Storm watch 2022 has begun in earnest in the Caribbean. During hurricane season, the weather report we follow (Chris Parker) begins doing “interim” tropical storm updates in addition to the regular weather reports. This year, Chris decided to totally geek out on the reports and he is now including statistics from all the weather stations around the world as well as tracking models. For any of you weather geeks out there, I am sure these additions would be very interesting. For me, it is like trudging through paragraphs of Charlie Brown’s teacher talking…wah, wah, wah. So, I now rely on Bill to trudge through the nightmarish reports and I figure if he cranks the boat one morning, that means the weather report was not positive. Until that time, I’ll just continue to live in ignorant bliss and enjoy the coolness of a cloudy day.
This week, we have been attempting to get more boat projects lined up but we have been at the mercy of the dreaded CMT (Caribbean Maybe Time). Our fabricators who are supposed to be fixing their original outrageous quote have fallen off the Earth so Bill will be tracking them down once again. We have also been trying to figure out which paint to put on the bottom of the boat when we haul out in August. Paint seems like a simple enough concept. For painting my house, I had to decide what color and if I wanted flat, sheen or gloss. Not so with boat paint. First comes the question of “how often do you need to paint the bottom of the boat?” Simple question. Not so simple answer. So far, we have had the following answers: “every year”; “every couple of years”; “once you think you need it”; “depends”; and last but not least, a few empty stares followed by a walk away. So, based on the paint we currently have on the bottom of our boat, we guess that every 3 to 4 years is probably a good guess. Next comes the question of “which type of paint is best?” So far, we have these answers: “ablative paint because it knocks off the barnacles as the boat moves”; “Don’t get ablative paint, you need hard paint”; “depends”; stare and walk away. Once again, we are going with what we already have on the boat which is an ablative paint. We figure if it has worked well so far, we’ll stick with it. Easy enough….until we go to buy the paint. Evidently the paint on our boat which obviously works well is going to cause a global crisis of some sort according to the US government. So, our current paint has been discontinued and we now have a choice of “environmentally friendly” paint which translates to “your boat paint is going to suck”. We voted on “acceptance” and we are moving ahead with the paint purchase. Throughout our sailing time, we have met many boaters from many walks of life. Now that we have been on the boat for almost 3 years, we have somehow become the “experts” on boat life. I never thought we’d be the ones approached with questions about boating but evidently, not dying for three years makes us gurus of the boating world. For this week’s lesson, we have addressed five very important points that we think people considering the boating life need to take into account. Since most boating adventures begin with the male species uttering the words, “I think I want to live on a boat,” the aim of these five points is to make that dream move more smoothly toward reality.
2. Know the laws, regulations and fees involved prior to purchasing the boat Many people go outside the USA to purchase a boat for several reasons. The boats may be less expensive, the boat may be in a region of the world the boater wants to sail or they fall in love with a boat and think “it is the only one I want!” (dangerous thought but we’ll cover that later). Generally, most of the people we know that purchased boats outside of the USA have a few nightmare stories to share. Boat surveys in the islands tend to be less than stellar so the boat purchased ends up needing more repairs than planned. One of the new boaters we just met in St. Maarten found out that the previous owner fled the country back to Canada without paying any of his marina fees or port fees for the past THREE years! Now, the marina is telling the new owner he owes thousands of dollars in fees. The owner stopped by our boat and said, “I just wanted to find out what my rights are in this situation and I figured you might know. I need to know before I go tell them I’m not paying this bill.” He did not like my answer which was, “You have no rights. You’d better be good at begging.” It would never have occurred to me to ask about marina fees and such prior to closing because all those fees are included in a sale in the States. So, be sure you have a reputable boat broker and surveyor no matter where you buy the boat. 3. The living plan Not only do many partners buy the boat without including their significant other in the process, they assume the significant other is on the same page with living on the boat. While the husband is thinking, “Oh, welcome home honey!”, the wife is thinking, “Oh, this will be a nice place to spend a few weeks in the summer”. In only three years, we have watched numerous relationships fall apart because they did not have a simple, up front conversation. Our new buddy’s wife is not onboard with boat life at all so he is sitting in St. Maarten by himself. He said he'll move the boat back to the USA to live and he “won’t be off the boat more than 3 weeks in a row”. I am guessing in his mind he is thinking, “49 weeks a year will work for me” while his wife is thinking, “Yes, three weeks off and one week on sounds good to me”. Bill and I had a talk up front where we laid out our plan and made adjustments for each one’s wants and needs. We live on the boat fulltime but we get an Airbnb for a few days whenever I need to some off boat time. We also go back to the States at least once a year for Thanksgiving with my family. This year, we had to make an adjustment after last hurricane season almost killed us from boredom and we agreed that in the future, we would not spend months sitting in one spot on a small island…..so off we go on our European/Africa adventure! I call that a successful plan! 4. Have a plan on how to move and store the boat prior to buying the boat Prior to buying a boat, I figured it was a lot like a car. Wrong. It is nothing like a car. If you buy a new car and you need to move it a long distance, you hop in the car, drive until you are tired, pull over and get a hotel, buy some gas and continue until you reach your destination. Moving a boat takes major planning. First, there is usually a scarcity of fuel so you have to search for fuel and make sure someone is available that day (or sometimes week) to fuel up the boat. Next, it is rare to able to pull a boat over on the side of the ocean for a night’s sleep. Therefore, you need to calculate the hours you will need for transport and then figure out the number of crew needed to move the boat with you. Then, you must find crew that fits your schedule and budget. Keep in mind you have not even looked at weather or routing yet. Boats also don’t have a garage and boat storage can cost a lot of money depending on where you are located. So once again, do your research! 5. There’s no such thing as a ‘one of a kind’ boat If you get your heart set on a ‘one of a kind’ boat that is fine…as long as you have a large checkbook. The key to buying a boat is having several options and make sure the current boat owners know you are looking at several other viable options. The bidding wars will save you thousands of dollars! If you don’t get your ‘one of a kind’ boat the first time, just remember, boats are like prostitutes….there’s at least one in every port! Here's my funny of the week. Our current boat neighbors are a quiet French couple. The other day, she came and asked me if she could borrow a fork. Thinking I misunderstood, I said, “Did you say a fork?” She responded, “Oui, a fork.” Confused, but wanting to be a good neighbor, I went to fetch a fork. Bill asked, “What are doing?” “I’m getting a fork for the Frenchies.” “A fork?” “Oui, a fork”. I still have no idea why she didn’t have a fork onboard her liveaboard boat but se la vie! PS: my camera lens is broken and I won’t have another one until I get to the States in July so no pictures this week! I know I could use my phone but that would entail remembering to take it with me!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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