Re: [bolger] Re:Family accommodations in a modest cruiser?
Tom Neale... Tom had a bigger boat, hardly modest, and two daughters. He
has a blog on the BoatUS webs site...
Paul Esterle
Freelance Boating Writer
Columbia 10.7, 26 & Matilda 20
North East, MD.
“Capt’n Pauley’s Boat Repairs & Upgrades”
book at www.captnpauley.com
home.comcast.net/~pesterle/
daschultz2000 wrote:
has a blog on the BoatUS webs site...
Paul Esterle
Freelance Boating Writer
Columbia 10.7, 26 & Matilda 20
North East, MD.
“Capt’n Pauley’s Boat Repairs & Upgrades”
book at www.captnpauley.com
home.comcast.net/~pesterle/
daschultz2000 wrote:
>
> --- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com<mailto:bolger%40yahoogroups.com>, Paul
> Esterle <pesterle@...> wrote:
> >
> > The first thing you and your wife need to do is get a copy of Dave
> and
> > JaJa Martin's book, "Into The Light'............ >
>
> Another book re a liveaboard lifestyle is "ALL IN THE SAME BOAT".
> Forgotten the author's name. Very helpful
>
> Don
>
>
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, Paul Esterle <pesterle@...> wrote:
Forgotten the author's name. Very helpful
Don
>and
> The first thing you and your wife need to do is get a copy of Dave
> JaJa Martin's book, "Into The Light'............ >Another book re a liveaboard lifestyle is "ALL IN THE SAME BOAT".
Forgotten the author's name. Very helpful
Don
The first thing you and your wife need to do is get a copy of Dave and
JaJa Martin's book, "Into The Light'. All about refitting a sailboat and
their sailing adventures. They originally circumnavigated in a
25-footer. Dave said the only gear failure they had was in family
planning. Dave started out solo and returned with a wife and three kids...
Paul Esterle
Freelance Boating Writer
Columbia 10.7, 26 & Matilda 20
North East, MD.
“Capt’n Pauley’s Boat Repairs & Upgrades”
book at www.captnpauley.com
home.comcast.net/~pesterle/
JaJa Martin's book, "Into The Light'. All about refitting a sailboat and
their sailing adventures. They originally circumnavigated in a
25-footer. Dave said the only gear failure they had was in family
planning. Dave started out solo and returned with a wife and three kids...
Paul Esterle
Freelance Boating Writer
Columbia 10.7, 26 & Matilda 20
North East, MD.
“Capt’n Pauley’s Boat Repairs & Upgrades”
book at www.captnpauley.com
home.comcast.net/~pesterle/
Following on other posts:
We realized the "window of opportunity" was rapidly closing, based on our
kids' ages, so (much as I would have loved to build a Bolger
"suits-the-purpose-perfectly" design, maybe a "Loose Moose".) we scoured the
used boat market to find a boat that could be made ready QUICKLY to take our
two teens with us for a year's cruise southward from Baltimore (1999)..
Found only a few that would work: certain models of the Irwin 43 ("floating
condo") had sufficient accommodations in a price-range we could afford. the
version we chose had two forepeak v-berths for one female teen in
full-nesting mode, over-and-under berths in the companionway aft (private
enough for the male teen, sleeping berth below, duffel-bag storage on berth
above) and the good-sized and PRIVATE aft stateroom for the parents. We
got it ready for cruising in 6 full-boogie weeks of full-time on-the-hard
WORK. And nearly a full year of great cruising down the ICW and out into
the Bahamas - would have continued another year, 'cept for the call that
declared: "eldercare" starts NOW (sick parents of the captain,
half-a-continent away - which often derails plans for continued cruising,
no?)
As far as keeping the teens interested, you may need to gravitate toward
those anchorages where many cruisers congregate, so the kids will have a
good chance to find similar-aged friends. For us, that was Georgetown (in
the Exumas) Bahamas - it seemed there must have been 500 yachts,
fortunately anchored in half-a-dozen separate nooks, around that big harbor
- about 40 pre-teens and teens would descend on the beach after morning
home-school or correspondence-school homework, for volleyball games,
swimming etc till they finalized whose boats the group would descend upon
to mooch dinner, then back to the beach for beach tag till just after dark
(which is always early in the tropics!) - seems everybody came back smiling,
we parents never asked questions - then a pile of kids on the salon floor of
whichever boat had a VHS or DVD player, for the n'th watching of the current
favorite teen movie. to bed and repeat. Not a bad life - and plenty of
kids-away time for the adults to socialize as well.
DO IT. Even if you have to compromise a bit on the type of boat you'd like.
Remember, a "modest cruiser" (to use your phrase) AND a suitcase full of
money will ALWAYS get you farther than a fancy cruiser..
Regards,
Wayne Gilham
Prior owner of a Black Skimmer, cruised Chesapeake with all four on board
(when the kids were small) out of Baltimore area,
...then owner (still to this day!) of 1985 Irwin 43 center cockpit sloop,
cruised from Baltimore to Bahamas and back, shipped her to the Left Coast,
now lying Tacoma WA
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
We realized the "window of opportunity" was rapidly closing, based on our
kids' ages, so (much as I would have loved to build a Bolger
"suits-the-purpose-perfectly" design, maybe a "Loose Moose".) we scoured the
used boat market to find a boat that could be made ready QUICKLY to take our
two teens with us for a year's cruise southward from Baltimore (1999)..
Found only a few that would work: certain models of the Irwin 43 ("floating
condo") had sufficient accommodations in a price-range we could afford. the
version we chose had two forepeak v-berths for one female teen in
full-nesting mode, over-and-under berths in the companionway aft (private
enough for the male teen, sleeping berth below, duffel-bag storage on berth
above) and the good-sized and PRIVATE aft stateroom for the parents. We
got it ready for cruising in 6 full-boogie weeks of full-time on-the-hard
WORK. And nearly a full year of great cruising down the ICW and out into
the Bahamas - would have continued another year, 'cept for the call that
declared: "eldercare" starts NOW (sick parents of the captain,
half-a-continent away - which often derails plans for continued cruising,
no?)
As far as keeping the teens interested, you may need to gravitate toward
those anchorages where many cruisers congregate, so the kids will have a
good chance to find similar-aged friends. For us, that was Georgetown (in
the Exumas) Bahamas - it seemed there must have been 500 yachts,
fortunately anchored in half-a-dozen separate nooks, around that big harbor
- about 40 pre-teens and teens would descend on the beach after morning
home-school or correspondence-school homework, for volleyball games,
swimming etc till they finalized whose boats the group would descend upon
to mooch dinner, then back to the beach for beach tag till just after dark
(which is always early in the tropics!) - seems everybody came back smiling,
we parents never asked questions - then a pile of kids on the salon floor of
whichever boat had a VHS or DVD player, for the n'th watching of the current
favorite teen movie. to bed and repeat. Not a bad life - and plenty of
kids-away time for the adults to socialize as well.
DO IT. Even if you have to compromise a bit on the type of boat you'd like.
Remember, a "modest cruiser" (to use your phrase) AND a suitcase full of
money will ALWAYS get you farther than a fancy cruiser..
Regards,
Wayne Gilham
Prior owner of a Black Skimmer, cruised Chesapeake with all four on board
(when the kids were small) out of Baltimore area,
...then owner (still to this day!) of 1985 Irwin 43 center cockpit sloop,
cruised from Baltimore to Bahamas and back, shipped her to the Left Coast,
now lying Tacoma WA
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "The Peillet-Long Family"
<owlnmole@...> wrote:
front, parents in the back) has all the features you ask for, and more!
Maybe we can get Bruce to do the isometrics.....
-Derek
<owlnmole@...> wrote:
><snip>
> OK, this is more daydreaming than anything else, but here goes...
>
> Notice that I haven't said whether it's to be power or sail or both-- I'm openminded.
>How about Bolger's White Eel? It's designed for a family (kids in
> Any suggestions, Bolger or otherwise?
>
front, parents in the back) has all the features you ask for, and more!
Maybe we can get Bruce to do the isometrics.....
-Derek
Well there are any number of sea going boats able to be built in a year or under... Our late
lamented Loose Moose 2 being one of them.
As it happens I am mid way through a book on boat building for people who want to build a
boat in under a year and go cruising for extended periods... The book of course is taking
longer to write than it took me to build Loose Moose 2 (six months) but should be available
before the New Year.
More on it in the not too distant future.
Bob
http://boatbits.blogspot.com/
lamented Loose Moose 2 being one of them.
As it happens I am mid way through a book on boat building for people who want to build a
boat in under a year and go cruising for extended periods... The book of course is taking
longer to write than it took me to build Loose Moose 2 (six months) but should be available
before the New Year.
More on it in the not too distant future.
Bob
http://boatbits.blogspot.com/
Years is right. A fellow here in the Shenandoah valley in Virginia built
a 40 ft sailboat working part time and it took him 10 years I guess
that was a pretty leiseurly pace??
Something I have learned about living and cruising aboard is this.
Sailing wiith kids is great fun when they are little but once they are
teenagers it can be a different story. They want to be with teenage
friends and they need to be. Teen agers usually make there break in
their late teens but on a boat they are likely to do it earlier.
I have known several families where the children mutinied at about
16. In several cases the wife went with the kids.
I would say how long you have to enjoy this family cruising ideal
depends on how old your kids are, how long it will take to build or buy
a boat.
The answer I think is to buy a boat while the kids are small and
cruise with the idea that you will stay put in a marina while they are
teenagers. You can during that time cruise vacations and weekends and
be willing to take their friends along. Teenagers don't need bunks in
good weather sleeping on deck in sleeping bags is just fine with them
and it seperates them from their parents.
Huge amounts of space can be added to a boat with a full length
awning and a canvas enclosed cockpit. On a rainy or sunny day a kid can
go set forward under the awning for some privacy and be themselves. So
can you!
The really big thing about living aboard with kids is you can't be
bossy with them as you can in a house where they can get away. You
really really have to respect their space, their personalities and their
short commings you will all be too close to step on ech others feelings
and not pay a price for it.
Sounds like I'm being negative, but we raised our kids to a great
extent on a boat and it's wonderful. Mine are Fourtyish now and there
fondest memories are sailing up the Cheasapeake bay at Thanksgiving, a
turkey in the oven and pumpkin pies setting on the counter top. Then to
pull in behind an Island and have Thanksgiving dinner. We had a
shipmate wood stove, the love of my wifes life.
Our kids understand each other and they understand their parents and
we understand them, I wonder if they would have had the same feelings
for each other raised in a normal environment.
It's a wonderful way to bring up kids,
Doug
a 40 ft sailboat working part time and it took him 10 years I guess
that was a pretty leiseurly pace??
Something I have learned about living and cruising aboard is this.
Sailing wiith kids is great fun when they are little but once they are
teenagers it can be a different story. They want to be with teenage
friends and they need to be. Teen agers usually make there break in
their late teens but on a boat they are likely to do it earlier.
I have known several families where the children mutinied at about
16. In several cases the wife went with the kids.
I would say how long you have to enjoy this family cruising ideal
depends on how old your kids are, how long it will take to build or buy
a boat.
The answer I think is to buy a boat while the kids are small and
cruise with the idea that you will stay put in a marina while they are
teenagers. You can during that time cruise vacations and weekends and
be willing to take their friends along. Teenagers don't need bunks in
good weather sleeping on deck in sleeping bags is just fine with them
and it seperates them from their parents.
Huge amounts of space can be added to a boat with a full length
awning and a canvas enclosed cockpit. On a rainy or sunny day a kid can
go set forward under the awning for some privacy and be themselves. So
can you!
The really big thing about living aboard with kids is you can't be
bossy with them as you can in a house where they can get away. You
really really have to respect their space, their personalities and their
short commings you will all be too close to step on ech others feelings
and not pay a price for it.
Sounds like I'm being negative, but we raised our kids to a great
extent on a boat and it's wonderful. Mine are Fourtyish now and there
fondest memories are sailing up the Cheasapeake bay at Thanksgiving, a
turkey in the oven and pumpkin pies setting on the counter top. Then to
pull in behind an Island and have Thanksgiving dinner. We had a
shipmate wood stove, the love of my wifes life.
Our kids understand each other and they understand their parents and
we understand them, I wonder if they would have had the same feelings
for each other raised in a normal environment.
It's a wonderful way to bring up kids,
Doug
> Notice that I haven't said...
>
>
> ...whether it is to build or to buy. :)
>
> A boat like you describe, homebuilt without lots of help, could take
> years to realize. (Figure on the kids growing up in the meantime.)
>
>
> Notice that I haven't said......whether it is to build or to buy. :)
A boat like you describe, homebuilt without lots of help, could take
years to realize. (Figure on the kids growing up in the meantime.)
OK, this is more daydreaming than anything else, but here goes...
My wife and I have three kids, small for now, but I've noticed that they grow when I'm not
looking. We (well, mostly I) have always dreamed of a long-term family cruising adventure,
months or even years long.
Of course, that requires a substantial boat if people are still going to be talking to each other
after a couple of months. Ideally, each adult and child should have some private space of his
or her own, and not have to fold it up every morning to do double duty for breakfast, for
example. I have in mind a central walk-through cabin with over-and-under sleeping
compartments on each side, like a train. That's one more than we have kids, but it pays to
think ahead. Mom and Dad need a double bunk, and then we should have desks for
schoolwork, a little workshop, an office, a real shower and bathroom.
Notice that I haven't said whether it's to be power or sail or both -- I'm openminded.
Any suggestions, Bolger or otherwise?
My wife and I have three kids, small for now, but I've noticed that they grow when I'm not
looking. We (well, mostly I) have always dreamed of a long-term family cruising adventure,
months or even years long.
Of course, that requires a substantial boat if people are still going to be talking to each other
after a couple of months. Ideally, each adult and child should have some private space of his
or her own, and not have to fold it up every morning to do double duty for breakfast, for
example. I have in mind a central walk-through cabin with over-and-under sleeping
compartments on each side, like a train. That's one more than we have kids, but it pays to
think ahead. Mom and Dad need a double bunk, and then we should have desks for
schoolwork, a little workshop, an office, a real shower and bathroom.
Notice that I haven't said whether it's to be power or sail or both -- I'm openminded.
Any suggestions, Bolger or otherwise?