Hello from land locked Utah

[levi41]

Hi Everbody!

My son and I have made a 5 year plan to leave Utah (I am a former Seattle native, he was too young to ever remember living there) and move to Puget Sound on a liveaboard arrangement. I have lived landlocked in silent suffering too long.

Even though I sailed some (operative word there) in my youth, (San Juan 24's and such) I have little to no idea where to start for a liveaboard life. I have not been on a sailboat in 25 years.

I am hear to hear your stories of what works and what does not. Do I want to live a spartan lifestyle on a smaller boat, or get a huge floating apartment? I don't know but I am pretty sure I am somewhere in between.

I do have going for me that I have a job that will allow me to do it from anywhere in the world as long as I have a computer, a cell phone and can get to an airport in 48 hours.

Thanks in advance for any help and inspiration I receive in the future, and I beg forgiveness for the amount of stupid questions I know I will be asking.

Thank You,

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Levi,
Welcome aboard!! Good to have you on the forum. This is a great place to learn about living aboard.
It sounds to me that what you need is a place to live and not something you want to cruise or do extensive sailing in. There are quite a few big floating apartments out there but I'd do some "tire kicking" and get aboard as many boats as possible before concentrating on any one boat.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[David_Old_Jersey]

Welcome aboard!

Apart from doing a search here , I reckon one of your first "jobs" should be to do some looking on Yachtworld.com to get an idea of what your budget can get you and then visit a bucket of brokers and get tyrekicking on vessels that catch your fancy. Repeat as many times as required to narrow your field down. The internet is great, but no substitute for looking yourself.

Originally Posted by levi41

I do have going for me that I have a job that will allow me to do it from anywhere in the world as long as I have a computer, a cell phone and can get to an airport in 48 hours.

I guess this gives you the option of being based pretty much anywhere in the States (on the coast!) - but some areas will no doubt be more liveable than others / affordable / desirable - remember that relocating a boat either by Sea or by truck is a fairly big cost, plus the aggro.

If you end up sailing off into the Wide Blue Yonder an ability to work on the end of a telephone / computer will be a BIG plus.

[levi41]

Thanks John and Dave,

Moving on to the boat in 5 years is just the first step. The goal is 5 years later, after we have learned to sail, and to maintain the boat, and to learn what we like and dislike in boats and the gear onboard etc etc etc... is to leave and seldom if ever come back.

To put it as an aquaintance once said "Take a left turn and never come back"

When I was young living in Seattle and surrounding area I spent my life on Puget Sound and the Coastal Pacific of Washington. While I sailed with friends, me or my family never owned a sailboat.

Later in years I lived in San Francisco and Galveston TX, and just took for granted that salt water was always there. I made the move to Utah for a great job knowing I would not like living away from salt water but never knew how bad I would miss it.

So, I know everyone here is going to have a lot to add to my tiny pool of knowledge. I don't even know what I don't know, I think is the best way I have heard of describing my situation.

I have looked at a few boats and talked to some marinas about live aboard moorage and as much as I learn it only generates more questions. I am not expecting our first boat to be "the" boat, only the boat that teaches us what we need and like.

I have my first question in mind but I will ask it in a new thread in the appropriate forum.

Thanks for the welcome, I hope to get to know you all much better

[swagman]

Welcome Matey,
I hope you get all you need from the site - lots here have great value to give. Good luck with your own plans - and don;t forget to keep us all posted on whats happening!
Sail safe
JOHN

[WindGypsyRick]

Howdy, tell me more.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Levi.

[mvweebles]

Last week's episode of "Gone with the Wynns" discusses their 'office space' aboard their Catamaran. Although there were several seemingly workable options (Nav Station), the only one suitable for long term PC work was their dining table.

I spent about 5-years as a remote worker when living aboard. I was in San Franciscco working for a New Jersey based company. I'm a naturally early riser so my work hours were 5am (or earlier) to around 2-3 pm, leaving me plenty of time to head off sailing. I am now in a semi-reverse situation (though not living aboard). I'm in Florida working for a Denver-based client which means the day is pretty well shot by the time I'm done, at least in winter months.

There are many threads on cruising while being a digital nomad. Having done it for 20-years, I can tell you that reliable internet remains a problem. In some ways has gotten worse - office/home connectivity are reliably near 100% whereas boat/marina/coastal reliability lags considerably. Gap in my service vs my colleagues has increased, I used to only use Internet for email but now its that plus voice and video. And their tolerance has decreased. The net result is I stand-out a more than I'd like. Plus I'm always deflecting/obscuring my circumstances which is tiresome. And then there is still the challenge of not being distracted with the vagaries of a parallel life as cruiser vs worker-bee.

Yea I know, no one will offer crocadile tears for me. Complaining that its hard to balance work and living on a boat while cruising is some form of first-world problem. It's worth it and I have done it on/off for many years (not just on a boat, but while traveling internationally), but it's not all idyllic wine and roses.

I am about to retire but the type of work I do lends itself well to consulting which I will do as long as no more than 1/3rd of regular time, and my clients are fully aware of my circumstances and that I may be off-grid sometimes. No more stealth mode.

Good luck

Peter
(BTW - I was raised in SLC UT).

[bookdocking]

Hello Levi,
My husband and I also have a five year plan. High five for planners and dreamers. Why are you choosing Seattle? Familiarity? Friends, family in the area? I love learning others thought process. We're going to live aboard in San Diego because while we outfit our future boat and or pay it off, my husband works for the city of Coronado. I'm learning all I can now, and stalk YachtWorld and boats.com learning about what is available.