Hello From Dirt-Dweller

[cbtucker]

Just thought I'd drop in and say hey, from the exotic locale of OHIO! Yep - that's right.

Anyways - I hope to join the serious sailors out there someday. Until then I'll be reading,

learning, taking classes, and gleaning every bit of information I can from you pros!

Good sailing to all!

[Istioploos]

Welcome to Cruiser Log cbtucker. Also, do take a look at our World Cruising Guide Wiki.

[Lighthouse]

Welcome aboard - make yourself at home.

[cengel]

Oh happy dirt Dweller:

My husband and I are sitting in indiana with the same dream. Husband currently learning refrigeration and I will be signing up for diesel mech. school next year (husband already pretty good at that kind of stuff) I want to get some basics so he isn't so frustrated showing me how to do things. I am 61 and he is 60. Old, but I ride my bike to work every day and that is 22 miles daily so we are not old old.

Husband used to race boats when he was younger(boats with engines) and he was on sailboats of friends back then also. Hoping to get a 42-46 ft. sailboat. May be too big, I have never sailed. Planning to go to St. thomas (blue water sailing school for a week either this coming March or the year after, then go to the one in Florida for an instructor for a gulf crossing -- maybe even a third week out in the ocean at night, etc. Don't want to start the learning process too soon and then forget it all before we even get out there. Had my first yard sale this year (subdivision has an annual one). got rid of a lot of junk -- next year we get serious with that - husband keeps stalling about getting rid of things -- that will be a problem. He wants storage, I want total liquidation. Minor details, patience, going in the same direction is 90% getting there.

Will end up with boat big enough for kayaks we have and diving gear, but small enough for us to handle (if there is such a thing). I hate the noise of engines and pleasantly surprised when husband of 32 years was excited about sailboat also. Plans are instead of any vacations or trips to do the 1 week each year at the sailing schools for three years and hope by then the real estate market comes back just a little -- need to sell rental houses plus our own.

Never too late to start enjoying life again.

Bored in Indiana

[MMNETSEA]

Originally Posted by cengel

Oh happy dirt Dweller:

My husband and I are sitting in indiana with the same dream. Husband currently learning refrigeration and I will be signing up for diesel mech. school next year (husband already pretty good at that kind of stuff) I want to get some basics so he isn't so frustrated showing me how to do things. I am 61 and he is 60. Old, but I ride my bike to work every day and that is 22 miles daily so we are not old old.

Husband used to race boats when he was younger(boats with engines) and he was on sailboats of friends back then also. Hoping to get a 42-46 ft. sailboat. May be too big, I have never sailed. Planning to go to St. thomas (blue water sailing school for a week either this coming March or the year after, then go to the one in Florida for an instructor for a gulf crossing -- maybe even a third week out in the ocean at night, etc. Don't want to start the learning process too soon and then forget it all before we even get out there. Had my first yard sale this year (subdivision has an annual one). got rid of a lot of junk -- next year we get serious with that - husband keeps stalling about getting rid of things -- that will be a problem. He wants storage, I want total liquidation. Minor details, patience, going in the same direction is 90% getting there.

Will end up with boat big enough for kayaks we have and diving gear, but small enough for us to handle (if there is such a thing). I hate the noise of engines and pleasantly surprised when husband of 32 years was excited about sailboat also. Plans are instead of any vacations or trips to do the 1 week each year at the sailing schools for three years and hope by then the real estate market comes back just a little -- need to sell rental houses plus our own.

Never too late to start enjoying life again.

Bored in Indiana

Welcome, make yourself at home here! Have you firmed up ideas on the type of boat? - Keep in mind that 39ft 11&7/8inches is often much cheaper than a 40ft to berth in a Marina.

A center cockpit with an Aft Owners cabin takes one away from the noise and smell of a diesel engine (not that a well maintained engine will give out a lot of fumes.

[cengel]

Thank you, that is the kind of thing we do not know (center cockpit w/aft owners cabin takes away from noise and smell of diesel). Hate to do too much looking, as can't buy until houses sell anyway (10 of them) and that could be three or four years in this economy. Depressing, but gives us time for a good plan -- trying to see the bright side of that one.

Preliminary boat choices: CSY44 thru cabin, tayana, pearson, have a list at work (10 or 11 on the list) and can't remember them by name -- do not want one that can't do a crossing if we decide after several years (better at sailing) to do that -- and may actually never do that.

Thought would stay in bahamas, primarily caribbean and maybe tobago area during the hurricane season. Expect to be at mooring ball or anchored most of the time. At first thought Beneteau was the way to go as (used) not that expensive and very "pretty", also liked the steps in the back to get to the water. After reading many many threads on different sites, decided safe and versatile was better than "pretty". Don't want to be in a boat that cannot be used for whatever we would decide to do (and realize that could change after a couple of years).

Know we will learn a lot in the next few years that will help us buy a sturdy, safe, good sailing boat that has the capacity to hold what gear we want to have with us. Husband doesn't want to fill own tanks but I was reading about someone who had that capability on his boat so going to read threads on that next. I see ideas and then research and then dump them. Bet that would take a lot of space and not sure safe. Probably easier to just have several tanks on board. Saw one boat that had six attached across the back of the boat. Also need to have rigged for fishing. Not sure how to rig a sailboat to fish, but my husband will be into that big time. We live on the river now and he just loves to fish.

Probably what I want is not realistic. Want tanks across the back of the boat, kayaks attached to the sides, rigged to fish a lot (for husband), -- and yet it is still supposed to sail. Room to set bike up inside on trainer so I can still get exercise -- of course, already know that isn't going to happen - maybe I could get rid of the bed and replace with bike. I should write everything down so that in three or four years when we are actually doing this I can look back and laugh at my initial thoughts.

Also going to ask people on threads, as we get closer to doing this, if those that have kayaks really use them. Love to use them here on the river going thru nature reserves (birds) and channels, etc. but didn't know if they would be used once we are around the islands. don't want to have that space taken up on boat if not going to use.

[mico]

'Also going to ask people on threads, as we get closer to doing this, if those that have kayaks really use them'

We have carried two sea kayaks on our last two blue waters and absolutely love them!

It keeps us fit, negates the need to carry a heap of outboard fuel, are far easy to launch than our Rib sitting upside down over the life raft on the foredeck and get us into shallower landing spots without damage to the pontoons.

In fact, on shorter trips of 2 - 5 or 6 days, we actually leave our Rib in the pen and just carry the kayaks slipped between the coach roof and the side stays and enjoy the extra space on the foredeck with out it. Now we have a wireless remote for our autohelm we're kinda enjoying sailing along on a balmy evening up front sipping our wine and making the odd course correction with a push of a button.

Gawd! have we come a long way since we sailed our original lil yacht Velella from Perth to Cairns across the top, hand tiller steering all the way!

Now all we need is an automatic device to cook our meals each day and we'd be laughing

Ooops - hang on - we do! it's me

Fair winds

[cengel]

Question: If you use the kayaks instead of your dinghy how do you keep the kayaks from getting stolen? I have sea kayaks, hopefully I can use in ocean also, if only used when not significant waves -- we used sea kayaks in Alaska but it was intercoastal type of area (ocean, but not complete exposure).