Working as software developer while single-handing?

[brother52]

The only aspect I'm concerned with is whether I'll be able to sit down with my laptop and concentrate on the work for 20-30 minutes without interruptions, at least 4 hours total a day. Will this be possible in a single-handed offshore passage?

I have never been on a sailboat (planning to take courses in the summer), but from reading the forum it looks like this might be a problem.

Is there anyone else who's earning a living on a computer while cruising? I'd be very interested to know about your experiences.

[Zanshin]

Although difficult at first, using a computer while in motion is not impossible and there will be extensive periods of time during a passage where the boat will be becalmed and as still as if you were ashore. The problem I see is that communications are expen$ive while offshore. A BGAN connection is far too expensive and using my Iridium costs me only $1.50 minute but at about 2400 Baud it is awfully slow.

[TQA]

IMHO forget about trying to do this on passage. I left the UK heading for the Caribbean and had visions of completing my dissertation while rolling down the trade winds. Never happened.

However I wrote a few programs for pay out there. I did the systems analysis on site got a signed off spec. then anchored off the Tobego Cays, snorkeled all day and coded at night. I could even get pizza delivered [ cold ]

[Wiley1]

Well Brother, Is it possible? Certainly, however, I am prone to think you may be putting the cart before the horse.

"I have never been on a sailboat " There is a learning curve involved with single-handed sailing. Even long time sailors continue to learn new lessons (and usually not from books). Rare is the person who can take courses this summer and set sail alone straight away after receiving whatever diploma or certificate of achievement they get.

That being said...

If you are a stereo-typical programmer being comfortable spending long periods alone shouldn't be a cause for concern (it is for alot of people). And you will have lots of time; since the advent of GPS, gone is the need to greet every sunrise and sunset with sextant and stop watch and calculating and plotting ones position (wonderfully satisfying). Myself and most solo sailors I have known have their day well organized and there is lots of time for reading or pondering or I suspect, as you want, working on a computer. And the time blocks you are asking are not a problem. One can expect on a typical passage there will be periods wherein alot of such work can/could be accomplished and days with little or none. I can remember days wherein the paper plates from meals several days before were still within sight. Days when I sanded and varnished the tiller... I wasn't expecting any change in conditions. It isn't all F6 and above although there are some.

And once you get to where you are headed there are other issues. I suspect it takes a special person who can work like you are suggesting as most fall victim to some variant of what we only half jokingly called "Poynesian Paralysis". "Never do today what can be put off until tomorrow and mabe not then." How you spend your time, how dedicated you are to doing the work both while underway and when you arrive at your destination will probably be a bigger problem.

I have encountered cruisers who made their living as writers but those were days before personal laptop style computers and I never asked how they worked (the writers not the computers..but frankly I really haven't a clue how computers work either).

Just my thoughts on your idea.

Bests,
Wiley

[AdamLein]

I occasionally toy with a similar idea and while I haven't been on any offshore voyages, I can tell you I haven't gotten it to work on coastal trips. We have our own version of Polynesian Paralysis (love the term) up here. Plenty of times I've taken work with me (either coding or paper-writing) and never gotten a scrap of it done. There's always more pressing matters, like sail trim, repairs, or cooking, or playing the guitar, or taking a nap on the foredeck... in part we sail to get away from the world and once you get on board you kind of say "screw it" to whatever's going on on land.

Then again it could be that on longer offshore passages when you're not dealing with heavy weather there's a lot more time to kill and you end up looking for things to fill it with. Let me know if you can make it happen

[captbillc]

it seems to me the biggest problem single handing on an off shore voyage would be getting enough sleep.

[bacampbe]

It might take some work to keep a good watch while programming. Would you expect to work below decks, or take a laptop on deck where you can keep an occasional eye on the horizon? Most of the laptops I have used are pretty hard to read in sunlight, and I would be worried about banging it or losing it overboard if I had to drop everything to deal with some boat issue.

I'm curious about the business side of this sort of thing. Are you a contract programmer? An ISV? If you are coding to customer specs, are they okay with having rare or even no face time? Would you let them know that you were offshore? Would they care?

[Volkhard]

hello brother
I am considering something similar and hope it works. I am planing to quit summer of 2011 and move onto my boat. Right now I enjoy my Island paket 37 but I am considering to exchange her for a "owner version" moderate cat. Living in one hull and outfit one of the staterooms in the other hull as an office is quite tempting. As of now I will be singlehanding [although one never knows...] and looking into options of taking care of the lookout portion of passage making. A combination of AIS, Radar and video cams comes to mind. I would love to stay away from more tech stuff and the plan was to retire with a decent cruising kitty but the economical downturn shattered all these dreams and the only options are to wait [ don't like that at all] or to make some money underway.

I think it is doable. You have to start your sailing career soon to be able to do it. Should you be anywhere near Annapolis, MD let me know. You could join me on a weekendtrip to see firsthand what singlehanding is about and talk about this topic.

Good luck!

[hellosailor]

brohter, you are planning to spend 4hours, about 1/3 of the daylight hours, below deck working on your computer?

That would mean that for 1/3 of each day you will not be keeping a proper watch, as legally defined. Should you be concerned with that? Only if the risk of sinking from collision bothers you. Otherwise, by all means, abandon command of your vessel and work on the computer belowdecks for 1/3 of each day.

If, like many programmers, you go into "flow time" when you are absorbed in something, your twenty minute bursts may stretch considerably. Or, you may be subject to constant interruption if you are using an alarm timer. So even if you invest in a daylight-readable screen and take your work abovedeck...someone is still supposed to be keeping a proper watch, with their eyes "out of the boat" at all times.

Better to cruise safely, and break out the laptop after you drop anchor, or go off watch.

[brother52]

Thanks for the input, everyone. It's been a great food for thought. Now I'll try to answer question that were asked in this thread.

First off, I've been working remotely as a contract programmer for 5+ years. People who stay in this business for that long have learned to find work and manage their time. Customers don't care where you are as long as the work gets done, but this, of course, depends on how easy you're to replace, considering your specialty, quality of work and rates.

The internet is a necessity, though, even if not used extensively. I will probably be using BGAN for that.

hellosailor, I've been very concerned about working below decks too. I think I would prefer to stay atop, but I guess sunlight might be a real problem. I thought I can install a few web cameras watching in all directions and a simple monitor (or a few) in the cabin. Or even better, some kind of collision warning system hooked to a loud alarm. Has anyone tried any of these options?

I realize I might not be ready to single-hand through Atlantic after a month-long course, so I'll be cruising along the American coast for a month or two before I do. I'm planning to arrive to US in the summer, take sailing courses and buy a boat. And I'm sure I'll want to meat people I'll get to know via this forum.