place to be on a boat.
You can spend years exploring - and not even leave home!

[s/v Auwana]

Welcome from another newbie to the forum. Hope to see you out there someday.

[halberd]

Welcome to the forum.

Hope you have fun being part of it.

From the other side of the world in Geraldton Western Australia.

Cheers,

Halberd.

[bvh]

Ahoy from another Australian , i agree with Microship , nudges are destiny.
If its floating and you love it..............what could possibly go wrong.
See you on the water

[Lovelyr3ta]

Thanks for the great welcome! I am finding that folks who really love sailing are a fascinating bunch, and a lot like me, which I didn't expect. I have to agree with the "nudges are destiny" comments, because that's really what it felt like the first time I stepped on board. I took a look around and the word "Yes" kept repeating in my mind. This was literally the first time I had ever been on a sailboat. The owner was nervous that I would think it was too small, but the close quarters feels so safe and and private, which is really important to me. Also, the fact that I work close to 60 hours a week and mostly need a place to sleep, read books and work on my art projects kind of makes having a large living area unimportant. It amazes me how much cheaper it is to live onboard, considering the neighborhood I live in. For what I pay for the slip, I couldn't rent a tool shed, much less an apartment with no roommates. The sacrifices in space and luxury are more than repaid in the privacy and freedom that living onboard has to offer.

To answer a couple of questions: The boat is 25 feet and in pretty great shape, considering her age. Good sails, good mast, good hull. Needs a good cleaning and painting which is on my list in a couple of months. The previous owner did a lot of work on the inside so it's different than most '69 models. Once she's officially mine, (June 20th!!!) I will name her "Odessa", which is a name from one of my favorite books. ("I Know This Much Is True" - Wally Lamb)

Lastly, my beloved cat Sylvester is living onboard with me, and I have been delighted with how he's taken to it. We used to live on a farm where he had a ton of grass and trees to romp around in, so at first I felt a little guilty about moving to an urban marina. The first night we were onboard, he disappeared for 24 hours and scared me to death, but he adapted pretty quick and now explores the marina just like he did on the farm. I am a little nervous to take him out in the future, and would love to hear about other folks who have taken their cats out sailing for the first time, and some handy tricks on how to make that easier for them.

Thanks again so much for the warm reception! Looking forward to being a part of the community.

[Microship]

Delighted to hear about Sylvester! My cat, Java, is quite comfortable on the boat - here's a photo of her on a pilothouse window somewhere in the Gulf Islands.

My one concern about her is related to the phenomenon you mentioned... going off exploring in marinas. This is mostly harmless, and I find that she seems to like to do it late at night, always answering me when I get worried enough to pop my head out and give her a call. "Look at this cool boat I found!" she seems to be saying from a few slips over, and without fuss lets me lift her off and take her home.

The problem that has occasionally been reported by others is what happens when the kitty finds an open hatch and pops in for a nap. Not only might this quite reasonably be objectionable to the boat owner, but it could be a trap... there have been rare cases of cats getting stuck inside unattended boats, unable to make the leap back out.

I'm putting a little tracking transmitter on Java's collar (homebrew), and have just found a little bidirectional RF board that would allow me to send a signal that causes her to blink and beep. A few projects have to come first, but before cruising I think that one is essential.

Hope to cross paths somewhere Out There... trying to shut down a decade of life on Camano Island, including a giant lab, to move aboard full-time.