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Old 23-08-2009, 14:49   #1
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One Step Closer to the Dream in Portland, OR

I have been interested in cruising since I went on a charter during my mid-20's. But I have not made rapid progress on that goal.

I own a Lido 14 dinghy, which I had planned to sail and work my way up gradually to larger boats. However, Ibroke up with the boyfreind who had the tow vehicle, and so the Lido sits in my driveway. I have joined a local sailing organization, but after years of belonging, I still feel like a fringe member of the group, due to my somewhat introverted nature.

I do not think that I can afford moorage fees without selling my house. So I am trying to bridge the gap between a dinghy and owning a blue water cruising boat.

Also, I feel rather stubborn in my belief that I should not NEED to own a car in order to sail a boat. After all, I won't be taking a car along while I am cruising!

This is my first attempt to network with sailors on a forum. I hope to find some fellowship here.

PL
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Old 23-08-2009, 15:27   #2
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PL,
sailors can be an introverted crowd so your in good company here. I have tried sailing clubs and many of them are more "party atmosphere" than I like (quiet sails are my speed). Have you thought of crewing? many boats need crew, maybe try that route until the cruising boat is found.
I hope you are able to get on the water soon, great to have you here.
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Old 23-08-2009, 15:31   #3
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You might be able to find a club that allows on-site storage of your boat with a way to launch it when you want to go sailing.
You can't go sailing if it's in the driveway.
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Old 23-08-2009, 18:19   #4
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Aloha PL,
I am with you 100%. Our club is designed for sailors who just want to sail. www.hilo-sailing.org Don't need a car, don't even need a boat, you can use ours. I'll bet Portland has a club somewhere that feels the same and as CapnTony says might have a storage area as we do. I've hand launched Lidos before so I know you don't need a car or truck on the ramp.
Welcome aboard!
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Old 23-08-2009, 18:20   #5
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P. S. Born and raised in Salem just down the road from you. I left many years ago when I joined the Navy.
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Old 24-08-2009, 13:28   #6
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Thanks for all for your helpful and friendly comments,

Here is my current status. I need to get some other things done, so I will post later on the other things I am thinking of trying.

CREWING:

I got too late a late start this season for racing. Besides, I am about 100 lbs. overweight, and not terribly athletic. (I do bicycle a few times a week, and also often do shopping by bus, so I am fairly strong.)

I have just received advice from a fellow club member on good people to run by the names of potential delivery skippers. So I will put my name on a local crew list for deliveries. I know that some racers need crew to deliver boats.

I have so far participated in three evening sails from my current club, Oregon Women's Sailing Association. But I have participated in these for years, without anyone inviting me out for a non-club sail.

OWSA has a program with Island Sailing Club, where women are given a scholarship to ISC, and in return, they are expected to use the boat in club activities. I did not apply for the scholarship this year. I was not a member at the time, due to a personal financial crisis (which has been resolved.)

STORAGE OF LIDO ON-SITE:

There are two nearby locations for this. Willamette Sailing Club (WSC) , in Portland on the Willamette River, and the Vancouver Lake Sailing Club (VLSC), in Vancouver Washington. I have previously calculated costs and distance. WSC costs about twice what VLSC costs, but they have storage on a dock, actually their ramp is quite long and steep. They also have a fleet of Lidos and host races for this class I can take public transportation to WSC. But the public transportation takes at least 1.5 hours.

VLSC's only storage is on the trailer. When I visited a few years ago, I did not see other Lido's. Many of the boats were catamarans.

Since I don't remember the numbers, I suppose it is time to crunch them again.

One thing that I haven't explored is storage on the Columbia River or Multnomah Channel. I am not sure how whether a Lido can be sailed on the Columbia, because the current may be too strong.

PORT TOWNSEND

I am visiting Port Townsend for the Wooden Boat Festival in September. I plan to go up one or two days earlier, to help with the event. I hope that this may be a way to get to know some sailors up in the Puget Sound area.

PL
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Old 24-08-2009, 14:05   #7
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Oh yeah, the MONEY part!

I describe myself as "independently impoverished." I receive a disability check of about $1500 each month. I own a "starter home" in Portland, which I would guess I have about $180,000 in equity. This is my only real asset.

I had been neglecting it, due to financial constraints (possibility of foreclosure on a balloon mortgage.) But now that I have refinanced it, I can fix it up. I am hoping to fix it up, and then live in my attic, and rent out the two first floor bedrooms.

I had thought about selling, rather than refinancing, but if I made a mistake in selecting a live-aboard boat, it could be a HUGE one. My philosophy so far has been not to own a boat that I can't afford to sink. I need to become a much better sailor, before I trust all of my worldly possessions to my seamanship!

PL
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Old 24-08-2009, 14:10   #8
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Living in the attic while learning to sail sounds good to me. Besides it is a down market for now. Learn to sail, and if you want to sail BAD ENOUGH. Learn to push aside your shyness just a wee bit. No one can read your mind, so you will have to let them know you would enjoy crewing. BEST WISHES in it all working out for you.......i2f
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Old 24-08-2009, 14:59   #9
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Keep the house and turn it into a rental.. refinance the house to buy a 35 footer and hit the water.. I nice older 35 or 36 footer built for cruising could be an investment of around 45K.. You can live good for 1000 to 1500 a month if you stay out of the fast food joints and out of bars.. ask me, Im doing it....
the rent off the house will make the patments and give you a place to store your junk in a storage out back.
We sold our home and property 6 years ago and moved aboard the boat.. A Beneteau FIRST 42 and have been goofing off cruising the waters between alaska and mexico.. and havent looked back...lovin every minute of it..
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Old 24-08-2009, 15:00   #10
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Aloha again PL,
The Wooden Boat Festival is a great event! Three of us forum members met up there a couple years ago. One from Tacoma and one from Vancouver, BC and I from Hawaii. We had a great conversation and a great couple beers.
Good time. I think you'll enjoy it even if you don't have a wooden boat. I won't be going this year but will probably next.
regards,
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Old 24-08-2009, 15:36   #11
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Yeah Port Townsend is great. I tried to meet up with the guys from CF but my Aunt had the nerve to die and I had to go to the funeral (sic humor). I know Randyon3 is telling the truth. He stays out of the bars but is generous with a bottle of Tequila. You can learn to sail you just need to make the decison. A car will be helpful or maybe they have one of those groups that -- I can't think of their name -- where they have a number of cars and you sign up as a member and when you need a car you rent it from them for a nominal fee. Most progressive cities have them.

I recently lost 13 lbs in one month using Reno Tosca's Eat Clean Diet. I have about 47 to go. The diet is cool b/c you get to eat alot of food but it is the types of food that you eat that help you lose weight. ToscaReno.com I know it is not sailing related but I am much more able to move around the boat just with the 13lbs I have lost.
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Old 24-08-2009, 18:17   #12
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I am thinking of joining the Power Squadron or the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The problem is that I just don't know if it would work any better than my current club. I have plenty of book larnin' already. I really need tiller time.

Charlie, I don't consider your advice too OT. Being more nimble might make me more popular with the racers, as well as making the bike ride easier on me. I put a request in to have one of Tosca Reno's books sent to my branch library. I am not very trusting of diets, but I was pretty pleased with the South Beach Diet, for the short time I tried it. I went on a trip, and could not find many of the foods I was eating at home, and I just haven't ever made the effort to clear out my pantry, and start again.

The problem with the Zipcar and other car share things is that you pay by the hour. Which is great if you are running around doing errands, but if you are sailing, you are paying for the car to be parked at the boat ramp. Also, my mentality. I forget how much I am not spending by not owning a car, and so the costof the Zipcar per trip seems high.

I will need to make the effort to see how the bike ride to the Vancouver Lake Sailing Club is. I can also visit them on on of their race nights, and perhaps crew and get to know some of the people.

Perhaps this forum will give me the morale boost I need to rehabilitate my Lido, and get her back in the water. I have not tried to look for a partner for my LIdo, someone with a vehicle with a hitch, who is looking to crew.

Many of the women I know take ASA classes to learn to sail. I don't see the point of taking these classes. Unless I have a boat available to sail regularly on, I will forget whatever I know.

Some women also go on charters in the San Juans or the Caribean. I have considered this too expensive. I am not sure how much I would learn and retain over a week.

But maybe the first thing is to improve my income with some roomates, and use that income to finance a boat.

PL
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Old 24-08-2009, 19:15   #13
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So, is anyone from this board going to the Wooden Boat Festival this year? I attended last year for the first time. It was a lot of fun! I had not planned on owning a wooden boat due to their reputation as being lots of work. But I don't really know enough yet to rule out owning one either.

PL
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