Transition plan to liveaboard and cruising

[goboatingnow]

I would argue against developing a detailed plan at this stage . Id build experience , ( charter , sail as delivery crew, race, though this is least useful in my opinion) . Id especially create limited but interesting sailing opportunities that involve your partner.

Ultimately you may find out that your type of sailing may not be what you think it might be today , I for example would like to have circumnavigated or at least crossed more then one ocean ( twice) , but it was only ever going to happen if I dumped my partner behind. SO now my sailing is confined to warm waters and relatively short distances, so what , we're together and having fun.

loads of couples do one long trip and end up staying at the destination , and sailing locally for years, have they " failed " , of course not. Often they are happy and contented , those that are not content, tend to sell and leave the scene

gain stay flexible , not rigid at this stage and build experience , especially together , let the enjoyment dictate what you do not the "dream"

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Peter, People have different ways of accomplishing goals. If the OP knows the end goal, the destination, there is nothing wrong with starting his planning with that goal in mind. That is the way a professional project planner does it. That is the way I did it. I knew what I wanted and I created a detailed plan, an 11 year plan, and then followed it. I made it to the goal and consider it successful.

That doesn't mean that when you get that first "punch in the face" you cannot re-asses the goal, or the steps you'll take to get there.

But just drifting along and seeing what happens, is not the way to accomplish a goal.

I think the OP's approach is perfect.

Perhaps. Lots of ways to skin this cat. To my eyes, OP is describing a moon shot approach. Not saying it can't be done, but success/failure is more binary.

I've always liked the approach of "go small, go now."

Peter.

[Stellar1970Cat]

Hello from Australia,
I have done similar stuff as you in the past. White water rafting guide in NZ for short time. Did a bit of diving and sailing with my mates boat in Finland. I actually learned sailing with DIY ice yacht in Finland!
Two years ago I was a landlubber needing a new challenge.
Talking about challenges, I have some mobility challenges as I had a flying accident in 1997 which made me paraplegic! But despite doctors predictions and because I have a lot of sisu I have learned to walk again with canes and still getting better. Too many people doubt my ability but I never do!
So I started looking for boats I can afford with my meagre savings. My budget was just A$20 000 and guessed I need about half that to make repairs for those budget boats?
The first boat I looked was a 40ft monohull costing just $5000! But when I saw it on land anchored on Brisbane River, I decided to give it a miss as I saw streaks of rust going down the sides. A ferrocement yacht so I gave it a miss and did not step onboard,
The second boat I inspected was this catamaran at the marina. The layout was perfect as I could walk around hanging on to things as I do not use my canes onboard. So I set my eyes on it and visited few times. Found couple delaminations and water leaks on the hull and as time passed the owner dropped their asking price to almost half to original asking price.
So I bought my 1970 catamaran. One month in the marina and then got hauled it on cry stand marina just a kilometre away. Few weeks of repairs and found a great shipwright who had two aprentices on the job and their labour costs were less.
Getting a skipper ticket was pretty easy but getting insurance for a 50 year old boat was not very easy.
Since then I have repaired and replaced just about every system but now I am living on it full time mainly anchored on sheltered bays or rivers.
I sailed up north to Whitsundays with various crews. Plenty of people, mainly young backpackers wanted to go to the Whitsundays for a week and I had 3 trips with lot of fun and good food. Having professional French and Dutch chef on two trips were fun. But going back south before the cyclone season I had to do it single handed as I could not get any crew.
So if I can do it single handed, you should be able do it two handed. Just take baby steps and do not over think it. The solutions to problems will unravel and ask for advice from other sailors. For first boat I would suggest to get a less expensive sailing boat than your dreams are. You do not neec a million dollar cat to enjoy liveaboard lifestyle.

Happy Sailing New Year

Haykey

[skipmac]

I have to agree that having a detailed plan is a very good start, much better than going off half cocked. However I'll agree that the best laid plans and all that so be open to changing the plan as the situation evolves.

However, I highly recommend getting some experience on boats before jumping into the deep end of the pool. Since you plan on circumnavigating that will obviously involve some serious, offshore passages. Some people take to that, some don't. Chartering will give you the experience of living on a boat but nothing but sailing offshore will give you that experience.

Might try crewing with someone on a delivery or cruise. Boaters are frequently looking for someone to help stand watch on passages back and forth to the Caribbean.

[Tetepare]

OP has the experience with high risk, fast thinking activities. That is a huge head start above the rainbows and midlife crisis idiots.

Wife has to be comfortable.

You have a good foundation. More later.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

OP has the experience with high risk, fast thinking activities. That is a huge head start above the rainbows and midlife crisis idiots.

Odd, probably 99% of the time a steady deliberate approach is best.

Fast acting often makes things worse. When you are at a marina and you hear an engine racing, it's usually only making matters worse.

Not saying the OP can't adapt and learn those skills but stopping to think things thru before acting is often the better option over speed.

[Soundhaven]

Hi, PlaneSail,
I moved aboard a sailboat (1992 IP32) full-time at age 55, with very little sailing experience and little understanding of the systems onboard. I had the very basic ASA101 course under my belt.
I was still working full-time.
Nearly 6 years later...
I have retired. I know how to troubleshoot and make repairs to most systems on the boat. I can sail. I have navigation and weather knowledge. I'm not an expert at all those things; I'm learning every day.
3 years ago, I married a man who was (and is) happy to move aboard and share this outdoor, minimalist lifestyle with me. We bought a second boat (1983 Flicka 20). We have a boat on Puget Sound (Washington State)for April - October, and are spending the fall/winter this year in the Sea of Cortez (Mexico). We also travel with our truck/camper, and on bikes with a tent.
I think your plan of living aboard at the marina first is a great idea. Living in a small space is not for everyone. And it takes a while to get rid of all the stuff you spent the last few decades accumulating.
Email me if you want to talk. I'd be happy to share what I've learned.
Noreenlight (at) gmail.com
Noreen
S/V Soundhaven
S/V Sweethaven

[argonauta1]

Should you be qualified sufficiently, book a bareboat in the BVI for a week and that way you will get a closer look at the reality of cruising with many of the bumps smoothed out by the charter operator. I am a fan of both Sunsail and Moorings. If you are not qualified to do that, better take a course on keel boat sailing. One further thought, make sure you charter a keelboat rather than a multi hull for a more relevant experience

[garychurch]

Suggest you spend time chartering a sailing catamaran in Bahamas, Caribbean, etc.
prior to a major commitment.

Known a few people whose dreams far exceed their reality and decide after the actual experience it wasn’t the dream for them.

[merrydolphin]

I can tell you that as a professional Pilot, you have a huge jump start on learning sailing and cruising. I have trained many hundreds of cruisers as a US Sailing instructor for a large sailing school. You understand aerodynamics/hydrodynamics, you understand navigation, weather ( a big one as you know). Many “rules of the road” are similar. Many similarities all the way accross. I am also a pilot so know both areas. Also my wife and I cruised for over 30 yrs. She is an RN. Those are great skill to have out there. You should make a great team. Good luck. You have the money, and the backgrounds to make this happen. Those are two huge pluses.

[Farbrook]

Hi PlainSail

Your post caught my eye as I'm just about to retire from longhaul after thirty-something years and have similar plans as yours: after looking for a boat for about five years we last year settled on a 46' monohull that we're very pleased with.

You've obviously given this a great deal of thought so I'll try to keep my advice to my experience.

1. It's easy in the excitement to over-plan, and indeed over spend. I agree with a number of the previous posts when they suggest it's better to wait and see what problems come up and deal with them then. You've got a good budget so don't be too concerned.

2. Some love marina life and some detest it. I'm in the latter category, but regardless I doubt marina life will teach you much about bluewater cruising. There's no need to subject your relationship to the perils of close quarter combat in a marina for a couple of years without going anywhere. Much better to charter someone else's boat as often as possible and in areas where you'll be anchoring most of the time (and when in marinas at least a different experience every time) - which should be much closer to a bluewater simulator. The BVIs sound great, and if you can afford it come to Europe and sail for a few weeks in Greece where mooring is always a spectator sport, you'll learn a lot and I guarantee you'll never regret it.

3. Buy one boat not two. This flows on from the marina advice. When you do decide on your circumnavigation boat there'll be plenty to do to it that will take time and money...you don't want to do that twice.

Good luck and roll on retirement!

[Lisa Marie]

If you can work out of S FL, interested in Bahamas, attempt live aboard, I suggest you contact/join Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club-members are well versed in liveaboard, cruising & a great group
Www.RMHYC.com

[Flying Lady]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

What Wings and Vahalla said. +1

I know of two Forum couples personally whose marriages have broken up since they bought the boat.

I'm becoming infamous for reposting this thread, but it's among the Forum's "top favs", informative and - hilarious:

Attempted Trip to Bermuda
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...uda-91566.html

LittleWing77

P.S. What does FL370 mean in your "location"...? (Remember, this is an international forum.)

FL370 is an aviation term, it means he is in an airplane at 37,000 feet.

[David Mathis]

Have you considered a powerboat for the first year or two after retirement? The ICW along with many of the connected rivers and bays offers a golden opportunity to enjoy a leisurely retirement while visiting many of the beautiful east coast communities. And don't discount the adventure of making the great loop and seeing the Mississippi and Gulf Coast (maybe a year or more of leisurely cruising) or the little loop across the Erie Canal, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence Seaway and Thousand Islands area, Lake Champlain, the Champlain Canal, and the Hudson River which takes about a month but can be done in about two weeks if you're in a hurry or can be extended to an all season adventure which allows time to visit the Finger Lakes and their vineyards. At that point, if living aboard is a lifestyle you wish to continue and crossing oceans is on your checklist, trade the trawler for a sailboat.

[lo2jones]

I never understand the “get on a racing crew” to gain experience. 90% of racing crew are relegated to rail meat positions for at least a while. Most skipper owners drive the boat themselves regardless of whether they are a skilled helmsman or not. So, crew do learn about racing, but very few gain practical experience. I’ve know more than a few people who are good at racing (sailtrim, tactics, but bad a driving due to lack of practical experience.” I applaud the advice of doing a live aboard for 1-2 years prior to the big dive into the cruising boat that , you will eventually learn, suits your lifestyle and needs.