What Would You Have Done Differently ?

[zeehag]

i dont kno wthat i would change anything-- i was able to run away from home 2 times in prep, and i was able toget my boat for a decent rice and fix what needed fixing to gt to sea----and find helprs-- but i wont allow ay artners or spouses to attempt to crew for me again- that was a major disaster..LOL

mebbe gone sooner--is a great answer--am getting older every minuet..LOL

[capttman]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i dont kno wthat i would change anything-- i was able to run away from home 2 times in prep, and i was able toget my boat for a decent rice and fix what needed fixing to gt to sea----and find helprs-- but i wont allow ay artners or spouses to attempt to crew for me again- that was a major disaster..LOL

mebbe gone sooner--is a great answer--am getting older every minuet..LOL

I sail solo, do use helpers but I now lock the liqueur cabinet go when you want because it is true we are getting older every minute, only 86,400 seconds in each day thats all ye get and if ya don't use em good ya lose em

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by capttman

I sail solo, do use helpers but I now lock the liqueur cabinet go when you want because it is true we are getting older every minute, only 86,400 seconds in each day thats all ye get and if ya don't use em good ya lose em

That's waaay too much pressure!

[pablothesailor]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

On the ballance, I think I have done ok.
Yes it would have been nicer to have much more money.
I doubt I could have done much better given all the considerations of who I am and what I had etc. By 'who I am" I mean my adilities, or lack, of doing things mechanical. I'm sure theres many more people better suited in that regard. I think there's also better people who would put more work into their boat than me. etc.

Just go do it and fix up the mistakes along the way

Thats a really Humble and honest thing to say Mark, the DIY side is my weak point; im not a natural and it seems many on here are, im going to take an engine course soon but dont think it will make me an expert, just wondered how big a part that is for you guys who have done this for years, how ¨handy¨ do you need to be?

[zeehag]

is a really good thing to know how to repair yer diesel. could just save yer life.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by pablothesailor

Thats a really Humble and honest thing to say Mark, the DIY side is my weak point; im not a natural and it seems many on here are, im going to take an engine course soon but dont think it will make me an expert, just wondered how big a part that is for you guys who have done this for years, how ¨handy¨ do you need to be?

Degree of "handyness" required is inversely related to degree of "moneyness" that you have.

Most things on a boat are approachable by an amateur DIY guy, armed with some reading and some basic tools. In all likelyhood you will not need to rebuild your engine... just maintain it, and that is not hard. You won't need to design a new electrical system from scratch, just beef up the existing one, and do simple trouble shooting. Replacing rigging, one wire at a time is simple and saves heaps. And so on. You will learn as you go, and you will find that the cruising community is full of people who know how to do things, and who are happy to share their knowledge.

ON the other side of the coin, the marine world is full of self proclaimed "professionals" who don't know much more than you do, and who are quite happy to charge you a hundred bucks an hour to demonstrate this fact. Skilled and honest tradesmen are scarce indeed, so the more that you can do yourself the better off you will be as a cruiser.

Cheers,

Jim

[Hudson Force]

As of today Nancie & I are one week into our fortieth year of liveaboard cruising. I just shared this question with Nancie as we are sitting here having our morning coffee at anchor before departing for Baltimore. She couldn't think of anything and neither can I.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

As of today Nancie & I are one week into our fortieth year of liveaboard cruising. I just shared this question with Nancie as we are sitting here having our morning coffee at anchor before departing for Baltimore. She couldn't think of anything and neither can I.

That's sad ... keep thinking! :-)

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Doodles

That's sad ... keep thinking! :-)

Thanks, that was good for a laugh! Of course, I meant we couldn't think of anything that we would have done differently regarding liveaboard cruising.

[h20man]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Degree of "handyness" required is inversely related to degree of "moneyness" that you have.

<snip> ....

Jim

There is not enough "moneyness" to buy you out of trouble in the middle of the ocean in a bad situation.

Using "moneyness" involves a time lag .... and some situations are unforgiving of such a lag. And "handyness" can bring "moneyness".

[Reach]

I would have started with more chain. We left with around 125 ft (supplemented with additional rope). Once away from the shallow Bahamas, we found that to be a bit limiting.

Our current chain is 250 ft and offers a reasonable 5:1 scope in typical depths around the Caribbean. With our catamaran, the bridle is easy to hook to the chain and overall anchoring seems easier yet more secure.

Good luck!
Michele

[Don1500]

Originally Posted by pablothesailor

Thats a really Humble and honest thing to say Mark, the DIY side is my weak point; im not a natural and it seems many on here are, im going to take an engine course soon but dont think it will make me an expert, just wondered how big a part that is for you guys who have done this for years, how ¨handy¨ do you need to be?

Only hire people that know what you don't or when the job is so hard physically that you can not do it yourself. Stepping the Mast falls into both of those categories for me.