Cruisers Vs Sailors

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

Umm, don't most cruisers live aboard?

Umm, I wouldn't think so. They live aboard (their boats) while they are cruising but many, possibly most, return to their home port and live on land.

He didn't say "full time cruisers".

[tkeithlu]

As noted (repeatedly) the categories are much too broad. Cruisers include those of us who have given up sailing in favor of stink pots, or maybe never did sail, and sailors include include people who never raise a sail on anything longer than 14 feet.

[kmacdonald]

I guess I should have mentioned the dockers. They never leave the slip.

[Caribbeachbum]

Originally Posted by cameron82

Sailors are insane we chase crazy weather we don't whinge about the standards .We sail as its like a drug .Cruisers will go from a to b going oh that's nice put anchor here for a month crack out the chilled wine , a sailor will start to figit after a day or two at anchor he needs the wind he needs to make the distance .A sailor is all about the history as well what the old men of the sea back in the day of captain cook .With a respect for the men who did it hard that charted these oceans .Most of all a sailor enjoys the ocean he is a sea creature that's not dandruff its salt .Plus drinks rum instead of water lots and lots of rum and may pillage now and then

Arrrrr!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

Umm, don't most cruisers live aboard?

While it is not a formal designation, in the context that "live aboard" is typically used, it implies someone who lives on their boat, keeps it at a permanent slip and rarely if ever takes it out.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

How thoughtfull of you to define who I am.
Can you please mail me the label.

Who defined you? No need to be thin skinned.

Using consistent terminology is important for clear understanding. The needs and concerns of a liveaboard are much different from a cruiser and again much different from a sailor.

Example: A houseboat is a great option for a liveaboard but for a cruiser crossing an ocean not so great. A sailor may love a narrow beam boat that regularly heals 30 degrees in even moderate conditions but a cruiser values keeping the heal more moderate.

Also, there is nothing to say you can't shift between the groups as your situation changes.

[chuckr]

Hum - interesting - as I have said many times we are not very good sailors but we manage to do about 2,500 - 3,000 nm a year and visit 30-40 new ports a year. The only time we have raced was early and we always started in the back instead of what we consider that insane let's time this start perfectly -
Do we sail or better yet can we sail? yea - we burned 15gal of diesel on our Atlantic crossing but then again we have no reservation on turning the engine on.
Once on the dock for the winter will we go out for a delightful day sail - probably not.
We view our boat as a means to get from point a to b on a well designed long summer cruise to someplace we have not been to yet.
We also are full time liveaboards -
So what are we - people who use our boat to see and experience new places, use our boat as means of transportation, use our boat as our home, try to figure out how to use that thing called wind as a means of propelling our boat forward to our next destination.
It is also our means of meeting some of the greatest people in the world as sailors appreciate sailors all over the world and they have never met each other but have one thing in common - they go to sea - but those who sail out and back or only round the cans almost never get to experience the joy of sailing into a new port and greeted by locals who direct you in and catch a dock line and say welcome.

[arsenelupiga]

on a longest passage so far we have used motors half time although there was wind most of time! Weather was predicted to turn ugly and we wanted to be out of the area ASAP before it hits. Averaged 8.5kn the trip.

Weather actually turned real bad and we would either be stuck for a week which would interfere with work or go thru dangerous seas, where someone actually died in the storm at the time - fell off mono boat. So, was no joke.

My boat has sail and 2 powerful engines and am now clear in my mind "safety first" approach is the way, motor or sail or both.

I think there is another category missing from your discussion - sea traveller.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

................. Using consistent terminology is important for clear understanding. ................

Yes it is, but as we see from the original post, this consistent terminology hasn't been defined and most likely never will be. There's no authority to define and enforce it.

I once asked (on this forum) what is the definition of a "cruiser". I got mostly useless and several downright nasty answers.

I think of myself as a "cruiser" because we generally leave the dock and "cruise" for two or three months each year and take a second shorter cruise each year. The rest of the time the boat sits at the marina and is a weekend getaway in the slip. That's how it works for us.

Would other people define me as a "cruiser" or something else?

[zeehag]

divisiveness is a specific usa thing.
get over it and grow.

we are all and each a part of all of the above mentioned categories. it just depends on what phase of our misadventures we are caught at the moment.
so can it and go sailing.
oh yeah--repairing is a major part of sailing. you forgot that one.
ha ha ha ha h aha ha h ah a

[sailorboy1]

The real question is if you are reading this thread what type of boater might you be?

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

While it is not a formal designation, in the context that "live aboard" is typically used, it implies someone who lives on their boat, keeps it at a permanent slip and rarely if ever takes it out.

Hmm, ya don't think sailorchic34 would disagree with this?

[sailorchic34]

Perhaps there is the liveaboard and then the liveaboard cruiser. Myself, I don't head out much in winter anymore. At 50 It was no big deal to go out for a week in 30-40 degree weather. Finding ice on the inside of the porthole was the Highlight (or low light) of that particular trip.

Now at 60, (almost 61, bah) I am definitely more a fair and warm weather sailor/cruiser/liveaboard.

Even some liveaboards that live full time will take the boat out for a day or weekend. OK, yes most don't. Some folks buy a boat with intent to sail, cruiser, but for whatever reason things change.

There are too many different ways folks use their boats. I for one would rather see a liveaboard that never went anywhere then to see the 75 percent of boats that almost never see any use, in any of the marina's I've seen.

There are all sorts in and on the water.

So there are cruisers that race, racers that cruise, Racers that would never think of crusing, Cruisers who avoid racing like the plague, Liveaboards, liveaboards that sail, and on and on. Power boaters are in there too. We are one big almost happy family that enjoy mess'n around in boats.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by boatman61

'Sailors' ... head back in.. tie up the boat and head home.. dive under a hot shower, then put their feet up in front of the TV and watch the game.. after ordering a Domino's..

Mortifying.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

What rubbish. I have never--in 50+ years of sailing--pulled into an anchorage and had someone ask us whether we were "sailors" or "cruisers".

No need to ask.

Sailors have pressed clothes and yacht club belts. Cruisers wear torn shorts (some females elect to wear bikini tops), and didn't shower today.

Sailing boats are of two breeds: (1) still with brand new gel coat and (2) ignored and decrepit. Cruising boats are old, have way too much teak, and look like they've been beaten pretty hard a few times. Sailing boat have things that went missing or broke and are missing, cruising boats exhibit multitude of field repairs.

Sailors ask what yacht club you're from. Cruisers try to pry from you your favorite hide-away.

Sailors hit the dock, lock up and run to the car. Cruisers hit the dock and putter trying to put off the inevitable.