Biggest surprises from your first year or two of cruising

[noelex 77]

In answer to the OP’s question, the surprise is that sailboat cruising is more fantastic than you can possibly imagine. Forget your fears and reservations. We have been full time for over a decade and hope for many, many more years.

However, I am not surprised that thread has turned to repairs/maintenance. This aspect is far more significant than most realise. Once you start using a boat 300+ days a year things break, and break often.

There is no need to go camping when cruising, but do consider that every system you install will need far more attention than you envisioned. Unfortunately, many options that may sound like “luxuries” end up simply becoming millstones, with the owner ending up spending previous time fixing things rather than enjoying the true pleasures of cruising.

Make sure you pay attention to basics. A cruising boat should be dry, independent and safe. Unfortunately, very few cruising boats meet these basic requirements.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I think as far as boats are concerned, it's much more fun to own an older boat that's in good shape.

You can then make the changes/repairs as you see fit. Some think they have to upgrade electronics, anchors, replace thruhulls and rigging etc whereas others inspect these things and go sailing. I've recently started replacing a few more things on my boat after owning and sailing it for 8 years, but I'm still using the PO's anchors and rode, docklines, electronics, rigging and original thruhulls

When you buy a new boat, there's not a lot to do except worry about that first scratch on your gelcoat which for me and my new boats didn't take long since I raced them ......and the starting lines were sometimes crowded

Also some enjoy being resourceful in the ways they keep the old boat going. My own boat has looked pretty bad at times over the past 8 years with peeling topside paint and bare wood below but the bottom had fresh paint, the autopilot worked great, sails were near new, and I had internet

It's all about your priorities which for me do not include shining brightwork

I've seen others go about long distance cruising in a similar way and make their repairs as they go

Totally agree, boats like houses have character and those with good "bones" are keepers.
My boat was launched in 1981 cruised the world and is rock solid.
I would not swap it for a new production boat of similar size. but I would love to do what Nolex and Swl did....if I could afford it.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Now that I'm back to being a liveaboard, whatever lifestyle the boat beside me chooses, is there business, but if extreme.... Be it a tramper or a Superyacht, odds are we have little in common

Originally Posted by boatman61

Pelagic.. Sorry mate I have to disagree here..
Its like saying if you dont shop at Dulce & Gabana or Gucci.. do not wear Nike's latest and greatest but instead shop in Primark and Decathalon one has no pride in oneself..
Measuring personal pride by the amount of money, gadgets and Louis Vitton suits in ones wardrobe is actually a measurement of vanity to me..
I am a believer in the KISS type of sailing and I have plenty of personal pride in myself and my boats.. I have pride in the fact I cross oceans solo or just one other in boats from 26ft to 64ft using the minimum I can get away with.
I am clean, wash and press my own clothes, keep my boat clean and orderly and do the same when on OP's boats..
Theres slobs on small boats and slobs on boats as big and complex as yours..
Lets not confuse personal arrogance with personal pride and self respect.
As to not getting to know me..???
Thats their loss not mine..!!!
My Personal arrogance.. [emoji3][emoji3][emoji3]

Hi Mate, I don't think we are very different as you have deservedly shown great pride in your accomplishments and I would love to swap tales with you any day of the week.

Pride in appearance is what I'm talking about.

You can visit a poor village anywhere and if it is clean and the dirt floor freshly swept out, versus plastic garbage everywhere, I admire the former but feel sorry for the latter.

[BobL1981]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

We haven't done as much long-distance or long-term cruising as we'd like... and don't intend to move aboard anyway...

But two non-boat things stand out as issues from our last over-winter trip: mail, and home oversight. Mail can be solved "for permanently" relatively easily, I think, through something like St. Brendans. A long-term but not permanent solution seemed to take a bit more work.

-Chris

Try www.travelingmailbox.com

Great service, good app and fair pricing. You can forward your mail if you want for safe keeping or download a PDF. It has fixed the paper mail issue for us while cruising.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

My approach to boat systems are driven by a few principles. First off, know thyself, and know what you need. Too many of us just go along with the pack (to keep the approval of our “peer group” ). Listen to others, but filter advice through your own actual needs, not what others think you need.

For me, I try and go with boat systems and tools that are either highly reliable, OR ones I can maintain and repair given my own limited skills and resources. This is why I favour manual over electric, and simple over complex.

Like I said, no big surprises from the boat/lifestyle side of things — at least no so far .

You think people buy boat systems to “go along”??????

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

You think people buy boat systems to “go along”??????

In the context of what was said before, yes, apparently they do. Or rather, some do.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by BobL1981

Try www.travelingmailbox.com

Great service, good app and fair pricing. You can forward your mail if you want for safe keeping or download a PDF. It has fixed the paper mail issue for us while cruising.

Thanks for the tip, Bob.

-Chris

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Another thing I’ve learned in my various experiences sailing is that the beauty of the places we visit, the friendship of the people we meet and the wonders of the natural world are a joy to us

Indeed, we find even just upping sticks and moving around the corner for just a few miles brings us into a completely different and interesting world. From little harbours with sandy beaches and ice cream to quaint old fishing ports with the trawlers busy unloading and the opportunity to buy really fresh fish straight of the boats.

Life is good on board.

Pete

[thinwater]

I've moved slowly, from beach cat to cruising cat, and the cruising mileage increased slowly as well. As a result, very few real surprises. None of the boats had tragic hidden problems, but with an engineering/plant operations background, nothing seems surprising.


Except trash. No matter how I repack it always seems like twice what I expect. Not a big deal, just the one thing that always strikes me. In a house you have multiple big cans that someone mysteriously empties twice a week.

[Woodland Hills]

I was surprised at the social separation/division into big boats and everything else. Once your boat is over a certain size, other boaters seem to assume you are an “Owner” with paid crew or are some sort of snooty snob and they don’t socialize much. Some of it is being too big to fit into a lot of slips and having to moor with the superyachts instead of with everyone else, but we have found it to be difficult to break the ice sometimes with our fellow travelers. There is quite a difference between a 30+ year old Hatteras and a brand new Westport or Heesen, but when you are all docked in the same row, folks think you are all the same. On the other hand, while the paid crew are always friendly and professional, the owners of the 100’ plus yachts really do keep to themselves and invariably never mix with the other marina residents, so I do understand where people get the idea.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by thinwater

. . . Except trash. No matter how I repack it always seems like twice what I expect. Not a big deal, just the one thing that always strikes me. In a house you have multiple big cans that someone mysteriously empties twice a week.

Trash is an amazingly huge problem, especially when cruising in remote places. We packed a huge volume of it back with us from Greenland, as we were reluctant to leave it anywhere.


I used to laugh at my friends with superyachts and trash compactors -- no more. My next boat will have a trash compactor, and a special locker, not communicating with the main hull volume, for storing trash. Normal cruising boats just have no provision at all for dealing with trash.



On my last boat we used to put bags of trash into the dinghy, which lived on davits. I no longer keep a dinghy in davits, so that variant is out

[Mike OReilly]

Trash… isn’t that what quarter berths were made for ?

It’s not so much the trash, per se. It’s all the recyclables that seems to pile up for us. Paper, tin, aluminum and the real bane: plastics.

Like the rest, we do our best to limit what comes on board, and sometimes a bonfire helps, but after a few months it still seems to accumulate.

[sailorboy1]

It's interesting how the trash takes up 4 times the volume of the groceries it container when coming on board no matter how much you flatten it

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

. . . It’s not so much the trash, per se. It’s all the recyclables that seems to pile up for us. Paper, tin, aluminum and the real bane: plastics. ..

All of that but for the plastics can be recycled right into the ocean . . .

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

All of that but for the plastics can be recycled right into the ocean . . .

Yeah, I know. But I prefer to try and recycle into the human systems if I can. I know… doesn’t make a lot of sense . But there ya go…

So what makes up your trash load? Is it mostly plastic?