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Home on the Sea

6K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  sailingdog 
#1 ·
Plan is to live on the boat and sail from Chicago to Key West and back on an annual basis until the end. Of coase won't be in a hurry so I will have nothing but time. Not interested in sailing in bad weather, just want to sail around it or stay in port. Currently don't have a boat, don't know how to sail, and have a wife that is disabled and in a wheel chair. Reading the Annapolis book of Seamanship, and everything else I can get my hands on. What do you think. I do have a jones on Catalina boats, but others are looking good.:confused:
 
#3 ·
if your young

and she has REALLY GREAT upper body strength you can do it but it wont be easy.

You might look at motor sailors. Sounds like your a doomsday er, and don't want to rely on much fuel but sailboats heel and wheel chairs don't very well.

A motor sailor is poor on sail performance but would be a lot more stable platform for you.

Also the cabin layout will be more conducive to her getting around. Most larger sailboats have 5 to 6 steps down to the saloon. Something to think about.

A single screw diesel in a power boat can get down to burn 1.5 to 2 gal per hour @ 7 kts and I think be a better choice in your situation. Then you could have a sailing dingy for you to enjoy..just a thought..probably not what you wanted to here but in life there is no guarantee we get all we want. I have 2 ruptured discs that I have had since I was 26 years old. No doc would operate on me so my lifestyle is very limited from what it use to be. At times I have been verry depressed and had to really reliy on my faith to help me through. But given lemons we make lemmonaid right?

Good luck and God bless..
 
#4 ·
A multi-hull might be a better choice as sailboats go. In 2004 or 2005 the British national multihull champion was a paraplegic IIRC, sailing on a slightly modified Corsair.

A catamaran has the advantage of being relatively easy to get around, and sailing relatively flat, less than 10˚ of heel generally.
 
#7 ·
If you want to take your wife sailing, there are plenty of sailing programs designed for the physically disabled. I agree that it would be extremly difficult to adopt a cruising sailboat for living aboard with somebody in a wheel chair and also than be a full time cruiser.
As has been suggested, other boats might be a better platform for that.

If you are from Chicago and want to take your wife sailing,
you might want to start here.

http://www.juddgoldmansailing.org/adaptive_sailing.html
 
#8 ·
Endofdays, My wife and I do annual coastal cruising from Maine to the Keys or Bahamas and find it a wonderful life, but the Chicago link would require stepping the mast or huge distance increases with the St. Lawrence near impossible currents unless counterclockwise on the "great loop", and much more restrictive weather planning. If I were tied to Chicago for a season, I would consider keeping a boat south for seasonal cruising. We've met some couples who keep a Great Lakes boat and another boat in Florida. They do more enjoyable cruising than trying to make the big push twice a year. 'take care and joy, Aythya crew
 
#9 ·
Whether you plan to keep the wife or leave her behind, you won't do much sailing from Chicago to Key West. You'd be busier than a one-armed paperhanger trying to sail all the way down the Mississippi and the only alternative is up the Saint Lawrence or out the Erie Canal, where someone trying to make it all the way under sail would probably kill themselves in the process, saving the lock keepers from the trouble of doing that for you.

Either you fly down to the Keys (which is going to be faster and cheaper) or you are looking for a diesel powered trawler. Or maybe move down to Charleston, SC and sail out of there instead.
 
#10 ·
It's hard to tell from your description exactly what your circumstances are, but if you are at retirement age you will be taking on a major challenge to both simultaneously learn how to sail and undertake the voyage you contemplate all with a disabled spouse. That would be a challenge at any age, even for an experienced sailor.

The annual round-trip you are contemplating is not one especially suited to sailboats. If you are following the inland waterways, there will be a tremendous amount of motoring, for which a trawler style motoryacht would be a better choice of vessel. They are fuel efficient, and have a more level layout which should be better for someone that has mobility issues.

I have no idea what your budget is, but here are a few examples of smaller trawlers in case you are unfamiliar with this kind of boat. Many ex-sailors move to trawlers when they want to stay on the water but no longer want to put the effort into sailing. As someone else mentioned, to get your sailing fix you can bring along a small sailing dinghy for puttering around in harbours and anchorages:

Grand Banks 32: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rrency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=1934&url=

Grand Banks 36: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rrency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=1821&url=

Grand Banks 36 "Europa" (more of the boat on the one level): http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=10224&url=

Marine Trader 34 Europa: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rrency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=1508&url=

Nimble 32: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=25824&url=

Nimble 24: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=19264&url=

Best of luck to you!
 
#11 · (Edited)
Go the trawler route, motorsailor route or other. Let us know what your budget is and we'll be able to be more specific.

My parents (long-time powerboaters) have similar aspirations and will likely make do with their current 35' Carver Aft Cabin powerboat. It's actually a great liveaboard powerboat suited to the journey you described for a very modest price.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for all the good advise, but I can't get excited about a power boat. It might be more difficult to sail, but this is on my bucket list, and I hope to get the wife out of the wheel chair and getting around with a cane or walker. Is their a problem going thought the erie canal?? And what wrong with sailing down the coast, and not using the ICW all the way.
 
#14 ·
EOD...well get a sailboat then. Catalinas are fine. Once you sail on Lake M you'll be in a better position to understand why no one does what you are proposing in a sailboat. Better plan after you learn a bit is to take the boat south ONCE...then store it there when you need to get back to Chicago.
Keep your dream in your head. Go one step at a time...learn to sail....buy the boat...cruise the boat on Lake M..adjust your dream to what makes sense for you both.
 
#15 ·
EOD,

Sorry, not trying to quash your dreams here. I think we're just trying to be practical. But if you're determined to mark this one off your bucket list, following Camaraderie's advice above would be a place to start.

You asked: "Is there a problem going thought the erie canal??" Not really. One thing to be aware of, is that you will have to drop the mast on deck each time you transit it. You had indicated your intention to go back and forth each year, which means you'd be unstepping and restepping the mast several times a year. That can be done, but it's an expense and aggravation that will add up. The Nimble trawlers I linked to previously come in motorsailer variants, with relatively easy mast-stepping that you could probably manage yourself with practice.

You also asked: "And what's wrong with sailing down the coast, and not using the ICW all the way." The answer is nothing, other than certain portions of the US east coast are notoriously hazardous, so much so that many experienced sailors in capable boats choose to take the ICW to avoid them. Although it may sound like a straight-forward proposition, it's not quite as simple as hopping aboard, easing the sheets and ghosting down the coast. Lots to learn, and we'll be happy to help you along the way.

Along those lines, here is a motorsailer that might represent a decent compromise: ( http://www.capedory.org/specs/cd30ms.htm ) Unlike many other motorsailers, this Cape Dory has a more level-layout much like the trawlers I previously linked to, so it might be a good arrangement for someone with mobility issues. Just a suggestion...
 
#16 ·
eod, sailboats aren't just "point and shoot" or drive 'em like a car. they are constrained in how they can move by the wind and waves, and sometimes you can literally spend hours under full sail gaining only a few hundred yards. Or, losing miles.

The transition from a wheelchair to a cane or walker also might not be good enough on a sailboat, where there can and will often be constant motion in mutliple directions, and even able-bodied seaman with all four limbs expect to get tossed around from time to time.

Not to mention, you'd need a ship (not just a boat) to get enough flat space to simply put a walker down with all four corners on the same "floor".

That doesn't mean you (singly or as a couple) can't enjoy sailing from time to time. Just that long passages on regular schedules aren't going to be at all practical, especially when you are basically single-handing.

There are plenty of places to get started with sailing lessons in Chicago. Sign up this spring, try it firsthand and see what it is all about. Fun? Yes. Hollywood? Sure, like a six-shooter that fires a hundred bullets without reloading and dead men who don't bleed.
 
#17 ·
Get a small enough sailboat and the whole thing is a walker! There isn't a single spot on my 30' where you can't hold onto solid objects in the cabin. But, it certainly can toss the most able bodied folks around. Lake Huron and Erie in particular can build extremely nasty seas in the blink of an eye.
A bit of personal background: My uncle had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given 6 months to live. We had a tradition of chartering a 35' sailboat every year, and he was very firm that he still wanted to do this. The tumor had just begun to alter his vision and motor functions. We sailed Lake Huron and even made it into though the locks to Superior all the way to Whitefish Point. It was not all easy, and there were many times he fell, lost grip, and bruised himself on the boat. Particularly when we hit some 10' swell rolling across Lake Superior. We did it, and I am very thankful we got to spend this time, however it was borderline possible even in the early stages of his condition. He ended up living a year, but the last 6 months paralyzed and almost blind. He was still able to walk with full strength, albeit slightly impaired. I can't imagine that trip being possible (with 3 other able bodied adults on board) at more advanced stages. Seafaring is a personal thing. You must be willing to accept the challenges, become a jack of all trades, and accept the consequences. I would hate to hear of another story of people getting plucked from a perfectly good boat because they couldn't cope with the conditions. The trip you describe will expose you to months of weather, currents, fog, ships, hurricanes. These decisions should not be made lightly.

Whitefish Point, August 1999
 
#19 · (Edited)
JohnR

Posted the exact type of boat I was thinking about. But as mentioned a Cat might be even better due to stability, openness and manuvrability under power.
 
#20 ·
Posted the exact type of boat I was thinking about. But as mentioned a Cat might be even better due to stability, openness and manuvrability under power.
Absolutely agreed. And no sooner had I finished posting than I regretted not mentioning the Geminis, etc. Fortunately ChucklesR took care of that omission.

But for a monohull, those CD motorsailers have a fair bit of form stability. I foresee them chugging along under power when the destination is upwind or the course is confined to narrow waterways (like ICW), and rolling out the genny or even the mainsail for a long reach or run, mostly on the level. Surely not fast, but the OP indicated he wasn't in a hurry anyway.:)
 
#21 ·
I think the biggest difference in your situation between a sailboat & a trawler will be the stairs going in and out of the cabin. There are at least 6 steps on most decent sized sailboats. They are fairly steep, depending on the size of the boat. Some are more like ladders. Is your wife really up for doing that all the time?
A Europa style trawler is almost all on one level. It's hard enough to get on and off the boat, climbing the steps would seem like quite a chore over time.
I highly recomend you & your wife take a day sail this summer before diving into this.
 
#22 ·
You've obviously never been a cruising catamaran.. :) Going into the salon is literally walking through a doorway on most... and there are usually only two or three steps down to either hull, and they're much more like the steps you'd find in a house...rather than a companionway ladder.
 
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