Plan?

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by stephengrem

How did you guys make make the leap to living on a boat?

Heh... that's one I can't speak to. Ours is 42' and not big enough to live on... too many hobbies (aka stuff)... and what with The Admiral's grand piano and all...



-Chris

[Bluewaters2812]

Come on CF folks, throw in one or two pieces of good advice and show this young chap some spirit!

[stephengrem]

Ok I might need a plan B.
There is a good chance that I am unqualified for the coast guard.
Do you guys think a boat program at a UTI would be a good choice?
Thank you ship2210

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by stephengrem

But law enforcement is choice number one.

That explains the gun thing from the first post.

[GrowleyMonster]

First of all, here is my definition of a "Plan".

A Plan is a sequential list of events that probably ain't gonna happen.

Whatever you figure out, be aware that it very likely will have a different outcome and a different road to get there than what you initially envision. You are 17? A LOT of stuff is gonna happen that will totally blindside you, catch you by surprise. It's just the way stuff happens. Flexibility and preparedness for the winds of change and just plain old crazy bad or good luck will get you through.

The gun thing... you may have a hard time with the handgun until you are 21. Laws and stuff. Not saying it's fair, but it is what it is.

The Left Coast might not be the best place for you. If you don't mind getting your hands and in fact the rest of you very very dirty, you might want to check out the Gulf Coast. There are opportunities for a fresh young body willing to be worked like a sled dog, and you might eventually find yourself sailing as an ordinary on a crew boat or supply boat or tug or something. Put in your time, buy the books, jump through the hoops and get a license. Then the money gets better, and if you live cheap you could be buying a boat in short order. You would probably have to wait until you turn 18 to get hired, though. I might have recommended fishing 30 years ago but it just ain't the same any more. I remember making well over $100/day back when a beer was 50 cents and the minimum wage was on the south side of $2/hr and I had money to throw away when I was 17, and unfortunately that is basically what I did with most of it. But the money just isn't in fishing any more except for short periods in various fisheries that come and go, make a few men wealthy, a few more dead, and a lot of woulda coulda stories when the resource gets depleted or expenses or regulations change the picture.

Whatever you do, figure on living really really cheap. A likeminded roommate is good. One who has a different philosophy on consumption and expenses is worse than living alone. Living at home? Can work but remember yoru folks are no longer obligated to house you when you are legally an adult so you might have to make yourself valuable in some way. Save save save. Car? Forget it. New clothes? Salvation Army has cheap stuff in your size if not your color or style. Serious. Beer? Not if you are serious about saving for your first boat. Cigarettes? Sure... spend $10/day, $3k/year for the privelege of getting emphysema and cancer. SAVE. When you get a few thousand together, don't let it go to your head. SAVE. Watch for a good deal and don't let your enthusiasm cloud your judgement. You might find a fixer upper for a few hundred and it might be worth your while or it might not. You might find your perfect liveaboard for $10k 4 or 5 years from now. You don't want to only have $9k saved, and have to scurry around for not only the other grand, but the other 4 or 5 you will need immediately to keep it float-worthy if not seaworthy, get insurance, a slip, stuff like that. If you can't swing a deal that looks perfect, don't lose sleep over it. Just keep saving. Something good will happen sooner or later. My present boat I bought for $2,000 and I moved aboard immediately, and went sailing two days later. Gotta have cash at hand, and be aware.

Another definition for you: "Luck". Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness. If you are not prepared to sieze and opportunity, then it will come and go and do you no good, only frustrate and sadden you. Preparedness without opportunity is also a sucky thing. Truth is, the opportunities will be there but you have to be informed and stay informed and seek them out.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Step 1 earn some money, no money = no choices........whether that be USCG, building site or astronaut the amount in the pot will define your choices (yer get a very different boat and liveaboard experiance with a $1k boat (and an income to match?) than $100k (plus?!). and likely the location of your job will impact also.

My advice (worth the same as yer paid for it!) is to concentrate on getting a job and ideally also some skills that in the future are transferable. If living on a boat fits in with that all the better, but I wouldn't let that restrict your choices.

[Gelfling]

I agree with monster.

Want to make God (or the Universe) laugh? ....... make a plan!

[The Garbone]

At the risk of causing a ruckus I agree with Monster that the Gulf Coast (South) is an easier place to get ahead. Less regulated and more right to work.

If the CG falls through there is always the Navy. When I joined up there was a waiting list to get in the CG but the Navy would ship you the next day.

Get a good job and save 10 to 15 grand, once you have that in the kitty you should be able to get a liveable 30ish boat and the marina fee's will be less than rent in most areas.

With faith and a good work ethic anything is possible. If you do your work the best you can success will follow.

[Hudson Force]

Plans are only useless for those that can't follow through. Without a plan you are not the master of your fate, but you would be leaving it all to chance and whim. Plans can be changed, but you're best having one! As DOJ said, you need to keep a source of money in the plan,- and I'd add, spend less than you make.

[swabbmob]

Stephen,
I joined the CG at 17, and it totally changed the direction of my life. I grew up under their structure. I learned how to learn (cause they don't spoon feed you - if you want something, you have to set the goal and get it). I learned a great deal about boats (not sailing) and navigation. So I wholeheartedly recommend the CG - but they may station you on the East Coast!

The sailing part you will pick up quickly.

[swabbmob]

Stephen, In the CG, you can get a "coxswain" rating, which allows you to be the "captain" of their small boats and crews. I was a coxswain of the old 41 and 44 footers as a Petty Officer 3rd Class. Nowadays, you have to be higher ranked to get that responsibility. You would have to earn you CG Captains License oustide of the CG, but I knew guys who earned it while in the CG. No big deal - in order to earn the coxswain rating, you already will know most of what you need for the Captains License.

Also, work hard to get a small boat station, rather than a ship. Ship life was a great experience, but you will mostly be a watch standing, painting/scraping deckhand. At a small boat station, you'll learn much more about boats and navigation.

[GrowleyMonster]

Another option would be to go to my union's school at Piney Point, Maryland. They have an entry program that will eventually put you on ships, and not CG or Navy ships either. You won't make diddly the first few months while you are a trainee, though but you will get your STCW required stuff, Z card, (Well, MMC now) and probationary "B" seniority. You will be able to go Deck, Engine, or Steward department and upgrade within your department. If you want big bucks and don't mind a lot of BS to get it, get into Govt Services Division and work for Military Sealift Command. Upgrade to AB Green ticket (Unlimited) and you could be making better than $60k/year (better than $70k possible) and if you stick it out you can retire with a Civil Service pension. MSC is very regimental though. You go on the ship they want you to ship on, when they tell you, and get off when they say you can. Or you no longer work for MSC. Generally though you can expect more or less a month off for each two months at sea. Myself I prefer to stay in the commercial sector, or at least not Govt Services. Just like oilfield, you can use your seatime to satisfy the requirements for a license. In fact you can use the time for an unlimited license since most of the ships you ship on will be at least 10,000 tons. For whatever that's worth to you. Entry requirements are probably a bit less stringent than CG but I don't know because frankly I have a hard time taking the whole trainee program seriously, after seeing the bananaheads that PP churns out who don't seem to know much of anything at all. The best school for going to sea is going to sea. Anyway, that's an option and it is probably worth about what you paid for it.

Oh on ships you won't learn much about sailing on sailboats, but quite a bit of general seagoing knowledge. Particularly in Deck department. Engineers learn how to keep the crappers flushing and the air conditioner conditioning and the engine running. Deck department learns the rules of the road and how to watch for and avoid traffic and how to steer a ship and tie a knot and splice a line or a wire and if you are ambitious, how to navigate. How to interpret the rules and regulations that bedevil us. How to work safely and efficiently. How to pass a drug test. (Hint... it is easy... don't use drugs.) How to tell a good sea story. (The best ones begin with, "Now this is no $h!t" and end with, "and he ain't been right, since.") That leaves only stuff like how to actually handle a small boat under sail, and stuff relevant only to small vessels but it will get you in the neighborhood. If you <ahem> live at home, and don't spend your money at all on anything, you could certainly buy yourself some kind of boat within a year or two of breaking out of your entry rating. In 10 years you could certainly have a brand new boat if you want to go that way. I don't. I would rather have young chicks and old boats than old chicks and young boats but there are exceptions. Stick it out and you get your union pension when you retire, and that with your social security will put you in the "some old guy who lives on a little boat" category instead of the homeless bum bracket, FWIW. And in the meanwhile you can still take a few months off now and then and go sailing.

[Stu Jackson]

Santa Cruz? Check out the waiting list! Really! You'll have plenty of tiem to implement your plan.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

How to tell a good sea story. (The best ones begin with, "Now this is no $h!t" and end with, "and he ain't been right, since.")

ROTFLMAO!

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

Another option would be to go to my union's school at Piney Point, Maryland. ...................

What a great place! We first moved aboard nearby at Carthegena Creek off the St. Mary's River. I didn't attend there, but 'spent some time at Piney Point in '71 & '72.