How often do you use your boat?

How much time do you spend on your boat?

  • Live aboard all year round

    Votes: 13 11.9%
  • Live aboard part of the year

    Votes: 8 7.3%
  • Sail when ever I can

    Votes: 74 67.9%
  • Only sail a few times a year

    Votes: 11 10.1%
  • Don't have a boat

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • Total voters
    109
I suspect the liveaboards have got off to a flying start here !

I try to sail every weekend or whenever conditions suit and chums feel like coming along ( the boat is easy to singlehand but I like company ); however this year is a bit of an exception as health has forced me to keep the boat ashore, so I'm taking the opportunity for a refit, just going out on chums' boats.
 
I'm not sure sailing time and time spent on the boat are the same thing.

I know several people who have boats and spend a lot of time on them, but never or very rarely take them out. This is for a number of reasons: in one case the boat is a garden shed equivalent which the owner uses to escape from SWMBO and does not have working sails or an engine, in another case the boat's owner does maintain her in sailaway condition but is elderly and rather infirm and often prefers to just spend the weekend on the mooring.
 
We live on board for a few weeks in the summer and spend a few week-ends on board. Last week I was on the boat almost every evening and I have just come back from a week-end away singlehanded, but I am busy the next two week-ends so I am not sure how you would categorise my sailing. In addition I am often sailing other people's boats...
 
Although we sail as often as we can, the number of weekends we can get to sail seems to be reducing every year. A mix of various commitments and atrocious weather when we do have time. Sad.
 
Although we sail as often as we can, the number of weekends we can get to sail seems to be reducing every year. A mix of various commitments and atrocious weather when we do have time. Sad.

galadriel,

this seems a general trend !

People I know who have sailed for decades are now giving up.

I kept my boat out of the water partly for this reason ( but will be going for it next season ), so you have me to thank for the relatively spiffing summer so far...:rolleyes:
 
I'd like to check two answers, but of course, you can't. I sail as often as I can - sadly, this year for various reasons that looks like being only a few times! A combination of circumstanes has left us short of leave to use on sailing.
 
April to end of July, then it looks like we will take the windows home for hopefully permanent fixing by Eagle Windows, then bring them back in September for a further few weeks aboard. The plan had been to be on Cecilia for a couple of months in Milford Haven but it looks like that idea will be aborted.
 
This time of year its Tuesday (eve), Thursday (eve) Saturday and Sunday all day but only sailing dinghy at local sailing club. If/when I get something bigger kept on the coast it will be weekends only.
 
Some more options would be good. We aim to spend at least 50% of our time on the boat - returning to the house to check the mail and visit elderly relatives. We do, unfortunately, still have to work, so much of that time on the boat is not sailing. The weather really does not have much impact on the amount of time we spend there, though it does reduce the amount of time we spend actually sailing. The novelty has worn off now, so we don't fight our way out in storm and tempest, but the boat is comfortable with good heating and the marina offers shorepower, so we are onboard virtually every weekend even if we stay tied up to the pontoon.
 
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