I'll be living aboard soon (fingers crossed)

[tnerual]

Hi everyone,

I'm writing from near Lisbon in Portugal. Just joined the forum to start asking a bunch of questions that come up while researching how to live and work aboard a sailboat (mine!).
I've sailed in Greece, Sweden, France and the UK over the past 10 year, have picked up skipper certifications in 2 of these countries (the basic ones, not pro!) and now want to stop beating around the bush. I'm spending too much time learning everything I can about living aboard, figuring out budget, what I want to do, etc... Questions coming up soon, I'm excited to see how much experience is gathered here!

[tnerual]

I'll go ahead and add a bit more to the story:
I've sailed about 1200nm, maybe a third of that as skipper. I've spent a night with my head in a bucket, almost sank a boat for getting too close to a passenger ferry, and banged my head enough times to be willing to spend a bit more for those extra centimetres of headroom (I'm 1.97/6"6 tall, yes, I should probably find another hobby). My very first experience of cruising was painting a hull but despite these unsexy bits, I still want to do more of it (well, maybe not the seasick night in a bucket) for all the good parts.
I'm still working on the plan, but it will probably look like buying something on the cheap (headroom is an issue which I plan on posting questions about) with a bit of fixing in mind (not a wreck that needs rebuilding from top to bottom though, I'd rather get on the water in less than 6 months from purchase) and patrol the coasts of Europe before heading further out.
I'm hoping to get more eyes on the various parts of the plan in the coming weeks, to refine and sense check my thinking...

[LittleWing77]

Welcome Aboard, TNerual!

LittleWing77

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, tnerual.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, tnerual,

Welcome aboard CF.

Living aboard is easy as pie. You just live. You have a berth instead of a bed, and a galley instead of a kitchen. Everywhere you go, you can obtain more pots and pans as needed, so it's fine to start out with a minimum.

Consider trying Stugeron against seasickness. It works best for Jim and me, and it took years to find what would work for me with minimal side effects.

Be sure to try out the bunks on the boats you want to buy. At your height, it will be hard to find long enough berths, as well as adequate headroom. It is preferable to be able to stand straight in the galley, rather than hunched over.



Ann

[Nauticus]

Hi and welcome from Ontario Canada [emoji846]

Some great advice already, and clearly you've obtained enough proficiency to sail from point to point.

Keep your grocery receipts on passages. When you get there cross off what you consumed then look at what's left. You'll be surprised at how little you actually need.

I suffer with height although not as bad. I'm 6'2". My girl offers 6' headroom so I really only have to bend a little. And as a solo sailor I'm happiest out on the water. You'll find a routine and won't look back.

Fair winds Captain [emoji569][emoji3]

[boatman61]

Bem-vindo ao CF..
I'm 6'2" and the best boat galley for me was on a Westerly Longbow, it's galley was along the stbd side with the cooker and sink ideally placed to park my bum against the table when cooking and doing the dishes, perfect whichever way the boat heeled.
Still had to duck going through doorways to the forecabin and heads but no real hardship.
Regarding seasickness, once you are actually living aboard your body will begin to acclimatize to the constant motion at anchor and under sail.
I used to get seasick years ago when sailing was 1 day here and there but once it became a full time thing that changed.. nowadays I'm just a tad queasy for the first day or two after a winter ashore..
That said I may well puke on my first trip post Covid as it's been over a year since I last stepped on a boat..

[tnerual]

Thanks for all the tips! Somehow after that night in the bucket, I've never been sick again (but I always do have stugeron with me when I go out, just in case "someone else" gets sick...)
Headroom is a big concern of mine. I just can't see myself living bent over (I lived on land in a flat with low ceiling parts for a while, and it drove me crazy). I'll have to reconcile that with a pretty limited budget. Not sure what the trick is, but this is why I'm here

[boatman61]

On the bright side most of the time spent below when not cooking is spent sitting or lying down.
Around 7 of my 14 boats were 4'6" to 5' 3" headroom and a couple of those I solo'd down to Portugal from the UK.. one gets used to the bum shuffle..

[Adelie]

Welcome.