02/05/2013, home
OK, life is funny like this you know.
After a long 26 yr life together... my Ex has decided the grass and someone elses bed is better on the other side so we've went our seperate ways. She never was too excited about the possibility of boat life and seeing the world and diving every day... so it's just as well. Changes have been made, a new chapter has been started and to my utter amazment, life has dealt me an ace for a hole-card! Within 4 months of the split up and nasty seperation, I have met a woman who dreams the dreams I do, does the things I do, dives, rock climbs, has a degree in fashion design and is smart to boot, and can actually operate a sailrite sewing machine! She has her real estate license and a job! The thought of a small bathroom doesn't upset her and the vision of staying up late alone on the third watch doesn't in the least scare her... is this for real I ask myself...wow... "Ask & you shall receive"
We not only have the same dream of sailing and diving from our "retirement home" on the water but we both have plans now (renewed on my part) of getting our captains license and actually moving to the water in the next year or two.
How is this possible? What new surprise awaits me? What can I expect to be around the next corner of my life.
Our plans are to finish cleaning up one of the places and making some last minute land based repairs so we can get a rental income from one of the properties while using this years crop money to buyt the cat. Whoo Hoo.... shopping has resumed for the CATAMARAN! I will continue to update my blog on a weekly basis now, as the enthusism for life has been renewed.
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07/09/2012, same 'ol place
As I read a blog from a fellow cruiser member, Rich Boren of Third Day, I find myself staring at the screen in disbelief that my dream has been draggin' along for over 4 yrs now. The excitement of every day getting closer and closer to a cruising date allowed me to keep hammering along on the daily grind stuff, thinking to myself that soon, maybe next month, maybe next year, and now... maybe never... I would realize the experience of cruising out-water and making a few dive spots in the Caribbean or South Pacific islands a notation in my dive log book. Rich and Lori and the kids have been living the life aboard their (first 32' Pearson I think it was and now a 52' Hudson) family sailboat and have come to the end of their planned stay away from the states, checking out practically every taco stand on the coast of Mexico and the Sea of Cortez. Now as they are scheduled to return stateside, I find my plans are just wispy thoughts that we're wishful thinking and have basically resigned myself to the hum-drum life here on land, never to see the deck of my catamaran.
As I write this paragraph, I feel this blog is coming to an end and although I wrote several hopeful entries trying to motivate myself and my direction in life to fulfill my dreams of semi-world travel via sailboat, the economy, the housing slump of 2010-2011 put a damper on all of those thoughts. Nothing short of a big winning lottery ticket will allow me to see those dream days materialize. I followed many sites where in I scoped out several boats that seemingly fit my preconceived idea of what I needed and did many calculations with the price, real estate sales, working and saving and tried to arrive at a way to have enough funds to make it all work. Alas, nothing I can do now will be enough and as life creeps away I feel a disappointment inside that won't go away and on occasion a trip to the coast and a walk in the marina will have to suffice. As I walk among the boats and sailors and their families and read the blog posts here of those that got out, I will again share their travels and dream the dream that got away.
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08/25/2011, home
OK, finally caught up on the summer jobs required to make me happy when it's raining cats & dogs outside and the temps drop into the 30's and below. Been hauling wood for the fireplace lately and after someone stole my big saw, I've been forced to make do with a little 'limbing' saw. Hardly the right tool for the job but I got it done.
One fence line still requires the final tie-in and the beatup, falling down 60 yr old barn needs removed and the ground smoothed out for a new building to spring up. A little more clean up out back and removing an old doughboy pool is top priority before the rains come. The old farmers' almanac says we're in for an early winter so whether or not they right this year or not, I'm not taking any chances.
If all goes good maybe, just maybe I can see things getting back on schedule by next spring.
Cross your fingers....
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06/07/2011, homefront
OK, I've been thinking (which in my condition is dangerous..) that if you do any of the things I outline below, it just might be time to seriously think about getting that boat and start a cruising lifestyle... here they are...from experience.... (LOL)
1- you start listening to seafaring music instead of the talk radio shows as you drive to work in the morning and elsewhere.
2- you go the grocery store and slowly cruise thru the mexican food and asian food section and pretend you're shopping at a store in the Carribbean.
3- you're asked how much further when taking a road trip with the family and you start talking about compass bearings to destination and distances in nautical miles.
4- you start keeping a diary of what you WOULD be doing if you were out there cruising, complete with maps, google coordinates, etc.
5- you take more trips to the river and lake with your dive gear and just try to pretend it's a 'night dive' in the Carribbean instead of a day dive in the poor visibility lake water.
6- you eat more often at the taco truck and pretend it's a taco stand in mexico.
7- you catch yourself listening to the VHF radio instead of watching sit coms on TV.
8- you catch yourself saving those dive magazines and reading them over and over.
9- your library of books have more titles concerning boats and cruising than home repairs and car maintenance.
10- you have "Anchor Alert" and "Earth NC" apps on your phone... and use them when you park your car at the shopping center or mall!
11- your games of choice on the computer aren't Call of Duty or Tears of War, they're "Sailing" games, played at the blistering pace of less than 10 mph.
12- you have more message board accounts concerning sailing and boats than other stuff.
13- your 'inbox' has advertisments from the moorings and sunsail in the "saved" folder.
14- you keep cruising the wanted ads on the various boat sales web sites looking for that perfect boat that has all the things you think you want at half the price you know it'll cost you.
15- your screensavers on your computer(s) are more like postcards from the Carribbean, without snow or mountains.
16- you hear music from Eric Stone on the radio and actually recognize which album or CD it was from!
17- you really know how to celestial navigate although you've never been far from land lately.
18- you have a sextant, and know how to use it.
19- you have a VHF ships radio license and a Restricted Radio Operators license and a VHF radio with your own MMSI number registered.
20- you have insurance quotations for a boat you don't own yet.
21- you have more friends online that are out there cruising already than you have on the mainland.
22- you have the movies "waterworld" and "Wind" in your DVD collection and actually watch them sometimes.
23- your bank accounts have ATM cards that are accepted around the world.
24- you have some of your stuff already relocated to your 'kids' places' for when you return from cruising or visit on the holidays.
25- you can score a 70% or higher on any portion of the test for your Captains' 6-Pack or 100 Ton license in the study manual and program.
26- you think if you'll have this much room on the boat, when standing in the shower at home.
27- ... you get the drift... (no pun intended. LOL)
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05/17/2011, Still at Home
Well, for the few that follow this blog... it really sucks huh? Here its' been almost 3 years since I felt I was in a good position to make the final turn in life and buy a nice mono-hull for around $80-100K like a Beneteau or Hunter or even a MacGregor 65, but after looking at some beautiful Catamarans, I had a change of heart and even a smallish 38' Cat was double the cost of a mono-hull of the same size. After looking at all the usual places, like Catamarans.com and ApolloDuck I found several that were right at 200K, which was about twice what I was able to spend and have any cash left over for the necessary stuff like insurance, registration, repairs or updates, even the usual stuff to just get floating...like food into the galley, fuel/oil, spare parts, etc.
I figured I was going to spend about $100K on the boat, have $80-100K left to do with what I had to and keep the rest as the cruising kitty. Ain't it great how the crash of the real estate market changes everything?
Now, since I was laid off in Sept of '10 and haven't got any prospects for a money making job currently I'm afraid the long time 20 year dream of crusing and diving is on hold. I'm still waiting and watching for any opening in my sitution that would allow me to move forward but in the end, I might just have to lower my sights and go for it... after all Dec 21, 2012 is coming fast.
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Just a thought, and of course, it's easier said then done.
07/03/2010, Drooling on the floor
OK, here it is! Finally found the Cat that is THE cat for us. It not only has the room for the other half, bigger cabin, it also has the space for stuff. Stuff like the machine shop tools needed, the research and lab space to set up. and... lots of room for dive equipment. High engine hours but I can rebuild a diesel in my sleep and it'll only cost the price of parts if necessary and the outside labor for machine work I don't have machines to do, like deck the blocks, hot tank the thing or align bore the mains and cam bearing bores... all IF necessary. The remaining things on this vessel are outstanding. This aint your average charter tug, no sir! This is a well maintained and upgraded cruiser owned by a family and used by a family for cruising. Now to arange a personal visit.
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but she is an especially spacious boat with great craftsmanship.
06/17/2010, computer printer
just thought I'd post the boat card to see how it looked.
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06/02/2010, by the pool
Here's a little ditty I dreamed up while reflecting on all the things on my list of things which are on the other lists of things to do before I can do the things on the list that I want to do....
Here I sit - Relaxing after work. It's so easy - everyday life is NOT hard.
First... Alarm goes off - wake up - get out of bed - simple - certainly not hard.
Then... Get dressed - again -a no brainer. Walk outside to the truck - simple.
Key in - turn - drop in gear - right pedal - simple. Certianly not hard to do.
At work... computer keys, phone calls, make crap - simple - every other Thursday - collect a check and give it all away - a bill at a time. Simple - Again. Stop for lunch - a tank of gas - back home - mow the grass - simple - any kid could do it. Blow the leaves - vacuum the pool, nothin to it - how easy it is...
Wash the clothes - the truck, the dog - every day - just like the last - once a month go to the po box and get the next issue of blue water sailing or ocean news or sport diver or whatever - spend the next few minutes dreaming of of going to all the pretty places other than right here.
Dream the wishful dream - try to imagine life without a job - without a schedule - without an appointment - a phone - a truck - a mortgage or insurnace bill or even a lawn to mow!
How easy it is...
...and just look how easy it is to think that next year or next month or next week I'll start working on getting that sailboat & cruising places I only see in books. How easy it is - to just wake up every day and think that tomorrow will be any different than today. Life as you want it to be is certainly NOT easy.
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05/24/2010, front porch
Well, after many emails and information exchanges, I have come to the realization that the 42' Cat I was really looking at with interest appears to be yet another neglected dock barge that someone has decided to just let sit and fall into a state of dis-repair. knew in the back of my mind that the price was too good to be true and the truth be told in the end, it was.
Here's a partial list of estimated (!!) repairs to the vessel and that would be on top of the purchase price just to get the insurance to buy off on it.
But... honestly, there isnt much there that I could fix with my own hands and save a bundle, it's more the fact that those things all together need repair, what else is lurking in the darkness since these are just now rearing there ugly heads(??) hmmmm.
The picture above is just one that shows numerous fasteners, some that are directly attached to the mast!! that show severe rust. Who I ask in their right mind use plain steel fasteners in a wet location like this???
1. Repair paint bubbles at port keel. $1500
2. Replace rudder bearings. $600
3. Port engine: replace sail drive hose clamp on inner seal $100; repair fuel leak at fuel pump $200-$300; replace forward starboard silent block $200; replace oil and bottom seals on saildrive $250; replace saildrive rubber boot cover $150.
4. Starboard engine: repair leaking inner saildrive seal $400-800?; replace oil and bottom seals on saildrive $250.
5. Repair malfunctioning radar radome. $200?
6. Reconnect SSB antenna to main unit. $200
7. Replace fans in aft cabins and rewire and reinstall fans in forward cabins. $200 + $400
8. Repair starboard spreader light; repair nav lights. $100
9. Repair leaking port head. $200
10. Repair corroded martingale fitting. $200-300
11. Replace spinnaker guy/sheet block at forward port bow. $200
A total of some $6-7,000 in maintenance and repairs.
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Cheers
So, there's a Lagoon 42 with much fewer problems and only a $12K higher price tag. Going to look on Saturday or Sunday.
Cheers
04/27/2010, house
Scheduled my test date for the captains license in San Fran. I've been studying for months the Charlie Wing book, taking sample test after test from his CD and so far I can consistently score in the 75-82% range, (you only need 70% to pass). I'll go for the 100 ton license as well since I was told it's just a couple dozen more questions and I should have no problem if I can do math and read ship symbols for meta-centers, load lines both fresh and salt and a few other challenging details.
There's a nice 2000 model 42' Voyage Cat in the Carib for sale ($250K with an on-going charter business added in for another $25K) based out of the virgin islands. Funny how those islands are a world away and still considered to be part of the US. Oh well, that would make life so much easier to deal with getting started.
More later.
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