I'm Here to Plan my Dream Life :)

[Brian T]

Hello Fellow Sailors,

I am new to this forum (although I've been stopping by for some time) and am here mainly for knowlege and assistance in planning my dream life, which is to live on a sailboat. I have been a sailor my whole life, since opti's caught my love in summer camp when I was about 8. I grew up near the water and, along with sailing and racing several classes of dingys, I also ended up doing several extended cruises on larger monohulls and even a few blue water yacht delivery trips. I currenly own a Hobie 17 (as well as a Hobie AI sailing kayak) and have been spending a lot of time studying and sailing multihulls (hard not to with all the cool advancements and technology going on).
I am currenly 32 years old and starting to think about long term plans. I have always had dreams of living on a sailboat, and as I start to get closer to thinking about settling down, I have decided that there is no location or property that I can find that I am willing to invest in for the long term. (don't trust where current polotics and land use changes are going) This leads me to realize that I am realistically not too far from starting to think about buying a boat to live on long term.
I realize that this is gonig to take some serious planning and research (and knowlege from those much wiser than myself) so here I am!

In my current phase of the planning process I am leaning toward a catamaran (Lagoon 420 in particular) mainly due to the fact that I'm 6'3 so headroom is very important, and the drawbacks as I know them don't seem to be a huge concern for me. (dockage, pointing, displacment, ect) I will be researching for more details on the pros and cons however, as well as many topics related to finding and selecting a specific boat, rigging, electronics, outfitting for passgaes, and much more...

I am very excited to have this wealth of knowlege to pose questions and topics to! Cheers!

[Kalinka1]

welcome aboard! You'll get lots of advise here!!

[Mr Mac]

Welcome from the Midwest! I have to agree, lots of friendly, helpful folks around these waters!

Mac

[Zanshin]

Welcome to the cruisersforum. I am not sure about lots of advice here, but you'll certainly get more than a boatload of opinions here

[Brian T]

...I find that an opinon from one often times leads to advise from another frankly it's all good if it's in regards to a subject that I'm intersted in.

[Waterway Guide]

Welcome aboard, Brian!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.
kind regards,

[Hermanns]

Welcome aboard Brian!

[ozskipper]

Welcome along. There is great info here. Tip of the day. Towards the top-right of each forum page is "search" link. You can almost instantly find answers to many questions there- rather than wait on replies. Not that you shouldnt ask questions of course. But its a handy tool, that sometimes gets lost in the clutter of the page.. Enjoy :-D

[Brian T]

Well my dream of living on a sailboat is well on track. I can envision the reality more clearly every day My current efforts are focused on getting out of debt, selling my physical assets, and breaking/avoiding any long term comittments. (I actually have someone coming to buy something from one of my Craigslist ads this weekend, contributing to two of the three focus areas!)
If my numbers are correct, and no major unexpected tradgedies occur, I am scheduled to be buying/moving aboard my boat by 2016. I find it every exciting and super motivating to actually have some kind of date/timeline that I am shooting for. It seems to bring it from a distant dream to a not too distant reality.
It is very important to feel like I am moving (at least a little bit each day) toward making this a reality, because the truth is that I am getting more depressed and cynical by the day living in this stupid rat race. I have such a hard time figuring out how so many people seem so content living such boring, monotonous lives?! It has only been a few years since I finished all my schooling (MS in Engineering) and working at what I thought was a long term career, and I'm already going crazy.
I am finding it a bit of a tough balance between staying as happy as possible in my current situation, and making the sacrafices that need to be made in order to change my situation. I find the mental challenges of getting through a day right now are greater than any physical challenge that I have yet encountered
I am trying to stay positive and keep the dream alive, but some days are harder than others. Any words of advise or encouragement for me in my current struggles would be so much appreciated, Thanks!

P.S. Lagoon 420 is still the leading choice for my dream boat

[Ryan H]

Good for you Brian. The hardest two days of deciding to live aboard for me was selling my guitar amp and the first time I sailed out of a harbor in a decent chop. Irregardless of experience or insurance the first time you take your house out in large waves is a serious make or break moment. The guitar amp I still miss but stuff is just stuff....Good luck.

[familycruisers]

Welcome. We were at the 2 year mark when we first joined here, departing in October now so only months away.

[Hermanns]

Welcome aboard!

[Hudson Force]

Brian, Welcome to the community. My wife and I are long term liveaboard cruisers and I too started my dreams by sailing little prams at the summer camp. When you mentioned factors leading to your choice of the catamaran the 6'3" headroom was high on the list and I did not see the expense listed as a negative. I'm not saying this to discourage your choice, but be aware that most 40'+ monohulls allow for a 6'3" headroom (my height too) and can be far less expensive. We raised two children aboard our monohull 41' wihout any space restrictions,- I don't know what your plans are with the number aboard, but I believe many who are judging from the square footage of houses overestimate their needs. Still with my hopes not to be discouraging, I would advise against relying on the life aboard as a total escape from the "rat race" or the mundane pursuit of a career. There are great freedoms that come with the non-ownership of many of the trappings of life ashore, but a life aboard still requires most all the same in terms of income and career. I would encourage those that are making a change to living aboard to look more at what they are achieving,- freedom, self-reliance, independance; however, not to expect less with the needs for income and career. Maybe your not subject to a need for this caution.......'expect the best! Keep us informed of your adventure.

[Octopussy]

Brian,

Welcome! The Lagoon 420 has a great layout. Good luck.

We are in the middle of our transition to living aboard full-time, right now. We bought a boat in November, and had it on the hard all winter doing some much-needed work.

Remember, "It is better to take many small steps in one direction, than to make one giant leap" -- Chinese proverb. Very true when it comes to buying a sailboat, moving aboard, and outfitting it for adventure.

Cheers,
Octopussy


______________________________
Watch the Cast and Crew as we refit a Prout Snowgoose 37, move aboard, and get ready to go cruising.
The critics are saying, "We laughed; we cried; we nearly pissed our pants!"

Follow the adventure at S/V Octopussy