The pandemic taught many people that cruising without quitting work is a real possibility. How do you feel about it?
When the boat is your office
- Thread starter T-Schwan
- Start date
I was remote for 2 years, and loved it.
I spent extra time in Hawaii when Islands were limiting visitors and resorts were 50% capacity. Easy to get a deal, extend my stay and work from Maui…just watch out for the time zone issue…in my case 4 hours different than my office….so I was getting up to work at 4:00am Hawaii time for staff meetings, etc at 8:00 in Chicago
I spent many office hours working from my boat at the marina over the 2 summers. If nothing else, it was great to hit the water after work, rather than commute an hour and half from my office to the marina. That was a big plus. The only downside I had was it was HOT and my doesn’t have air conditioning. I did throw a window unit in the companionway, but it didn’t really cool the boat when it was 100F outside beating on the deck. I did rig a shade over the cockpit and companionway that helped some. Insulated all of the hatches with Refexite Added curtains on the sidelights to block the sun, etc.
I would have loved to sail from marina to marina on the weekends, work from a new location every week…but alas, Admiral is not that adventurous.
I have friends whose kids gave up their apartment in SF, but kept their jobs with tech companies, and traveled the US.
later, those same kids left their jobs (not sure if they are a leave or just quit), and traveling the world! Oh, to be young again
Greg
I spent extra time in Hawaii when Islands were limiting visitors and resorts were 50% capacity. Easy to get a deal, extend my stay and work from Maui…just watch out for the time zone issue…in my case 4 hours different than my office….so I was getting up to work at 4:00am Hawaii time for staff meetings, etc at 8:00 in Chicago
I spent many office hours working from my boat at the marina over the 2 summers. If nothing else, it was great to hit the water after work, rather than commute an hour and half from my office to the marina. That was a big plus. The only downside I had was it was HOT and my doesn’t have air conditioning. I did throw a window unit in the companionway, but it didn’t really cool the boat when it was 100F outside beating on the deck. I did rig a shade over the cockpit and companionway that helped some. Insulated all of the hatches with Refexite Added curtains on the sidelights to block the sun, etc.
I would have loved to sail from marina to marina on the weekends, work from a new location every week…but alas, Admiral is not that adventurous.
I have friends whose kids gave up their apartment in SF, but kept their jobs with tech companies, and traveled the US.
later, those same kids left their jobs (not sure if they are a leave or just quit), and traveling the world! Oh, to be young again
Greg
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,867
Yes, but with the wisdom of the past years to out smart many if not all.
I am the owner and sole proprietor of my structural engineering firm, and my wife is my drafter so if we go on "vacation" i.e. leave and do not answer the phone, the company is closed as well. That is not a good thing for my clients because just because I am not working does not mean that they are not. Even if I am at a point where I do not need to be doing any design work, I still need to tend to the construction projects.
Because of that, I have not taken a vacation since 2005. That said, wherever I go, my whole company goes. It has been in Hawaii, and probably 20 different states. I have taken calls and responded with details when 10 miles from the nearest land.
Starlink sure makes this easier.
Because of that, I have not taken a vacation since 2005. That said, wherever I go, my whole company goes. It has been in Hawaii, and probably 20 different states. I have taken calls and responded with details when 10 miles from the nearest land.
Starlink sure makes this easier.
Our catamaran lets us close off the “owners” hull with a sliding door, so the admiral can have the main saloon while I have my own space below. We have AC when we need it, too.
If could only figure out how to service generator/engines remotely I would be working from somewhere sunny and warm. I'm planing to retire in 5 or 6 years and move south. I'll still have to work, probably servicing generators and/or boats but that sounds less appealing the older I get. I'm trying to figure out something I could do over the phone or on a computer.
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If snark and sass were in demand, I could work from anywhere!
I'm in favor of the possibilities. The logistics makes it a daunting task to execute: getting the right boat, getting other family members to make the switch, setting up the money flow, what to do from the boat to begin with... I want in, but I'm just not ready yet.
I worked as the director of technology for a prep-school and when I talked to the wilderness skills program director about support for wifi and remote computing, I suggesting he could have his office on a cliff top in the mountains if he wanted a day out.
He said he didn't want to think about work when he was out climbing, hiking or canoeing.
I pointed out that he could simply stay closed inside his office, if he preferred that environment for work, or he could take it outside.
-Will
I worked as the director of technology for a prep-school and when I talked to the wilderness skills program director about support for wifi and remote computing, I suggesting he could have his office on a cliff top in the mountains if he wanted a day out.
He said he didn't want to think about work when he was out climbing, hiking or canoeing.
I pointed out that he could simply stay closed inside his office, if he preferred that environment for work, or he could take it outside.
-Will
I used to seek out a particular check out clerk at the liquor store. She was the nastiest person I ever encountered and I enjoyed her uniqueness immensely. One time she looked me in the eye with a straight face and said, "I'd tell you how pleased I am to see you, but I gave up sarcasm for Lent."
Those of you working from your boats, did any of you claim marina costs as a business expense?
In simple terms - I feel that it is a fantastic way to go!
Over the past 2+ years, I've been working remotely, and a fair amount of that time from my boat - nowhere near enough time from my boat, but a fair amount of time...
I'm also looking at doing consulting from my boat as time moves forward. So wish me luck! I think it's a great way to sail the world and keep the sailing kitty in the green...
dj
I was an investigator for a Federal agency for a long time and we were way ahead of the whole remote work thing because airplanes don't crash from 9 to 5 at the local airport. The agency got very good at learning how to use what we considered to be an "electronic leash" way back when we just had pagers which showed a number to call, then cell phones, and finally video conferencing. While others would be jealous that we might be in a hotel somewhere nice (or NOT!), we typically struggled to keep up with juggling at least a half dozen investigations at any one time; each of which had "deliverables" such as spending the time to do component exams with notes, sitting in hotel rooms to do interviews with more notes, and trying to keep up with what the editors back home were doing to all the reports we kept generating.
So yes, remote work can definitely be done effectively.
But we did have offices and on any day there'd 1/3 to 1/2 of us in there even if we could work from home on report writing and everything else. The policy was that you had to be in the office at least two days a week if in town and we really valued those days because there is so much that gets missed in living by telephone and later on Zoom/WebEx/Teams calls. Those were the days that kept the group cohesive and a group. The pandemic resulted in a number of problems because suddenly there wasn't that "group" awareness, everybody became individuals. Accident investigation is like a lot of other professions where OJT for the newer people is the basis of transferring knowledge and proficiency took a huge hit. For the first time the bell would ring and people would be more focused on home tasks and try refusing to go even though they knew the call rotation had come to them.
So too much freedom can devastate group dynamics.
Now that I'm semi-retired and running my own biz, I can work nearly anywhere and regularly meetings from the van, boat, and all over the country. There are a lot of those times when the van/boat/hotel room are just a pain because of all the external forces and distractions the home office doesn't have. Less comfortable working seating, people on the dock wanting to talk because they see you sitting there, heat & cold, noise, the confines of a laptop versus my two big home monitors, etc. Working remote takes self discipline that I've seen many people never learned.
So my bottom line is that working contracts and individual projects on the boat can be done but it can be rough and is absolutely not an effective way for agencies or corporations to run.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,867
Ran a Milk Marketing business for 30 plus years remotely. Late 2019 looked like the moment of a paradigm shift. The challenge for managers. is they have to think differently. Your team must be self motivated and trust worthy. You can no longer hover over process. You need to develop new metrics and manage to accomplishment. There will be failures. Those need to guide your change. No longer is getting by acceptable.
This is a monumental change in management style.
We do not claim anything from either of our remote offices (boat and motorhome) because it just confuses things too much and would increase the likelihood of / frequency of audits. I claim our home office based on % of home that is used for the exclusive use of the company which is my office room.
These are really spot on points. There are two aspects of successful remote working:
Ran a Milk Marketing business for 30 plus years remotely. Late 2019 looked like the moment of a paradigm shift. The challenge for managers. is they have to think differently. Your team must be self motivated and trust worthy. You can no longer hover over process. You need to develop new metrics and manage to accomplishment. There will be failures. Those need to guide your change. No longer is getting by acceptable.
This is a monumental change in management style.
1) Only a certain number of employees have the self-discipline required
2) A huge stumbling block is managerial - it requires an entirely new way of managing and establishing metrics.
Back when the ISTEA legislation was in effect in the US, I was working in transportation. Remote working, carpooling, and all the ways to reduce vehicular traffic were being explored. It was generally fairly easy to find the correct employees to work from home, but it was really hard to get managers to know how to manage employees.
The benefits of remote working were demonstrated many times over in a number of situations. One of the famous ones, was a company that had embraced remote working in California (don't remember the company) and when one of the major earthquakes hit, they were able to recover faster - in fact they almost did not have down time - and were able to serve the community almost instantly. It was amazing.
As we move forward in time, remote working is going to increase in importance. It is only a matter of imagination and desire. The management part is still behind in this transformation....
dj
In South Florida the saying is that a diesel mechanic is never out of work. If you still want to work, I'll bet you could get into a central Florida marina for under $1,000 a month and hang out your shingle. There are enough cruisers passing through in the winter heading to or from the Islands, and a waiting list for service. Throw in diesel survey work on sales, and that would keep you busy. I paid $400 / engine for a survey, so $1,200 for a catamaran with the generator, for about 4 hours work.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,867
There are some tasks that are not conducive to remote work. I volunteer ( which means I work when I want and have time) at a winery tasting room. I get to greet guests, pour wine, and tell stories.
It is a great fun gig. Get paid in wine.
I meet people and generally they have a smile on their face as I pour them a taste of wine and we talk about the grapes. Kind of like the folks I meet on the marina docks as the walk to or ready their boats to untie the lines.
I don’t mind driving the 4 miles to the vineyard.
It is a great fun gig. Get paid in wine.
I meet people and generally they have a smile on their face as I pour them a taste of wine and we talk about the grapes. Kind of like the folks I meet on the marina docks as the walk to or ready their boats to untie the lines.
I don’t mind driving the 4 miles to the vineyard.
Remote IT management software has been part of the networking OS design since almost the beginning. A lot of what's availing isn't leveraged, a lot of what's being used isn't entirely effective or appropriate, but much of what's needed has been built for a while. I remember an expo in Boston where login times for clicking on and out, and keyboard activities, schedule software (remember LOTUS Notes?), as well as project outline and submission software was the latest in telecommuting, way back in the early 90s. Solutions are out there.
-Will