Experiences – Page 7 – Interested in Learning How to Find, Select and Eventually Live On Board Your Own Sailboat? You're in the Right Place….

Two heads are better than one….or so we’ve been led to believe…

First and foremost…..Merry Christmas from the crew of Kitty Hawk……

The casting net Christmas Tree ….an ingenious design by our friend Joan….

Well….this month has been a busy one….we’ve had a total of seven visitors on board Kitty Hawk and have two more on the way. We’ve done a lot of work to Kitty Hawk to get her ready for the next leg of our journey. Like any aspect of life on board, using any system can and eventually will, expose any deficiencies or lack of maintenance.

During this month, we rebuilt both pump assemblies of our forward and aft heads. For those not up to speed on nautical terminology, a head is a bathroom and also the name of the actual on board toilet. So if you say “I’m going to the head” you just mean you’re going to the restroom. If you say “the head is clogged” you mean that the toilet has failed to deliver whatever was deposited in it to the intended destination, decided to stop the flow of other materials in the future and by extension, ruined the Captain’s day.

Now, you may ask yourself, “Why call it a head?”….good question. In the old days when ships could generally only sail downwind, the placement of the head was in the very forward most area of the ship. Also, near the figurehead that many ships of that day sported for numerous superstitious, decorative or identification reasons. The natural wave action of the boat moving through the sea provided a “flushing out” as the seawater moved into and out of that space through openings in the hull just above the waterline. Also, since the vessel was sailing downwind the smell was being carried away from the rest of the boat.

During our rebuild of our heads, (which are Raritan Compact II manual heads, which means they must be manually pumped to drain and introduce water as opposed to electric heads which just require the push of a button) we ran into an issue where the pump assembly, simply would not stop leaking. We disassembled and reassembled the unit about a half dozen times. It had what we thought was just a difficult seal around one of the bolts that holds the pump to the base. My brilliant wife said “could there be a crack in that we can’t see?” Well, long story short even thought we couldn’t see or feel a crack…there was one…..once we we replaced the pump housing….voilá…no leak.

Once the pump was removed we could see the hairline crack on the backside….it looked like a mark from a wrench…..we made sure to inspect all of our spare units and discarded any with a similar mark….so we threw away three of them….which will cost about $110 a piece to replace….ow.

Since we had two sets of visitors it was only right that during each visit one of our heads clogged. Our aft head was first during the first set of visitors and then our forward head lines clogged. Maybe two heads really are better than one ? Haha….you don’t want to be without a head at all. I had even made the comment that “if the aft one has clogged the forward one can’t be far behind” how regrettably right I was. We were glad it happened where we were, rather than away from easy access to transportation and parts. Plus, I had assistance from one of our guests when the forward head clogged. The upside is we have rebuilt pumps and brand new lines for both heads now. These clogs are mostly caused by calcium build up from using salt water to flush the heads. We are considering changing to composting heads in the future but for now they are just too expensive plus we should get four or five years of use after this rebuild.

On the upside…between clogged heads…..a neighbor and I landed an enormous Redfish….so two heads did work better than one in that instance……sadly, it was over the size limit to keep but may have been a state record…..

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The psychological struggles of living aboard……

“The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps to win it without honor. If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved.” – Samuel Smiles

I have felt, at certain points in my life, that I had been successful in certain aspects because I had chosen some paths of lesser resistance or perhaps only attempted things at which I already knew, or felt, I could succeed. Right or wrong, I think everyone has these feelings at one time or another. During these times you can doubt your abilities to adapt or overcome adversity, to learn and comprehend new ideas and master new or unfamiliar technologies. The important thing to remember is that no matter how alone you feel, help isn’t far away. This help may come even from within through exercising some patience and the study of your “enemy”.

Once you have committed to live on board a boat of any type, you will almost certainly be faced with a situation, repair or replacement of some system or component with which you are unfamiliar or unskilled. This can make you feel very overwhelmed and even helpless. It can even make you want to abandon the dream if you hit a really low spot. A combination of challenges or gear failures can test even the most hearty among us. You will question your decision to pursue the dream you have committed to and wonder if you have done the right thing. After all, for many cruisers, embarking on a long term cruise or to live aboard full time requires a tremendous sacrifice of stability, financial and physical. These feelings can be compounded by the distance from assistance of any type and a lack of readily available support, whether it is technical or emotional.

It is important during these times to remember that patience pays off. The seemingly insurmountable problems of today can be overcome with some time and even the slightest change of perspective. Don’t be afraid to take your time, walk away from the project and take advantage of the time it takes to have parts delivered and recharge your batteries. You can’t reasonably expect to be an expert in every field, unless of course you happen to be an ABYC Master Certified Techinican in a variety of fields, in which case, do you have any free time to stop by Kitty Hawk ? Haha….(no, seriously, swing by..)

Whenever I am faced with a repair of a system with which I am unfamiliar, I always take the time to conduct a “reasonable” amount of research on the system or component before I try to tackle it. This can relieve a tremendous amount of anxiety. Dealing with the unknown only adds a layer to the stress of the situation. Many systems on a boat, sail or power, have evolved to be reasonably user friendly. The research tactic can also translate to the planning of a trip to a new cruising area. Reading the cruising guides, thoroughly reviewing the charts and comments from others who have visited the area before you can make the unknown much less intimidating. If you are anything like me, knowledge reduces stress. Don’t be afraid to contact a professional and get their input. I was initially surprised how many will give you free advice (not unlimited) on how to best tackle your problem. I have even enlisted professionals to evaluate my repairs for as little as one hour of their normal labor rate to be certain I hadn’t missed anything. You’d be surprised how generous they can be with their time in these circumstances.

I can’t imagine how some cruisers make it. I have seen many online requests for help because the people living on their boat didn’t know how to fix or maintain their engine, outboard, dinghy or any other systems and were apparently unwilling or unable to research the repairs and couldn’t afford professional help. Their first and only recourse was an online plea through social media for assistance. Most of these requests are from the same people over and over again. Living with that degree of uncertainty would most certainly diminish my enjoyment to the point that I might surrender and I’ve seen almost all of those cases end up in a “Boat for sale” posting.

So, how do you avoid that?

Research. You know how they used to say “Reading Is Fundamental” ? Well, it wasn’t just a catchy slogan. If you know going in that you can’t afford much (or any) professional help, learn as much as you can about your potential dream boat’s systems.

Take “baby steps”. There are tons of seminars (online and real time) being given away out there. They cover everything from repairs and maintenance to upgrading and even boat handling skills. Go to (and watch online) as many as you can. Be prepared to get a “starter boat” and move up from there adding complexity as you go. If you can’t resist buying your dream boat right out of the gate, limit your cruising until you can become versed in the systems and their upkeep/maintenance. That way you don’t end up stranded in a remote location.

Be realistic. Don’t make your first boat a Pandora’s box of systems you know nothing about and assume nothing will break or go wrong. The learning curve can be steep and you don’t want to break the bank (or your spirit) in the process.

Finally, remember it’s supposed to be a fun adventure, not a soul crushing grind. If you don’t rush things and learn as you go, even a complex problem can be an enjoyable challenge.

And now, a moment to relax after discussing all those stressful obstacles…..

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Welcome to our newest sponsor… Bikewagon.com

We are very excited here aboard Kitty Hawk to welcome our newest sponsor Bikewagon.com…..

Transportation is critical when you’re away from (or without a) your car for months, or years, at a time and these bikes fit the bill perfectly. They are comfortable, light, have a wide gear range and are easy to fold and store when not in use. Don’t get stuck with a tiny slow bike….check out bikewagon.com !!!

We recently received our new Montague Paratrooper folding mountain bikes from Bikewagon and we had a great experience. Dale and the folks at Bikewagon helped us screen, evaluate and finally select our new bikes and accessories.

If you are looking for a new folding bike for a sailboat (or for a regular bike or folder for on land) check out their website and see what they have to offer. (Don’t forget to mention you saw them here at learntoliveaboard.com too!!!)

Our new bikes only took about five minutes to un-box and assemble. We can have them off the boat and on the dock fully assembled in less time than that now, after a little practice.

They’re so pretty !!!!…..

The best part is, for a full size bike, they fold and store in the salon out of the way while we are underway…..

As soon as I can find a reliable video editing app I will add a video of Kim assembling the bikes in Oriental before we departed……

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Upgrades…..then…..Southbound and Down…..

Well, it’s been a pretty eventful month, or so. We took advantage of our time in Oriental to upgrade our battery banks wiring and a few other things. Some of our battery bank cables were undersized, not properly crimped, our banks lacked a main fuse and our smaller bank had been wired in a slightly less than a fully efficient manner. We also installed two Bogart/Trimetric (Model TM-2030-RV) battery bank monitors which have made keeping tabs on our charging and battery bank status much, much easier. That’s one of the things about buying an older boat, she’s been through a few owners and while some were meticulous, some weren’t, and if a system is working one owner may never have had the need to address or investigate the status of the individual components that may not have been exactly “up to snuff” when installed by the prior owner, owners or contractors or the standards have changed over time in favor of better, safer or more efficient methods..

Now that’s a pretty bad crimping job…it was covered by electrical tape……

We also added a Blue Seas electrical master panel to our AC shore power system that has a 30 amp, dual pole, ELCI (Electrical Leak Circuit Interrupter, if your boat happens to develop a leak of AC current into the water while plugged into shore power, which is extraordinarily dangerous, it shuts off the AC power). The breaker itself has a sensor in it that measures the amount of electricity flowing out and compares it to what returns and if there is a slight difference it trips the breaker. We discovered once we powered up this new panel that our water heater was wired incorrectly since the new breaker tripped as soon as we energized the circuit. As it turns out, the wiring for the water heater was a commercial type of wiring (IEEE marine cable, intended for use on Navy and commercial vessels….with this type of wire red is ground, black is hot and white is neutral, so our water heater was basically wired backwards, which still allowed current to flow through the element but the new more sensitive breakers caught the difference in the polarity/voltage returning and shut it down) since the color coding was different it must have confused whoever originally wired it. It took an extra fifteen minutes to correct this and then things operated perfectly. We also added a safety cover to the interior of our shore power plug connection which was missing.

I’d like to extend our gratitude to Jim Bonnett, the owner of Wavetop Technologies in New Bern, NC, for his assistance with the battery and AC upgrades. He’s been having some website issues but if you need any work he’s an ABYC Master Technician in a lot of fields (maybe all of them, I haven’t counted yet) . His current website is www.wavetop.com but he may migrate to a new one if his current issues prove to be linked to that web address. Jim is so educated about AC and DC systems and wiring it can make you dizzy just listening to him talk….he’s a very smart guy. You can also reach him at Jim@wavetop.com

We also painted our newly re-plumbed and re-opened forward shower stall…..

I also painted new length markers on our anchor chain and replaced the shackles…..

I decided to go with Red at 50′, white at 100′, Blue at 150′ Black at 200′ and Orange at 250 just before the chain runs out and the rope rode begins.

We’d also like to give some well deserved praise to Pete Waterson of Seacoast Marine Electronics (http://seacoastmarineelectronics.com/) in Oriental, NC. Pete is the owner and installed our new NMEA 2000 backbone wiring, AIS transceiver, a new Raymarine I70 display, a masthead anemometer and wind direction sensor which is now all tied into our Garmin 741XS chartplotter at the helm. Pete also installed a new VHF antenna and Windex while he was at the masthead. Pete also helped me (or maybe I helped him) rewire our binnacle wiring and add a power/ground bus to clean up the connections there and eliminate some voltage loss and an issue with a weak ground. If you find yourself in Oriental or nearby and need any electronics or assistance be sure to look Pete up. He’s a great guy and his office staff (Jill, his wife and Betsy) are super friendly and helpful.

We were later joined by our good friend, Mike, in Oriental, just in time for the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival on October 17. It was a great day, beautiful weather and lots of good music and food. Apparently, this was a tradition among the old time farmers in the area and on Saturday nights they would come into town and play music on a variety of front porches around town. Time and progress being what they are, this tradition was slowly lost and has been revived during this once a year festival. The Carmona Brothers and Laurelyn Dossett were the final performers of the day and if you’ve never heard either of these, I recommend looking them up online.

Aaron Carmona and his traveling pooch (photo credit to Towne Dock)

We waited for some weather to pass and departed Oriental on October 20th around 8:00am. It was a nice trip. We arrived around 11:45am in Morehead City, NC since we wanted to make the first day short and non stressful…then Murphy reared his ugly head. As we approached Portside Marina in Morehead City a large tugboat that was bow in at the state port abruptly moved astern into our path. I was forced to throw Kitty Hawk into full reverse to avoid colliding with the tug. As the dust settled from that encounter we again proceeded toward the Portside Marina face dock. There was suddenly something very wrong. It took about five seconds for me to realize that for some reason we were no longer getting any forward propulsion. I immediately shifted to neutral, then tried reverse and got the same result….no response …I could hear the transmission shifting and assumed we had lost our throttle cable. After advising Mike and Kim that we were going to be coming into the dock at about 3 knots SOG (speed over ground) I called the marina hands on the dock on our VHF radio to let them know. We managed to dock pretty easily, all things considered, despite coming in at what felt like warp speed. Once we got settled, we diagnosed the problem and it was, in fact, the throttle cable that had broken just below the shift lever. I spoke to the owner of Portside Marina, Denard, who is a super nice gentleman. He not only found the part for us, but let his brother in law, who works at the Marina, drive me over to get it. The cable was replaced two hours and $27 later…..Portside Marina is the only place I’ve ever walked into and been immediately invited to partake in the employee lunch. They were having fish one of the guys had caught and a local restaurant fried them up for them….talk about hospitality !!!

Our trip South was Kim’s first long distance trip on Kitty Hawk….she got her first experiences in the ICW (and her first grounding, so that’s over and done with), navigated out of the Cape Fear Inlet and made two overnight offshore trips. One was between Cape Fear, NC and Charleston (a rough one) and the second was between Port Royal, SC and Jacksonville, FL. During the first hop we even got the wind to cooperate and we sailed for 6 hours.

The Admiral at the helm…..

Next time I’ll detail our stops at Beaufort, SC and St.Augustine, FL and share our ghost video from Facebook if you haven’t seen it yet…..

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Wind, wind and more wind…..

IMG_0148

Above is a link to a short video of the windy conditions at our good friend’s house on the other side of the Neuse River…..

A still shot from the video…..

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An important note about Pre-purchase Surveys of Boats

Since the purchase of our boat we have upgraded, replaced, rebuilt or refurbished most of the onboard systems in one way or another. During these upgrades we have noticed a few things that our marine survey did not uncover. As a result of this, I’d like to take the time to recommend that any potential Liveaboard boat buyer bite the bullet and have some separate inspections performed by a qualified expert in the individual field to save you a lot of headaches down the road.

Now, I realize that there are a great many highly qualified marine surveyors out there and that all of them intend to be the best at what they do. The cold truth is very few of them can be experts in every single aspect of every system that make up a cruising, Liveaboard sailboat, unless they are Master Certified Tech’s in each field. Even then, you might find that they are more versed in some than others. If you are going to spend what might be the bulk, or a very large portion of your life savings on your dream boat, it pays in the long run to find every bruise, wart or under rated system that lurks on board, especially when you are negotiating the final purchase price. It can also save you a lot of hassle when you insure your boat.

Our surveyor, for instance, missed a localized termite infestation, some very bad DC wiring in the binnacle, missed a couple overburdened DC grounding system points, severely underestimated the age of our rigging Sta-Loks and missed some very under rated AC four position switches (one of which later partially melted and could have caused a fire). The resistance in that circuit, which is the primary source for our battery charging, may have lead to the premature demise of our last set of ten Trojan T-105 house batteries….about $1500 to replace…..ouch….since it took some time and looking to find that switch it may have had some negative impact on our new batteries but only time will tell. It also caused issues with our refrigeration and freezer compressors. Those units don’t like low or unsteady voltage and ours are equipped with diagnostic LED lights that flash a code every four seconds when there is an issue detected by the control module. Low voltage can display as the same code for a locked up compressor rotor (which is about a $1000 just for parts) so beware when someone tells you your compressor is shot….it probably isn’t. There is a simple test for the compressor, cut the power and by placing an Ohm meter on the three connections for the control module (which must be removed first to access these but it’s only one screw) if you don’t get an “infinity” reading between any two of the three pin connections, meaning the coils are intact, your compressor is fine. The readings should all be between 1.5 and 3.0….. (Thank you John Nihiser for the tutorial on compressor coils !!!!)

Here are a few shots of that melted switch……

Note the exposed wire at the terminal connection….also bad

This same switch was partially melted from the heat build up….

My recommendation is this….once you have a general survey (about $400) of the boat you are interested in, which will hopefully point you in the direction of the most serious issues, find some experts in these specific fields, preferably ABYC Master Certified Technicians.

Electrical Inspection….(AC and DC)….this can take as long as two hours and will run about $160

Rigging Inspection…..this will take about an hour or an hour and a half and cost about $100-$150while I’ve never seen an ABYC certification for this listed on their website….a few inquiries will find a locally recognized quality rigger.

Engine Inspection……you can find a manufacturer certified technician for almost every brand of diesel in most regions… Most charge travel time unless you are close to their offices so this will run about $400-$500

Heat/AC/Refrigeration……If you have one or all of these systems it would pay to have these inspected separately as they can run into the thousands to replace…..an inspection will run about $300 for all three….

At every stage of these inspections you will obviously have the opportunity to walk away from the purchase negotiations or negotiate further based on what is found. You might save yourself a ton of headaches and expense in the long run or get a better deal on your boat and free up the money for the upgrades or repairs.

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Always Learning….But don’t let that stop you

I often think we should have named this blog “Learning to Liveaboard”. After all, despite our lengthy research process, extensive reading, our numerous inspections of sailboats and our experiences on sailboats there is always something more to learn.

On top of that, conditions are almost never as calm and easy as you would like them to be. Swirling currents, wind, vessel traffic, equipment failures, weather and tides contribute to the challenges we have and will experience on a daily basis.

I recently read a quote that said something like “if you aren’t nervous about going out there, then you haven’t done enough research”. I don’t think that means that you have to be petrified of taking a vessel out to sea, it just means that you should be aware and concerned about your boat, gear, the constantly changing conditions, how to react to them and developing the skills to do so. I once met a fellow in Florida who had bought a Hunter Cherubini 27. Shortly after we met, he was recounting the details of his first offshore trip….that occurred three days prior and two weeks after he had bought the boat in North Carolina !!! His engine had failed about 20 miles offshore between Georgia and Florida and he didn’t have the ability or parts to fix it…..while recounting this story he basically shrugged his shoulders and said …”we just put up the sails and got as close to shore as we could until we could get someone to tow us in”….I was floored by his nonchalant attitude about the failure of his engine and his lack of preparedness, yet he and his boat survived, unscathed. At least a thru hull didn’t fail……that might have been a different result.

I suppose the the moral to this entry is….learn as much as you can, don’t stop learning or think you’ve learned it all. Most of all, don’t let it stop you from doing what you love and enjoying the process……

Kitty Hawk on the hard….getting some much needed upgrades…..and TLC ….isn’t she shiny now ?

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Our Most Recent Trip North Day #12 and #13 …or “They’re coming down the stretch!”

After our 50+ hour offshore trip we arrived early enough in Carolina Beach to relax for the latter part of the day. We rinsed down Kitty Hawk to remove any harmful salt crystals from her sheets, halyards, canvas and other running gear and managed to get cleaned up afterward in time for some dinner at the Sea Witch Cafe and Tiki Bar.

Kitty Hawk had performed very, very well during our offshore time and being in the congested area around the ICW in Carolina Beach made me wish we were still offshore. That’s the nice thing about a sailboat like Kitty Hawk, when the ICW gets too crowded with jet skis and small fishing boats, we just go where they can’t go.

The next morning we pushed off bright and early before the currents coming through “Snow’s Cut” began to hold us on the dock. On our last trip through this area we made the mistake of going out for a leisurely breakfast and returned to about a 6kt current pinning us on the dock. It was an exciting couple of minutes getting away from that. This was one of those times that the lessons from the previously posted video from the Annapolis School of Seamanship came in handy.

On a side note….It’s a funny thing about people on the water, they (mostly amateur fishermen) apparently don’t realize that their voices carry over water. Especially when they yell over the noise of their idling engines. Around 5:30am two guys, in two different boats pulled up next to each other right in front of the marina where we were docked and proceeded to have a loud twenty minute conversation about their lives. Keep in mind, they were both headed in the same direction and could have gone another 200 yards up river and no one could have heard their life stories, complete with recent medical histories.

We managed to time every bridge between the Seabreeze/Carolina Beach area and Swansboro, NC perfectly. Of all the upgrades we have made to Kitty Hawk the Garmin 741xs chartplotter has been the most used. Among other features, it accurately estimates arrival times at any point you designate on a chart and updates it in real time based on changes in speed and course. Making a bridge opening now is a piece of cake!!

Just North of the notoriously slow opening Onslow Beach Bridge (which is operated by the Marine Corps) we encountered an area, in which, we have always encountered shoaling …

There are some unconfirmed reports that there is a large, submerged tank near 61a….

As as we approached this area, I recalled seeing a Pacific Seacraft Crealock 37 run aground here last year….that time we were heading South and solely due to my stubbornness we had avoided the worst of the shoaling. When I saw the Crealock lurching back and forth West of the green mark looking for a path through and eventually coming to a stop on the East side of the channel, I knew this might be a trying moment…..the markers are moved very far to the West side of the channel here, the current that comes in the small inlet to the East and the 1′-2′ depths just West of the marks, you get a bad feeling…..In 2014, after seeing the Crealock come to a halt, I announced to my crew member Mike “I’m not going west of that green….hold on” and I throttled up….I aimed right at the green mark’s East edge…we barely rubbed the bottom and slipped past……We hailed the Crealock and offered assistance but they declined and said they’d wait for the tide. We saw them pass Carolina Beach later in the day so they were only held up for a few hours there.

This time, coming North, Mike was at the wheel…..the current was absolutely ripping in from the small inlet as we watched a small powerboat headed South zig zag between the marks in the shallow area. Mike took the Green on our starboard side but the strong current forced us West and we began to ground. We had a great moment of teamwork as I dealt with the throttle and Mike steered. Once we realized this was not going to work I gave us as much reverse throttle as I could and Mike deftly reversed us in a graceful figure eight curve away from the shoaling and spun us around for another approach. This time we aimed straight for the green almost touching it with our starboard side, throttled up to avoid the crab-walk sideways movement to the West and we slipped through.

We made it all the way to Swansboro where we docked at Casper’s Marine. The owners there have been in the marine business for their entire lives as it is a multi generation family operation. It was very entertaining just to watch the owner handle the power boats in preparation for loading them into the “rack-o-minimums” ….this guy could swing a boat around in its own length like he was driving a golf cart…I’d never seen what I always called a “Rockford Files” turn in a car, done in a boat before but this guy made it look like flipping a switch.

We managed to get cleaned up in pretty short order and we had an amazing dinner at the Icehouse Waterfront Restaurant.

Day #13 was our final day of this trip. I have to say that we have been very fortunate to have a vessel as mechanically reliable as Kitty Hawk. We cruised up the rest of the ICW without a hitch, refueling at the Morehead City Marina and sliding into Oriental with just a minor grounding incident in the channel that leads to our marina. That entire channel has shoaling issues on the green side and it’s pretty easily avoided …..unless you’ve been away for a year and forget about it!!!

Our summer season was filled with finishing our land based obligations and selling the last of our stuff….plus the great streak of “goodbye” parties, happy hours and dinners as we deal with the emotional roller coaster of saying goodbye to friends and family for a while…..plus Kitty Hawk needs some TLC and a few more upgrades……

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Common questions we get while at a marina…..

Recently, while staying at a marina that allowed the general public to roam the transient docks…….we had quite a stream of people who were interested in Kitty Hawk and what type of vessel she is. There were several small children who I overheard asking their parents if she was a “pirate ship”. A few groups even stopped to take photos in front of her bow. That’s one of the things I like about the CSY design. The hull shape, raised aft deck and the unique scrolled “mustache” make them memorable boats. A lot of the passersby stopped and talked to us. Several of these short conversations ended with the “How did you afford to do this?” question. Over the years of being the person asking this question, to now being the person of whom the question is being asked and seeing the number of posts in the forums and other online venues, I thought a post about this topic was in order.

Most people are obviously uncomfortable asking this question of someone they have met just thirty seconds prior. You can almost see it in their face right before the words come out of their mouths. It is generally considered rude or invasive to ask such things, but their desire to form a knowledge base and evaluate their own planning in a short conversation overrides their basic inhibitions about asking. I don’t mind necessarily, it seems logical enough and I like helping people anyway so, I answer as honestly as I can. I didn’t fully realize it until the first time I was asked this question face to face and I thought “How did we pull this off?”…..I know we had a plan and a goal but after a couple of decades, the logistics of how it happened get fuzzy…..

I have now worked out an answer that seems to satisfy most people who ask and give them a little hope for their own goal…..

We’re not rich….I’m not rich…my wife isn’t rich and we didn’t come from any family money or have any other rich relatives. There won’t be anyone there to financially “pick up the pieces” should we have a failure that destroys the boat or seriously injures one of us. We are our own safety net and that idea takes some getting accustomed to. We didn’t “strike it rich” in the stock, commodities or real estate markets. We had jobs, worked hard and saved. We made career and life choices that were, at times, risky and might have ended the dream before it began but we had a plan, evaluated the risks and benefits then acted accordingly. Neither of us ever made more than $100,000 a year. What we did do was form a habit of always “paying ourselves first” by contributing to our boat fund and retirement accounts as much as we could and doing so regularly for over 20+ years. We also limited our expenses and avoided buying new cars, new houses or other things we didn’t absolutely have to buy. We didn’t always take a vacation. We always bought used cars, bought the cheapest houses in the best neighborhoods we could afford and after two decades of sweat equity improvements we sold the house, paid cash for the boat, slip and invested the rest to fund our cruise kitty and retirement accounts. We also didn’t buy a new boat. We bought, what we believe, is the most solid and capable boat with the best modern amenities and upgrades that we could afford. There are a vast number of solid, suitable cruising boats out there that have been refitted with modern gear and are available for one third or even one fourth of the price of a new boat with no cruising gear. That’s not to say that there is anything wrong with a new boat…if you can afford it……but I don’t like to buy new cars either.

There are also different ways to succeed at this dream. Not everyone needs, or wants, to live on their boat full time. Not everyone wants or needs to go offshore to feel like, or be, a sailor. We spent weekends living on our Hunter 23 on a lake for several years and that was a great way to live the dream very, very affordably, while still having a land based life. Don’t get caught up in the idea that you have to do exactly what we are doing to enjoy the sailing life.

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Our Most Recent Trip North…. Day #3

Day #3 started early-ish as we pushed off from Hammock Beach Marina around 8:00am and continued our passage Northward. It was a pretty quick day since we only had about 20 miles to cover to reach St. Augustine. We had planned to be there early to avoid any Friday evening increase in boat traffic for the Memorial Day Weekend holiday. It was a good thing too, because the powerboat traffic slowly increased all day.

11357252_1408313802827149_3955414011535187940_o — St. Augustine Mooring Field

We made it to St. Augustine around noon and got tied off in the mooring field in time for happy hour !! Here’s little advice if you ever go into this mooring field….don’t listen to the harried staff at the office…there are two red markers 10 and 10a…the poor guy on the phone was so frazzled with all the Memorial Day Weekend calls he said to go on the north side of 10A……unfortunately, there was a shoal…we didn’t get stuck at all and probably could have slipped through since it was 5′ but we backed off and went north of 10 and it was all clear….he clearly must have meant “go on the north side of “10”….we did think that advice was a little odd since there were two red markers so close together but we deferred to what we thought was the “local knowledge” at a the time. No harm, no foul though.

I feel like I’m not going out on a limb here by saying that St. Augustine is a great town to hang out in for a few days and maybe more. We spent the entire holiday weekend on the mooring ball. We walked the rustic downtown areas, saw some great architecture (and some great bars and restaurants). See our Facebook page for a more detailed accounting of where we visited….