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Newbe with no experience buys big boat

63K views 343 replies 85 participants last post by  glenndamato 
#1 ·
I just finished this book.
Breaking Seas: An overweight, middle-aged computer nerd buys his first boat, quits his job, and sails off to adventure: Glenn Damato: 9780985816209: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VUNGcnmUL.@@AMEPARAM@@51VUNGcnmUL

What a fun read. Every couple of months someone asks if they can buy a boat with no experience and do some serious cruising. Not something I would do but everyone is different.

This guy did it and really barred his soul about what worked and what didn't work. I'm going to try to get him to join this forum so you animals can tear him up as is your custom.:)

For a short fat guy he is tough as nails and I'm sure can take it.
He found himself on a lee shore with a busted impeller and a full keel boat that would not point.
He saved the boat, with a clever hack, how did he do it.
 
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#84 ·
Glenn,
I saw the book in the OP for this thread. Bought it. Read it. Loved it. Well done.
I also read in a later post that you are still in touch with "Joyce". In reading the book the story seems to me to paint her as rather abrasive (and mildly mutinous). Did I read something into the story you did not intend? If that is the type of sailing companion (and crew) she is, why are you keeping in touch with her? Would you sail with her again?
 
#86 ·
I hope to get to your book, Glen. It sounds like a good read. I've enjoyed your bits of the experience here. Nice and honest.

If we put everybody together that bought a boat to go cruising and thought they would sail around the world, and then didn't go around the world, how big a crowd would that be?

The accomplishment to me is you did it, left your shore side life, took off for a while on a boat, came back and now you've written an interesting book about it.

Cruising may not be the panacea that many dream it is. I think you have to bring your own(panacea), not matter where you go. It's ok to say, once is enough too. Living aboard a boat isn't for everybody. You can still buy another boat and just go sailing.
 
#87 ·
Glenn,
I downloaded your book a few days ago, and have started reading it! I has been hard to put down. I also have plans on cruising either later this year, or in the new future. I have been around boats most of my life, so I feel pretty comfortable. I took some ASA class last fall (www.MokaKat.com) which I kept a blog about my experiences. Thanks for coming aboard the forum to answer our questions! Once I finish I will for sure rate the book! So far it has been an excelent read!
 
#90 ·
Hi Glen,

I will be purchasing the book to read as soon as I'm done with some of the other various books I have to read, etc...I need to spend more time reading and less time working.
I will be turning 50 in March. This summer, we will enjoy our first ever sailing season while sleeping aboard our C&C 30 MK1. Your book may have some special meaning to a guy like me. My wife and I have plans to do Island hopping or "Gunk-holing". We are new to sailing and spent last summer up-fitting the boat and getting her ready for new occupants. I have put a round 550 miles under her keel last year. That is a lot of sailing. Your book looks exciting and just the kind of read I may need. I have read many books and self-help articles in magazines and on the internet. Thanks for your story and thanks for popping in the site here with some conversation.

I'm looking forward to a good read.

Cheers!
Capt, Curt From the free sailboat S/V East Coast Lady
 
#93 ·
So far we have gotten info on two systems that worked well.
Refrigerator and autohelm

I couldn't tell from the book how you would rate the airhead.
A bunch of women who were determined that they wouldn't be bothered to change old behaviors is obviously not a good test. They could have clogged a marine head and still blamed you.
So would you give it another try?
 
#94 ·
TakeFive: I directly published it myself. Amazon pays a flat percentage of the price, plus something for each book borrowed (not sure exactly how much). My big cost was having someone do the graphics for the cover! I did the typesetting myself, after a lot of research and trial and error.

Amazon offers a great deal because a few years ago they generously (and wisely) decided not to "ghetoize" self-published books by setting up a separate "Indie Store" or something like that. That would have killed the opportunity in the cradle.

Major publishers, the kind that could get a book into Barnes & Noble, will not consider a new author unless the author already has a "built-in platform," i.e. they are already famous and several thousand people will buy the book because they recognize the author from a radio show, a TV show, the movies, the news, whatever. Since 1985 or so "professional managers" have been running the major publishing companies and they are not willing to invest in new writers as was the custom decades ago. They demand that EVERY book be profitable.

What makes self publishing attractive is that Amazon does not charge anything AND they provide a massively popular website where people can find your book. If new authors had to try to publicize their book from their own website or blog, it would be hopeless (unless they already have their platform!). It costs a lot of money and a lot of time to attract real traffic to a web site or blog (or a lot of luck) because there are so many millions of them.

Amazon reviews are vital! Everyone who has read and liked Breaking Seas, please consider writing a review on Amazon. That REALLY helps with a first book.

On a final note, this is not something where you're going to get rich. Between the cover art, proofreading and professional editing (just editing, not ghostwriting, which is something else) I was in the hole for about $4500 when the book came out 11/11/2012 and I am maybe 2/3 of the way to breakeven. As I said, not the road to riches. But with a moderately popular book, Amazon can provide a "trickle" income over several years.

Note also that there are hundreds of thousands of self-published books out each year, and something like 95-percent do not sell more than 200 copies.
 
#95 ·
David - I do recommend the Airhead, with two caveats. First, it only makes sense for a small crew, one or two. Practical Sailor did a review and they mentioned this too. The principle of the Airhead is that fecal material is mixed (via the crank handle) with dry peat and coupled with the small continuous airflow, the feces dries out before it can stink. This sounds dubious but it really does work: there is NO odor.

However, with three or more crew, it's pushing it. The more feces the higher the mixture ratio, the more dampness, the more likely you will have an odor. Plus, obviously, the unit is not designed for "Montezuma's Revenge!"

Then there is the exteror "piss bottle." Airhead may have re-designed this, but until you can confirm this, all crew must understand they CANNOT piss into the main container. That will certainly result in serious stink. Plus, someone has to empty the bottle. It is possible for females to piss directly into the bottle with a "special attachment." You should visit a boatshow for a demonstration (not a live demonstration!).

The advantages of the Airhead over a typical marine head, with hoses and a holding tank, are huge. It cannot clog! It requires no maintenance besides emptying and that's no big deal. When used properly, no odor. ALL marine heads of the wet sort DO stink, and there's nothing you can do about that. When feces decays in water, anaerobically, it stinks. No $15 a foot hose can solve that. Aerobic decay is odor free, hard to believe as that may be. When you empty it, it smells faintly like the garden department at Home Depot. Plus, even though the unit itself is somewhat larger than a basic marine head, because there is no hose, no holding tank and no vented loop or Y-valve, there is a significant weight-space-complexity savings.
 
#96 ·
Glen,
When you are selling a self published book on Amazon, who does the shipping? You or Amazon from their location? If Amazon ships, is the contractual obligation that hey hold your books in their warehouse on consignment?
 
#97 ·
Ok, bought, downloaded, and finished reading the book. It was an easy read.

I do have a comment about Glenn's self deprecation. He makes himself out to be a repugnant looking man, yet, if his website picture is any indication, I would say that he is vastly an over exaggerating. Imo, he is average, if not even a little above average, looking. In other words, not eye candy but hardly fugly, either.

As for setting out to "live the dream," and realizing it was not quite what he had in mind? Well, as Heinlein says, "Sure, the game's rigged. But if you don't play, you can't win." Afaics, at least he tried. More than tried, for that matter. In other words, what he did is hardly something to be ashamed of, or apologetic for.

Wrt the question of living aboard, working, and writing. Sure, it's feasible. That's what I'm doing. It really depends upon your needs (i.e, some people require more room to stretch out, etc). Otherwise put, everyone's needs are different. Btw, there are avail live aboard slips in SF Bay area. Though, I can see those dwindling as spring/summer & america's cup approach.

That said, in all, I found the read to be a fount of info wrt the sort of challenges that can arise when blue water sailing. And I applaud Glenn for not only embarking on his adventure but sharing it with others, as well.
 
#98 · (Edited)
Thanks Shadow! Please note that the photo is a still from a documentary and it was shot by a professional cameraman. The documentary, Fatty, has not been distributed. It was a project I undertook as an expose of the American diet industry. In the film, I eat "as my grandparents ate" and give up all diets per se - I lost about 43 lbs, but temporarily.

Also, as described in the book, I am not really ugly, but SMALL. In a man, that is a bigger defect than ugliness, really. People have told me I actually look smaller than I am! I believe that is caused by narrow shoulders and having arms and legs shorter than my torso would dictate - in other words, out of proportion. I also take personal responsibility over the fact I am single and dateless: I just have no physical feelings toward fat women, and I do not want that to change - so I am not willing to "work at it." I'm fine with the way things are. I realize I am not "hot" to pretty women, and I'm fine with that too - I just had to learn not to waste time in pursuit of something that was not meant to be.

Hey, you're not charging me for therapy, are ya? ; > )
 
#99 ·
George: Amazon ships (actually CreateSpace, which Amazon purchased).

CreateSpace is a print-on-demand service but they are very good: fast, cheap, and high quality. No "inventory" is purchased by the author. When someone orders a paperback copy of a CreateSpace book, Amazon prints it on demand. The cost of a book the size of Breaking Seas (very typical of a paperback) is a bit over $5. The quality is superb: exactly what you would find at Barnes & Noble, no cheap look or feel at all.

However, please note, CreateSpace has no "standards" with respect to cover art or typesetting. YOU upload the content of the book in pdf format, inside and outside. They print. Thus, the look of your book is 100-percent dependent on what you upload to them. Many people upload crappy covers and interiors and their books look like hell when printed. That is not the fault of CreateSpace.

Since this is print-on-demand, there is no inventory to pay for. Amazon (and CreateSpace) charge NOTHING. But keep in mind, unless you happen to be a skilled graphics artist, and you know how to typeset a book, you will need to farm out those jobs. I hired someone to do my cover from two photos I provided, and my typesetting I did myself to save $2800. The inside of a book is NOT an easy thing to do - it took me several weekends. It's one of those things that's harder than it looks. I used Apple's layout software called "Pages."

Hope that helps -
 
#100 ·
Sorry Dave, I just ordered it from the West Marine catalog. I think the name and brand was "Ardour-Babour cold machine" or something like that. I got it with the ventilation kit. Don't forget, a big reason our reefer worked so well is I went the whole nine yards and got the vacuum insulation plates. Let me do a google search and see if it gives me the company name.
 
#107 ·
By the way it is under 10 bucks on Barns and Noble on line for the paper version, but there is no nook version. Have you thought about offering an epub version directly? I have a nook but will buy the kindle version and read it on my phone. Sounds interesting.

JonEisberg that looks like an amazing place, bet there summer is not very long though! Did you take the photos? The lighting is beautiful and the detail is amazing.
 
#129 ·
JonEisberg that looks like an amazing place, bet there summer is not very long though! Did you take the photos? The lighting is beautiful and the detail is amazing.
Yes, the pics are mine, thanks...

I'm not sure the season is that much shorter than a place like Maine, actually, the Gulf Stream has a considerable modifying effect on the climate of the south coast. It's certainly long enough to see quite a bit, however. On my trip up there a few summers ago, I didn't leave NJ until almost mid-July, and was back home by Labor Day, and that featured spending 5 days in Lunenberg riding out the passage of a tropical system, a week in the Magdalen Islands, and another 5 days exploring the Bras d' Or Lakes on the way back... Once you get up there, you can see a lot in a couple of weeks, things are pretty close together along the south coast...

Looks amazing!

I read about it a little bit online, the blurb I read indicated the population was < 150 people! How do they take to visitors?
Everywhere I went, the locals were extremely welcoming, and very appreciative of the effort any cruiser will have made to get up there. Francois was one of the only spots that has a dock dedicated to transient visitors, most places you just come alongside the working wharf. This was one of the handful of times in Newfoundland I was in the company of another cruising boat...



As delightful as the inhabited outports are, however, what really fascinated me were the abandoned settlements... The south coast of Nfld has to be one of the best places anywhere, for one who loves exploring ghost towns from a boat... This is the once-thriving outport of Petites...

 
#109 ·
OK back to lessons from the book.
You mentioned a water maker I believe only in passing.
Did you install it. If so which one and did it work as expected?
 
#110 ·
Portand Pudgy
Obviously not for four people but what about two?
I don't belive it is acceptable for racing requirements
 
#111 ·
Miatapaul: It was my understanding that the Nook can run a Kindle application. Is that not correct?

Because I chose to make the book part of "Amazon Prime," Amazon has the sole electronic distribution rights for a 90-day period. This expires for the first time in less than two weeks, but I can renew it. Books that participate in Amazon Prime are more heavily promoted by Amazon, and the author has options to offer free copies for a limited time and so on. I chose to participate because Amazon is the lion's share of eBooks right now - my eBook reader is an iPad 3, but I run the Kindle app on it. I believe only Apple iBooks demand an Apple native format.
 
#114 ·
Miatapaul: It was my understanding that the Nook can run a Kindle application. Is that not correct?.
There's a Kindle app that will run on Android tablets and phones. Nooks are built on Android, but B&N limits the functionality to prevent "non-approved" apps from running. Not surprisingly, Kindle software is "non-approved." However, Nook Color and Tablet can be easily hacked to run the full Android OS, and then Kindle app for Android is easily installed on it. (I have actually done this with my Nook Color.)

Nook Simple Touch can theoretically do the same, but the e-ink display is so slow that the full Android does not run well. (I have not tried this, but my carpool buddy refused to listen to my warnings and tried it anyway. He was very unhappy with the result.)

However, an even better option for Nook owners is to buy the Kindle book and download to Kindle software for PC or Mac, install the Calibre software on your PC or Mac, download an Add-In to strip the DRM (might be unnecessary, since many of these self-published books do not have DRM), and have Calibre convert it from Kindle to EPUB, then copy it onto the Nook. It actually is simpler than it sounds. Technically this is a violation of the terms of use, but if you are paying for the book I do not believe that it's unethical as long as you are not sharing the copy.

Since I have a Nook Touch, I have made this conversion for other Kindle books that I purchased from Amazon, but in this case I've borrowed my son's Kindle so I can borrow the book from Amazon Prime's lending library. The lending library is only available on Kindle hardware.
 
#113 ·
Is anyone here a regular at Anythingsailing.com?
Seems like a lot of us here like Glen's book so maybe someone who is a regular at AS might like to get our author of the week hooked up with "the other sailing site."
I've got a login but don't post too often and I've heard they can be a little tough so maybe a note from a regular would go over better.
 
#115 ·
Should really go where people are. Has anyone posted this on CF? If not, I'll hook Glenn up over there. I can also pimp it over at SA in the cruising section.

It's a good read. And I love it that he's published this completely on his own. Very cool.
 
#119 ·
Thanks for the info, TakeFive. I didn't know it was so complicated! It reminds me of the early days of PC's, the era 1982-86 approximately, when there were five or six "major" kinds of PC and software could only run on one type. At least eReaders, even the iPad, cost about 1/10 of a full-blown 1984 PC, in adjusted dollars.

I was an avid first-generation Kindle user for a couple of years and when the iPad came out I assumed if I went with it I would have to give up my Kindle library. When the Apple guy showed me the Kindle app, I was sold. Very happy with iPad 1 and 3 - the glare doesn't seem to be a problem, but the light generating screen is useful for those cases when artificial light is not available.
 
#120 ·
Well crap,
I ordered a version of this book and now am not sure if it is compatible with my reader. It came in a package that requires some user input, it appears that I must manually "move" the opening "screen", "app", or whatever the technical term is for the front of the package with the art work. It appears to have some form of mechanical hinge that is not obvious at first glance but does appear to be quite cleverly designed and functional.

After rotating the artwork I am able to see the writing, note that clicking the writing does not open a new screen or advance the text. I found that after reading the first page of text I was able to repeat the actions that moved the artwork aside and revealed the text to advance through to the next screen.

The bookmark function does not seem to be working but I found that I can manually place a chopstick (left over from take out) between the text delivery modules and am able to quickly locate where I left off reading.

I am finding the tactile experience of this delivery system to be oddly rewarding and surprisingly portable.:):):)
 
#163 ·
Well crap,
I ordered a version of this book and now am not sure if it is compatible with my reader. It came in a package that requires some user input, it appears that I must manually "move" the opening "screen", "app", or whatever the technical term is for the front of the package with the art work. It appears to have some form of mechanical hinge that is not obvious at first glance but does appear to be quite cleverly designed and functional.

After rotating the artwork I am able to see the writing, note that clicking the writing does not open a new screen or advance the text. I found that after reading the first page of text I was able to repeat the actions that moved the artwork aside and revealed the text to advance through to the next screen.

The bookmark function does not seem to be working but I found that I can manually place a chopstick (left over from take out) between the text delivery modules and am able to quickly locate where I left off reading.

I am finding the tactile experience of this delivery system to be oddly rewarding and surprisingly portable.:):):)
I also have tried using a chop stick to maintain a position marker but this makes a bump in the TDM (Text Delivery Module). It also tends to gouge various parts of my anatomy if I carry the TDM in one of my hip pockets.

I find that the little sleeve package the chopsticks come in makes an excellent place marker for TDMs of this sort. I prefer the ones with an open end rather than the tear open variety. They are usually more colorful and made of better paper.

Have FUN!
O'
 
#121 ·
Yea, the Nook can be rooted, and one of the benefits is that it can load Kindle app and it is supposed to work well. I have not yet done it yet. I rooted my first Android phone, but have not done it to the newer one as I have not felt the need. I have thought of getting a used nook touch off Craig's list and figured I would see some cheap ones from kids that got them for Christmas but in my area they have not shown up yet.

I went through the first five chapters last night, really enjoyed it!
 
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