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Put an anchor swivel on the mooring where the shackles connect. Be sure that the line has a splice with a metal thimble so it doesn't chafe.
>Chasing Bubbles
Reading other people's stories seems to be almost inseparable from sailing. There's a whole genre of this. Some of the most famous and most loved historic accounts themselves have accounts of reading. Slocum talks about re-reading the classics, and he's now a classic. Even dinghy sailors often can't escape the literature vortex.
One of my favorites is the story of Shrimpy.
_Sailing on Alone_ is a blog by a lady in Greece who continued sailing on her and her husband's boat after he died, and painting.
It's okay to get the bug, but many of these stories are cautionary. Slocum's has no shortage of that, just taking one example.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/an-accidental-sailor-vs-the-storm-of-the-century is one thing the (mostly) dinghy sailors at the club posted to the list.
I mention that because doing lots of day sailing, club races, dinghy sailing, small yacht sailing, overnight cruises, marina hoping, coastal cruising, etc is all still wonderful and can help you realize your dream... despite what happened in Chasing Bubbles. Part of the joy of sailing is there's always more to learn. Sailing with salty old blokes at a club is education that can save your bacon.
OK, you are on the right track. a 27 foot catalina is everyone's first boat, including mine. And boy are they a great boat for the size. Seriously a great boat. First off, DO NOT USE ANY AUTOMOTIVE GRADE ELECTRICAL WIRING!!!! I cannot stress this enough. Almost all boat fires are caused by electrical corrosion, and automotive grade wiring will fail, fast. (I'm assuming that you are in a salt water environment.) Adhesize lined shirink wrap. It will save so much time over electrical tape and it will make you look like a pro.
Does it matter which heat gun you get? Not really. But they come in so handy because most yacht hose is made of thermo plastic and having one means that you can put hoses on for plumbing super fast and easily.
Watch a lot of youtube videos on tips and tricks for fiberglass work and caulking. Makes a huge difference when you copy a real professional.
Then go join a yacht club and have a lot of fun pulling together a crew. And remember, captain buys the beer ;)
Look at air bnb. There are a lot of boats that you can stay on for a week. Maybe not a sail boat but look around, you may find a place that you want to visit anyhow and on a boat. Like this one https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5101823?eluid=5&euid=530dd2e8-197d-0adf-88b3-64fb6513be1b
Cheap sim cards are easy to find. Are you familiar with the Schengen rules?
I do this lifestyle in the Caribbean. Internet is the biggest issue. One of my clients uses Microsoft Teams and it uses over 2GB per hour. I have AT&T international day pass for $10 per day, Google Fi for $70 for 22GB then super slow or $10 per Gb, Digicel for $31 for 20 Gb, Flow for $28 for 16Gb. There are hotspots in the harbor in Portsmouth Dominica for $5 per day unlimited. All of these are fast enough to support video conferencing. I can combine channels with Speedify if I need to, but that is not wonderful for UDP apps.
Europe is much more reasonable for mobile Internet.
If you don’t already have one, a carbide scraper is really useful.
Great idea to put insulation up, wish I’d thought of that when I replaced the hull liner!
Maybe take a look at this small HEPA filter on Amazon. I haven't used it on a boat, but it works fairly well in average sized bedrooms.
Reflectix BP24050 24-Inch-by-50-Foot Bubble Pack Insulation https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009XCJA2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Vw-XBb0V5FC1B
This stuff. Sorry I don’t know how to make links on mobile. No, this is not an affiliate link, just a link to what I had saved on Amazon. Others can give their opinions on which brands are better, I’m just linking to this roll for information purposes.
if you really want to buy a boat like this, buy David Pascoe's book and read it. It has the answers to all of your questions, and the questions you haven't thought of yet.
Most of them are available as ebooks. If Amazon states they're not available in ebook form in your location, just connect through an international vpn service (which you may know something about) like NordVPN.
Honestly you don't need the heater, but I understand it does feel weird to have no heater. I would use one of the Carfamo heaters. You can get them at West Marine or Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Caframo-Heater-Profile-Powerful-Heater/dp/B004473UK2
Set the thermostat to about 38deg F, wich is almost all the way down on the dial. I've used one of these successfully on a boat of that size unattended through a few winters.
I have dehumidifier that has a hose attachment. Drains in to the bilge. If you dont have an automatic bilge pump you could also drain it in to the sink.
you need one with a pump built in and a wireless monitoring system such as :
the kenmore has been running for years on mine and works awesome.
Most of the bag tools live there. The chunky stuff like multimeter, drill bits, and such sometimes get swapped in or out.
This is the kind of tool bag I dream of (but mine is only canvas): Occidental Leather 5585 Stronghold®
I think it’s rare, but there are some books about boats going down after encounters with whales
Survive the Savage Sea: Sheridan House Maritime Classics https://www.amazon.com/dp/1493049380/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_14ED1AFQVRT2DMEAF72Z
The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale: First-Person Accounts (Penguin Classics) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140437967/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_SJ9A9K8YEP7VHWZCM6AP
You can try Librivox. It's a volunteer based catalog of free audio books that random people have recorded and released into the public domain. Not all of them are professional sounding, but they've got so many that you're bound to find something you like.
We'll be doing another live stream for all our $5 patrons on https://www.patreon.com/WickedSalty?ty=h It was a lot of fun doing this, was not expecting it to go on for 3 hours. Can't wait to do it again!
This is from the great book "Sail-ing" by Henry N. Beard and Roy McKie. Every sailor should have a read!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sail-Ing-Pocket-Dictionary-Henry-Beard-dp-0761123873/dp/0761123873
Did exactly this in Maine last season on my 27' dory. Managed to keep myself plenty warm on even the coldest days with a little electric heater like this. Still winterized my systems though since I was only part time liveaboard.
I've decided with this boat I'm on that I'm not going to go blue water with it in the foreseeable future. So I bought this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B635F6C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a small tank 110v heater that fits in the top of the engine compartment. Seems like it's working great. I'm sure it will die when the corrosion sets in... but it's so cheap that I'm not worried so much.
I just redid my V berth, and stripped everything down to the bare hull. When I removed the old headliner and hull liner, the hidden sides were absolutely covered with mildew - nasty! Hired a boat upholsterer to make new mattresses with brand new mildew-resistant memory foam, it ran about $1000, but so worth it! If you can sew you'll save a lot of money.
I also just bought a Ozone Generator. Will be testing it out soon, but it has great reviews.
Corelle blows. Most ceramics are going to suck. They chip, slide so easily, do yourself a favor and get plastic with the rubber on the bottom, they really are the best. I eat off gold flatware and plastic dishes. Wouldn't have it any other way.
I've installed a forced air diesel "parking heater" on my 36' sailboat. They're called "parking heaters" because truckers like to install them in their trucks for use when they're parked and sleeping.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L8YQ11R
Installed it about five months ago, and never a problem. I cruise in areas where the air temperature gets sometimes to -5 but I'm sure the heater could handle temperatures much lower than that.
Not sure why you are having to pumpout up every 3 days? Big family? Regardless of that ...
I ripped out the head and tank and got a camper's Sanitation Unit, basically a small portapotty with a 5 gal tank. I only have to empty once a month (1 person).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078YKLNFC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It just works. Make sure to tie it down securely ...
I got back the space inside the locker where the sewage tank used to be, got rid of all the hoses and valves (how many moving parts do you need for a bowel movement? Do you really want to store sewage in a locker?) the Coast Guard loves it (it is zero discharge); there is no thru hull (and no siphon loop), if it ever breaks it will cost all of ~$100 USD to replace - which can be done with no hassle, no tools.
I take it up to the showers to empty into a toilet, the things are so well designed you don't even need gloves, there is not a bad smell if you use a treatment chemical or enzyme in the tank. It is also easy to use the pumpout hose at the station if you want to, just set the unit on the dock and drop the suction hose into the tank.
For my $.02 the standard setup just does not make sense, meant to replicate the homeowners experience (looks like a toilet and you never see the sewage). Not realistic on a boat as the pumps always fail over time, the hoses get hydrogen sulfide bacteria smells, boats can sink when the thru hulls or hoses fail, the anti-siphon loop vents fumes into the cabin ...
It took me 6 years living aboard before I switched from a standard setup to the portable setup and I wish I had done it sooner.
There's lot of talk about birds and his interaction with birds in this journal of someone who sailed around the world https://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Bernard-Moitessier/dp/0924486848
Hello! Sorry to necro an old thread but I'm in a similar position as you and I wanted to share what's been helping me out! "The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat: The Definitive Guide for Liveaboards" by Mark Nicholas.
It's a really intense, thorough breakdown of basically everything you need to know to get started. Boat lingo obviously, but specifically the kind you see in boat ads. Caretaking, how to handle weather, climate controls, how to read navigation. Fantastic primer on all these things.
Seems like it would work. You could put a PWM controller on them to get speed control and slow them down to a quiet level.
Ah, I can see how sinking boats can affect a marina business...
The water below the surface of ice is of course always above freezing, so there's very little fear of freezing happening in bottom of your bilge if you are otherwise heating the boat. During harsh winter days, the bulk of the heating of the boat is done by the water which is a few degrees above freezing, while the air can be -20 C or even less. If your engine intakes and such are way below the waterline (say, one meter or more) you are quite safe, but installing something like this (https://www.amazon.com/HEATIT-6-feet-Regulating-Pre-assembled-Heating/dp/B0732YXBM9) is still adviced. Or, at least your insurance company will be pleased about it, for whatever it's worth.
Do you know how much ice formation there is where you are mooring in a typical winter? How cold can the air get? I guess there is also a ton of snow involved. Do you plan on putting some kind of a tarp over your boat? And what kind of a heating system are you using on your boat?
Not to plug a different platform, but on cruiser forums, there’s a whole forum dedicated to this. Hand in hand with how to make money on a boat is how much monthly expenses are. There’s a forum for that too- very detailed info on monthly expenses. Also a board on investing in order to cruise.
If you’re a techie, pmwedge basically laid it out. If you’re good with your hands, Janice laid it out. If you’re interested in that path, check out the book https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Money-Boat-Businesses-ebook/dp/B0070O8QD2.
I’m landlocked first a bit longer, but have taken Automitive electrical at the local community college, gotten back into welding, will brush off my diesel repair/maintenance skills and am learning how to sew. A lot of people with boats are incredibly self sufficient. A lot of other people with boats need help doing anything.
Taking on passengers is a whole legal ball of wax. Suffice to say many people take family and friends for legs of trips and they “chip in” on the boat fund.
I’d give up any notion of a youtube/patreon channel as that market is saturated. MAYBE if you can come up with great content, but...
The Webasto diesel heater is popular in vans and boats but expensive.
There are a lot of alternatives for 1/10 of the price. From what I have read, they are basically the exact same thing but they don't come with instructions and there is no support to call if you have questions. One such would be:
If you are relatively handy, a little creative, and can learn from youtube videos, a heater like this would be a great addition to a boat. If you look in Ebay or Amazon for "parking heater" you will find tons of results. Just make sure you buy a diesel one. Gasoline heat sounds terrifying.
I used to live aboard in a blue-water 33" sailboat. Before I bought it, it had been either stuck by lightning (FL) or the charger had a massive failure, and made the house batteries explode.
I rebuilt the entire electrical system on that boat, and also did electrical on several other boats. I really recommend having one of these Marinco 30 Amp 125V Inlets, Round, Stainless Steel mounted. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000NI01TO/
The power cord itself has a ring that screws onto the inlet on the boat, and then you use a line to support the cable going to the power bollard on the dock.
Shown is my new Mikrotik 52AC antenna system. This device is similar to the 'bullet' type devices except it is made of metal.
I have two of these, one for shoreside and one for the boat. 2.4Ghz service turned out to be unusable, and I skipped the entire 5Ghz equipment lineup to go with this 2.4/5Ghz combo unit. Have yet to test effectiveness.
https://www.amazon.com/Mikrotik-Routerboard-Wireless-802-11ac-RBMetalG-52SHPacn/dp/B0765D1C4L
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac
I don't know if this device will work with just 2.4 APs or just 5Ghz APs, but I'm going to give it a try as is. I like the metal housing, although if I was in the tropics I suspect it wouldn't last long at all.
I ordered the $75 2-input model. Looks legit on their website, but I'll see when it gets here.
As an example - http://www.blackhawkledlights.com/ sells this product -
BARS21
for $42 on their website. On Amazon it goes for $17
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MR1VOA0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
exact same thing. I have taken to buying all my electrical parts online. I buy wire at 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of local. This is really a thing when you are not loaded with cash !
Big Magnet ? So we can be lost always. West Marine aka Worst Marine for the lowest quality crap from china. Get them this we use it almost weekly and it cost around3$ https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-20-807-10-Inch-Mini-Hack-Light-Duty/dp/B00009OYGD/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1480780890&sr=1-1&keywords=mini+hacksaw
What heater are you currently using? Do you have an electrical usage meter like this...
Belkin Conserve Insight Energy Use Monitor, F7C005Q https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WV5DBU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rvQeybFBM82CB
yeah, they come in RGB, RGBWW, and individually addressable models. The lattermost model uses a raspberry pi or audrino or what have you to control the LEDs.
Kanberra gel! Amazingly this stuff works at inhibiting mold, and really helps with the overall smells, and funk. Indvidual units are very expensive but buy the refill and make your own. just use short mason jars and cheese cloth, cheep and effective. also hose out your bulge. http://www.amazon.com/Kanberra-Gel-Purifier-Refill-Pouch/dp/B008JHX846/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449510338&sr=8-2&keywords=kanberra+gel
Not liveaboard specific but if you haven't read that read it.
well, i think that the company who sells car chargers is going to get sued then if what your saying will happen did happen.... http://www.amazon.com/Xtech-Capacity-Rechargeable-Batteries-Fuji/dp/B00LG1B43O/ref=sr_1_25?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425962732&sr=1-25&keywords=battery+nimh+charger
any charger for a car will work, and yes you do put them on a 12v breaker of their own. I have them on the breaker i used to use for the cabin lights that isn't used anymore.