DakotaBlackSD
Newbie
WOW! This forum has served me with a wealth of information that is unbeaten as of anywhere else on the web I've come across. You all really know your stuff!
With that in mind I have a few things I'd love to get any/all advice possible on from this library of experience. I've always had a dream of living on a boat- but I don't even know where to start. I'm in a position now that I'm seriously considering giving up life on dry land and could financially do it. This is probably ridiculous because I have no real experience to speak of, save a summer aboard a commercial fishing boat with my grandfather at 15 that was the best of my life.
I'm really wanting to take some classes and learn as much as I can about piloting, talk to people with real liveaboard experience, get advice on the typical pitfalls of first-time boat buyers and really any other reccommendations that you wish you had had anywhere along the way.
So far in my research I've realized I'd rather motor than sail, and that have a serious aesthetic yen for wooden boats but I realize this may be a HUGE mistake for a total newbie. (I'm keeping my eye on a 41ft '73 Roughwater & a 38ft '67 Owens Grenada for sale in my area... both under the 70k mark in case there are specifics I should know even deeper for either of those...) I've also figured out that I'd realistically be a dock queen for quite awhile with an occasional jaunt to Catalina until I have WAAAY more experience under my belt. Then the real questions start... twin engine v. single, fiberglass maintenance v. wood maintenance, flybrige v. salon piloting, and that's just the beginning. I find the more I am learning, the more I realize that I am a total idiot when it comes to anything about boating and that I am in need of some serious guidance.... my head is spinning.
This is where you all come in! Please help a girl out. I'm pretty handy, and love to repair/restore things myself, but I realize that at the ripe ol' age of 28 and thinking about doing this solo, I could also just be living in a total pipe-dream and not recognize my you-know-what from a hole in the ground. I am a sponge for anything you can teach me, and any links or resources you can point me toward that will help me make an informed decision as to if I can even pull off this lifestyle. And if so- what questions should I be asking myself- and what questions should I be asking others? I sure hope that I'm not just kidding myself. Slap some sense into me please!
With that in mind I have a few things I'd love to get any/all advice possible on from this library of experience. I've always had a dream of living on a boat- but I don't even know where to start. I'm in a position now that I'm seriously considering giving up life on dry land and could financially do it. This is probably ridiculous because I have no real experience to speak of, save a summer aboard a commercial fishing boat with my grandfather at 15 that was the best of my life.
I'm really wanting to take some classes and learn as much as I can about piloting, talk to people with real liveaboard experience, get advice on the typical pitfalls of first-time boat buyers and really any other reccommendations that you wish you had had anywhere along the way.
So far in my research I've realized I'd rather motor than sail, and that have a serious aesthetic yen for wooden boats but I realize this may be a HUGE mistake for a total newbie. (I'm keeping my eye on a 41ft '73 Roughwater & a 38ft '67 Owens Grenada for sale in my area... both under the 70k mark in case there are specifics I should know even deeper for either of those...) I've also figured out that I'd realistically be a dock queen for quite awhile with an occasional jaunt to Catalina until I have WAAAY more experience under my belt. Then the real questions start... twin engine v. single, fiberglass maintenance v. wood maintenance, flybrige v. salon piloting, and that's just the beginning. I find the more I am learning, the more I realize that I am a total idiot when it comes to anything about boating and that I am in need of some serious guidance.... my head is spinning.
This is where you all come in! Please help a girl out. I'm pretty handy, and love to repair/restore things myself, but I realize that at the ripe ol' age of 28 and thinking about doing this solo, I could also just be living in a total pipe-dream and not recognize my you-know-what from a hole in the ground. I am a sponge for anything you can teach me, and any links or resources you can point me toward that will help me make an informed decision as to if I can even pull off this lifestyle. And if so- what questions should I be asking myself- and what questions should I be asking others? I sure hope that I'm not just kidding myself. Slap some sense into me please!