Biggest surprises from your first year or two of cruising

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Your OP about the towing vehicle is very interesting, in that your airstream forums appeared from your telling to not cover that subject. I doubt that was merely wishful thinking on your part that the main propulsion for your trailer would not be part of the overall equation.

Over at Airforums they do talk about tow vehicles, but it reads rather like "which anchor is best" discussions here in that it's Ford or Chevvy or truck or SUV or sedan. Not much on the contribution of the tow vehicle to the cost equation. I find that if I'm not really careful, I believe what I want to believe. I certainly did in this case.

...the one about burning solar panels. I'm sure you were serious, but I haven't read anything about that issue in the last 15 years of reading multiple boating forums. Now, NOT fusing batteries: I'm sure you understand that, which can be more catastrophic than solar panels.

It was motivated by a recent post here (which I can no longer find) regarding a cruising boat that burned to the waterline. Flexible solar panels were blamed. Who knows what really happened. I couldn't find much in a web search, either, and was trying to smoke out similar stories, so to speak.

The pattern of some of your posts, while illuminating, indicates a certain unusual combination of forward thinking mixed with trepidation[.]

This will be my last great adventure. I don't want to screw it up.

[Peeew]

I am just finishing up my first cruising trip. Four months in the Bahamas in a four year old boat. So far I have not spent any nights at a marina, 2 or 3 nights at a mooring early on in the trip. My expenses have really only been food and diesel fuel ( more for the generator than the propulsion). I expect that the Bahamas are easier to anchor in than some other locations. Despite a few small parts I think I have spent less on the trip than I would have on a slip back home.
But getting ready for the trip was somewhat expensive with some new lines, dinghy motor, spares and emergency gear all needed some money.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Jammer

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This will be my last great adventure. I don't want to screw it up.

I understand but I believe there is a great fallacy in your thinking unless you're very old.


I was comfortably retired in San Francisco when we had to move to BC to support my then 96 year old f-i-l. We moved and I went back a month later to sail my boat up the coast. I was 70. Was THAT trip was "my last great adventure" - perhaps not. I didn't see it coming and would have been happy to continue sailing Northern California.


It was, however, the trip of a lifetime: Columbia River, anchoring out up the coast, first time boat outside of California to Oregon & Washington, Lapush, Victoria on my own boat... Fond memories that I recorded to read again in my dotage.



You never know what's gonna happen next. Best you can do is prepare all you can without going overboard (pi!).


Good luck.

[Paul L]

From the perspective of a long distance cruiser a couple of things come to mind that were surprising.
1. How long you can wait for a good weather window for a passage and how important patience is. Jumping the gun just leads to disgruntled crew and broken boats.
2. While making miles toward your destination is a goal, there are a lot places along the way that might end up being more interesting.

[missourisailor]

First off, we are NOT full time cruisers.
Mostly weekend sailors with a few multi-week coastal cruises a year.

The hardest thing we had to learn is that our boat is not a land based house, and that we needed to quit acting like it was.

I don’t mean turning off the lights after you leave a room. But not turning on more than you need to begin with.
.
Scheduling when to use AC powered appliances to reduce inverter time.

Eliminating all the “wall warts”, that are so common in a land based home and using USB cords and cigarette plugs for power and charging.

Using potable water wisely.
NO leaving the water running while brushing teeth or shaving.
NO extra long showers.

Trash!!!
No paper plates, disposable cups and very minimum bottled water.
The trash man no longer comes every Tuesday.
We have even reused Zip-Loc bags.

You have to have a “road map” to figure out where everything is!
And it has to be kept current!
This includes food that is in the fridge/freezer.
I have spent hours, emptying out the fridge and searching for a container of yogurt to find out that some one else already ate it.

And yes, you can wear the same clothes more than one time. The clothes washer and dryer is no longer just down the hall.

Finally there is the human waste.
On land, after flushing, you never have to mess with it again. On a boat, in 4 to 5 days, you are once again dealing with the same crap.

Pun intended!!!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Jammer

This will be my last great adventure. I don't want to screw it up.

Quite a few of these problems posted can be learned on the boat you plan to cruise locally. You don't need to totally change your life to find these things out.

Don't make cruising a be all end all type thing. Being at anchor for days or weeks on end must be totally mind numbing especially just to save money

You seem to be a younger type person.

When I was 39, I was lucky enough to again be able to live on the coast. (the Gulf Coast) I thought I was in heaven at first, but it can and does get old which is why up here the seasons are so important

I was at an age then where not only did I get to sail/race a lot but there was also the beach night life which was great until the internet really got going

I used to sail passed monohulls that had been anchored in the same place for days and always wondered what they could possibly be doing with all their time. Usually I was in a race either in or near Panama City, Ft Walton Beach, Navarre, Pensacola, or Biloxi/Ocean Springs Mississippi when I sailed by so it was a passing thought

[gjordan]

My first 2 years of cruising were just coastal between San Francisco and Santa Barbara,Calif. The hardest part of the learning curve was how easy it was going down the coast and how exhausting it was beating back up the coast with an unreliable engine (engine was later removed). I did it a couple of times and it got easier, or I got used to it. Anchor windlass and spray dodger were big improvements after the first trip. The next couple of years were Mexico, South Pacific and Hawaii in the same 26 foot engineless boat. This is a much longer time frame than the 2 years the question was about, but 10 years later I was in the Carribean in a 44 footer, spending almost as much per month in cruising costs that I had spent per year in the little boat. I was still very frugal and did almost all of my own repairs and maintainence but the cost of keeping all of the comfort goodies going and the much more expensive haulouts were a real surprise. My first two years of cruising made me want a bigger boat. When I finally got a nice big boat, I was surprised at the scale of cost differences. Oh Well, it was a wonderful life. Grant.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Don't make cruising a be all end all type thing. Being at anchor for days or weeks on end must be totally mind numbing especially just to save money.

This is a funny statement. Cruisers often anchor for weeks or months at a time. Last season I anchored for nearly two months in the same spot. Never a dull moment, but certainly not high octane adventure all the time either.

Know thy self — and cruising accordingly.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

This is a funny statement. Cruisers often anchor for weeks or months at a time. Last season I anchored for nearly two months in the same spot. Never a dull moment, but certainly not high octane adventure all the time either.

Know thy self — and cruising accordingly.

This is a very good point.

You need to know yourself. Back in the day after buoy racing or distance for 6 hours or so not counting setup etc, I was ready for the next 6 hours of night life.

Sailing back then though was on the Nacra 6.0 sail# 225 (and later the Nacra F-17) which is quite different than on a Bristol 27.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OWpEFoGWFc

Now it's sail and then fish, hike, kayak, run, experiment with the solar panels and controllers, read, surf online if in range, etc.

But my lifestyle is somewhat different than many. I have gained a bit of weight over the Winter so I have started doing lunchtime workouts.

Tomorrow that will be to run 2.5 - 3 miles plus pullups, pushups, and stretching yoga style then back to work to finish reports and check on the techs

Many of the cruisers I have observed are not of this type. They lose or maintain weight in other ways which is fine. To each his own

[rsn48]

Cheechako, I thought that word rang a bell, I was born in the yukon. So with google: "chee·cha·koDictionary result for cheechako
/CHēˈCHäkō/Submit
nounINFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN
a person newly arrived in the mining districts of Alaska or northwestern Canada."

So what is your background, can't be a Cheechako based on a Washington residence.

And secondly, I lived in North Vancouver, but we trailered a lot in La Conner (Bayview State Park), Oak Harbour, Port Townsend, in a private campground close to Deception Pass, etc. And when I looked at Skagit City in Washington using your public reference, it didn't ring any bells. Again according to Wiki, the place doesn't exist anymore.

[Mediator]

My introduction to cruising was a bit different from others in that I acquired my sailboat with extensive dinghy experience but little bluewater time, so the "surprises" that came with cruising and boat ownership might not be surprising to you or other members.

1) Like others have said, the amount of time spent on boat maintenance. We have been very accurate with our financial and time budget for large refit projects, but the small stuff takes a lot longer than we were expecting. For the first few weeks of cruising it seemed like something had to be addressed every day - not expensive, but it took time. The romantic image of sundowners in the cockpit was replaced by an hour or two of maintenance several nights a week. We had a bunch of stuff that had to be managed - bow thruster solenoid, autopilot pump, SSB radio, solar panel breakers, plumbing leaks, a suite of engine issues, etc. None of those things were particularly expensive because we dealt with them ourselves, but it takes time out of the day.

After you figure out your boat and get through the teething problems, this becomes much less of a concern. After a season of cruising, we only spend a few hours a week on maintenance. Just keep in mind that the family might not get a good first impression of cruising if you spend half the time in the engine compartment.

2) The amount of planning required for a passage. Some people just wing it, but we are pretty risk averse and like to plan things out. However, if you want to plan every turn through the ICW, have multiple anchoring options, and not be surprised by water or food shortage, there is a lot of work involved. It takes time, probably just like a road trip with the Airstream.

3) Most of the time, the plan from 2) doesn't pan out. Usually because we were on a schedule but the weather isn't. You have to be able to adopt quickly to changing situations.

4) Sailing isn't very hard. Cruising is about planning and risk management, but the physical act of tying knots, hoisting sails, and dropping anchor can be learned pretty quickly. With that said, it does take time to learn how the boat will respond to certain conditions (docking in high winds, waves on the quarter, etc.). Supervised experience is the best teacher.

[Dockhead]

The original post is very well written and enjoyable to read.


The biggest surprise for me was the shock of understanding the rate at which systems wear out and need constant upgrading and replacing and repairing, on a complex cruising boat which is used intensively.


I bought my boat 10 years ago, when she was 8 years old and apparently in pristine condition, well taken care of, and little used, with only 160 hours on the generator and 830 hours on the main. I thought I should be able to go for years without any major replacements.


And I was very wrong about that. A lot of systems go out of condition just on the basis of time, not hours of use, and seem to go out much faster when they suddenly start to be used intensively after standing idle for years.



So as it turns out, a cruising boat is not indeed like a car -- which just works for a certain number of miles or years, then gets sold on and you buy another one, without investing much in between. A cruising boat is more like a helicopter -- a bunch of parts flying in formation, every one of them with its own separate maintenance schedule and useful life.


If you really want to understand what it takes in terms of time and money, then you should do a maintenance and amortization schedule for every major system on the boat. You're not far off if you expect to replace one major system every year, once the boat is 10 years old more or less. And regular investment into upgrading and replacing systems is really essential to avoid a downward spiral in condition. So for me it was electronics one year ($20k -- kaching), standing rigging the next ($15k -- kaching), then sails ($50k -- ouch!), then refinishing the soles, then overhauling the steering and autopilot, then replacing the calorifier, then replacing the charger/inverter, replacing all of the sea cocks, then replacing the central heating furnace, then replacing the dinghy and motor, then stripping the keel to bare lead and refininishing, and in the not too distant future there will be replacement of all cockpit canvas (at least $10k), regalvanizing chain and anchor, replacing the teak rail (just got a bid for £20 000 -- labor only!), replacing refrigeration, and it goes on and on and on.



You can really screw up your cruising life if you underestimate this -- the cost of regular capital replacements and upgrades. Unless you start off with a practically new boat and plan to just let it run down for a limited number of years when you're on a time-limited cruise, you need to have a capital investment program just like you would have with a building. Every day which goes by, and every mile you sail, things are wearing out.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Mediator

. . . 1) Like others have said, the amount of time spent on boat maintenance. We have been very accurate with our financial and time budget for large refit projects, but the small stuff takes a lot longer than we were expecting. For the first few weeks of cruising it seemed like something had to be addressed every day - not expensive, but it took time. The romantic image of sundowners in the cockpit was replaced by an hour or two of maintenance several nights a week. We had a bunch of stuff that had to be managed - bow thruster solenoid, autopilot pump, SSB radio, solar panel breakers, plumbing leaks, a suite of engine issues, etc. None of those things were particularly expensive because we dealt with them ourselves, but it takes time out of the day.
. . .

Ha, ha. We've all been there. That's why cruising is defined as "boat repair in exotic places".


If you don't get at least some enjoyment out of doing your own work, you will struggle as a cruiser.


But nevertheless, I hate this aspect of it. I have sailed for weeks to get to fabulously interesting places and then failed to properly see and enjoy those places because I spent the port days in the bilge fixing something


Years ago, I used to laugh at my friends who employed professional crew. No longer! I had professional crew for a couple of years, and intend to do so again as soon as I can afford it. He doesn't even need to know how to sail -- just be a good mechanic and electrician.

[Sojourner]

Surprises buying our first (and hopefully last) boat were pretty much zero because the PO was/is a fantastically honest, decent guy who walked me thru from bow to stern pointing out everything good and more importantly everything bad/needing attention. A year and a half on, not a single surprise from buying this beautiful Amel. And when I get stumped, he still answers my texts within the hour with the answer I needed.

HOWEVER, the same amazing guy bought another boat when he sold me this one. Believe in Karma? Don't. He got screwed 8 ways to sunday by his PO. They ran it hard aground, cracked the keel, painted it over and sold it. The best surveyor in the biz missed it. There have been saltwater leaks to be fixed ever since (skeg hit also), requiring about 4 haul outs so far, with another one planned for a yet another seepage. There was even one freshwater leak, from where the 1000 liter freshwater tank had cracked from the impact and only flexed open a year later enough to let go.

So moral of the story is go thru whatever you buy with an attitude like the guy sitting across from you is a goddamn crook. I didn't, and got as lucky as a person could buying a boat. Your seller will be somewhere in between....

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Paul L

From the perspective of a long distance cruiser a couple of things come to mind that were surprising.
1. How long you can wait for a good weather window for a passage and how important patience is. Jumping the gun just leads to disgruntled crew and broken boats.
2. While making miles toward your destination is a goal, there are a lot places along the way that might end up being more interesting.

I think this is great advice and worth repeating.

People new to boating are surprised that "timing" makes a huge difference in the enjoyment level.

If you are an over thinker and schedule too rigidly for a journey, you become guilty of rationalizing poor weather windows as opposed to taking advantages of good ones and being patient enough to enjoy where you happen to be.

Sounds obvious, but your goal is not measured in miles , but in smiles