# cruiser, live aboard, bluewater?



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

i am relatively new to sailing but an old salt by nature. i was born on the coast, raised there, and still summer there each year. my wife and i still maintain a coastal home and intend one day to retire there. that said we are looking to cruise and live aboard for an extended period of time before retiring to the garden.
we''re not sure how long we might cruise, but expect it to be longer than shorter; we''re 40-50 and in good shape with good educations and would like to be able to venture to wherever we may want to go safely and COMFORTABLY.
understanding that the revelance associated with comfort is personal we would like help in trying to decide those items you feel most necessary for comfortable cruising. setting aside the basic fundamental safety equiptment which our boat will definitely have; what makes a boat comfortable to live aboard while cruising?
as said the cruising will be wherever we may want or feel safe traveling too, coastal, probably east coast and hopefully the loop will include the lakes and beyond. i guess not really having any schedules to keep or directions to go ( for the first time in our lives) we have so many choices we want to get this right. 
oh,"the one who is in charge", wants to know what do you think about stern-vs-center cockpit boats? 
thanks to all and happy holidays!!!!!!!


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## jack_patricia (May 20, 2001)

T:

Since you have stressed comfort so much, I think it might be helpful (tho'' perhaps not feel like it...) to mention that comfort which is derived from boat systems will turn out to be far less meaningful when cruising than comfort that comes from e.g. crew competence (which keeps one out of trouble and reduces the anxiety level immensely), sound navigation, a solid basic knowledge of weather systems, and a practiced hand at choosing a good anchorage...among many other ''non-system'' skills.

I''m sure you''ll find a lot of folks who will speak endearingly of their breadmaker or efficient reefer or integrated chart/radar/recipe plotter. It''s a tendency we all have given the breadth of clever gadgets available to us today and the generic pitch which bombards us that one can ''buy'' comfort. Just don''t overlook the reality that cruising can be a tough business sometimes, and that comfort is not routinely available on occaision. Your basic skill sets - ultimately - are going to bring you the most satisfaction & fulfillment...and keep the cruising dream going after the cruise has begun, at least IMO.

Jack


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## jbarros (Jul 30, 2002)

stay dry.

No leaks. 

Comfortable motion.

A sea berth that doesnt require me to roll or be thrown a few feet before I''m stopped. 

A galley that works at sea (there are a bunch of configurations that can be made to work well, but alot of poor executions. Devil''s in the details. ;( ) 

The best labor saving devices in the world cant match the beauty and comfort of a simple boat, of thoughtfull design, properly built and maintained. 

The one labor saving item I can highly recomend: No ones ever complained about their winches being too big or too powerfull.  

How hard is it to reduce sail ? 

Whats cooking/eating like underway?

If you need to come below sopping wet, can you avoid getting the rest of the cabin wet?

And of course, no one in the world is "comfortable" when items are breaking, so check everything and have a surveyer check it too. 

oh yhea, and the obvious disclaimer: Cruising is best done after at least a few seasons of pretty constant local sailing to get the skills while you still have the support net, familiar waters, and place on land to go to when you need to take a second away from the water to prevent yourself from going mad.  

Happy sailing 

-- James


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

thanks for your input! we are trying hard to avoid doing the wrong things, trying to cover all the things that need covering, by doing it the RIGHT way the first time. (boy that would be different}!
i usually read the instructions after trying it ........ well you know. 
"One who is in charge" explains it this way, if u have the time ta do it twice, u got time to do it rite the first time! all input that would make it easier is always sincerely welcomed and truly appreciated.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Just a note on the question of center cockpit vs aft. The center cockpit layouts allow an aft cabin, which allows more privacy when family crusing, however that also means less room in the salon. For 2 people I would go aft cockpit. As you are planning on costal crusing, just don't exceed your experience and you will be fine. Keep things simple and you will have fewer things to take care of and life will be more pleasent. Refridgeration seems to be the biggest problem for new cruisers. The need to constantly replace ice, or run the engine to chill the cold plate are the problems. I just don't carry any food that needs an ice box. Milk and ice cream are shore side treats. Fish caught fresh are eaten fresh. Try a crusing diet first at home and see just how much you can do with canned meats. Canned milk can be used for a treat, but it's expensive. My wife used powdered milk for her cereal. I can't stand drinking powdered milk. I drink my soda and rum warm. Good thing I don't like beer. I have lived aboard a Morgan 41 center cockpit and I have lived aboard a little Venture 23. But then I drive a truck for a living so I live in it most of the time now. I'm used to not having a lot of room. That's the hardest part about crusing long term. Learning what you can do with out.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

greg...you just responded to a 2003 post.


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## tropicalfever (Jun 20, 2006)

camaraderie said:


> greg...you just responded to a 2003 post.


And I just read this post today. and found it all interesting reading,and usefull.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

LOL, cam, not everyone reads the dates on the threads they're looking at....


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I often do, and the replys are almost always up to date ! Some of these older threads I wonder where the writers are now.


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## Geronimo33 (Jan 15, 2007)

He answered some questions before they got asked as well....thus he scored well.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

*Cam...this seems to bother you?*



camaraderie said:


> greg...you just responded to a 2003 post.


Perhaps then SailNet Administrators should archive these older messages or delete them after a couple of years? What ever would make Cam happy. 

Personally I don't see the issue with reviving old threads if the information is still relevant and useful, however I have noticed in my short time as a member your the first one to point this out???


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

T37...Actually a lot of the old threads have a lot of good info and if someone wants to "bump" it up with a new post that is fine. I just see posts written with obvious heartfelt care and advice and it is obvious that the writer doesn't know that the receiver hasn't been on sailnet at all in 2 years! Many of the folks that make these replies are brand new to sailnet and aren't aware of the date thing. My comments are simply meant to advise them nicely that they are posting to the ether. If I catch a date and comment on it quickly...it may also save 15 others from commenting on a dead request for info. Maybe if one is replying to a really old post you should say something like..."I know this is an old thread but...."


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

LOL, Gotcha...I suppose that is one of your duties as Moderator  

I am in support of a expiration date for post/threads, 5 years. What do you think?


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

T37 If, by expiration date, you mean that old posts would be deleted, I would hate to see that happen. As a longtime lurker, I've found a lot of interesting stuff in the oldies.

It would, however, be cool if posts became "read only" after a certain time, and couldn't be replied to.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

What you might want to do is lock the older threads...so that new replies can't be added.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Those are superb ideas!!!!!!!!

I agree that there is a wealth of information in old threads and would not want to see them deleted.


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## pigslo (Nov 22, 2004)

I understand why Cam lets them know as sometimes they put quite an effort in a reply thinking they are responding to some one in need of some information. A lock would prevent these threads from occasionally being brought to the front. Some are a quite nice change from today's posts. I thought this thread was worth seeing again with a good perspective on cc as opposed to aft, but sometimes it as a post asking a question no longer relevent to anyone but cyber ghosts.
pigslo


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