Liveaboards - Do You Sail ?

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by osirissail

I would suggest that as the boat gets larger the full time live aboard owners are less enthusiastic to move the boat or use it to go somewhere. As the boat reaches "home comfortable" invariably there is an ever increasing amount of "stuff" that cannot be easily stored away and is left out.
- - Putting all that stuff away is both traumatic and time consuming (takes a whole day with my boat). On the other hand, once the stuff is stored away there is a tendency of large boat folks to not want to stop anyplace for very long, but to keep on moving. Once you stop you invariably need to unpack all that stuff which again is time consuming and traumatic.
- - So I would say, the smaller the boat the more it moves or is used to go anywhere.

Osirissail has presented me with a new insight regarding this, "Do you sail?" question. I had posted earlier that we keep our boat ready to sail within 15 minutes, but I had failed to say that this is for daysailing trips and returning to our temporary slip. When we change from a stay at a marina where we have remained for a couple of months and leave for long term cruising we do disassemble our bicycles for storage aboard and there is more time required to remove and stow all our dock lines and cables. Still we don't have any other packing or unpacking below. This may be related to boat size as Osirissail suggested and our boat is far smaller than the Gulfstar 53, but I can see how many, like us, would stabilize their items for the use weather cruising or not. All our tools, galley items, clothes and toys remain the same wether sailing or at the dock.

[nv5l]

I bought my boat several years ago and have been refitting her ever since. I moved on board for good last summer, but have spent most of the time since on the hard (including winter in NYC) but finally got her back in the water again last month -- in the water only 3 out of the last 14 months.

It was a 6 hour sail to get to this anchorage, Oyster Bay, but I've been on the hook finishing up the refit ever since. I can't afford marinas, but I image the same holds for anchorages. My goal is to get everything installed, fixed, and stowed by the end of the month and keep it that way. Otherwise it's too much trouble to clean up and stow tools and gear so you can go sailing.

I like the idea of a 15 minute rule and plan to make that part of my SOP as soon as I can.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by nv5l

. . . I like the idea of a 15 minute rule and plan to make that part of my SOP as soon as I can.

Ah! the dreams and best intentions have a way of slipping when you are actually living full time on a vessel. Living ashore and then taking out the boat for a daysail or longer is a whole different world.
- - When the boat is your only home it is extraordinarily difficult to "limit" your stuff. I swear the evolutionists were wrong, humans were not descended from earlier versions of ape primates. We are descended from an unnatural mating of the "pack rat" and "brown bear." After all, all we seem to do is accumulate stuff we don't really need (except all of my stuff is absolutely needed) and want to get our backs rubbed.
- - Unless you are lucky enough to have a spouse who is obsessive compulsive about putting things away, it does not take but a few days to have the inside of the boat strewn with tools, projects, and assorted hobby stuff. Then there is the "law of closets" which states that we accumulate stuff until we have at least 110% of the closets (storage areas) filled. Deck boxes, dock boxes and that second head become storage areas.
- - Whenever we see a newbie or cruiser with a neatly arranged interior with everything put away even after weeks at anchor/mooring/marina we seem to assume they haven't been out cruising very long.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Ah! the dreams and best intentions have a way of slipping when you are actually living full time on a vessel. Living ashore and then taking out the boat for a daysail or longer is a whole different world.
- - When the boat is your only home it is extraordinarily difficult to "limit" your stuff.......................

It may be easier for us as we have never had a house and never had to downsize; however, one thing that is definitely easier is that we don't have to disturb a sleeping cat to punch out a message on our keyboard! It's probably been said before , but explain that avatar. Is that a lounging cat or a freeze dried cat?.....dust cover?.....or is this just common behavior from some exotic breed?

[zeehag]

i would think will be difficult to relocate the new air conditioner unit for day sailing--methinks i will only be sailing from port to port.....makes more sense to me.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

. . . It's probably been said before , but explain that avatar. Is that a lounging cat or a freeze dried cat?.....dust cover?.....or is this just common behavior from some exotic breed?

It would seem to me that you have not been a "cat person" - it is said, people keep dogs, cats keep people. One of the never-ending joys of being a cat-person is watching them train you and insist on being the prima donna and getting your attention.
- - For instance dogs sleep with you with their head aligned with your head. Cats sleep with their rear end pointing towards your head.

[Hudson Force]

Here's another one of those choices that is difficult, but has great impact on the ability to cruise away from the dock without preparation,-- Air Conditioning. If you decide on the more efficient units that exchange heat with water and are permanently installed below, there is no preparation in moving them for cruising, but if your putting deck mounted air cooled units over hatches or window units in the companionway, then you have a change to make from dockside to cruising mode. You need to pay more for the water cooled units and prepare interior space and ducting, but there is a payoff in efficiency and ease of cruising,- often a tough call.

[atoll]

leaving the dock would cause an ecological disaster,the seagulls would have nowhere to crap!!!!!!!!!!

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by osirissail

It would seem to me that you have not been a "cat person" ...............

I love cats and most particularly their attitude, but I am unfortunately allergic to them. This leaves me deprived, but always interested. So, you didn't explain the cat on the keyboard behavior,- posed? Typical behavior? A one time rare event? a living cat?

[osirissail]

I don't know about air conditioning efficiency with the water cooled built in units versus the Home Depot $99 window units. With the built in versions, I have 3, there are ducts and strainers and hoses and through hulls to clean and service. With the window units you just plug them in and use some polystryrene insulation boards to seal the hatch around them. Or make a companionway splash board adaptor.
- - -
As to the cat he is very alive and just looking for attention. When my wife tries to use her netbook he insists on resting his head on the keyboard. If you push him away he sneaks back and puts one paw on the computer to assert his "rights."
- - As to allergies and cats look up the "Turkish Van" a rare breed that does not have the under fur or "nap" so is hypoallergenic. His only fur is long and white like a polar bear's.
- - Here is a link to allergy free cats I found when Googling to figure out how to spell hypoallergenic.
http://www.allerca.com/html/hypoallergenic.html

[Sailor g]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Ah! the dreams and best intentions have a way of slipping when you are actually living full time on a vessel. Living ashore and then taking out the boat for a daysail or longer is a whole different world.
- - When the boat is your only home it is extraordinarily difficult to "limit" your stuff. I swear the evolutionists were wrong, humans were not descended from earlier versions of ape primates. We are descended from an unnatural mating of the "pack rat" and "brown bear." After all, all we seem to do is accumulate stuff we don't really need (except all of my stuff is absolutely needed) and want to get our backs rubbed.
- - Unless you are lucky enough to have a spouse who is obsessive compulsive about putting things away, it does not take but a few days to have the inside of the boat strewn with tools, projects, and assorted hobby stuff. Then there is the "law of closets" which states that we accumulate stuff until we have at least 110% of the closets (storage areas) filled. Deck boxes, dock boxes and that second head become storage areas.
- - Whenever we see a newbie or cruiser with a neatly arranged interior with everything put away even after weeks at anchor/mooring/marina we seem to assume they haven't been out cruising very long.

Hey...I don't think I'm TOO  OCD-just disciplined and don't care that much about hobbies beyond reading- but we have all put away when we get into a marina or in an anchorage (if for a few days or may have visitors (always a reason to clean). We have a rule that we can only buy something that has a place or if we remove something, eg: to get an sun tea jar I gave away a vase (never used it anyway). I also look at whether we really need the items we have already. We have been living aboard going on 4 years now and I adore it. We are in a marina while I work (work clothes fit in one single locker & boat clothes in another) I am a teacher so we pulled out the day after my last day for Ensenada,MX and then back up through all the Channel Islands off CA. We leave every weekend we can for the closest anchorage or out for a bob around the bay just to get off the dock. We may not be the norm but it can be done... and it makes living aboard sooo worth it.

[Butler]

Yeah... stuff is the problem. I like the snap panel idea. When I first got the boat,the installation of shock cords and rails was at the very top of my to-do list.. I also have my version of a V berth only aft and to port where I can toss all kinds of stuff really quickly. That helps. It's true though that if there is too much to move it can be a buzz kill for sailing. There's the best reason for keeping a tidy live-aboard. I keep my crap to a minimum, the bottom clean and the sails ready to go.

[wingssail]

Many, maybe even most, livaboards don't go out much, and when they do they motor. They don't really like to sail.

But before we became full time cruisers we lived aboard (for 10 years) and sailed a lot. Quite a lot. Every vacation was a long cruise. Many weekends we went out for a day sail. And we raced!. The boat was always ready to go, just put away the TV and unplug shore power. From 1986 to 1993 we raced about 50 times a year.

What is the difference? We love to sail and we have a boat which loves to sail and is good at it. I need to get the sails up and sheeted in hard and put the boat on the wind in 20 knots just to feel the power. If I don't get this for a while I get ichy. Doesn't need to be a long sail, just a sail.

Now we liveaboard in different places and we still like to sail however every marina, everywhere we've been, is full of boats which don't go out.

I think it is a matter of passion. You have it or you don't.

[osirissail]

Sailor G - assuming you are female - don't let MarkJ know about your neat and tidy and logical habits or he may try to steal you away.

[Hudson Force]

So, from all this we can conclude that some liveaboards sail more and some less than those that don't liveaboard. Some liveaboards have boats that are more tidy or less well kept than others. Some liveaboards motor more and some sail more than those that don't live aboard. I think the only significant data here is that liveaboards are more frequently aboard their boats than those that don't live on their boats. 'not a lot of useful generalizations here about living aboard.