Cruising in a small boat, 2 months at a time?

[zeehag]

you are in san diego. no need to go to great lakes and freeze when ye can tow that boat to mexico and launch in penasco or san felipe or puertocitos or guaymas or san carlos and sail soc.
totally do able.
there are safe places to leave boat in mexico-- safer than lost angeles or san diego, and repairs are affordable here. repairs are much more affordable in north soc than sd. many repairs. i found san diego unfriendly to anyone trying to save money and effect proper repairs, as all is geared to the 70,000 usd income level.
enjoy your sailboat and adventures. only takes a few hours to drive from sd to puerto penasco or other port in northern soc.
for places to see and things to do for kids, mexico far outweighs san diego. soc has wildlife in it... is gorgeous for the short term cruiser.
basing out of san diego will learn ye why folks leave there for places with islands to which to sail. sd has the mexican coronados. period. no respite from boat at those islands.
sailing vacations of 2 months are spent getting to the destination. catalina?? base out of lost angeles. basing out of mexico's northern soc is a perfect for trips to any and all islands in that gulf. many anchorages and good fishing. kids love fishing and exploring.
ps water in soc is warmer than pacific coast.
downwind marine and sdmx are best new parts locations. minneys is best for old used goodies, such as our ancient boats crave

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by Shanachie

Presuming this is an old boat, get a good, thorough survey before you risk your family's lives in a bargain-basement vessel. Especially, pay attention to the keel bolts. See the recent story about a couple who bought a boat just like yours, ran aground near St. Petersburg, Fl., and lost their keel in soft sand. See also the story about the guy who took his teen-age kids out on his old sailboat in the Gulf and sank, drowning everyone. Not trying to rain on your parade, but there are many old, neglected sailboats originally built to a price point that are dangerous. Make sure yours isn't one of them.

I did read that story and its not a similar boat. This boat has no keel bolts at all which is uncommon for that era. Its a solid fiberglass modified full keel with an encapsulated lead ballast. SO no keel bolts to fail and the rudder is hung off the keel, so no exposed spade rudder. Also no inboard motor as the motor is a long shaft Tohatsu sail drive mounted in a well.

All that said, yes safety is paramount and we have an appointment to have it surveyed when we execute the haul-out.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by sailorcherry

check out consignment chandleries for used equipment and gear. If not in person some have ebay stores. Avoid west marine unless you like to pour money down the drain and sometimes on cheap crap too.

There are two chandleries that have great consignment shops in the Newport Rhode Island area. One is The Ships Store (www.ShipsStoreRI.com) and the other is Newport Nautical (Newport Nautical Supply). Both have large consignment areas in addition to their new product sales.

West Marine has really become good at pricing. It is true that a number of years ago they were very high priced. They now have a new (maybe a week on the job) CEO and he is being very competitive. Talk to the employees and you may well be surprised. He is also fixing the lack of inventory in the stores.

[406Columbia]

I will check these all out. I haven't made many purchases yet boat related and we still have several things left over from our last boat. We did however purchase a new Mantus anchor after the amazing reviews here and detailed video and photos of them setting.

Other than that we only have a few things on the immediate list of upgrades and fixes till the survey. A new Lewmar Ocean series 60 hatch will be sourced from West Marine as they have the best price with our gold account and free shipping I wasn't able to find a better price ANYWHERE. Also we have an entire new set of Beckson port-lights and a beautiful set of old bronze Perko's off our old boat. Will likely do the Beckson but the Perko's are beautiful too for a more classic feel.

More will likely come after the survey and the rigger get a good look and inspection. I have to say though West Marine really has surprised me with great prices and selection, except in the outboard department.

Thanks all for the great input, I am cruising the second hand sites to get an idea for what they have in case we end up doing a bit more shopping.

[JeffH]

Sounds to me like you are on the right track. My $0.02:
1. Make absolutely sure you & your wife have & maintain fully open, effective, loving communication. If anything festers, sailing together will bring it out. Don’t ask me how I know.
2. Since the boat is already in San Diego, start with weekend then week-long then month-long trips to Catalina, Santa Barbara, Baja, the Sea of Cortez, etc. You might even do a Baja Ha Ha. Steady Hand’s input about time of year & weather is pure gold.
3. After sailing south from SD, my recommendation is trailer your boat back north & avoid the long upwind slog, you can find plenty of that later. If you do choose to sail, this would be an opportunity to try a “long jump” as an introduction to offshore passages.
4. I would make the jump all the way to Seattle & leave SF for later. By the time you’re done with Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands & Vancouver Island, you will be an experienced coastal cruising family & will be giving sage advice to others on how to get started.
5. Get a good windvane & learn how to use it. Hand steering when you want to is fun; having to hand steer for long distances turns people off of sailing. Autopilots are for mariners who will be running a motor anyway; & they are not as responsive to wind & wave.
6. More anchor rode is better than too little. Opinions vary on how much / what proportion should/must be chain. IMO “enough” chain requires a windlass. Sailing with family requires a windlass.
7. I recommend Larry & Lin Pardey’s The Self Sufficient Sailor, The Capable Cruiser & The Care & Feeding of Sailing Crew. Give careful attention to your galley & be sure you take galley duty often enough to keep her happy about how much she does.

I wish you joy in your voyaging.

[JeffH]

Oh, yes. I almost forgot. About the kids. Please do NOT buy into the common US land-society-based nonsense about what kids are ready for & what kids can or cannot (or should & should not be allowed) to do. You’ve got 2; they will be different & you MUST treat each as they need to be treated. IMO the only important concern is responsibility. Allow them more freedom & responsibility as, & only as, they demonstrate by consistent action they are ready for it. Although I was a city boy, I got a lot of my growing up on a farm. I was driving a tractor & a 1-ton flatbed at 12 & getting paid for it. If you make privileges & perks available as they demonstrate they are capable & responsible of handling same, rather than “when you are old enough,” you will have to explain why society has different criteria, but they will become strong independent adults at an early age. Not like some of the 45-year old children I have to work with. & they will live to grow up. Able seaman is earned.

BTW you only get to be Capt’n Dad on the boat, not at home.

Everybody else is talking about how to be a sailor & that’s good. I’m talking about how to have it work for you & your family & that’s something else. As always, YMMV.

[JeffH]

I have had a boat with a tabernacle & I loved it (there are a _lot_ of bascule bridges in FL). If the bridge didn’t open as fast as I thought it should (Oh the arrogance of teenagers), I could start the outboard, drop the mast & be through the closed bridge in 15 min or so.

[JeffH]

I have been told that any boat with a deck-stepped mast can be re-fitted with a tabernacle; I wouldn’t want to try it without the assistance of a naval architect.

[pmagistro]

406 Columbia,

I am in a somewhat similar situation. I work half the year, and have the other half off. We are about the same age. I have no kids. My boat is a '78 Bristol 29.9.

For three years now I've been working on the boat/cruising in the winters. The first winter was all work, on the hard. Last winter was a "fix n cruise" down the ICW and to the Bahamas. This winter we just finished five weeks of solid everyday work on the boat and are about to go cruise for the next two months.

Anyhow, this split lifestyle has been great. I encourage you to give it a go. My biggest challenge is working on the boat; sounds like you'll be able to do that on the hard at home, which solves many problems.

Sounds like you've gotten a load of good advice here. Good lukc, fair winds!

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by JeffH

I have been told that any boat with a deck-stepped mast can be re-fitted with a tabernacle; I wouldn’t want to try it without the assistance of a naval architect.

Thanks for the advise, nice to hear from folks with great experiences and input. I want us all to enjoy it and not dread going aboard the boat. Also all the book suggestions folks are giving us are being purchased on Amazon as we are voracious readers, thanks all!

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by pmagistro

406 Columbia,

I am in a somewhat similar situation. I work half the year, and have the other half off. We are about the same age. I have no kids. My boat is a '78 Bristol 29.9.

For three years now I've been working on the boat/cruising in the winters. The first winter was all work, on the hard. Last winter was a "fix n cruise" down the ICW and to the Bahamas. This winter we just finished five weeks of solid everyday work on the boat and are about to go cruise for the next two months.

Anyhow, this split lifestyle has been great. I encourage you to give it a go. My biggest challenge is working on the boat; sounds like you'll be able to do that on the hard at home, which solves many problems.

Sounds like you've gotten a load of good advice here. Good lukc, fair winds!

Thanks for the input, you don't often read here or anywhere that I have seen about cruising on a schedule like ours. For the time being this is the best we can do and maybe we wouldn't want to jump into it full time anyway. Its going to be nice it seems to have a bit of flexibility for working on the boat and saving money for sure.

I have to say while the Bahamas doesn't sounds like challenging conditions to learn to sail in, its sure appealing lol. Warm tropical waters don't offend me, although maybe the winters up north are to blame for that.

[pmagistro]

Originally Posted by 406Columbia

Thanks for the input, you don't often read here or anywhere that I have seen about cruising on a schedule like ours. For the time being this is the best we can do and maybe we wouldn't want to jump into it full time anyway. Its going to be nice it seems to have a bit of flexibility for working on the boat and saving money for sure.

I have to say while the Bahamas doesn't sounds like challenging conditions to learn to sail in, its sure appealing lol. Warm tropical waters don't offend me, although maybe the winters up north are to blame for that.

It give me a lot of comfort, knowing that this isn't the only thing I have going on. Of something were to go very wrong with the boat, I have a home to fall back on. On the other hand, I have a boat that will take me pretty much anywhere I want to go.

It also keeps things fresh and interesting. By the time I am tired of being salty and cramped, I'm headed back to the mountains of Colorado. When the snow starts to fly and the cold wind picks up, I head for warm water.

The Bahamas are a great place to learn to cruise, I think. Plenty of protected anchorages and mooring fields, towns often enough for convenient resupply, close to the US if things go wrong, great wind, warm water, English speaking, can pay with USD, the list goes on and on.

On the other hand, getting there and back requires crossing the Gulf Stream, which is manageable but not something I take lightly. And the occasional norther blows really hard. We spent a few nights last year on anchor watch.

Maybe the closest similar place for you would be the Sea of Cortez?

Keep us posted!

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by JeffH

I have had a boat with a tabernacle & I loved it (there are a _lot_ of bascule bridges in FL). If the bridge didn’t open as fast as I thought it should (Oh the arrogance of teenagers), I could start the outboard, drop the mast & be through the closed bridge in 15 min or so.

Solo?

How long to remast?

[JeffH]

Yes, I single-handed that boat a lot.

She was 24’ home-built (not by me) sloop-rigged with the mast in a tabernacle as I have said (about 24” tall iirc). With a snatch block already rigged at the stem & led to a winch on the cockpit coaming, I could drop sail, bend that spare line to the jib halyard, take the load off the forestay & drop the mast in about 4-5 minutes. About 4-5 minutes through a bridge & clear the channel on the other side & 5-6 minutes to raise the mast & re-rig the forestay. If I didn’t fumble anything.

[john61ct]

Inspiring.

Will try to learn more, so I can make sure of being able to (eventually) do that if / when my under-8.5' beam beauty appears.