Full Time Cruisers ?

[Aria]

Was wondering how many on here are full or part time cruisers, since it is billed as a social network for cruisers.

[Kevin M. Morton]

Amen to that. I am teaching myself to sail in San Pablo Bay.

[Kevin M. Morton]

Amen to that. I am teaching myself to sail in the San Pablo Bay. Sorry for the duplicate post.

[Fred Bickum]

Hi all,

Just joined this group.
I started a circumnavigation 26 months ago. I am currently in Richard's Bay, South Africa.
After spending one year rebuilding my boat, FeNIX a 28' Cape Dory, I launched in Jacksonville, FL and headed south and west.

My website:

http://www.sbastro.com/FeNIX/

contains lots of pictures and videos and some commentary about my trip and the rebuilding process.

Full time cruising is great. I will be heading to Brasil later this year.

Take care,
Fred

[CommodoreSwab]

Congratulations on your life. It is good to see someone doing something like what I am planning. I have a C&C 31 that I just got and am in the process of refurbishing to make her worthy of traversing great distances (FL to Aisa/Australia) of which I have not decided on a final destination. Most people look at the boat and say "too small" but in reality I feel she is a very comfortable size much bigger and you start to become more of a moving house.

[Carl J. Volkwein]

How do you like crusing in a "smaller" boat? can you tell me about some of the things that were harder to adjust to, and how you made due? I'm currently in the prosses of building a 24' junk rigged enginless ketch, and would like some pointers.
[e-mail]

[Fred Bickum]

Hi Carl,

Make do. Well since your boat is quite small I would suggest that you try to do all
your cooking on a one burner cooker, no oven. If you have a refrigerator, turn it off and prepare only meals from the food you have without it.
Haul all the water you use at least 50 meters in a 12~20 liter jug, no running water or shower stall.
Arrange your living space to approximate your boat's interior, include limiting the headroom.

If you need to go somewhere only travel at your normal speed if the wind is behind you. If the wind is forward the beam, travel twice the distance at 1/3 your normal speed.

In otherwords, duplicate your living conditions as much as possible to what you expect life aboard will be like.

Forget companionship and make sure the hook is well set.

All in all life aboard a small boat is much like tent camping. For me the thing I miss most is COLD drinks. Fortunately most places have a palce to buy them, usually at reasonable prices.

Take care,
Fred

[Susan & Colin]

We have been full time cruisers since Oct 2006.
So far just Maine to Bahamas, but heading for the Caribbean in October.

Mike & Susan
s/v TabbyCat
www.TabbyCat.us

[Harvey Cail]

Check out the Seven Seas Cruising Ass. You will find them on line easy enough.

Harvey Cail.

[zeehag]

i have been full time live aboard sinc 1990 --now i have my solitary bird and i am working on gettting her out of san diego and into caribean...only a few million more boat bux and off i go!!! i have my engine now and soon will be installed--previous owner blew her up!! so onward and upward............

[John Shasteen]

We're not full time cruisers or liveaboards. We've had Paloma, our Bristol 29.9, for many years and we use her as our beach house in the summer when it's too hot to sail (we had the foresight to install 12K BTU of AC about 10 years ago), and on interesting and adventurous voyages in cooler weather: Bristol, RI to Galveston, TX - down the East coast, around the horn of FL, then across the Gulf. Galveston to Vera Cruz and Galveston to Isla Mujeres, Galveston to Puerto Isabella and back to Freeport....and the list goes on. We've endured two Force 10 gales at sea and every named storm since Claudette in port.

[Orvil Newton]

I just found this thread so I thought I'd chime in. I have lived aboard Lealea, a Vega 27, since 1990. Laura came aboard in '96 and we cast off in 2007. We lived and worked full time in Honolulu and got in "Mini cruises" around the islands on long weekends and such until I retired. After crossing the Pacific, we spent five months in Port Townsend re-fitting then went to Friday Harbor for a year.

We are now in Seattle topping off the kitty and planning our cruise to Alaska next Summer. I've been posting the daily video logs of our Pacific crossing to the Northwest on my Sea Knots page and plan to follow up with more videos on preparation, refitting and our further cruising.