My New Life

[johnar]

Hello All,

Well my name is John i live in Illinois and hope to find my new home very soon, my dream is to find me a live aboard and move south within the next two months.

My dream is to buy the boat move aboard and learn to take life a little slower and enjoy the things i have missed all my life.

If things work out right i will find the boat this April Dock or Moor her while i do a refit/repairs, spend a year of day sailing over night trips as to learn how to sail, oh did i say i have never been sailing? Yes it is a new life for me at the meer age of 44.

This has been a move in planning for around 3 years now and i am so happy the time has come to move on.

Well i look foreward to chatting and any advice offered.

John

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha John,
Welcome aboard! Please start doing a lot of reading and the public library is a good place to start. You'll want to visit lots of marinas and talk with folks that are living aboard to get a feel for the new lifestyle you've chosen.
Hope you can find your dream.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[johnar]

Thank you for the welcome. I doi plan to visit a number of marinas this April i plan to spend as much time as needed down in FL searching, I do have my eye on two other boats on the west coast but hope to find one in FL as that is where i plan to live.

John

[rtbates]

I wish you the best.

Before you get too deep may I suggest you get yourself in a first rate rip snorter of a storm at sea ON SOMEONE ELSE"S BOAT, to be 100% certain that you know the fickle side of mother ocean. Ever feared for your life? Before you get into that rip snorter of a storm on YOUR boat with you in charge, you must gather the skills so that you know what to do. Not knowing what to do when the **** hits the fan, is what gets folks into trouble.

A little story to expand.. Years ago my very adventuresome uncle decided he wanted to sail around the world. At least the Carrib. He'd never sailed. No problem he was about as handy and cleaver a man as you will ever meet. So he heads to Fla, finds a nifty 40+ sloop and heads to Bimini to begin his next adventure. Did I mention that he just finished living in Alaska in a tent over two winters. He took in nothing! All he eat he killed, etc. I said he was out for adventure. So anywho, he leaves Miami across the gulf stream in early spring. A big ole bad ass norther comes down while he's in the middle of the stream and he spends a few days being tossed to hell. He told me later that he's never been so scared in his life. And he'd fought off bears in Alaska. Long story short, he limped into Bimini, got off the boat, boarded a Chaulk seaplane back to Miami and left the boat to whoever got it first!.

I certainly hope your story ends a tad better, but one must go into ocean sailing with a realistic understanding of what can and does happen out there.

[scallywag]

Welcome Johnar,

Good advice given about the library. The books are free to check out. Walk the docks and talk to liveaboards with two feet of snow on the decks. The water can be rough, the hurricanes fierce, and the heat unbearable. But like snow storms, they come once in awhile. Follow your dream. Everyone needs a break. I took mine leave from the north 27 years ago. Paradise is getting crowded but you'd never know because your coming from the congested north. Enjoy you lie.

John

[johnar]

Hello All,

Was just looking at some of my old post and thouhgt i would give a update.

I have the boat now. She is a 33' Morgan 1979 with a 50HP Perkins, I fell like i got the boat at a nice price thanks to a friend giving me advice.

The boat is in need of alot of work, the inside needs paint and cleaned, the Motor has a oil leak (i have a feeling it is the oil pan itself) wiring needs work. The bottom is in the best shape of any boat i looked at while shopping. the Top side needs paint. The main sail is new she has a roller Furling head sail.

The boat came with a number of things that at this time have not been tested and i will explain why, I made an offer on the boat based on them not working or not installed.

Refrigeration
Mermaid Marine Air Conditioning/Heat
Auto Helm
2 new 8D
water heater
new hatch above Gally
all ports have screens
depth,speed,

As for the electronics I planned to replace/update anything that was there so no point in listing any.

One thing i did not plan to replace but feel needs to be done is the raw holding tank, it is a blater about 20 gal. i would like to change that to a tank.

Ok thats about it, at this point i have been making arangements to have the boat moved over land from Charlotte Harbor FL. to Green Covers Springs FL. This should be done within the next 3 weeks.

I will live on the boat there and start the work, over time i will list the work/updates as i go. There will be a number of DIY projects that i have planned.

Well thats about all for now, I hope you all have a great 4th of July.


John

[freetime]

Good luck with your new boat. Pics is always fun.
What kind of work do you have when moving and living on a boat so quickly?

[johnar]

Hello Freetime,

Well the work right now is just steping the mast so that it is ready for the truck, after it gets to the Marina alot of cleaning just like a home. I will post some picturs soon.