Hardest to Overcome

[Captin_Kirk]

With the prospect of my job coming to an end, I have realized that it may be a blessing in disguise. I have been developing a website business for years now both in web design as well as about 5 of my own sites. I have said for years that if I could buil my own part time business up to a point that I could live on it, I would quite my well paying job and work on my own business full time. The main reason for that was because the best part of web design is it can be done from anywhere in the world. With the prospects of my full time job ending, I realize the time may be here to just do it. Cast off the lines and sail away.

I have a sailboat now. I bought it last year and have been working on it with the ultimate goal being to cruise.

My question is. What was the hardest obstacle or challenge in going from living in the dirt world to moving aboard?

I am a single guy (now) my kids have moved out. So it is just me and my dog Scout. I would love nothing more then to live my summers in Canada and winters somewhere warm.

So let me have it. I want all the bad, the good I can figure out on my own.

[kd3pc]

for my wife and I ...two things come to mind...

dealing with the "stuff" from your land life...

second is the transition to life aboard...there is so much to learn and keep up with...toilet systems, a/c systems, engines, air flow, lighting, leaks and repairs, cooking in a small galley, dealing with a freezer that you can not reach the bottom of, the smells that occur, internet access, winds and high water at the slip, slipmates, other peoples dogs and kids, TV, etc, etc....

[capt_douglas]

The second hardest part was leaving the dock.

The hardest part(s): first anchorage, transition from shore mind to cruising mind, and realizing that there was a good chance I wasn't going to come back - and I don't mean that in a negative way.

[bljones]

How much time do you spend on your boat during the summer? if you're not there at least 4 days out of 7, spend the next season at least 50/50 on the boat. if you are already on board throughout the season, then the transition is simpler- have a yard sale and then sublet your house. BOOM! done.

[Butler]

After 4 years living aboard I agree... stuff and keeping your keel from growing to the bottom.
Being in Ontario as you are I would add a decent wood burning ships stove to the mix. Shipmate is back in business in Pennsylvania currently producing cast iron woodburners and there is always Navigator out in the PNW. I'm a Shipmate fan myself... a bit less expensive.
You will be so thankful for the dry heat during the cold wet months aboard.

[tager]

I moved from my parents, to the dorm, to a room in a house, to a 22' boat, to a 24' boat, to a 26' boat.

Soon it will probably be a 28' boat if the pattern continues.

I think the hardest part was not having a kitchen, honestly. To have a real kitchen you need something like a 50' sailboat. However, I have now grown to appreciate my extremely minimal galley.

[imagine2frolic]

You can have a nice galley on a whole lot less than 50'. Unless you entertaining dozens, and doing gourmet dishes. A grill on the stern will help tons..........i2f

[maxingout]

If you figure out a way to make real money off websites, let me know.

I have lots of websites and spend several thousand dollars a year keeping them going. I do all the work myself. My designs are not fancy, but they are free.

I don't have any advertising on my sites to pay the bills. The thought of putting advertisements on my sites creates a feeling of revulsion.

Unless your websites get a bazillion hits every day, I can't imagine that advertisements would pay any significant amount of money. And if you sell enough stuff on your sites to pay for cruising, I don't see how you would be able to go cruising because you would be spending your time packaging whatever product you are selling.

I would like to know if anyone makes enough money off websites to finance cruising. So far I have not heard of or met anyone out there on cruising yachts financing their adventures though their own websites.

[bljones]

Originally Posted by maxingout

If you figure out a way to make real money off websites, let me know. ...



I don't have any advertising on my sites to pay the bills. The thought of putting advertisements on my sites creates a feeling of revulsion....

You answered your own question, you just didn't like the answer.


This is what may eventually cause the collapse of the worldwideweb as we know it- no consumer wants to pay for anything on the "free" web, yet no provider can continue to offer content without somebody paying for it, and providers are loathe to sell themselves to advertisers because THAT flies in the face of the true ethos of the egalitarian web... so, in the end, informative sites disappear and blatantly commercial sites proliferate, making the WWW just one big shopping mall.
But hey, you can steal music and surf porn for free, and really isn't that what the web is all about?

[jimini]

I'm not a liveaboard yet but yes getting rid of the excess junk that I have and also finding the right boat that I want and can afford to live on... I am 62 and have worked two jobs for many years I am not about to settle for a camping style boat retirement life style. The greatest feat will be insuring I have enough money set aside to live the current live style I am accustomed to. My SS monthly checks will start next month along with my company pension. So to me those items are the most important. If the vessel isn't comfortable the liveaboard life isn't going to be fun either.

[Captin_Kirk]

There can be money off websites fr sure. I work at it only part time and make money. Not allot, My sites bring in between 300-400/month. most of that is advertising. However, I own a website design company as well and build sites for businesses. That I think is where most of the money comes from for me. I bought my boat and all of the toys on it from money from the web business.

It can be hard sometimes working full time then dealing with website admin after, but if that was my only job, I think it would be better.

Thanks for all the great replies everyone. Keep it coming.

I should mention that If I do move aboard, I would spend warm months in Canada and then sail south for winter

[lawdawg]

Maxingout- even if you aren't making a lot of money off of it, I hope you keep it up. I can't tell you how many times I go back to your site to look at the positive thinking pictures and quotes, it is on my tool bar
I know I'm not the only one as well because I have sent it on to friends and family and I still get messages from people about new favorites they found. I always wanted to do public speaking on self-improvement one day and hope to follow in the path of the kind of stuff you do. You make people's lives better and brighten their days, and that says more than anything.
Drew

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

You can have a nice galley on a whole lot less than 50'. Unless you entertaining dozens, and doing gourmet dishes. A grill on the stern will help tons..........i2f

yes. i made a decent galley in a26 islander bahama by throwing in a camp stove and started to cook-also had a bbq on rail.. i have an ericson 35mII with an awesome galley, and a bbq on the rail, force 10 stove and everything. formosa 41 with a small but do-able galley, no bbq on rail--i have a smokey joe weber kettle and do my grilling in cockpit on a tile.-- i am able to COOK anywhere. isnt the galley--is the COOK --kinda like boats--isnt the boat--is the sailor......

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by bljones

so, in the end, informative sites disappear and blatantly commercial sites proliferate, making the WWW just one big shopping mall.

Yep.

.......

[maxingout]

Originally Posted by lawdawg

Maxingout- even if you aren't making a lot of money off of it, I hope you keep it up. I can't tell you how many times I go back to your site to look at the positive thinking pictures and quotes, it is on my tool bar
I know I'm not the only one as well because I have sent it on to friends and family and I still get messages from people about new favorites they found. I always wanted to do public speaking on self-improvement one day and hope to follow in the path of the kind of stuff you do. You make people's lives better and brighten their days, and that says more than anything.
Drew

Thanks for the encouragement.

Right now it doesn't matter that much what I spend on my websites because I am working earning more Freedom Chips. When I bail out of my job and set sail once again, I will have to rethink the costs. Maybe by that time I will have some ebooks that will cover the cost of the sites. The DVD on our site doesn't pay for any of my web sites. It goes to my son who created the DVD, and I am trying to get him to make two other DVDs of our trip. The next DVD will include the Tsunami in Thailand and will go from Australia to Oman. At the present time, he doesn't have enough time to create that DVD.

Anyone who thinks about making money with websites will find that they are figuratively sailing to windward in heavy seas. They won't get very far very fast. That doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile, but the rewards are mainly non-financial.

For me, my websites are about having my say and finishing well. I've danced to the music played by other people for most of my life, and it's time to make my own music and dance to my own tunes. Sometimes people who are past middle age try to recapture their lost youth and in the process make poor choices that make their life worse rather than better. I am committed to finishing well, and that means not doing stupid things. For me, finishing well and having my say translates into creating websites that encourage people to live their dreams. As long as I can afford to do it, I will continue.