# Can we get this board going again?



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Aloha,
As the wife of a sail addict I was (relatively) easily persuaded to sell the house, get rid of most of my stuff and liveaboard- I can''t believe how freeing it is. It took a year to get used to the galley (from the perspective of a "gormet" cook!)I get two reactions when people find out we now live on a 48 ft sailboat- 
"Why in the world would you do that?" or
"Gee I wish I was brave enough to do it..."
Personally I didn''t want to be 80 years old and wonder what it would have been like if I had done it...With the advent of storage lockers and high speed internet it''s really not a huge paradigm shift.
That being said... why is it I read about so many men just dying to live on a boat and held back from doing it by unwilling wives?...It''s sad, I guess, when people''s dreams don''t coinside...
It is a very wonderful lifestyle and I think so everytime I sip coffee on the deck watching the fish jump in the early morning sunrise...
What is the hardest thing about living on a sail boat? What do you think? So far I can''t think of one...By the way, there are so many amazing, helpful people that respond on this message board- I have learned so much just by "lurking"-
(whoosh is my hero!)
Aloha,
Orion from Hawaii


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

PS(Ok Sorry My other hero is Jeff_H)


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## bowsernz (Apr 5, 2005)

Hi, I''ve just joined and your message caught my eye, as I have decided to sell up as you have, in a years time. I''m living in New zealand and have owned my own yacht here, however, yachts are cheaper in other parts of the world, such as Greece. I have an idea to buy one there and start sailing from there, maybe through the Suez, or maybe across the Atlantic to the USA (I have lived in Florida).
Anyway, any help would be great. I''ve convinced my Russian lady to do it with my and she''s really into it now. 
David Perry


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## lexxy (Oct 15, 2003)

I will reply...I would love to talk to other women who live aboard...we have been living aboard a 38'' IP [380/58] for almost a year...sold the whole shebang last spring and we are loving it...adventure everyday. I am very involved in everything on the boat...I will be taking the Janmar engine course in June, I do electricity, handle the boat during my watches...love offshore cruising and overnight voyages...can''t wait to hit the high seas more...dread the boring ICW...aaarrggghhh!!!...love to anchor more than dock anyday and I have all the fishing stuff but haven''t caught anything yet...will try more with warm weather!!! I always drive the boat to the dock...cuz I still throw lines " like a girl!!! I need to get better at backing in tho! I''m dreadful at knots...will keep trying tho. I''m an artist and plan to do watercolors en routes... I did design the website:
http://www.starsonthesea.com

I cook better meals on board in the "play kitchen" galley because I have less yard and domicile to maintain...I do have an herb garden in the dinghy. I am as active at planning, navigating, driving, as the Mr...the Capt...in fact the boat is totally in my name for estate reasons...yea! I threaten to fire the Capt but haven''t followed thru since he takes me out to eat far too often.

The worst thing about living on a boat for me are the constant breakdowns and learning every system....I just have to have things running well...some compulsive fluke...a boat is not condusive to that hangup. And our boat is just 5 years old!!! It''s always the breakdown du jour!!! I must learn to adapt and be more laid back about it.

Actually all this isn''t bad for a 62 year old fat lady...right?

Lexxy/Lynn on CYAN 
en route from Charleston to Beaufort NC tues in outside water around Cape Fear! Won''t miss those dreadful shallows in NC!!!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Aloha Lexxy,
Way to go...us "mature women" have tons more fun than those "cute young thangs" I must admit the consistent warm weather in the tropics is much more comfortable than winter on the mainland! I am the only person in Hawaii that sleeps with a down comforter!I to love to anchor out and we do that as often as we can although we both are still working- I am working on my PhD and my husband works in town every day as an architect-So we are tied up at a marina most of the time.
Worst thing that has happened to us is going up on deck one morning and discovering the boat next to us was sinking! That''s almost better than coffee as a "waker upper"
Where are you planning on ending up?
Pat


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I too can''t imagine a better place to live but on our 40 foot boat I am finding that I really do enjoy living living in a small space.I had to laugh at the comment made by Orion as Whoosh and jeff_H are my heros also you really can pick up alot of information from these posts.Im also one who would rather anchor out......such peace and no hasslewhen going into a marina there are always the questions is the dock a floating dock,whats the current etc.thanks for sharing
Heidi


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Aloha again,
My next stated challenge is to actually learn how to USE my pressure cooker!!!All I can think of when I see it lurking there behind my settee is that it is a bomb just ticking to go off!!!Can anyone just give me a simple meal to cook in it just to get me started??like ...say...water for tea???!!!Also tell me how far away from it I need to be so I don''t get injured from the exploding metal shards...LOL
On another note- I am expanding my experience by volunteering to go on a passage from Hawaii to California (honolulu-sanfransisco) IknowIknow it''s the WRONG way!!!The captain is experienced- There will be three of us- We all know each other-no surprizes- Although I have never done a passage I am looking forward to the experience!I will keep you posted...
Aloha
Pat on ORION


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hi Pat on ORION, about the pressure cooker. I just got my first one too, so I understand your thoughts about " a bomb just ticking" . Here is a website that I think will be helpful to you. www.missvickie.com

Here's to good eating!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Pat, modern pressure cookers (post WW2 or so<G>) are most unlikely to explode. Even the cheapest ones usually have a rubber blow-out plug in the top cover, so that if too much pressure builds up the plug blows out and the pot can't explode. The more expensive ones have fancier pressure-reliefs and if you keep them clean, they can't plug up and won't fail.

A bigger problem to me is that I can't see what is happening in the pot, so it is a relationship built strictly on trusting the clock and your measurements. Change to a different burner--and you'll need to change times again too, so any given pressure cooker on any given burner has to be treated somewhat as a "new" way of cooking.

First time you microwave, or bbq, or braise, or broil, or move from baking in a gas oven to an electric one, you will find the same problem. Everything cooks "different" and you need some practice to make it right. Or, you open it too soon and waste time building pressure again. Or, you cook too long and make goo.<G>

If you didn't buy your pressure cooker new, see if the company has a recipe book for it. If not buy one, since the recipes all in one source should (in theory) at least work for one pot, and if yours needs more or less time at least it should be similar for them all.

I still like to SEE what's cooking, but there is no denying a pressure cooker saves fuel and keeps all the food in place when the boat goes bump.<G>


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

Apparently not and we're much the worse for it.


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

It is nice to see input from the other side of the fence. Too bad there isn't more of it. A different perspective can often be very helpful.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

It is really nice to read this thread. I truly cannot understand women who don't want to sail. I literally can barely stand waiting until we can live on a sailboat. It's almost baby-time, and the thought of not being able to sail b/c of child makes me not want to have one. But there's another thread on this site and all the goovy chicks that have baby will travel encourage me. Sail on sisters!


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

Cassy,

Our youngest, CHase, was on board at 5 days. The boat is not the limiting factor, nor the baby... it is the parents. Getting on/off is the only tricky part. But you will find the gentle motion of the boat will rock your child to sleep and Chase fussed a lot less on the boat than off. Of course, I think the parents were a lot happier on the boat too so that probably played a part in it.

If you are serious about boating with a baby, let me know and I will give you a lot of thoughts and things that worked for us... and some that did not.

- CD


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thanks CD I'll take you up on that if the time comes . . . it's just good to know that baby doesn't preclude sailing.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Here is the reality with kids Cassy. Complete nightmare from 2-4 years old. Before 2 they will hang in their car seat. After 4 they can move around on their own. For two years it is a squirmy and irritating nightmare. Make sure one or both parents can comfortably single hand.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

The other end of the spectrum is teenagers who have been around boats their whole lives and would rather be held hostage anywhere but on the boat. 2 of our 3 haven't even seen the new boat and we've had it almost 6 months! They are shocked and are incredulous now that we've told them after the last one living with us leaves for college this next summer the house will be leased and we'll be moving aboard our 44ft Gulfstar. I'm looking so forward to the simplicity. It seems we work so hard to pay the gardeners, housekeepers and others to keep up a house we only sleep at during the week and as the weekend comes we head down to the marina to be where we really want to be, on the boat.


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

Kewl!
Sort of like kickin' 'em outta the nest-and burning the nest!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Babies on board*



cassycc36 said:


> It's almost baby-time, and the thought of not being able to sail b/c of child makes me not want to have one. But there's another thread on this site and all the goovy chicks that have baby will travel encourage me. Sail on sisters!


Cassy - I went home from the hospital to a Catalina 30 when I was born. That was the only home for my family of 5 for 2 years! I have pictures of me as a baby in a swing hanging from the boom. A few months later we sailed to Alaska from Oregon. My siblings were 5 and 2 at the time. So, kids definitely can sail too.

My mom always says I learned to climb before crawling because of the boat and I'm sure I have a lifetime immunity to seasickness because of it. A floating infancy was a good thing for me !

Amy


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