KJ, now that you have made a first successful cruise to Marathon Key, how about an update on some of your impressions and feeling about the livaboard and cruising lifestyle.
I will give it a try. It may take some time.
First, my impression on being a liveaboard. I absolutely enjoy living on the boat. At first, it took some adjustments, like learning to do without certain things I had become comfortable with when I lived in a rather sizable home. Things you take for granted in your everyday life. Conveniences, more than anything. For me however, it wasn’t just moving onto a boat, it was also relocating from California to South Carolina. I really enjoy the area that I call home now though.
When I moved onto the boat, I had some idea of what to expect both regarding both space and systems (except the engine room), having spent time on a similar boat on a west coast trip. I do admit that it took some time before I became comfortable in my own engine room. I would open the ER hatch and look down at those two big diesels and wonder what the heck was going on down there. There just seemed to be so much stuff; pumps, wires, hoses all over the place, fuel tanks hidden behind walls, filters and more filters. I spent half a day just reading and figuring out what the heat exchanger does and how it works. But in time I got most it figured out. And that’s the key. You gotta take your time and work your way through it all. I asked so many questions of people whose opinion I respected, that I’m sure I became quite a pest. But I needed to know things before I would even considered heading out.
The fella in the slip next to me has a good size Gulf Star that he has fixed up beautifully inside. But he’s been in the marina for four years and he’s never taken the boat out. He wanted to sell it to buy a bigger boat to live on, and when a surveyor showed up for a prospective buyer, neither one of the engines would start. He hadn’t turned them over since he was in the marina. For him it was just a floating condo. I have to admit that I had interior decorating envy big time, but I knew that was not what I wanted to do.
I realized after a while that I was becoming a little too comfortable living on the boat. I was in a nice marina, and I had my car. I realized that I really hadn’t given up that much after all. I mean at that point, the things that I missed the most that were in storage were my Les Paul and my golf clubs (which I will bring down this summer).
I had a list of things to do on the boat that was four pages long. I would scratch off one item and replace it with another. At some point I realized that I was probably just procrastinating due to departure anxiety.
So, I took the list and separated the things absolutely need to be done before I could realistically leave on a cruise, like changing the raw water hoses that were in pretty bad shape, and things that could wait till I got back, like changing a couple of cracked windows that were not leaking.
All of a sudden, the list shrunk to one page and before I knew it, it was all checked off. My nephew had arrived and we had enough time for him become a decent crew. We worked mostly on our anchoring routine (he’s also been reinstated as navigator since the Jacksonville gaffe).
So the day came to cast off and with a deep breath we left the security of the slip behind.
It would take too much space here to describe my feelings about cruising other than to say, it’s been great. Much, much more than I ever expected. I’m sure the sights, people, and experiences are different for each individual that cruises. For me, so far, they have been quite memorable.
But it’s not all peaches and cream. You absolutely have to be on top of your game when it comes to navigation. It only takes a moment of inattention and you can be in big trouble real fast. You should also be really comfortable knowing how your boat handles in different winds and currents.
And then there are the mind games you play while driving the boat. How many things can you worry about at the same time about all the things that could possibly go wrong on the boat at the worst time? After a while you just have to chuck it all out the isenglass and enjoy the cruise.
You realize that you can’t anticipate everything that could happen, and accept that things will eventually break and you will have to deal with them as best you can.
I would, however, highly recommend to anyone considering doing the ICW to buy the best chartplotter and depth sounder you can afford, and a really good guidebook. There are so many places that could cause you heaps of trouble even with this stuff. However, I had a new radar unit installed before I left but I haven’t needed it as of yet.
And don’t forget the spare parts. And the extra oil and filters. And the provisioning.
Because we were going to be anchoring out most of the time, it was important that we had the next day’s travel planned so that we had not only the best anchorage identified, but also viable alternatives if the first choice didn’t work out. One time we decided to pass up on our first choice because it was such a pleasant evening, so we continued on and eventually snaked our way up a small creek that was on our “OK” list. We wound up anchoring right behind the Sea Ray factory, right where they launch their brand new boats.
I would have like to have spent more time in some of the places we passed through, but like a lot of other cruisers, we do have a time constraint.
We didn’t get to the Bahamas this time around either. The Gulf Stream was a little too treacherous for my liking. That will have to wait for another cruise.
So, as of Sunday we’ve been hanging on a mooring ball in Marathon in the Fl. Keys. Yesterday, after an intense thunderstorm passed through the harbor, I was sitting on the sun deck, enjoying the sunny skies and the warm breeze, playing my acoustic while washing away the miles with a cold Corona. I asked myself, “was it worth it”? No brainer on that one. KJ
“It’s a dangerous business going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
– Bilbo Baggins
