Hello All,
My
family and I are just starting to explore the idea of leaving land and moving to the sea. We currently own a 25' Bayfieild sailboat and spend lots of time on it in the summer. We live in Northern MI, so not much sailing to be had in the
winter. We have spent multiple weekends sleeping on our
boat, but we are rapidly outgrowing her. We live in a smaller ranch style house. It is a 2 bedroom house, which is quickly becoming crowded. With some of the boats we have looked at, we joke that we might have more room if we moved.
Some of my questions. We will soon be a
family of 7. We have 4 boys and a unknown that will be born in July of 2011. I have read many posts and blogs about families that have 2 - 3
children, but not to many that have 5. Do any of you know anyone with a larger family that is
living aboard? Our three year old also has diabetes, so we will need to plan and take that into consideration. I don't see us being able to leave the
USA for months at a time, but we should be able to sail to islands on short trips, as long as we are prepared with all his supplies.
Our childrens' ages are 9, 7, 5, 3 and 0 currently. We have been looking at Catamarans in the 45' - 50' range to fit everyone on board. We are hoping to make the break in 2 - 3 years. We will sell our business and hopefully be able to afford a
boat outright. Where are good places to find less expensive boats? We would not mind finding one that is a fixer upper, within reason. We are a middle
income family who works hard and are ready to take a break and try something new. Running your own business is quite stressful and we have had enough for a while.
Our hope is to move south and live between South and North for 6 months out of the year. Both of our families are from WI and MI, so we can't leave the north permanently, but are pretty tired of snow. Work/Job is not much of a problem for us, as I
work in the computer Industry, and can always find
work somewhere. We have home-schooled in the past, and would start again when we make this transition.
Any
books, pointers, blogs, or websites you could share with us would be greatly appreciated as we try to learn more.
Thanks for reading this and any information you could pass on.
Matt