Thoughts on liveaboard

[chris in SG]

Skimming through the posts so far, I'm surprised nobody has questioned the seaworthiness and aesthetics of the 'scaffolding'. The inventory doesn't mention a dinghy but just try to imagine it..

I find it amazing that so many cruising sailors manage to filter these eyesores out, when looking at the lines of a yacht!

A nice looking yacht, if you send all that s/s to the scrap yard..

[Gerrycooper56]

Originally Posted by couple2sail

I have been paying close attention to the water and fuel capacity of any boat that I have lusted after in this process. We are attending the boat show">Annapolis Boat show again this year to get a better feel on what we "think" we want in a live aboard/cruiser.
I appreciate your opinions.. Thank you..

Firstly, we came across Beneteau's in the Pacific that had started in Europe and sailed all the way. These were of varying sizes and ages. At the time we went through, around 2006/7 the average size of sailboats transiting Panama was 45 foot. We met a Beneteau 38 I think a number of times in the Pacific where the owners had bought the ex charter boat in the Caribbean and were sailing home to NZ. If you're thinking of a Pacific crossing then there are plenty of Hunters and Beneteau's that have and are doing it.
Our fuel capacity was woeful with only 50 gallons for the main and a generator. We ended up with 6 x 5 gallon jugs on deck which were a pain. The water tankage was around 100 gallons which was also light when we estimated 8 gallons per day for drinking, washing (minimal!) and cooking. The Galapagos to Marquesas was 21 days so without a watermaker we would have run out. I think plenty of solar panels and a DC watermaker will overcome the lack of water capacity.

One of my mistakes was thinking the wind generator would greatly assist in battery charging while in reality, other than at anchor or sailing the islands it was just an ornament. When running on the Pacific crossing it did very little.
You spend most time in the cockpit so making it dry was important to us. Fatigue from watchkeeping is compounded if you're tired AND wet.