Greetings from New Zealand

[waynemonastra]

HI threre everybody

Im new to this site but felt I had to say hello.
Im a recent live aboard over here in New Zealand and so far so good.( It only been a week), and we are coming in to winter pretty fast so am trying to get the boat ready for what looks like a cold one.
Im keen to hear from any other liveaboards from around the world ( more so if your boat is under 30ft.) And im also keen to hear from anybody over here in NZ, maybe we can talk sailing??
I live in ChristChurch and have my boat at Lyttelton Marina, and reading your forums on this site and others i have notice that the rent is quite high for a berth and in some cases that depends on the size boat you have.
I working on have my boat fully self sufficint by the end of may so i dont have to rely on shore use.
I have been qouted on about $70nz a month to keep my boat at the marina here and that includes full use of the yacht club showers etcetc so I think that is quite cheap.
But still my ultimate goal is to cut the ties for good.
Although Im only 33 my plan is to semi retire by the end of next year and sail around New Zealand, and if my boat ( and me) are good enough I will keep going and head to Aussie. Im only taking baby steps at the moment and would welcome your feed back,
To the live aboards.. Do you have any regrets, and how did your friends, work mates cope when you told them you were selling up and moving onto your boat. Im getting mixed veiws on the subject and getting quite annoyed at all the negitve people out there. ( it has even got to the point i no longer tell anyone as I only get bad feed back) one good one is they think that im poor and cant afford a house. I just have decided I dont want a $200000 mortgage and to HAVE to work the next 25 years just to pay it off.
I like my little yacht and plan to have alot of fun and good adventures in her so any help/ advice would be greatly taken onboard ( mind the pun )

Any way I just though Id say hi hope I havnt bored you .


Cheers

Wayne

[sailingdog]

I'm about to do something quite similar... so I wish you luck, and yes, you can DO IT. Don't listen to the ones that say you can't...they're just too jealous...and too scared to try themselves.

[waynemonastra]

Hi there Sailingdog


Thanks for the support, Im on a 26ft moonraker what type of yacht do you have, and what things have you done to make it abit more homely, Im always keen for improvements to make on the boat.
I hope to learn alot from this site.

Cheers

wayne

[sailingdog]

I'm on a 28' trimaran. I've done quite a few things to make it more cruising friendly. The first, and most important IMHO, thing I did was upgrade the ground tackle. I'm using a 15 kg Rocna on 30' 5/16" G4 high-test chain and 200' 5/8" three-strand nylon. Since the boat is basically my home, I really want to make sure it stays where I put it.

I've also added a significant amount of solar panel power to the boat, to make it almost completely self-sufficient when away from the dock or marina. Solar-powered vents are another nice thing to have, especially in bad weather, as they move a fair bit of air for you.

The marina fees in NZ are a good deal cheaper than here in the USA...

[WHOOSH]

Wayne, if you haven't already, consider dropping in at http://crew.net.nz/newForum/ as I think you'll find a number of Kiwi mates who will have a lot of experience you can draw on.

Your winters are a bit wet & cold. We're out cruising but spent 2 of the last 3 winters in London, so I think we know what life will be like for you. One of the biggest helps we got to fight the mildew, dampness and such is a dehumidifier; I'd recommend you at least consider one as the winter months unfold. If you aren't having much of a problem with mold & mildew, great! But there is a basic inconsistency between heating up a boat's interior so 'home' is comfy and having the boat sit in cold water while the deck and cabin trunk are surrounded by cold air. The interface of those two mediums - cold vs. warm - will typically create sweating due to condensation. Often this in turn results in mold/mildew, and those spores - once introduced - are tough to totally remove from a boat. Thus, the suggestion re: a dehumidifer. We found one in a bargain center in England for about 70 Pounds; perhaps they won't be too expensive down there.

Good to hear from you and good luck on life aboard. At one time, we cruised as a family of 3 on a 20 footer...so I think we know a bit about your day-to-day lifestyle - It's luxurious!

Jack