New, have $10K, family, and baby want to live aboard...

[Hudson Force]

It's reasonable to expect people to be able to use a search engine and just as reasonable to expect people not to respond to questions that they feel are a waste of their time.

...and a64pilot, I wasn't discounting the changes in costs over the decades. I just didn't place the clerk and hamburger flipping in the same class as the "good paying manufacturing jobs.." Sure, times have changed, but I could not have done as I had in the 1970's or now with a McDonalds or Walmart job, but you are right and I agree that there has been a loss in the economic strength of the job market in general.

Specifically, back to the complaint from the OP, it's best to not shame novices for asking questions that seem unworthy to those with experience. People that don't want to be bothered by those with silly questions should not bother to post on the thread. It reminds me of the guy tenth floor condo with the telescope complaining about the nude beach a mile away.

[woodyapex]

Fitstly I presume it's a rhetorical question based on similar posted over the years?
Are you asking this question criticising budget or the lack of experience ?
Or is it just a case of boat snobbery with a tinge of jealousy re ambition? / dream ?

7ish years ago I posted on this very forum ,
I had dreams to buy an old wooden trawler , refit it , fill it with fuel and set off around the world !

Of cause a few of you scoffed ( took the piss ) and that's an old sailing term ?
The usual trolling you get on this forum but under that I got a few people talking sense .

7 years later I realised sail power was the way forward and with a fortunate twist of luck I ended up Becoming friends with some young lads also wanting to fulfill their dreams .
Although I still have no formal qualifications .
I have a sail boat in the uk and one in the Bahamas at the minute . I've 3 gulf crossings under my hat ( I realise this is nothing compared to some of you . )
But in January we ( me , girlfriend , dog ) set sail . Not sure where yet but Caribbean is a good start .

As for why .

You are obviously blind to YouTube more and more people are taking the plunge . I realise that it's not all plain sailing but as it was said earlier all journeys start with the first step and a post on CF is probably actually the second step , with dreaming and watching people living the dream .

If you think people posting this are stupid I think you maybe wrong .
I'm sure you've thousands more hours then me . Probably more money . Maybe a better boat . But everyone started somewhere .
Your the one making your own question up to make conversation .

[catman]

i have some friends who live aboard in Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada.
they just had their first baby.
22' sailboat, love to sail coastal waters
there are a few boats for sail locally that would fit your bill.
live the dream
catman

[Scout 30]

I think one of the causes & problems is that the cost of admission is too low. It's hard for the inexperienced to really understand how much time & money it takes to fix up a cruiser. I think that, as with most things, most people have to go through it to really get it. On the flip side anyone with $10,000 in cash is sadly ahead of most people in this country.

Most Americans have less than $1,000 in savings - MarketWatch

[Dave22q]

T think her budget very much limits the options. I believe 10K might get you a boat with sufficient room to live aboard but probably needing a lot of money to fix up enough to safely day sail much less cruise off shore. Or the same money can buy a day sailor that is too small to live aboard but you might be able to trailer it and avoid large marina fees. Sounds like you need to choose between cheap rent and actually sailing until you have a lot more money.

[redhead]

Okay, I was going to start a thread today, but this one will do. Perhaps I'm a little off topic but what the heck. There's a man (early 60s) on our dock who worked on a 100' tug (exclusively down in the engine room) for 11 years working all over the Pacific. He has just been given a 40' ferrocement Samson sloop in moderately good shape; mast, rigging, sails "OK", outboard in good condition. Don't know about tankage or what's below but he's living on it so it must be adequate.

He has never sailed. It took him 27 hours to get the boat to the dock from about 30 miles away. Doesn't have the vocabulary to describe boat parts (halyards, stays). He is determined to be in Panama by February (We are just south of Canadian border). Over the last several months I've asked him about currents, lee shores, navigation, communication, an outboard in the ocean with no sailing knowledge, many questions. He either goes sullen or pooh-poohs them saying he was in the Pacific for 11 years. In other words "Shut up or go away".

I know I'm not responsible for him, but I'm having a hard time with just "shut up or go away"? We took him out for 3 hours to show him how to sail and that's his entire experience. He wants to leave NW Washington in late summer or early fall.
In the Pacific. In an untried boat. With a VHF. Doesn't know how to sail.

There' a lot of "new, have 10K, family, baby and want to sail around the world" going on. I don't know what inspires it - I think it's discontent and a Thoreau like sense of quiet desperation. And granted this man is not endangering anyone else while doing it. But other than giving unwanted/unheard advice there seems nothing I can do to wake him up.

And that makes me a little angry and very, very sad

[a64pilot]

I can't make sense of these numbers.
Average house sells for more than $389,000.
>60% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings?

They don't add up, or do only a small percentage "own" their home?

[a64pilot]

Man in the ferrocement, if he is no dummy, he may make it, or more likely he knows he won't, is dreaming, but doesn't want his dream shattered before it has to be.
Most of the live aboards are gone from my dock now, but all that were there, were preparing to cruise, just never left. We were the only ones that actually went any significant distance and being hampered by having to go back to work, didn't get all that far actually.
Now they weren't dreaming of circumnavigating, just going to the Bahamas, but none I know of made it, although they all had enough boat to do it in.
Money or lack of stops some, fear of the unknown stops others I guess.

Then there are the types that buy Lottery tickets every week, I think they know they aren't going to win, but the price of that ticket buys them the dreams of what they could do if they did?
That boat could be his Lottery ticket

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I can't make sense of these numbers.
Average house sells for more than $389,000.
>60% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings?

They don't add up, or do only a small percentage "own" their home?

Actually there's a clear connection there. When too much of your monthly income goes to paying your mortgage you can't save any money. I think this is actually one of the things that's drawing families to cheap boats. Of course we know that they're not really cheap.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by redhead

Okay, I was going to start a thread today, but this one will do. Perhaps I'm a little off topic but what the heck. There's a man (early 60s) on our dock who worked on a 100' tug (exclusively down in the engine room) for 11 years working all over the Pacific. He has just been given a 40' ferrocement Samson sloop in moderately good shape; mast, rigging, sails "OK", outboard in good condition. Don't know about tankage or what's below but he's living on it so it must be adequate.

He has never sailed. It took him 27 hours to get the boat to the dock from about 30 miles away. Doesn't have the vocabulary to describe boat parts (halyards, stays). He is determined to be in Panama by February (We are just south of Canadian border). Over the last several months I've asked him about currents, lee shores, navigation, communication, an outboard in the ocean with no sailing knowledge, many questions. He either goes sullen or pooh-poohs them saying he was in the Pacific for 11 years. In other words "Shut up or go away".

I know I'm not responsible for him, but I'm having a hard time with just "shut up or go away"? We took him out for 3 hours to show him how to sail and that's his entire experience. He wants to leave NW Washington in late summer or early fall.
In the Pacific. In an untried boat. With a VHF. Doesn't know how to sail.

There' a lot of "new, have 10K, family, baby and want to sail around the world" going on. I don't know what inspires it - I think it's discontent and a Thoreau like sense of quiet desperation. And granted this man is not endangering anyone else while doing it. But other than giving unwanted/unheard advice there seems nothing I can do to wake him up.

And that makes me a little angry and very, very sad

Redhead, I understand your point and agree that this man's pursuit is dangerous and yet, it's pretty much the opposite of those that are asking all the simplistic novice questions.

I believe that the great majority of those that are attempting a life of cruising and living aboard are well between these extremes,- 'asking reasonable questions and taking the time to learn the basics.

I guess we're left with the question, What can we do best to support reason and safety? I commend your efforts to teach the guy some skills, but there is a limit to what can be done for those without a sense of prudence and caution.

[Dave22q]

Originally Posted by redhead

Okay, I was going to start a thread today, but this one will do. Perhaps I'm a little off topic but what the heck. There's a man (early 60s) on our dock who worked on a 100' tug (exclusively down in the engine room) for 11 years working all over the Pacific. He has just been given a 40' ferrocement Samson sloop in moderately good shape; mast, rigging, sails "OK", outboard in good condition. Don't know about tankage or what's below but he's living on it so it must be adequate.

He has never sailed. It took him 27 hours to get the boat to the dock from about 30 miles away. Doesn't have the vocabulary to describe boat parts (halyards, stays). He is determined to be in Panama by February (We are just south of Canadian border). Over the last several months I've asked him about currents, lee shores, navigation, communication, an outboard in the ocean with no sailing knowledge, many questions. He either goes sullen or pooh-poohs them saying he was in the Pacific for 11 years. In other words "Shut up or go away".

I know I'm not responsible for him, but I'm having a hard time with just "shut up or go away"? We took him out for 3 hours to show him how to sail and that's his entire experience. He wants to leave NW Washington in late summer or early fall.
In the Pacific. In an untried boat. With a VHF. Doesn't know how to sail.

There' a lot of "new, have 10K, family, baby and want to sail around the world" going on. I don't know what inspires it - I think it's discontent and a Thoreau like sense of quiet desperation. And granted this man is not endangering anyone else while doing it. But other than giving unwanted/unheard advice there seems nothing I can do to wake him up.

And that makes me a little angry and very, very sad

Don't be frustrated or angry. Lots of folks resent being told they are ignorant and tune out advice no matter how well intentiomed. If you care about this guy you might want to show him rather then tell him. Ask him to take you out on his boat and keep your mouth shut unless asked. You might be pleasantly surprised at the result and if not, your conscience is clear.

[woodyapex]

Originally Posted by AD28

More to the point:

Why is it that the people who ask "New, have $10K, family, and baby want to live aboard and sail around the world."

NEVER have any understanding of search engines and search engine techniques?

If that is your argument ? Then why would anyone ever ask anything on this forum ?
Maybe they ended up at CF due to a search engine search.
Maybe they have read everything out there and would like their own thread on which to ask questions rather then posting on one that is so dormant it will get ignored.
Some of you a so lucky to have been born with the knowledge of everything .

usual poster bashing on CF .

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

It reminds me of the guy tenth floor condo with the telescope complaining about the nude beach a mile away.

There does seem to be an awful lot of that that goes on, doesn't there?

[tuffr2]

What are the basic human needs. Food/water, Shelter, Clothing. The boat provides the 'shelter'.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by redhead

He is determined to be in Panama by February (We are just south of Canadian border).

He should leave now in that thing...lol
But seriously...If he lacks that much in knowledge and stays well offshore and doesn't bump into anything, he would eventually make it. I have always said...you could throw a bottle in the water off the Northwest coast and it find it's way to Mexico and beyond. Where I see many inexperienced people get into trouble is when they are afraid and think hugging the coast is the way to go. A good example is a friend of mine who continues to ******** me about how much he knows. He got into a cove and decided to anchor and dinghy into the beach without checking tide information or NOAA radio or anything coming up. He and his wife ended up pinned to the beach as there was nowhere to go, tide came in, waves grew in the cove as they hopelessly watched their vessel get tossed around. It ended well but easily could have gone the other way.