Giving up the ranch in Colorado and moving to a live aboard sailboat in the Keys

[sailpower]

I'm pretty sure that Tropicalescape put the word "farmer" in quotes for a reason. Same with "new farm bill".

There is a lot of room for interpretation in these kinds of bills and lot's of ways to be included (get paid) without doing much actual farming.

Capish?

[captain58sailin]

One of the surest ways to fall overboard is to have one foot on the boat and one on the dock.

[ShaktiGurl]

Originally Posted by sailpower

I'm pretty sure that Tropicalescape put the word "farmer" in quotes for a reason. Same with "new farm bill".

There is a lot of room for interpretation in these kinds of bills and lot's of ways to be included (get paid) without doing much actual farming.

Capish?

Doh! Ah yes, I knew a few "farmers" in CO but didn't think about it where he lives. Me thinks it would be more lucrative than any job in the keys!

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by sillybilly

Ok let me add this I live at 8,500 feet on 75 acres with a half mile long driveway . In winter it can easily get down to MINUS 20 at night and I heat with wood and have for many many years. The DIRT roads are a hoot when they are MUD. So please compare some of this. My town is 8 miles away and good shopping is 45 miles down a dirt road and 3,000 feet lower. WIND OMG we get easily wind gusts of 75 mph that move the house. I am on a mountain side facing west

You need to get out of there,sounds like a punishing way to live..

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by sillybilly

Ok let me add this I live at 8,500 feet on 75 acres with a half mile long driveway . In winter it can easily get down to MINUS 20 at night and I heat with wood and have for many many years. The DIRT roads are a hoot when they are MUD. So please compare some of this. My town is 8 miles away and good shopping is 45 miles down a dirt road and 3,000 feet lower. WIND OMG we get easily wind gusts of 75 mph that move the house. I am on a mountain side facing west

Living on a rowing boat in Florida under a tarp with a Primus stove and a bucket sounds like an improvement on this?

[sillybilly]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sillybilly]

That is being a shoebee and NO that is not . That is the middle class thing NO

[RaymondR]

So anything bigger than a row boat with an inside toilet in a climate that does not go down to -20 with a 70 degree wind chill factor is an improvement?

[sillybilly]

And that is funny how??????????????????

[Mknebes]

Well- have you thought about anywhere other than the keys? There are so many very cool places in florida that mY offer better job opportunities but you still get that Jimmy Buffet feeling every day!d what are you really going to look for in a boat? Whats your budget there? What are your 'must haves' and the other things you can MAYBE do without and add later?

[Sailingwannabes]

My wife and I are also thinking about purchasing a 30+ sailboat to live in / on in shelter island within the next six months. I kids live in San Diego and want to be closer, but coming from Colorado don't wan to be inland.
We heard that Shelter Isalnd was a nicer location....be there many times...and like ot more than Harbor Island area.

What advice can you share about the pros and cons of living full time on a boat? Are we crazy?

Thx.

Sailingwannabes

[Mknebes]

Darn it- trying to fix a typo! Sent it anyways-

A boy at 11 could very easily love the liveaboard life. Seriously- lots of you out there would have. You just may have to rethink if he just doesn't. I may have missed it earlier- but what do you do out there? Actually I think I probably really read over that. I live in Florida- outside st. Petersburg and I LOVE it- and I have a 16 year old as well and to be honest with you I wouldn't feel comfortable raising her in Key West. Now- we LOVE the Keys- totally! But- DON'T KILL ME EVERYBODY, just a few more places are a bit more structured that could benefit your son a bit more and let you do what you want and be who you want to be. Just my 2 cents on that- now I want to hear what boats you're looking at! Good luck - and I always say- if you have a choice choose the one that will leave you with no regrets later. Sounds like you're moving.

Monica

[JPA Cate]

Hey, mate,

You're around 62-65 yrs. old, and you have a 12 yr. old son for whom you're responsible. Presumably you want to help him to have some kind of a decent trade or profession. And you want away from mud, ice, and snow, the rural life, and the Tea Party.

IMO you owe it to the kid to provide him with a decent education, as well as with food and shelter, and hopefully, love. So, yeah, you gotta go somewhere you can work, and him, too eventually. You have 6 yrs. plus or minus till he's 18, if he stays with you. You need a serious plan.

Here are some things to think about.

1. Where on the West, Gulf, or East Coast could this best happen? Have you checked out school quality in the Keys? Like where are work and education possibilities the best blend for the two of you?

2. I have a lot of sympathy for you wanting to live somewhere warm. Florida happens to be quite warm and moist, too. That's why there's the chat here about AC. If you don't do air conditioning, not only would you be hot and sweaty (after CO acclimatization), but you'd have a mold problem in sheets, towels, and clothing, including shoes! San Diego (for instance) is warm, but not so moist as Florida, for instance. If the boy is university bound, UCSD was just ranked in the top 10 universities by US News & World Report, for whatever that might be worth. However, liveaboarding is usually limited. In the San Francisco Bay Area, there's a 10% per marina limit at those marinas which permit them, and I have read that this is the case also on the East Coast. So I'd suggest you start some research to see where your plan with the boy will have some chance of success. And if it means living ashore for a while, until you can live on a boat, that may be a bullet you're about to bite.

3. Once you mentioned the lad, for me the situation changed, for in my belief system, you have a moral as well as a legal responsibility for your son. Your plans should reflect this, IMO. Indeed, it is likely that others on this forum will feel the same way.

[sillybilly]

Ok my budget right own is $80,000 cash and I do believe I want heat/ ac, two berths maybe 2 heads solar, wind and dingy. in a manageable size. Ok this is for starters. Oh and of course a diesel engine. More later

[sillybilly]

Mk,
I like the Keys for the island feeling. The rest of Florida is called Gods waiting room