Live Aboard Dreaming

For the past couple of days I have been searching the internet looking for potential boat models. It is way to soon to narrow the search down much as I still do not have much money in the bank. I did figure that it was worth getting an idea for what features I really wanted and which ones I could live without. It was during this glorified form of window shopping that I realized one big thing. Pretty much any boat in the price range I am looking at will need at least a fair amount of TLC and more than likely will need all it's systems redone to my expectations. This train of thought segwayed right into another thought, what exactly do I want to be able to do with this boat?

Five years ago I would have been content with just a dock boat, one that had a slip in a marina, never moved, and was plugged into shore power every single day of the week. All the comforts of home in a smaller space that floats. Rising marina fees have helped rid me of that idea, as well as my nearly insatiable desire for adventure. It is kind of interesting to think that a few years ago moving onto a boat seemed like an adventure, and in some ways still does. Yet once you get used to the idea it starts to lose it's adventurous appeal. I know that I would still have adventures even if I never left the dock, but I started to yearn for more, and short day sails weren't going to cut it.

As I eventually moved beyond the idea of a semi-land based life, I started thinking about coastal and tropical cruising. I hate the cold, and no hate is not too strong of a word, in fact I would use a stronger one if I could think of one. Coastal and Tropical cruising sounded like a grand adventure. New ports, new countries, different cultures, and a much more self sufficient boat. No longer would I have all the comforts of home at my disposal instantly. Power, water, and storage started to become a concern. Seaworthiness also started to come into play. Yes it's true almost any boat under the right skipper and with proper preparation can handle nearly any weather, I would like to help myself out a little, if there's one thing the sea has taught me so far, it's modesty. So I now had a whole new idea of what I wanted and my boat choices became fewer and more specialized, though at the time I wasn't seriously looking for a boat.

Recently the romantic tales of blue water cruisers have crept into my mind. Coastal cruising still sounds like fun, but it's more something I would want to do on foreign coasts. I've always admired the blue water boats and their ability to bring people back to port safe in all kinds of weather. But this posed even more considerations and challenges, the least not being money. Power now became incredibly important, though with traditional backups to electricity there my dependence could be lowered. Being of a generation that calls and complains when the internet much less my electricity goes down, I figure I might as well be able to have some of the comforts that are ingrained in my lifestyle. Water is now more important, especially storage of said water. Holding tanks take up lots of room, room I need for the next problem, food. I would need to be able to store at least three times the food I would expect to need in case of bad weather or repairs, or even worse. Money is the final factor. It's something I sorely lack, and blue water boats and their equipment are not cheap. Luckily for me I'm pretty good at working on boats, and I have a good deal of knowledge as to what needs to be done to make a boat blue water ready.

So there I have it, I know what I want the boat to be able to do. It must be able to become a blue water cruising boat. It doesn't have to start out that way, in fact chances of me getting a boat ready for this on my meager budget is rather slim. I've also decided that I want the boat to be able to be livable on the hook for extended periods of time while I'm outfitting it. Electricity and water being the main concerns there. Even if I never got to do a true blue water passage I would most likely enjoy tricking out my boat for such a trip. Some people have hobbies they spend wads of cash on, my hobby just happens to be boats (well I guess it's my profession too, ain't I lucky?). I would rather have a boat capable of sailing around the world without have to touch a dock than have a boat that I wouldn't trust away from it. Hopefully my next post or two will be about what I plan to do with my boat as far as it's on board systems go, and that is of course subject to change as I learn more. And who knows, five years ago I thought it was adventurous to leave land based life for life at the dock, three years ago coastal cruising was the new adventure, now it's blue water cruising. Maybe in another 3 years I'll be looking to get to the outer space. And just think, all these changes to my dream without ever having lived on a boat, I can only wait to see how my dreams will change once I move aboard.