Ninpo
New member
Tell them that you should swap abodes for a week, that'll sort them out!
I will live-aboard. The clock is ticking
- Thread starter Zanziba
- Start date
Tell them that you should swap abodes for a week, that'll sort them out!
Zanziba
New member
The weather is changing at last? Winter was okay though on a yacht and I had no problems with moisture (dehumidifier) or cold (Two heaters)...
Pottering around the boat last night chatting to my "neighbours", playing guiter in the sunshine and sipping cool Creme Soda (Oh yes, ice cream in a glass) on deck made me remember why I live on it, not that I ever forgot.
Happy days.
Pottering around the boat last night chatting to my "neighbours", playing guiter in the sunshine and sipping cool Creme Soda (Oh yes, ice cream in a glass) on deck made me remember why I live on it, not that I ever forgot.
Happy days.
Ninpo
New member
Sounds fantastic, I've got green eyes for you right now!
viejo gringo
New member
After 23 yrs with the company, time to part ways, work my notice pop the boat in the water, slip quietly away. just thought i,d share that. !!!! yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !!!!!!
scoty
New member
living the dream
I sail on my 1978 WESTERLY longbow in the sunny Med, (spanish coast) touched 30 degrees today,,, blue sky,,,,steady F2,,,,,,,been doing it for a few years and loving it.
cher·s
I sail on my 1978 WESTERLY longbow in the sunny Med, (spanish coast) touched 30 degrees today,,, blue sky,,,,steady F2,,,,,,,been doing it for a few years and loving it.
cher·s
viejo gringo
New member
After 23 yrs with the company, time to part ways, work my notice pop the boat in the water, slip quietly away. just thought i,d share that. !!!! yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !!!!!!
update,
On the plane monday 05 40 am, to catch the london flight from BA, into Heathrow.train down to the boat in the bunk by 9 pm. dous life get any better ???
please people keep working to pay my pension !!
Zanziba
New member
It's been a while so I thought I would give a brief update...
12 months living on the 31' Westerly is fast approaching and I can't really think of many gripes. I still really enjoy it and seriously cannot see why I should come back to land-living.
Done my first real adventure by sailing to the Isle of Man, Douglas, which was great. Can't really put into words the grace the boat showed as she had her side decks well under the water with far too much sail up and still held a line, unlike some yachts I have been on. Auto-pilot functioned well under motor and moderate winds but goose-winged it just got confused.
Moored in Douglas we rafted 5 yachts deep at one point which snapped a mooring line on my yacht (think I best get some new, non-green soggy ones) and drank beer and played guitar with other crew from other yachts. (Medusa25 from here was out doing sea trials and was one of the yachts in our little band).
I did find out I shouldn't anchor in a 7 foot swell with 1kn of tide as getting the damned thing up manually almost cost me 2 fingers!
Spent yesterday playing with new jetwash... 2 hours later the yacht weighs about 100kg less from green algae and lichen washed off but mainly due to paint washed off. Next job... re-paint yacht
So, off for a week on a charter yacht tomorrow... should be good fun.
12 months living on the 31' Westerly is fast approaching and I can't really think of many gripes. I still really enjoy it and seriously cannot see why I should come back to land-living.
Done my first real adventure by sailing to the Isle of Man, Douglas, which was great. Can't really put into words the grace the boat showed as she had her side decks well under the water with far too much sail up and still held a line, unlike some yachts I have been on. Auto-pilot functioned well under motor and moderate winds but goose-winged it just got confused.
Moored in Douglas we rafted 5 yachts deep at one point which snapped a mooring line on my yacht (think I best get some new, non-green soggy ones) and drank beer and played guitar with other crew from other yachts. (Medusa25 from here was out doing sea trials and was one of the yachts in our little band).
I did find out I shouldn't anchor in a 7 foot swell with 1kn of tide as getting the damned thing up manually almost cost me 2 fingers!
Spent yesterday playing with new jetwash... 2 hours later the yacht weighs about 100kg less from green algae and lichen washed off but mainly due to paint washed off. Next job... re-paint yacht
So, off for a week on a charter yacht tomorrow... should be good fun.
smartmart
New member
Hi there, I'm in a simillar situation to yourself, but i'm seriously thinking of building a ferrocement barge and mounting a static caravan on it. The local marina are comming round to the idea,and it will only cost me £1800 a year(as opposed to £6 to £8 grand a year for a house plus poll tax, electric ect.
lenseman
Active member
- Joined
- 3 Jun 2006
- Messages
- 7,077
- Location
- South East Coast - United Kingdom
Your idea is laudable but you will soon find that you will be asked to move or just GO! It is human nature that anything which does not fit the norm, and a home-made concrete boat with a caravan perched on top does not conform visually.
It is just the same for people suffering physical deformities, they are shunned by society in general and stared at. Some even get locked away out of sight in a home!
Take a look at this story and note they were hounded and hounded until they were evicted. There are others. You only have to Google "houseboats and eviction" to find them.
http://www.mvpicton.co.uk/what_ has_happened.htm
If and when your idea is allowed eventually it will be pushed to the margins of civilisation where no one can see your home which you love but others will consider unsightly. Take a look at the north bank of the Medway, far from view, you will see a few liveaboards on the edges of the marshes. They would love to move into somewhere like St Kats in London or another nice marina with a supply of electric, water and nice clean shower block.
Liveaboards have this problem in general if they start keeping a messy looking boat, bits of all sorts on deck and a yacht that doesn't look like it would be able to sail anywhere anytime soon would immediately fall into this category. How long would it take to 'make' your boat and where would you do it. To lift a caravan onto a floating vessel you would need crane access and be moored next to a quay. King Edward Quay Colchester UK, springs to mind?
You have to keep your head below the parapet, keep your nose clean and not stick out by making your 'vessel' look like a floating shed otherwise you will get shafted.
. . . . and your idea will sink.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDrsiWwXdEg
Society does not like non-conformists and liveaboards are classed as such and deep-down are envious of the lifestyle.
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Zanziba
New member
Back from charter holiday and going back to sea on Monday
Busy busy...
Must find some time to actually do some work on the yacht at some point!
:0
Busy busy...
Must find some time to actually do some work on the yacht at some point!
:0
Bobobolinsky
New member
Hartford Marina at Huntingdon sell such beasts, very professionally built
http://search.boatshop24.co.uk/externalbrokerlist-1.asp?brokercode=HRTM01
Zanziba
New member
Well, logged over 500 miles in the last 3 weeks Really feel I am gaining confidence and getting that hang of things.
For those of you who are thinking, planning, saving or simply procrastinating I thought the photo below might inspire you...
This was sunset on approach to the Isle of Man this week... night sailed into Douglas. The return leg a few days later treated me and my crew mate to an astounding display by a large school of Dolphins.
So, what does this picture mean? I'd like to think that it is more than just a pretty shot. Think about the freedom is expresses with the big sea and the sails up, the freedom to choose ones destination (both on the journey and in life) and finally the tranquility and beauty of this life.
Really feel I am gaining confidence and getting that hang of things.For those of you who are thinking, planning, saving or simply procrastinating I thought the photo below might inspire you...
This was sunset on approach to the Isle of Man this week... night sailed into Douglas. The return leg a few days later treated me and my crew mate to an astounding display by a large school of Dolphins.
So, what does this picture mean? I'd like to think that it is more than just a pretty shot. Think about the freedom is expresses with the big sea and the sails up, the freedom to choose ones destination (both on the journey and in life) and finally the tranquility and beauty of this life.
Victoria Sponge
New member
Inspiring words. I'd love to give it a go myself.
suse
Active member
I haven't looked at this thread for simply ages - and I couldn't be more pleased, Zanziba, that you DID IT!
I'm sneaking off to Southampton tomorrow to have a look at a boat ....
I'm sneaking off to Southampton tomorrow to have a look at a boat ....
7htas
New member
I'm a follower of this thread as well.
Inspiring stuff Zanziba!
I'm moving to Fleetwood in September (not long now) and I can' t wait to get stuck into learning the trade of being a deck officer in the Merchant navy.
I'm also keen to learn how to sail.
You are at fleetwood aren't you? Is there any sailing lessons, or anything like that? I'm in the pre-boat doldrums (going to be three years before I get mine) and I really want to start learning the ropes as soon as I can.
Would it be worth me nipping down to the marina, and offering to crew?
Inspiring stuff Zanziba!
I'm moving to Fleetwood in September (not long now) and I can' t wait to get stuck into learning the trade of being a deck officer in the Merchant navy.
I'm also keen to learn how to sail.
You are at fleetwood aren't you? Is there any sailing lessons, or anything like that? I'm in the pre-boat doldrums (going to be three years before I get mine) and I really want to start learning the ropes as soon as I can.
Would it be worth me nipping down to the marina, and offering to crew?
Zanziba
New member
The yacht club is open to all and membership is £50 / year... Open each Friday night. Making friends that way would maybe get you crewing?
I'm always looking for victims, sorry volunteers, to come play boats so give us a shout.
I'm always looking for victims, sorry volunteers, to come play boats so give us a shout.
lenseman
Active member
- Joined
- 3 Jun 2006
- Messages
- 7,077
- Location
- South East Coast - United Kingdom
Just seen this for sale at Fleetwood|:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/67ft-Live...ity-Floating-B-B-Excursion-Boat-/140816964467
Good little starter project before you go up in size!!!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/67ft-Live...ity-Floating-B-B-Excursion-Boat-/140816964467
Good little starter project before you go up in size!!!
hlb
RIP
Totally untrue, Ok we had a mobo, never any damp. OK we used the dehumidifier in winter, if we were not aboard. Just for safetys sake.
But taken away once on board. Maybe it depends on the boat, but we used to leave bedding on the bed for weeks, it still seems just as fresh as we'd left it.
We got a slight bit of damp on the curtains in the bathroom, after a few years, but that was all.
Everything else was as dry as a bone. Mind it was a Princess, even if 23 years old.
lenseman
Active member
- Joined
- 3 Jun 2006
- Messages
- 7,077
- Location
- South East Coast - United Kingdom
If anybody is still wondering what it is really like as a liveaboard cruiser, I can think of no finer blog report written yesterday:
Below is a list of all the things we have liked the most about cruising. This list has been evolving since we left four months ago and will no doubt change again as we experience new things and travel to new places.
The feeling of coming into a new place. As we enter into a new port, there's this feeling that's almost like magic. You see the land, dark green in the distance, or the anchorage or the city lights, and it's all new and all unknown. We have a few guidebooks, and useful as they are, they never really prepare you for the next spot, for the new beginning. I've been loving stepping onto land and feeling almost assaulted by the sounds and smells and sights of a place I never had a notion of. There might be challenges to come or downsides or the rolliest anchorage you've ever experienced, but for that first moment it's all possibility. I guess it's this sensation that keeps travelers inspired to move ever onward, to try the different unexplored route, and what motivated early humans to take that first step off the savana. That idea of what could be.
The dinghy ride. We both love our dinghy. Even with just our six-horse power outboard that had been sitting in various garages for an unknown amount of time, she can plane with two people aboard, and she's totally rowable. You know how a dog looks with its head hanging out the window of a car speeding down the highway? That's pretty much my expression too. Less drool, though. Even Vlad admits she was well worth the dinghy war.
Getting the boat tuned just right. My mom told me once that sailboats were like angels on the water. When we get the sails set just right and the wind fills them perfectly, it becomes a beautiful way to move, a mode of travel unlike any other, one in which the boat and the sails mix with the waves and the wind in such a way that there is nothing left for us to do but lounge in the cockpit, looking at each other and thinking life couldn't be better. Of course, the conditions don't always allow for that kind of sailing, but we really dig it when it happens.
Night sailing. You would think that this could never be the case. Before we left, I was nervous about night watches, alone in the cockpit in the dark. What if something went wrong? What if there were squalls or boats or rigs? What if I fell asleep? At first, Vlad did most of the late night watching because he stays up late anyway and I was having seasick issues, and he kept raving about how it was like some kind of fairyland. So finally, I had to check it out, and it was just spectacular. The phosphorescence almost sizzles in the water as the boat slides through the waves and is like a mirror to the stars, which are the brightest you'll ever see them. There is peace in night sailing that I wasn't expecting. Instead of being full of shadows, it was exhilarating.
The people. We have met some truly generous, thoughtful and beautiful people on this trip, who were nice or friendly for nothing in return. We've had strangers invite us to their homes, random people we met on a beach bring us dinner and a cruising couple lend us their spare outboard engine when ours was broken (like it always is!). We've had amazing conversations and learned much about other cultures and places and ideas through the people we've met, and we hope we have returned the kindness.
All the wild stuff you would never see any other way. Vlad and I often look at each other and say, "Can you believe we are really here doing this?" Dolphins have greeted us coming into Key West. We've seen rays jumping out of the water and barracuda as long as I am tall. Birds have hitched rides on our boat for a hundred miles and then flown off as unexpectedly as they landed. We've seen fisherman with handmade paddles and dugout canoes with 25-horsepower motors on the back. We've walked through jungles and cloud forests and along deserted beaches. We've followed leaf-cutter ant super highways and eaten street tacos on thick homemade corn tortillas deep in Mayan country. Sure, we could have traveled to all of these places via plane and stayed in hotels, but sailing has given us the chance to visit these places at a pace and from a perspective that no other type of travel provides.
The freedom. We can go where we want to go, pretty much when we want to. Should we sail to Colombia/go through the Canal/ cross the Pacific? Should we go to the beach/ride our bikes/snorkel the afternoon away? Should we clean the mildew off Vlad's shoes/rebuild the head/design a rain collecting system? Of course, there are always obligations that must be fulfilled, and there are limitations due to budgets or time or the weather. But overall, we can choose what we do, and it's beautiful. I love being able to work entirely on boat projects one day and then the next spend wandering down the beach or reading. I'm not saying that cruising is easy because it's most decidedly not all sandy beaches and umbrella drinks. We have to work hard daily to keep this whole shebang up and running. But there's something about choosing what you do and when you do it that I find incredible. It is a treasure, one that I will miss when it's gone.
Bettie. Our boat is the thing that makes this entire excursion possible. She takes us safely to every place we want to go, puts up with all of our mistakes and is genuinely a beautiful place to wake up to in the morning or snuggle down in at night. We love her, respect her and can't wait to put another 1,000 miles under her keel. Or 10,000.
http://bettiedelmar.blogspot.co.uk/..._campaign=Feed:+BettieDelMar+(Bettie+del+Mar)
.
.
Below is a list of all the things we have liked the most about cruising. This list has been evolving since we left four months ago and will no doubt change again as we experience new things and travel to new places.
The feeling of coming into a new place. As we enter into a new port, there's this feeling that's almost like magic. You see the land, dark green in the distance, or the anchorage or the city lights, and it's all new and all unknown. We have a few guidebooks, and useful as they are, they never really prepare you for the next spot, for the new beginning. I've been loving stepping onto land and feeling almost assaulted by the sounds and smells and sights of a place I never had a notion of. There might be challenges to come or downsides or the rolliest anchorage you've ever experienced, but for that first moment it's all possibility. I guess it's this sensation that keeps travelers inspired to move ever onward, to try the different unexplored route, and what motivated early humans to take that first step off the savana. That idea of what could be.
The dinghy ride. We both love our dinghy. Even with just our six-horse power outboard that had been sitting in various garages for an unknown amount of time, she can plane with two people aboard, and she's totally rowable. You know how a dog looks with its head hanging out the window of a car speeding down the highway? That's pretty much my expression too. Less drool, though. Even Vlad admits she was well worth the dinghy war.
Getting the boat tuned just right. My mom told me once that sailboats were like angels on the water. When we get the sails set just right and the wind fills them perfectly, it becomes a beautiful way to move, a mode of travel unlike any other, one in which the boat and the sails mix with the waves and the wind in such a way that there is nothing left for us to do but lounge in the cockpit, looking at each other and thinking life couldn't be better. Of course, the conditions don't always allow for that kind of sailing, but we really dig it when it happens.
Night sailing. You would think that this could never be the case. Before we left, I was nervous about night watches, alone in the cockpit in the dark. What if something went wrong? What if there were squalls or boats or rigs? What if I fell asleep? At first, Vlad did most of the late night watching because he stays up late anyway and I was having seasick issues, and he kept raving about how it was like some kind of fairyland. So finally, I had to check it out, and it was just spectacular. The phosphorescence almost sizzles in the water as the boat slides through the waves and is like a mirror to the stars, which are the brightest you'll ever see them. There is peace in night sailing that I wasn't expecting. Instead of being full of shadows, it was exhilarating.
The people. We have met some truly generous, thoughtful and beautiful people on this trip, who were nice or friendly for nothing in return. We've had strangers invite us to their homes, random people we met on a beach bring us dinner and a cruising couple lend us their spare outboard engine when ours was broken (like it always is!). We've had amazing conversations and learned much about other cultures and places and ideas through the people we've met, and we hope we have returned the kindness.
All the wild stuff you would never see any other way. Vlad and I often look at each other and say, "Can you believe we are really here doing this?" Dolphins have greeted us coming into Key West. We've seen rays jumping out of the water and barracuda as long as I am tall. Birds have hitched rides on our boat for a hundred miles and then flown off as unexpectedly as they landed. We've seen fisherman with handmade paddles and dugout canoes with 25-horsepower motors on the back. We've walked through jungles and cloud forests and along deserted beaches. We've followed leaf-cutter ant super highways and eaten street tacos on thick homemade corn tortillas deep in Mayan country. Sure, we could have traveled to all of these places via plane and stayed in hotels, but sailing has given us the chance to visit these places at a pace and from a perspective that no other type of travel provides.
The freedom. We can go where we want to go, pretty much when we want to. Should we sail to Colombia/go through the Canal/ cross the Pacific? Should we go to the beach/ride our bikes/snorkel the afternoon away? Should we clean the mildew off Vlad's shoes/rebuild the head/design a rain collecting system? Of course, there are always obligations that must be fulfilled, and there are limitations due to budgets or time or the weather. But overall, we can choose what we do, and it's beautiful. I love being able to work entirely on boat projects one day and then the next spend wandering down the beach or reading. I'm not saying that cruising is easy because it's most decidedly not all sandy beaches and umbrella drinks. We have to work hard daily to keep this whole shebang up and running. But there's something about choosing what you do and when you do it that I find incredible. It is a treasure, one that I will miss when it's gone.
Bettie. Our boat is the thing that makes this entire excursion possible. She takes us safely to every place we want to go, puts up with all of our mistakes and is genuinely a beautiful place to wake up to in the morning or snuggle down in at night. We love her, respect her and can't wait to put another 1,000 miles under her keel. Or 10,000.
http://bettiedelmar.blogspot.co.uk/..._campaign=Feed:+BettieDelMar+(Bettie+del+Mar)
.
.
7htas
New member
I shall hold you to that sir,
I will give you a shout on here, when I'm settled in up at the nautical campus. Would be great to get out and learn how it's done! I will come down to the yacht club. Even though I don't own a yacht, that won't be a problem will it?
