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Old 09-09-2014, 05:23 PM   #10
caltexflanc
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City: North Carolina for now
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,348
Freelancer: Welcome! We did the same thing, sold virtually everything, went cruising and had no land side home for about 6 years. Wonderful experience, though admittedly we had a very cushy boat and a much bigger budget. We did it and timed it for exactly the reasons you describe.

Some fairly good advice so far, though I, of all people truly and strongly believe you should buy the smallest boat you can be comfortable in, NOT the biggest boat you can afford. Have you three ever spent any extended time, say a week, sleeping and living and cruising on a boat? In our opinion it is very hard to select a live aboard and extended cruiser without having done so... which is why people wish they could have gone larger, or even smaller in some cases. Much like buying an entire wardrobe without knowing your size or trying anything on. It's more than the living accommodations, it is the ergonomics of running, handling, anchoring, docking and fixing the thing. These things are very personal decisions that only you can decide with any certainty.

One thing we decided very early on was to lose the pooch; fortunately our kids were glad to take him over. And we had a very small, portable little guy. We are so glad we did. The dog ends up driving the agenda and the itinerary, even if you can train it to "go" on the boat, and way moreso if you can't. We see people basically ending up being unpaid captain and crew for the dog.

Lastly, in our opinion, also lose the whole "Admiral" designation; she has a first name, use it.

Agree that Michigan to Florida and back is a long, expensive commute. Do it once maybe and I bet you'll soon figure out a way not to.
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