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Loosing sleep over this

18K views 65 replies 31 participants last post by  eherlihy 
#1 ·
I know there have been many posts about the sanity of one dreaming/scheming/fantasizing about living aboard.

But DARN IT! I'm starting to loose sleep over the idea!! :confused:

Let me try to put this in some kind of order here:

It seems possible... equity in my house. I only have a Oday 30 but I could live on it. Now, I know my 5ft baby grand would have to be sold :D ... but all that aside. I could even sell the Oday.. get a ketch (love ketches)

I love the Eastern shore of the Chesepeake Bay. I could actually stay in my Htg and AC biz because it's so close to Philadelphia. Dammit they keep pushing the retirement age off.. it's 67 now I think I'm 59

Just doing some simple math (all I'm capable of actually) It costs me 15-20K a yr to keep my house. the home equity loan. (boat loan shhhh) and the other things for civilized life as a home owner.

to liveaboard, I think the costs are about 2/3s less?

Now the other thing that is really making me loose sleep: Thinking about selling it all, except the O30. Put a new engine in, head down the ICW to FLA, the Gulf then up the Tenn-Tom to tennesee. and then back down to the gulf to a more permanant dockage. live near or with family in TN 3 months a yr. and on the boat the rest of the yr. Then if it doesn't pan out go live in TN.

OH! I dunno! But it's starting to take over my quiet time!! I would need a plan I know. and my house is far from ready to sell yet.

I will say.. I know very well that wanting is not the same as having.

Sometimes in my heart of hearts I think I missed my mark.. Should be in Maine working for a wooden boat builder!

One thing that may really keep me from the south... I hate hot weather!

Alaska??? :eek: 2 yrs supply of lunista? (sleeping pills)

anyway... that's my conundrum.
 
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#33 ·
Denise,
Don't do it. If you don't like hot weather, you're going to hate living at a dock where you can't control the air temp or the wind howling through the rigging all the livelong day and night. You'll hate not having less access to the grandkids. Sailhog's advice: create a situation where you have a nice little condo and inexpensive access to your boat, which you can sail south or north or wherever you please. Take three months next November and cruise to Florida, Bahamas, and then turn around. See what it's really like to camp on your boat day-in and day-out for an extended period. There's little to be gained by jumping in feet first, and the downside risk is real and, in my opinion, significant. What do you come back to if something happens to the boat? What if the money dries up from investments that don't work out as planned? What if there's a family emergency? Keep your boat, sail your ass off, come home to your itty-bitty condo and enjoy the grandkids. That would be a good life to live. Fantasies have a way of turning into nightmares. Do what's do-able.
 
#36 ·
TB - it is somewhat unsettling, isn't it?

Denise - Hawg's advice is not bad, but the main thing is you have to do what you feel is right. For no one but yourself. That doesn't mean disregard anyone else, just that you have to live with whatever decision you make.
 
#38 ·
If you are going to Live aboard, do it because of the lifestyle change. Do not do it because of the financial implications. It is not as easy as you think. Even little things like where to put your clothes, how to iron your clothes, and cooking a meal that basically takes over the whole boat are big obsticals. Does the boat become smaller? Yes. It does, but you learn to live within those confines and it is not that bad. However, showering and going to the john are a little frustrating - as is the pumpouts and mildew, etc. Sorry, I am not trying to be crude, I am just being realistic on the changes you will face.

I am not trying to dissuade you from pursuing it. Just think how big your backyard will be! It is sunsets and margaritas sometimes, but it is also just plain old life and it will follow you from house to boat to RV or wherever you live.

I agree - go for it... but you may want a different boat and one that you are very comfortable on. I say this, but others do it on less. It is a change of lifestyle and not a financial benefit. You might even find you spend more money living aboard than at your house (eating out, fixing stuff, etc).

Still, if you are looking for a change of lifestyle where you are not only closer to nature but a part of it, then it is the right decision.

- Brian
 
#39 ·
Sailhog's meds must have kicked in too...he's not ranting... ;) The points he makes are very good, but only applicable to some people. The Carolinas have some very nice places with good water access at relatively reasonable prices still. Insurance in the Carolinas is also still affordable, unlike parts further south.
 
#41 ·
SH—

Happened when you were taking your crazy pills... ;)
 
#43 ·
Here is a little secret.
Don't tell anyone.
Liveaboards sail their asses off.
Just throw the knife holder in the sink and stow the coffee pot while the motor warms up, shed the lines and off you go.
It's those little two hour sails that wash the blues away.
That's what makes it worth it.
Keeps the boat in great shape too.
 
#44 ·
SD,
Thanks for the feedback, Cap. This is a little off-topic, but I've got a get-rich-quick scheme going, and I thought I'd get your opinion: Silkscreen t-shirt that says "Retarded People Rule!" I like the message and I think it'll be a big seller. It sorta says, All you smart people suck, you think you're so smart, but you really suck, you big stupid dummies with all your smart stuff going on in your heads and stuff.
 
#46 ·
Bob,
How are ya? I've got a real Jack-and-the-Beanstalk thing going on in my backyard. But nobody likes the pies. Word has it that they taste, smell and look too much like what made them so huge. With enough whipped cream, however, the taste can be overcome. You have my word on it!
 
#47 · (Edited)
aw, not bad ...

Stood up under a clamp, split noggin, dropped gun which triggered and spewed 'bout 6' of wire 'round Bob's leg before grounding and settin' Bob's pants alight which caused autistic 5 y/o kid next door to learn a new word in Bob's native tongue so now he screamed f*** f*** f*** most of the mornin' which displeased his christian custodians ... so maybe Bob sendum nice pie or two and smooth things over ... beat out fire and kept workin' but got grinding dust in wound so went inside to repair noggin and got sidetracked and hauled garbage can through house to the front for pickup which dripped nasty rusty cat poopie rainwater all over the carpet ... by then it was 10 o'clock ... all in all, a normal day, how 'bout you?

denise ... there are reasons for leaving and incentives for leaving ... always wondered, does being unconcious count as sleep?
 
#49 ·
Bob,
Holy smokes... my day has gone better than yours, although it sounds like you've got matters under control. I might want to add some of that cat dung to the pumpkin patch, as the pies have been coming out with a bit of a Tex-Mex taste to them. Not good in a pumpkin pie.

I think Denise should hang closer to home for a season before burning the dock lines. I saw first-hand a fellow and his girlfriend down at our dock on a 37cc Irwin last May and June. Might sound like fun on paper. Not so fun to do. Their afternoons were spent below, out of the sun, before a fan stuffed in the forward hatch. He worked on the boat in the early morning and at night. She read paperback novels while he worked. They both guzzled those little green Heineken kegs all day long to cool off. She was a beauty but was worried the kegs would go to the legs, as she couldn't exercise. They were always arguing because there was a span of about 4-6 hours during which they just couldn't be physically comfortable. It's hot and sticky down here... Hell, it was hot today... Nov. 1 and hot and sticky...
 
#50 ·
Moving onto a boat to sit at a dock in a marina, I just don't get. I mean why bother ? On the other hand, living on a boat where you dropped the anchor in some small hidden cove on a island with crystal blue water, I do get. It isn't the boat, it's the adventure.
 
#51 · (Edited by Moderator)
Aye hog ... Stay closer to home and practice, practice, practice. Why, the Mate and Bob practiced for a couple of years and then got a dog.

Got a best bud who years ago bought a sailboat. Picked 'er up down Florida way and set sail. Bounced around in the stream for three days so sick he couldn't muster the energy to die. Wifie finally attracted attention of passing boater and got rescued by CG.

Now, not sayin' denise will suffer the same fate but ...

Bob might publish his Helpful Hints for Keeping the Mate Happy when All Goes to xxxx :D Comes with a DVD :eek:
 
#52 ·
Anyway, Freesail got a point also. Women just don't come naturally happy, ya gotta work at keepin' 'em that way. ;)

Gotta get back to the miniCatalina and get 'er ready for winter ... 'cides, when the Mate sees the carpet, ol' Bob might be livin' in 'er fer a spell. :rolleyes: Think there might be a few cans of boiled peanuts in there somewhere. Yum!
 
#54 ·
Freesail,
I hear what you're saying. The boat was in-op when they moved aboard. He brought a Perkins deisel with him, and spent the next six weeks with the installation, and rerigging the beast. When they moved aboard that thing was a superfund site. Incredibly, they were eventually on their way from HHI to the AVI to get married. They set sail just as hurricane season was getting underway... He was a sound mechanic, but I don't think he really had a good understanding of what he was getting himself and his fiance into. He seemed to be of the opinion that, as a master diesel mechanic, he could handle any problems they might encounter.
 
#55 · (Edited)
Oh, she's not much fer drinkin' ... well, a wee bit o' Vitalis now and then but not enough to have to go to the meetin's ...

So hawg, Bob's got stuff ta do ... did they make the AVI? Did they get married? Did love conquer all? Is the boat for sale? Can she house sit for Bob when he goes cruisin'? Does she look good applyin' bottom paint?
 
#56 ·
Bob,
I don't know what became of them. Had a memorable last episode with them, however. The morning they left they were in a race to get underway before the PO/slip owner arrived. The PO is a real scalliwag and was trying to charge them rent for the slip for the period before they even took possession of the boat, and he was on his way at that very moment, driving down from Beaufort, SC. The Readers' Digest version of the story: Just before casting off, he asked me if I had charts of the ICW between here and Florida and for the Bahamas. He literally asked me this as I held his stern line in my hand. No GPS, no charts. Just a general idea of where they wanted to go. I gave him a set of ICW charts for Georgia and N. Fla which I had on my boat, and told him he could have them on the condition that he didn't take them offshore in that boat. He had a useable jib aboard, but the main was shot. Hope he didn't kill her. She was a 26 yo doll and he was a very heavy drinker in his early forties... the kind of guy who picks his nose and wipes it on his t-shirt. I remember remarking that his girlfriend was a looker. He said, "And she does as she's told." I don't know what she was doing with him. I remember her walking around the dock barefoot in a summer dress while he'd be swearing his ass off from the engine compartment on his boat. He didn't exactly have his **** together, and she just seemed like a young, lost soul.

A friend arrived in town last night, and we're going out later. It's blowing out there, Cap'n Bob. I have a Racor filter element arriving by UPS sometime today, and I might wait for it to get here. Been having some problems in that department lately. Got the call yesterday from the sailmaker. He recut my jib, beefed up the leech and sewed some on sacrificial cloth. Looking forward to a good weekend. Hope that head of yours is on the mend. Stay in touch.
 
#57 ·
Thanks hog for the rest of the story. Ya just gotta wonder what motivates some women in their choice of partners. Bob and the mate for example, heh heh.

The seasick bud bought a Nauticat at factory, did French canals, started Atlantic crossing and then bailed. Never asked why but at least he tried.

Got head on the mend and Capri buttoned up for the winter, fuel drained, teak oiled, battery charged ... dang, spent more time mowing 'round her this year than sailing. You fellas living on the salt are soooo fortunate. High desert sailing really sucks.

Gotta finish welding the compression post today ... makes a good tank for compressed air storage, 5.4 gal at 150 psi ... built engine driven pump from old a/c compressor ... good for air tools, air horns, vinyl crewmembers, etc.

Enjoy your weekend ... 'spose Noel might kick up a fuss do ya think?
 
#58 ·
Compression post doubles as compressed air tank... that's just plain ingenous. Keeps the blow-up dolls nice 'n firm... Jesus, Bob... tears are coming down, streaming over my cheeks...

Noel's going in a straight line. You see that? Unbelievable. Three days to Novia Scotia. They say L.I., Block Island, etc. will likely see Hurricane force winds. It's blowing 25 kts off HHI right now... I have a storm jib on in place of my working jib that's been in the sewing shop. Think I might just keep the storm jib on.
 
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