Part time cruising?

[utchuckd]

I was reading the new Interview With a Cruiser posted today, and they made a reference to spending 7-8 months on the water, 3-4 months at home on land. How would you go about this? For the time back home on land, what would you do with the boat? Can you just pay for a slip for a few months wherever you're at (as long as you deem it safe?), lock the boat up, and leave it there? I could leave 90% of my life here with zero hesitation, but I coach a youth football team here with my dad and we have a ball doing it together, and it's about the only thing I would miss. So it would be cool to be able to come back and do that if possible.

[CaptainForce]

Our children grew up aboard and they now live ashore in NE Florida. We usually take breaks from cruising from Thanksgiving to the new year and for a time in early spring at a marina in their neighborhood. This ability to locate a transient liveaboard slip for a couple months is very easy from Florida and up through the Chesapeake. Take care and joy, Aythya crew

[Faster]

We know several people doing this in Mexico and the Caribbean.. Most haul their boats out on the hard in a low-hurricane-risk area, some leave their boats afloat in a marina. There are advantages and risks to both plans.

It seems a very workable scheme - enjoy the summers at home and head south for (our) winters - they never really spend any winter time anywhere.

[Frogwatch]

I have been attempting to do this by sailing for a few days or even two weeks and then going back to work. I have her hauled for hurricane season when it is too hot to sail anyway. My strategy is to not have much money tied up in the boat (and no payments) so that if anything happens to her I can walk away and feel ok about it.
With a little searching, you can often find much better deals than the bigger marinas give and often these are more interesting because these are where the cruisers hang out. I have seen many boats anchored long term in places that obviously have not been visited for months. Although my boat is only 28' and worth probably less than $9000, I simply could not do that. Having her hauled for hurricane season is normally less expensive than keeping her in the water.
You better make sure your boat does not need any attention while you are gone, for example, make sure your prop shaft does not drip at rest.
All of my cruising has been in Florida and the bahamas and I do not know if my experience applies elsewhere but I have always been able to find some way to get from wherever I put my boat and to a rental car place. For example, Enterprise has locations all over and allow easy one-way rentals. Getting to and from places in the bahamas to do this is somewhat more problematic and requires some imagination and determination to get to and from your boat but that is part of the adventure.
Now that she has been in the bahamas for a year, my plans are going awry because of the difficulties in getting there. Really, it is the cost of flying even on a cheap puddle jumper vs the amount of time spent sailing that limits me.
OTOH, I am a person who is blessed with enjoying his work so when I am sailing I miss work and when working I miss sailing.

[Sequitur]

From Mid-June to mid-September last year we left Sequitur on a mooring at the Club de Yates in La Punta, Peru and spent the summer in Vancouver. This year we intend hauling Sequitur in mid-June in Puerto Montt, Chile and letting winter happen there while we enjoy another Vancouver summer in our False Creek loft. Eight or nine months of cruising with a three or four month break is rather common among those we have met out here.

[WanderingStar]

My plan is to snowbird. Go south in fall, return in spring. While at home in summer the boat will be on a mooring in the local harbor. During holidays at home the boat will be on a mooring in Florida or Bahamas.

[CaptainForce]

Originally Posted by WanderingStar

My plan is to snowbird. Go south in fall, return in spring.............

Interesting! We're flying with the same flock, but as different birds. We're hurricane birds, sailing north in the spring to escape the hurricanes and back home for Thanksgiving to the new year, then some time in the Keys or Bahamas before escaping to New England for the summer. Take care and joy, Aythya crew

[bassviking]

Part time is exactly what I hope to be doing soon. I currently work overseas from late February until October and hope to be hanging on a boat the rest of the time.

Still looking for a boat though and still trying to decide between West Coast/Mexico or Florida/Caribbean. Used to lean to West Coast/Mexico because of a friend in Los Angeles, a love of Mexico, and some experience crewing down there. However, I've started looking and researching the Florida/Caribbean side of the world and its looking like its going to be a tough decision.

[night0wl]

The hard part is securing employment during the crusing off-season. Most places that hire seasonal, temporary help aren't known to pay well and work you pretty hard. Forget about benefits too...

[ScuzzMonkey]

My wife and I have been doing this for the last few years. We cruise from a "base" in Seattle so that solves the slip problem; we just keep our home slip but sublet it while we are gone during the summers. If we go further afield we will probably give it up but it works well for now. We are both self-employed, so that solves the work problem... we can be gone until it gets painful. The nature of our businesses also allows us to do a lot remotely, so that extends our range considerably.

During the off-season, we house-sit. We have met another couple cruising up here who does the same thing, and has been doing it for far longer, so it seems like a winning strategy. They don't keep a permanent slip, but have not had any trouble finding places to moor temporarily during the winters. They often make some arrangement with the marina or a third-party service to have the boat checked on regularly if they are going to be too far away. Our own situation keeps us in the region, so we can check on or stay aboard our boat as necessary.

I think it's a good and practical solution to getting a lot of time out on the water even if you are unable or unwilling to completely retire.