# 7 days in a Catalina 22 with all 3 kids!?!



## sausagebarn

Here is the plan; 7 days in the San Juans next July/August in our Catalina 22 with our 5 y/o b/g twins and 7 y/o daughter. I'll sail up there and the wife and kids will drive. We'll rendezvous in Anacortes or Laconor and sail up to...well, were not sure yet, Sucia for sure and some ideas on a few other places too. 
We have overnighted on blake island and Bainbridge Is. before with the kids. They love it. So we figure more of a good thing cant be bad....or are we crazy? So far our sailing adventures have basically consisted of spending a few hours (3-5 at most) sailing and then we pull up to a marina or a dock and the kids get ice cream, etc. But we want to sail and really get the kids out in nature. 
We will be bringing our dinghy, tent etc...we dont plan to spend too many nights sleeping on the boat and we are certainly no strangers to camping. 
When we bought our boat last year I figured it would be a few years and a lager boat before we could do a trip like this. But I feel confident that we could do this. 
Any advice from cruising veterans would be great!


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## tgrimmett

*Go for it!*

Certainly 5 of you on that size boat raises questions of personal space, but you know your family best and how compatible everyone is so you should let this be your judge. And, I've always told friends that every boat is going to feel tiny once you leave the dock. Rather, it is the expansiveness of the scenery and places that you stop off at to explore that push out the dimensions of your living quarters. I know that when our kids were that age, they enjoyed the cacoon feeling of the cabin and if, as it sounds, you are used to camping together, that should go along way. Not sure what entertains your kids, but for ours, they really enjoyed towing little boats off the stern. I made up various simple designs with wood or you can buy little plastic ones. They spent hours at this and enjoyed crashing them into each other. One of ours was a real avid reader, so that was easy too. He really took to the concept of a journal. A pair of binoculars and/or a field guide reference would be good. Getting them time at the helm or helping with tacking, anchoring decisions, and passage planning is helpful all around. For our other son, collecting little souvenirs along the way was entertaining and important for him as this helped him get over the concept of moving from place to place constantly. They varied from touristy things to beach flotsam to postcards-something that can help them cherish the memories when they get back home.

More than anything, if you and your wife have the desire, then get out there and do it regardless of the size of your boat. Your kids are at a great age for it and if you two are having a good time, your kids will take this as their cue. Good luck!
-Tom
Thalia - The Grimmett's Sailing Adventure!


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## tommays

Back when my wife would still camp  and we moved UP to a J24 from and 18' boat we found it rather luxurious with 4 full size berths and the addition of a set of privacy curtains around the porta potty 

We spent Many weekends with 4 people on the J with a camp stove and solar showers and got to know the peconic bay and shelter island area


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## Ajax_MD

I don't think you're crazy. You're obviously planning many stops and opportunities to get off of the boat.

If it sounded like you were planning a trip to Mars in a Soyuz space capsule with 5 people, then I'd be worried for you.


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## sausagebarn

*Thanks for your replies.*

I think its going to be great but my wife worries it will be like a really LONG road trip. We camped for ten days last summer in the Olympic Nat'l Park and I think we will spend a roughly equivalent amount of time in transit (i.e in the boat as opposed to on docks, islands, tents). 
Thanks for the tips...my kids are constantly "fishing" (dangling lines) from the stern while we are sailing....that's a great idea about building some little boats for them to sail from the stern.


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## erps

We were a family of four on a similar sized boat for a while and I used to sleep on some of the floats at the state parks with the kids under a little tarp and some cushions out of the boat. Lots of nearby state parks with onshore camping up here. Having a campfire on shore was always a whole family activity too and a lot of our cruising around still center around a campfire in the evenings. Sounds like you'll have a lot of fun.


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## djodenda

I think you should do this, and if you all go crazy, cut the trip short and just go camping.

But, I think you'll be fine.

Definitely go to Hope Island. (Ray's front porch). Sheltered cove, campsites, and the world's best rope swing.


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## MarkCK

This isn't advice but you will only know if this is a bad idea after you have started. You might figure out two hours into the cruise that it is a horrible idea. Having a backup plan would be a good idea.

I say go for it. If nothing else you will learn that you never want to do it again.


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## AdamLein

I'm no cruising veteran but as long as you pack light (hopefully easy at that time of year) you shouldn't have any problems. The tent thing is a great idea. I think you'll have a fine time. 

Keep us apprised as your plans solidify and maybe we'll see you on the water. You're two kids ahead of us but it would be nice to see how it's working out for you!


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## gbaratta

All sound beautiful, sure the 22 will be a bit tight, but we did camp few times on a j24 and had a great time for few nights. After all if this get uncomfortable you can always cut the trip a bit. Good luck the kids will really love to and keep great memories.


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## Mimsy

I think it will be fun. 
Be sure to pack duct tape. Kids who misbehave get duct taped to the mast. Works every time.


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## IslanderGuy

We sailed for 5 days in the south Puget Sound on a 21 foot boat with two kids, you've got one more kid, and one more foot. Somehow I do not think the 1 more foot makes up for the one more kid!  

We only planned on 4 days, but where having so much fun we added another day. By the end of day five we where going a little crazy, but it was a great experience, and one I am glad we did.

We where staying on the boat every night, doing a little tent camping would have been a good idea. I would also suggest planning to spend a few days in the same place at least once. We where moving every day, not far but a little ways and that takes a lot of energy with a bunch of people in a small boat. If you have two nights in a row where you can setup camp and then just hang out and not worry about packing everything up, moving, unpacking and setting up camp before bed again, I think it would help a lot.


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## LeftCoast

Sucia, no place to dump trash and horrid water. I'd be sure to hit there right after a marina visit, so the trash container is empty and the water tank is full.

Deer Harbor is a favorite with our family. The docks are really big with pick nick benches next to the slips. I've never seen pick nick benches on docks before. They're great! Also you can get a cheezeburger right on the dock. The Burger stand is one of my favorite attractions.

Another idea for the kiddies is to get some of them little nets on sticks for catching shrimp off the pilings at night. My kids, even as teenagers, sill love going after them shrimp. Keeps them entertained for hours.

If you haven't already done it already; A cockpit tent over the boom can, on some boats, nearly double the usable interior space. That's what we discovered with our little boat.

What else?

Anacortes is a lot closer, by boat, to the San Juans then LaConner. And, there's a Safeway across the street from Cap Sante marina. So stocking up is really easy.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

-jim lee


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## sausagebarn

Thanks everyone for your awesome replies.
I have gotten some great ideas. Net and shrimp fishing at night sounds like something I might even have fun with.


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## Harborless

I am about to be living on a 23' myself! No, I am not a destitute sobo; it's a lot cheaper to live on the boat then to live in the dorms and I won't have three other roommates. I think you will be cramped but as long as the weather stays nice you it shouldn't be too bad.


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## chall03

Go for it, ok the confined quarters with kids might drive you and your wife crazy, but I think your kids would have a ball.

When you get back.....Pics please!


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## JM3

We do almost the same thing quite often in our San Juan 23. 

I have infant twins and a 3 yr old and we spent over a week in the San Juans this summer. The twins are small but for babies, we bring a TON of stuff. 

Before this boat (and the twins) we cruised on a Venture 17 - now that was SMALL! overall, we are finding that its a lot easier to plan on staying 2-3 nights in one place rather than moving around a whole lot with the kids. It lets you get to know a place and gives the kids more time to run, play, dig, swim, fish, etc. We sometimes bring a tent and camp on shore when we have additional guests with us or when our boat feels a bit too small. (we have a very big tent)

Its taken us type A people a while to realize that the kids care less about seeing a lot of things while being constantly on the go and more about what they do when they are there. Thus our slow down and smell the roses approach to cruising now.

If you are moving around a lot and sleeping on the boat it does get a little tight. A boom tent might help but I'd be worried about kids falling over at night. Its probably good to mix up boat nights and camping nights. Most state parks have good facilites for camping. 

We trailer up to anacortes or Bellingham (preferred) and launch there. it knocks about 4 days round trip off of the trip and allows more time in the islands.

Some of our favorite places up there are Sucia, James Island, Jones Island and Indian Bay on Stewart. All have great camping facilities and beaches and trails for the kids. Friday harbor is a good stop for ice cream also. 

Its way easier with kids if you can get a spot at the state park docks than anchoring out or using a mooring bouy. Try to time your arrivals for when people are leaving the docks for the day.

However, If you are seattle based we have found we enjoy the south sound as much if not more than the san juans..and its closer.

Whatever you decide, GO FOR IT, you guys will have a BLAST. We don't see enough cruising families here in Washington. It always feels like we are the ones on the smallest boat with the most kids!


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## sausagebarn

JM3, that is very inspiring and some great advice. 
I have been planing to sail up solo and then pick up the family from Anacortes because we wanted to spend less time in transit and because spending a few days sailing solo would be really fun for me. 
Since this post I had an opportunity to buy a slightly larger boat (tartan 27). The boat had a lot of issues though and didn't seem worth the likely costs to get it "Juans" worthy. (my daughter cried when I told her we would be getting rid of "buttercup" in favor of a better boat!) My friend said it was a mistake and that a larger vessel would add safety. My thought was that in a smaller boat we are much more conservative and if the weather is up we take it easy. I suppose a larger boat is in someways inherently safer...did you initially have reservations about it? I don't but then I don't have that much experience. 
Is there places you would recommend in the SS? I used to work on Orcas Is and have spent many summers there but have never really ventured down south. 
Since I posted this I have been reading The Curve of Time...a book about a mom and her 5 kids that spent summers exploring the B.C. waters in their 25 foot m/v. Its a great read and has also been a ton of inspiration. 
We always feel a bit like rebels out there....when we see other families (not that often) they tend to be in these massive yachts with every convenience known to man. 
If you see 3 kids and two parents out there in a tiny little boat make sure to say hi.


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## QuickMick

maybe do a few overnight/weekend trips ahead of the big voyage to make sure it works to everyones delight? hope you have a great time, seems like it might be a bit cramped, but if you are sleeping on shore that seems that it would take care of a lot of that.


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## vtsailguy

We have 3 boys, 4/6/8. It seems to me that they are all about the destination, we like the getting there (i.e. actually sailing).

It only took me a few trips to realize more destination and less travel makes for more engaged kids and saner parents.

Plan accordingly!


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