Planning ahead for sailing sabbatical(s)

[two-rocks]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

The romance of sailing often blinds people to the reality. Buy a small boat and try living on it, maintaining it and pretend you can’t escape anytime you want. Doing so while uncomfortably cold or hot and while seasick also helps cure the illusion. Only after doing that should you start planning.

This. Only this. This again. Save the charter money, and buy.

I am not a fan of chartering, stay off youtube - the reality is VERY different.

[LittleWing77]

Here's a little inspiration that Scarlet posted last week:

For all those dreamers... - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

You might find a fair bit of guidance in her story.

Good luck!
LittleWing77

[two-rocks]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Here's a little inspiration that Scarlet posted last week:

For all those dreamers... - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

You might find a fair bit of guidance in her story.

Good luck!
LittleWing77

They 'did it' but are not 'doing it' yet. The two can be different, and a week here or there is nice, but again not reality.

[Pegu Club]

Good advice given above, I will add that your wife absolutely must be able to sail the boat, and know the systems on board competently on her own, (an ASA 101 class is not enough) this will allow for two crew members that know all the systems on board, and can confidently operate the boat solo, and confidence is a good thing. It really is a safety issue when it comes right down to it. Keep the plan moving a head, and set a date to cast off the dock lines.

Fair winds,

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by glocklt4

I can probably search on the forum more, but do you have a list of things that you thought were "must haves" but ended up regretting them and wish you had others? That would be really helpful as we charter and pay closer attention to boats more.

I wrote a blog post roughly covering that. Nothing mind blowing but it did record a bunch of my thoughts at the time: http://neverforever.ca/2018/04/a-turnkey-sailboat/ and a follow up: Things that make it more comfie – The Chronicles of Laughing Baby

Oddly enough most of it is not about major systems because you can always make do—people have been doing so for generations. I did discover that many things I took for granted on charter boats (at least in the PNW) I subsequently found out were considered luxuries: an electric windlass, a good autopilot, radar etc.

Not mentioned in the above post I've noticed a few (very minor) things to consider. Be aware I am in no way an expert and these are just things I've noticed:

• a good anchor locker — especially if you are double or single handing, actually having enough room in your anchor locker for all that rope and chain makes hauling up the rode a smoother and less stressful process. Piled up chain has been an issue a couple of times.
• room on deck — for the dinghy especially, but also for kayaks, SUPS etc. Not an issue I suppose on a cat. But going forward on some boats is already difficult without adding in more clutter, and tacking can be challenging if there is too much dinghy in the way.
• master berth—the biggest thing I learned from chartering is that getting out of bed at 3;30 am in not all that uncommon. And doing so in one of those claustrophobic aft cabins is more than my sleep deprived body can handle. I am not saying a centerline queen is the be all and end all, but its still on my wishlist.
• cockpit space — we like to hang at anchor and why would I ever want to have to do that in a boat I can't stretch out in.
• a separate shower— it was on our list, and with one head being able to use it (the head) without having to wait for the shower to dry is a nice.
• Do you like to cook? — storage and counter space as well as stove burners, oven size, number of sinks and the location of the fridge can make a big difference.
• foot pump — for either fresh or salt water. Cuts down on water usage and annoying pump noises. We don't have one but a buddy did and I was envious.

Enough babbling...

[glocklt4]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Here's a little inspiration that Scarlet posted last week:

For all those dreamers... - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

You might find a fair bit of guidance in her story.

Good luck!
LittleWing77

Great story! I think we are a bit more stable in life in general (not trying to really escape anything as the reason for our plans), but glad they have found out how to make it work.

[glocklt4]

Originally Posted by Pegu Club

Good advice given above, I will add that your wife absolutely must be able to sail the boat, and know the systems on board competently on her own, (an ASA 101 class is not enough) this will allow for two crew members that know all the systems on board, and can confidently operate the boat solo, and confidence is a good thing. It really is a safety issue when it comes right down to it. Keep the plan moving a head, and set a date to cast off the dock lines.

Fair winds,

100% agree. I didn't mean to say that she would stop learning at ASA 101 previously, but I wasn't sure if I could teach her the rest through experience rather than going through the courses themselves. It is probably best to just have her do the courses though.

[accomplice]

I'd look to build the different skills that you'll need. Sailing is only one of many. Off the top of my head, you will need to:

* Sailing, in various conditions
* Navigation
* Anchoring, in various conditions & situations
* Boat repair (diesel, electrical, plumbing, refrigeration, rigging, etc.)
* Cruising (finding anchorages, provisioning, customs routines)
* Offshore passaging
* Boat handling under power
* Communications (VHF, SSB)

Each of these is a different skill. I wouldn't count on ASA for most of them.

Good luck!

[Pegu Club]

Originally Posted by glocklt4

100% agree. I didn't mean to say that she would stop learning at ASA 101 previously, but I wasn't sure if I could teach her the rest through experience rather than going through the courses themselves. It is probably best to just have her do the courses though.

The classes will give her the background so to speak, so when you guys are out sailing there will be a reference point to work off of. We share duties on our boat, although we each tend to occupy our Niches as it were. I think that is the way for most sailing couples.

Sounds like you have a good plan, don’t forget to set the departure date, ⛵️😎🏝

Fair winds,

[glocklt4]

Thank you both, more great recommendations.

Navigation and VHF/SSB are certainly ones we can work on off the water.

Electrical, plumbing, and refrigeration I think I'm good on. Diesel I have no experience with, though I have plenty of gasoline engine experience & understanding, so should be able to pickup quickly and I plan on reading and watching youtube videos to understand the differences better.

[glocklt4]

For those of you recommending a sailing dinghy or <20ft boat to gain more experience, can you provide some suggested brands/models? There seem to be quite a few out there. Most that I'm finding are between $800-3800, and fractional sloop or single main. I like the idea of the fractional sloop to have a jib to mess with as well as main (like any sailboat we would buy), so better experience.

[rbk]

I have a CL 14 (would prefer the 16) as well as a homemade 9’ sloop. Paid under $1000 for the CL with trailer, it’s not a speed daemon but I can take the kids with me. Your idea of a FR and headsail is spot on, go look at a few and check sails, trailer and hull condition. Most dinghies will have nicropressed rigging so something you can do for cheap at home as most anything else on them. Don’t worry about brands etc, just find something that works for you.

[Tphipps]

My wife and I are looking at a similar path and trying to build steam. We have a 19' Lightning sailboat https://www.lightningclass.org/ Before this we bought a Walker Bay dinghy sailboat that is 10 ft and has both a main and jib. We joined a local sailing club on a lake and got familiar with the Lightning and decided to buy one. Definitely not a cruising boat but very responsive for training and practice.