Topic: Boaters, shout out! (Read 893 times)

The boat's harbored on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin, so it won't ever see the ocean unless we want to go on a really long sailing trip. (Though two of my uncles sailed from Wisconsin to Florida when they were young, so it's definitely possible.) This year we'll probably try taking it to Lake Michigan, though this alone will take a long time.


What do you do?

If you guys are comfortable enough sailing, you should totally do some sort of trip. I don't know where you are, but I bet there are some channel islands or barrier islands to head out to. Get a friend to join you and you guys could sail nonstop. If not, you can just drift while you sleep. I have worked on boats my whole life, but I had never been out far enough to just cut the engines, turn on the proximity alarms, and pass out for the night. It's pretty soothing.

After getting my sailing experience in on someone elses boat and dime, I dream about getting a ~35ft mono-hull and cruising around the Caribbean, if not pulling a transatlantic crossing. There is such a cool culture around it. I met so many sail-bums who just crewed boats aimlessly, and met a few more respectable fellows that captained boats to destinations as a job.

Obviously, I would go bigger and swankier for my dream craft, but I can see kicking down $10k in the next few years for a boat in decent shape. How else will I ride out the initial wave of zombie apocalypse.

I ended up meeting the guy I sailed with in a harbor bar while I was bumming around latin america. I had nowhere to be, so a couple beers later, I was on the docket as a crew member. I'm glad he wasn't smuggling coke, or rather, I am blissfully unaware of it if he did. I have never been through such customs bullshit as floating into Key West. They separated us and put us in interrogation rooms and left us sitting for a good two hours. I answered everything with a smile despite being treated like shit, and I suppose it's their job more or less, but goddamn. US Customs can suck it.

My dad bought a C&C 27' Mk3 sailboat last year. We haven't been on any long excursions yet, though it's been nice to just sail around.

I crewed a 47' catamaran prototype diesel/electric hybrid from Panama to North Carolina. It was the swankiest boat I have ever worked on, but I don't recommend guinea pigging prototypes. Typical example: our fuel filters were plumbed after the fuel pumps and some filthy Colombian diesel had us up on a sand bar about a mile off of Cuba after blowing half a dozen filter seals. You ever been in an engine compartment with six inches of diesel on the floor? Terrifying...

I just found this online: "a Crowther design, #95 – MKII, 47 ft. in length, built by Alwoplast in Valdivia, Chile.  In fact, the boat just came up from Chile under its own power so there will be experienced crew there to talk about the trip and how all the systems performed."

Experienced crew, under it's own power, my ass. I had never set foot on a sail vessel before this one, and we had to be towed into Key West because we were losing diesel like a sieve while we ran.

All bitching aside, two larger-than-California King beds, a decent galley, nice big shower and shitter, plenty of deckspace and a big ole' lounge...I wouldn't mind having one of my own...

But but but.... what if I already have one? 

Anyone else in here love boating?  If so, what do you have, and what's your favorite water activity?  If you love boating but don't yet own one, what would you like to get (besides a yacht, of course).
 
 
1990 VIP Victory open-bow.  20 ft.  5.0 Ford motor w/OMC outdrive
 
I love cruising around with my wife and kids, and then stopping somewhere to jump out and swim around drinking some cold ones.

I'm trying to talk her into a 25 or 30 foot sailboat, but she likes to go fast I guess, 'cause she keeps saying "no"


[edit, fixed a typo which I discovered after reading the comment below]