Any formerly land locked cruisers out there? Want to tell me how you got started? We looked into crewed charters, and cruising coerces through several schools and was astounded at the cost. It would have been a nice down payment on a boat if both my wife and I would attend.
Landlocked wanna be cruiser looking for advice.
- Thread starter joatmon67
- Start date
- Status
We moved to SF Bay, because I wanted to sail. My brother wanted to cruise, so they bought a boat in the PNW and spend each summer sailing from one island to another. Nice to be a teacher. One of his friends purchansed a boat, had it trucked to Montana, and stored it on the hard in the middle of town. No sales tax in Montana so he saved enough for the transport and having the boat local made it easier to upgrade the boat over several years. A good friend just bought a Balboa 26 that the PO used to trailer from central CA to PNW for cruising each year. We have been thinking that the big loop down Ol' Miss and around the ICWW would be an interesting adventure in a small power cruiser that could be sold after the trip. There was a family that cruised the ocean for several years and then returned to the US. They purchased an RV and a trailerable sailboat to cruise the US. Lots of lakes everywhere accross the US. If you are really land locked, low cost air fairs might get you to places where you can sail. Books and the internet can help you learn to sail and maintain boat systems. You will find a solution. Just be realistic and not romantic. Cruising is doing boat maintenance in really exotic places. You might find it more fun to do your boat maintenance at home and go vacationing every year. Good luck with your planning.
When we retired in 97 we bought a 1995 Hunter 26 and spent the entire next 2 years learning to sail it in all weather conditions. Since our boat was on a trailer we took it home every winter, tarped it over with tarping high enough to work under it. We lived 15 minutes from a large lake we sailed on. During this entire time my wife became an expert on all sailboats big enough to live aboard and cruise. At the end of our 2nd summer we sold the boat, packed up our belongings in a storage locker and sold the house. We left Washington State in early spring and drove to Georgia. When we ran into the ocean we turned to the right and started looking at at least 5 boats a day. When we hit Homestead Fla. we took a 3 day break and prepaired to run up the west coast of Fla. During that break we found a 38 foot boat in Mobile Ala. on the internet. After talking with the owner we drove straight there and bought that boat after it passed our strict survey. We then had a small pallet of items shipped to us from home and started our live aboard cruising adventure.
You just gota do it. That's the only way it will happen!
Ray
You just gota do it. That's the only way it will happen!
Ray
You do not have to be landlocked. I would imagine your O'day 22 can be trailered. If you do not own a trailer I would suggest you acquire one. I gather you are in the Pittsburgh area so you could trailer the boat down to Maryland on the northern Chesapeake Bay. It should not be more than a 5 hour drive. Those overpriced "cruising courses" are no more than crewed charters where you are expected to do part of the work under the guise of being tutored. To me it is more effective to learn by reading or attending seminars and then going out in your own boat to practice what you have learned. Save the money for the boat. The disciplines that you may need to into are:
1) boat handling
2) navigation, with compass, charts and GPS and use of published cruising guides
3) anchoring
4) provisioning
5) use of VHF radio
6) boat and engine maintenance
7) Rules of the Road
8) Tow insurance and the money and trip saving benefits for the cruisers
9) Marine weather
10) meals preparation aboard
11) Trip planning. The success of a trip is largely dependant on the planning done beforehand. Get the most information on the destinantion, marinas and services in the area, weather, points of interest and place to avoid.
We trailer a 1985 Starwind 223 to different sailing venues in the East Coast. Among the best known are the Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound and the Outer Banks. We'll talke an 8 to 10 day trip and visit different towns and points of interest in the area. We have done three trips to the Chesapeake Bay so far and have not even scratched the surface. On the last one a couple of years ago we watched the 4th of July fireworks in Washington, DC from the water and then took 3 days to sail down the length of the Potomac River. A trailerable boat is a great way to go mini-cruising if you do not have the available time. About boating and cruising there is always something new to learn so don't believe anyone who claims they know everything.
1) boat handling
2) navigation, with compass, charts and GPS and use of published cruising guides
3) anchoring
4) provisioning
5) use of VHF radio
6) boat and engine maintenance
7) Rules of the Road
8) Tow insurance and the money and trip saving benefits for the cruisers
9) Marine weather
10) meals preparation aboard
11) Trip planning. The success of a trip is largely dependant on the planning done beforehand. Get the most information on the destinantion, marinas and services in the area, weather, points of interest and place to avoid.
We trailer a 1985 Starwind 223 to different sailing venues in the East Coast. Among the best known are the Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound and the Outer Banks. We'll talke an 8 to 10 day trip and visit different towns and points of interest in the area. We have done three trips to the Chesapeake Bay so far and have not even scratched the surface. On the last one a couple of years ago we watched the 4th of July fireworks in Washington, DC from the water and then took 3 days to sail down the length of the Potomac River. A trailerable boat is a great way to go mini-cruising if you do not have the available time. About boating and cruising there is always something new to learn so don't believe anyone who claims they know everything.
You have a trailerable boat........ you live in Pennsylvania.... why do you feel land locked? The Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay offer some of the best cruising anywhere.... and your 23 footer will serve you well in both areas. Get some books on cruising... cruising guides for the areas that intererest you... and read up. Short trips at first, to get an idea of things you need to do for longer trips. Then, if you're Jonesing for a bigger, more comfortable boat..... do like Ray Bowles or Sumner Patterson. And just do it.
After I retired in 1995, my girlfriend and I left Annapolis and did the ICW on my Hunter legend 35 with a 4.5' draft. No dinghy, no dodger, no bimini. yes to a portable generator, coffee maker and microwave. Eventually got to the Virgin islands and 2 years later went back to Ft. Lauderdale, sold the boat and bought 51 footer in Tortola.
The 2 years gave us an idea of what we wanted. Cruised and race Chesapeake bay. We felt we were ready to go big. The 51' became our home for the next 12 years. Cruise from Trinidad/Venezuela to Maine, down to the keys, Cuba, Isla Mujeres, Honduras, Guatemala, back up and across the islands and St. Croix. JUST DO IT!
The 2 years gave us an idea of what we wanted. Cruised and race Chesapeake bay. We felt we were ready to go big. The 51' became our home for the next 12 years. Cruise from Trinidad/Venezuela to Maine, down to the keys, Cuba, Isla Mujeres, Honduras, Guatemala, back up and across the islands and St. Croix. JUST DO IT!
I'm with Joe on this one...
You can buy on line all of the textbooks used by the ASA for their classes... just read them and practice the techniques (when no one is looking)
I had a guy show me the basics when I was 10 years old and since then I've read every sailing book I can find.... That was 37 years ago and now I have three bookshelves devoted to sailing...but I've never had a formal class. Heck, reading the books is part of the fun of being a sailor.
Keep a sailing "resume" of books you have read, places you have cruised and boats you have chartered and after a bit, you won't have trouble chartering boats without the ASA credentials... at least I have not had any trouble and I've charted three times in the last four years.
And my advice to you is to resist the urge to move onto a bigger boat. I've made that mistake and have found that I sail more now that I've moved back down to a trailerable sailboat. I guess if you live near a marina a bigger boat makes sense but ... I don't so I trailer my boat to the lake, the Chesapeake and the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. Your boat is perfect for that.
Fair winds,
r
trailersailors.com
do you know how to sail the boat you have? if not try a small boat class. adult learn to sail. sunfish, or a anything small. easier to get the feel of the winds and learn how it works on a small boat, since it happens faster.
if the 22 is too small, there are other larger trailer sailors.
or just charter in the BVI's or wherever 2x a year.
do you know how to sail the boat you have? if not try a small boat class. adult learn to sail. sunfish, or a anything small. easier to get the feel of the winds and learn how it works on a small boat, since it happens faster.
if the 22 is too small, there are other larger trailer sailors.
or just charter in the BVI's or wherever 2x a year.
A very Economical Resource: US Power Squadron
You might try to find a chapter of the US Power Squadron. They offer very inexpensive courses from Boat Safe, Seamanship, Piloting, Advanced Piloting, to Celestial Navigation.
http://www.usps.org/
You might try to find a chapter of the US Power Squadron. They offer very inexpensive courses from Boat Safe, Seamanship, Piloting, Advanced Piloting, to Celestial Navigation.
http://www.usps.org/
I would be landlocked in California if I didn't pull the trailer out of the driveway. Our plan after restoration is small local lakes to get the feel of things then a couple classes as yet to be determined. Along the way we will charter once or twice with a captain in our chosen cruising grounds, then splash and go for it.
Will we make mistakes? Probably did getting the boat in the first place
Will we lick our wounds and carry on? You bet
Welcome to boating
Will we make mistakes? Probably did getting the boat in the first place
Will we lick our wounds and carry on? You bet
Welcome to boating
CP,Will we make mistakes? Probably did getting the boat in the first place
Will we lick our wounds and carry on? You bet
Welcome to boating
I may have made the same mistake. My $500 Oday 20 has yet to sail out of the driveway. But as the son of a hard headed coal mining dutchman, we can fix it, or die trying. I took a basic keel boat course, and sailing looks like an excellent past time to burn up time and money. I'm hooked. I have an understanding bride of 20 years, and I think she maybe as crazy as I am. This can only turn out well.
Todd
Last edited:
- Status