Well I made it safely to Florida with my meager possessions intact. Found an apartment with my buddy and we're all set to move in once I get off the boat in April. My only concern is that I'm spending money horribly fast. My plan to save every penny isn't quite holding up to my expectations. I know it costs a bit to move and get re-settled but it pains me to know I'm taking away from my boat. I'm feeling the pressure of not having that cushion money in my checking account that I had grown accustomed to. I wish I was home for longer periods of time, but I may just have to stay out on the towboat a bit longer to get on track again. Maybe I could land an extremely part time job somewhere working for maybe 5 or 6 days each time I'm home. An extra $200 would be an amazing help. I'm still bit by the dream, but the reality is setting in. Perhaps I could get a small loan if I need one after the year is up but I'm going to try and avoid that if at all possible. I still have two tax returns and a bonus check to collect before I have to have a boat so that should help. Actually I could probably buy a small fixer upper on just that but I don't want to have to upgrade in the future, at least not in the foreseeable future.
I'm still leaning towards a smaller boat, not a shoebox that floats, but a well thought out design that is capable of at least serious coastal cruising. I also don't want something that can not accommodate a second person. As unlikely as it may be, there is always the possibility that I could find a girl that would like to join me on my grand adventure. Yeah right, I havn't had a steady girlfriend in at least two years, and my plans are not exactly what most women seem to desire. What's so wrong with a broke boat bum with delusions of grandour? Oh well maybe she's out there somewhere waiting for me to find her.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
I am nearing completion on packing, a good thing considering I'm leaving in just two days. I keep finding myself day dreaming and boat browsing when i should be packing. I've come across one more downside, I picked up a couple of unexected expenses with the move and it's putting a strain on my savings plan. I can still put something away, just not exactly as much as I was hoping. So with funds on the mind when I look at boats I find myself gravitating once again towards smaller boats.
The unfortunate truth of the matter is that even though I can afford some 30+ foot boats, almost all of them are coastal cruisers that need a lot of work. Where for the same price I can find some proven offshore cruisers that are a bit smaller, normally in better condition. All I am sacrificing is interior space. How much space do I really need anyways? I would love to have that U shapped setee, and that large galley I find in the bigger boats. But I really want the offshore passagemaking capabilities of many of the smaller boats. I know that I don't have the money to truly do any serious extended offshore sailing. I don't even have the experience needed to even think about it yet. I could be quite happy with a more coastal boat, more livable room, and the ability to explore the Bahamas, and the Americas. But then again I think, what if I get bored? Or what if I suddenly get the opportunity to cross an ocean?
It is very tempting to go for the smaller boat. I'd feel more comfortable sailing it. The hardware is cheaper, the slip fees are cheaper, and how much space do I need? Somewhere to rest my head, cook, and eat. That's about it. I lose entertainment room, but who really entertains down below that much anyways? But then again with a less seaworthy boat and the right skills you can pretty much sail anything across an ocean. But I'm a while off from getting that kind of skill.
I still have a few more days of day dreaming before I make my move back to Florida. The Jeep is packed with everything but this computer and I'm ready to go. I just put some more money into savings, I'm now just under 10% of my goal, plus I still have tax refunds coming!
The unfortunate truth of the matter is that even though I can afford some 30+ foot boats, almost all of them are coastal cruisers that need a lot of work. Where for the same price I can find some proven offshore cruisers that are a bit smaller, normally in better condition. All I am sacrificing is interior space. How much space do I really need anyways? I would love to have that U shapped setee, and that large galley I find in the bigger boats. But I really want the offshore passagemaking capabilities of many of the smaller boats. I know that I don't have the money to truly do any serious extended offshore sailing. I don't even have the experience needed to even think about it yet. I could be quite happy with a more coastal boat, more livable room, and the ability to explore the Bahamas, and the Americas. But then again I think, what if I get bored? Or what if I suddenly get the opportunity to cross an ocean?
It is very tempting to go for the smaller boat. I'd feel more comfortable sailing it. The hardware is cheaper, the slip fees are cheaper, and how much space do I need? Somewhere to rest my head, cook, and eat. That's about it. I lose entertainment room, but who really entertains down below that much anyways? But then again with a less seaworthy boat and the right skills you can pretty much sail anything across an ocean. But I'm a while off from getting that kind of skill.
I still have a few more days of day dreaming before I make my move back to Florida. The Jeep is packed with everything but this computer and I'm ready to go. I just put some more money into savings, I'm now just under 10% of my goal, plus I still have tax refunds coming!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Cleaning Up and Moving Out
This isn't my most comprehensive or coherent post to date, but I'm still recovering from work.
It's amazing how much stuff that I just can't bring myself to throw away. This morning I decided to get a jump on the clearing out process, and it took a bit longer than expected. It was a bit of fun going through my old closet and seeing all the things that I've kept since middle school. I threw away my boy scout patch collection, some board games I never played, and quite a bit of other things. Yet with all the progress, there are just a few things I haven't been able to let go of just yet. I know I won't miss them if I don't have them. In fact, most of it I haven't seen in seven or more years. I'm hoping that come tomorrow I will realize that it's pointless to keep holding on to that sort of stuff.
I find it funny that when you don't have some things you don't miss them, yet as soon as you realize you have them again you can't get rid of it. This may prove to be one of the hardest parts on my journey to get aboard. When I was still living in Florida I didn't have nearly as much stuff as I do here in South Carolina. This is truthfully a lifetime of possessions. Granted I'm not all that old, in fact I'd be quite upset if anyone called me old, but still, it's the stuff that survived the years. Maybe I just need to jump off the deep end. To paraphrases another sailor "If you can't remember the last time you used it, throw it away. If you haven't used it in three months, throw it away. If you think you might use it, throw it away." The lesson is just to get rid of anything not essential to my well being. I mean honestly I spend most of the year on a work boat, living out of a duffel bag. I can give this stuff up. Grab the few books that I want and toss the rest.
But here I sit, listening to island music, dreaming of fair tides and pretty sunsets, avoiding the work that needs to be done. I hope this lackadaisical attitude doesn't carry on for long, perhaps it's just from the much needed rest after four weeks of hard work. Now... should I bring the guitar or not? I was never very good at playing one, but perhaps I'd have the time one day? Besides isn't that a good hobby for a liveaboard to pick up?
It's amazing how much stuff that I just can't bring myself to throw away. This morning I decided to get a jump on the clearing out process, and it took a bit longer than expected. It was a bit of fun going through my old closet and seeing all the things that I've kept since middle school. I threw away my boy scout patch collection, some board games I never played, and quite a bit of other things. Yet with all the progress, there are just a few things I haven't been able to let go of just yet. I know I won't miss them if I don't have them. In fact, most of it I haven't seen in seven or more years. I'm hoping that come tomorrow I will realize that it's pointless to keep holding on to that sort of stuff.
I find it funny that when you don't have some things you don't miss them, yet as soon as you realize you have them again you can't get rid of it. This may prove to be one of the hardest parts on my journey to get aboard. When I was still living in Florida I didn't have nearly as much stuff as I do here in South Carolina. This is truthfully a lifetime of possessions. Granted I'm not all that old, in fact I'd be quite upset if anyone called me old, but still, it's the stuff that survived the years. Maybe I just need to jump off the deep end. To paraphrases another sailor "If you can't remember the last time you used it, throw it away. If you haven't used it in three months, throw it away. If you think you might use it, throw it away." The lesson is just to get rid of anything not essential to my well being. I mean honestly I spend most of the year on a work boat, living out of a duffel bag. I can give this stuff up. Grab the few books that I want and toss the rest.
But here I sit, listening to island music, dreaming of fair tides and pretty sunsets, avoiding the work that needs to be done. I hope this lackadaisical attitude doesn't carry on for long, perhaps it's just from the much needed rest after four weeks of hard work. Now... should I bring the guitar or not? I was never very good at playing one, but perhaps I'd have the time one day? Besides isn't that a good hobby for a liveaboard to pick up?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Let us try again!
I can't believe that it has been over a year since my last post, but I guess life got in the way... again. I did get my job working on towboats which has been great, I make more money than I ever did before, have great benefits and I've seen a huge part of America's navigable waterways. The downside is that I had to get rid of the boat. My buddy who was selling it to me forgot to mention all the back slip fees he owed as well as some other shady dealings. So the dock ended up selling the boat (a month before I was to take over dock payments) with half my stuff on board. All those shirts I was worried about? Well I don't have to worry about them anymore. Which turns out to be a good thing. This little lesson in trust and finance taught me that I really can let go of things that I thought meant something to me. Granted there are a few shirts that I had stashed away that I wish I still had, but alas I don't really need them.
So I was sad that I lost the boat and seemingly my dream to move aboard. I moved back to South Carolina into my mom's house again. It wasn't really all that bad, I work for 28 days straight and then I'm only in SC for 14 days before going back to the boat. However my company doesn't want to pay the ridiculous plane fares they dish out to fly me from Columbia SC, to Houston. So I volunteered to move back to the Tampa area, a place I'm much happier in anyways. This also rekindled the liveaboard dream. This time when I buy a boat though I will do it right. Well that and it's still a year away at least.
I plan to move in with a friend of mine in the middle of April, and over the course of the next year I plan to save around $10,000 for a boat purchase. I've already started saving actually. I'm making my move back to Florida in about two weeks, so as soon as I get off the boat I get to go through the whole throwing out process once again. This time though it'll be getting rid of childhood toys and junk from my mom's house. I have every intention to move back to Florida with my work clothes, about a weeks worth of warm weather clothes, and just a couple of winter clothes (most of which are for work anyways).
The dream may have been postponed, but it is alive and well. I have every faith in myself that I will pull this off. I have a terribly complex yet simple savings plan. In short I have managed to trick myself into thinking that every spare penny that I have is to go into savings, and that my savings account is actually a bill that I have to pay off every time I have more money that what I need for my other bills. I budgeted so that I can have a little fun on my time off, but in all honesty I think I would rather have another job for two weeks so that I can put more money towards a boat.
The only downside I see to my plan occurs when I actually do buy a boat. In about a year from now when I have a boat to live on, my biggest concern is going to be leaving it for such an extended period of time. I mean I'm gone for a month at a time. I know many people leave boats at the dock for months on end with little to no maintenance, but for them it's not their home. And Florida is prime hurricane country. I have friends who would look out for my boat and all, but perhaps I would be better saving for an additional year or two? Yet that just isn't who I am. I have a desire to change my lifestyle to that of a liveaboard. And I'm not about to let a little thing like fear stop me. I don't really plan to be at this job for more than a couple more years anyways. It's just too hard on the body, plus it's a long term health risk. Nothing like breathing benzene every day.
So wish me luck, I'm at it again.
So I was sad that I lost the boat and seemingly my dream to move aboard. I moved back to South Carolina into my mom's house again. It wasn't really all that bad, I work for 28 days straight and then I'm only in SC for 14 days before going back to the boat. However my company doesn't want to pay the ridiculous plane fares they dish out to fly me from Columbia SC, to Houston. So I volunteered to move back to the Tampa area, a place I'm much happier in anyways. This also rekindled the liveaboard dream. This time when I buy a boat though I will do it right. Well that and it's still a year away at least.
I plan to move in with a friend of mine in the middle of April, and over the course of the next year I plan to save around $10,000 for a boat purchase. I've already started saving actually. I'm making my move back to Florida in about two weeks, so as soon as I get off the boat I get to go through the whole throwing out process once again. This time though it'll be getting rid of childhood toys and junk from my mom's house. I have every intention to move back to Florida with my work clothes, about a weeks worth of warm weather clothes, and just a couple of winter clothes (most of which are for work anyways).
The dream may have been postponed, but it is alive and well. I have every faith in myself that I will pull this off. I have a terribly complex yet simple savings plan. In short I have managed to trick myself into thinking that every spare penny that I have is to go into savings, and that my savings account is actually a bill that I have to pay off every time I have more money that what I need for my other bills. I budgeted so that I can have a little fun on my time off, but in all honesty I think I would rather have another job for two weeks so that I can put more money towards a boat.
The only downside I see to my plan occurs when I actually do buy a boat. In about a year from now when I have a boat to live on, my biggest concern is going to be leaving it for such an extended period of time. I mean I'm gone for a month at a time. I know many people leave boats at the dock for months on end with little to no maintenance, but for them it's not their home. And Florida is prime hurricane country. I have friends who would look out for my boat and all, but perhaps I would be better saving for an additional year or two? Yet that just isn't who I am. I have a desire to change my lifestyle to that of a liveaboard. And I'm not about to let a little thing like fear stop me. I don't really plan to be at this job for more than a couple more years anyways. It's just too hard on the body, plus it's a long term health risk. Nothing like breathing benzene every day.
So wish me luck, I'm at it again.
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