My Husband is Nuts . . . Apparently, So Am I . . .

[boatman61]

Dang.... I heard Beaufort NC was the lightning capital of the world... and I did witness some awesome displays while on the hook in Taylors Creek.... but then I've seen awesome displays mid Atlantic....
Got a love hate relationship with the stuff.... beautiful to watch but a PITA when my elec's get fried... twice so far..
No direct hits yet... touch wood..

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by sj01

BTW- I believe that story about onbaord training said that dogs get seasick? Any experiences with this? I had never heard such a thing before... At any rate...neat stories- keep em comin folks...

Angus our 40kg Labradoodle has never been seasick and just loves sitting on the side deck watching the white waves go swishing by. He is fascinated by them. We have only had one aciddent when after 12 hours at sea he had to go so chose an old cushion in the cockpit, which got tossed over the side. I couldn't say anything to him other than lots of re-assurance that it was okay.

Inky our black pug goes on the side deck which is fine and a bucket of water washes everything down. Our little blond pug was seasick last Saturday, however, it was her first trip on a yacht. After a couple of days on board she was fine and no problems on the way home.

Phil (Boatman) gave a good recommendation for the Beneteaus and being in the UK we looked at several including a new one. Would have been delighted with one other than Viv wanted a UK yacht, so we bought a Moody instead. Which brings me neatly on to this one for you:

1985 Moody Center Cockpit Sail New and Used Boats for Sale -

Pete

[Sandero]

Everyone has stories and opinions and all to be taken with a grain or two of sea salt.

We have two westies. They like the boat because they get to be outside... and new smells and things to get "into" when they go ashore... beats the same old neighborhood smells they know and love.

We try to walk them as needed but sailing this is not possible and so they can poop and pee on the deck which we then clean off rather easily. They are not allowed out of the cockpit underway unless it is dead calm and boat is flat. They DO like to come to the bow when the anchor is coming up or down... they are disturbed or fascinated by the sound or something about anchoring.

Our dogs love the dink and stand on the bow and have not fallen into the water except when leaping from the dink to the dock before I've landed the dink. Perhaps they can't wait to get ashore??? Anyway I pull them out and they hate being wet... but that does seem to discourage them from these huge leaps when the dink approaches the dock. They even recognize our dink when we come back... which is pretty good... They've only a few times jumped onto a similar dink waiting for me. hahaha.

If you love your dogs and they love you you should have no problem taking them aboard. Just keep them out of the way and be prudent about where and when they can wander about on the deck.

Learning to cruise and fit out a boat for cruising is a long term affair. Hands on experience cannot come from reading a thousand books. So you need to begin sooner rather than later acquiring your salty sense and skills. Regardless of how much experience you have... it's never enough but it's never an excuse not to get out there and go for it. The learning never stops. Sailors as a lot are damned clever and they can fix just about anything... and they HAVE to. And that set of fixin skill comes with time...

Navigation there days is rather easy with electronics (GPS) and so forth. But these devices DO fail so you need back ups and some basic navigation skills... just in case. Understanding requires drilling into everything from cooking to tensioning the rig to navigation, to reading the weather...

It's all fun.... but your life DOES depend on it... understanding.

[GordMay]

Question:

Originally Posted by sj01

... I notice a great many folks are recommending the older boats- why is that? ...

Answer:

Originally Posted by sj01

... We're hoping to keep it in the 50-60K range ...

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Question:

Answer:

Well quoted Gord.

[sj01]

Ouch LOL*
No more fodder for your responses Gord LOL* But I confess I have found some amazingly low prices on some cruisers (island hopper types) around the 50's on very nice boats.....so it maes me wonder what I am missing..must be some technical aspects.

[Pblais]

I have found some amazingly low prices on some cruisers (island hopper types) around the 50's on very nice boats.....so it makes me wonder what I am missing..must be some technical aspects.

The devil is in the details. It's easy to find boats priced in the 50's but it may cost you 30 more to make is ready. This would be far more common than not. It also gets you only past the first year.

There just are a lot of things you don't know you can't live without yet and you don't know the details of what is wrong with any older boat you buy even after the survey. Some things seem to work at a sea trial and never work again. Surprises await your every extra dollar. Virtually everyone that starts out here is looking in the same price range as you are. There are far and away more frogs than princes in the pond. I would expect to buy a boat and require a full year to get it ready and more importantly get yourselves ready as sailors (from sailing the boat) and as a crew that works well together then add another $20K. Investing the time before you plan to take off can do the most for saving money. Being smarter takes a bit of time when you know it still will cost more money.

[Kashmir cat]

For what it is worth.......I would not go off on the boat without our dogs. They are a constant source of joy and comfort. When the seas are rough, they count on us to keep them safe--they are a distraction for anyone who's worried or scared. Besides, when you tire of your mate, the dog is always available for a nice nap, walk, or chat!

[Khagan1227]

Each to his own Foggy. I own a big house and found we really only use the bedroom, hearthroom, which includes the kitchen, much like a 40ish foot sailboat.

Perhaps our backpacking background helps here and you only have what you carry but, being in a small boat with less comforts than the house doesn't really bother me and my wife much, especially since we are going from a 22ft to a 40ish foot sailboat soon. I look at it as we are trading comfort for the ability to go places and see things others only dream of, a pricelss bargin IMHO.

[islandplanet]

We met many people with dogs while we were cruising. 3 could get interesting. Life with dogs on a boat generally revolves around the dog. You'll want a pretty substantial dinghy if the dogs are large. You'll be taking them to the beach to do their thing. You'll know if the dogs are having fun or not. Some adapt well and others not so much. If I had large dogs I would favor a boat with a swim platform or other easy means of getting the dogs off or on.

Although we are animal lovers and had pets most of our lives we have chosen to be without pets while we are sailing. We live vicariously through our friends with pets.

Part of leaving a clean wake is considering your neighbors in anchorages and marinas. We were anchored near a 100 footer in La Cruz, Nayarit, MX with a dog that spent the entire day barking as soon as his owners left the boat. If the dog is a barker, take the dog with you or secure below.

[Hakuna_Matata]

Originally Posted by sj01

one of the threads on here was people under 30 taking on sailing...well..I just missed the cut off...

Hey,

Do you have the link to this thread, or any idea where I can find it? I'll (hopefully) be taking on this lifestyle with my wife before 30, and would like some pointers.

Thanks!

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by Hakuna_Matata

Hey,

Do you have the link to this thread, or any idea where I can find it? I'll (hopefully) be taking on this lifestyle with my wife before 30, and would like some pointers.

Thanks!

Werlcome aboard, Hakuna Matata. Here it is:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ere-26983.html

I found it by typing the words 'under thirty' into our search tool- on the blue menu bar up top there... marvellous tool, so it is, absolutely marvellous!!!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the C, Hakuna Matata.