Continuing preparation of "Every Day" Part 19

This week, hopefully, our boat and all the related gear will be moved to Manitowoc Marine. We will then have each of the specialists review each of the systems on the boat as well as review the interior and exterior of the boat to make a complete list of all the work that should be done on the boat. Once that is complete, we (the yard and us) will develop a plan and budget for the work we want to complete and order the long lead-time items. By the beginning of November, we are hoping to be working hard to complete the work before the winter is over. Next month, we will discuss the plans.

For those of you who are planning an adventure like ours or just planning to purchase a boat, we suggest that you go out sailing on as many boats that have similar use to the one your planning. For us there aren't that many blue water cruising boats in Chicago but there are a few. Bambi, aluminum hulled Alden 55 cutter, other than the rig the boat is very similar to ours. It has been really great going out sailing with Carl (the boat owner). He has made 5 trips to the Caribbean over the past 10 years. It was interesting how many of the systems were the same size as we have on our boat.

One of the stunning things was how simply the boat is set up and operated. All control lines are run to the cockpit so there is no need to leave the safety of the cockpit. There is plenty of storage for cloths, and gear but he says that honestly you live most of your days in shorts and tee shirts and there really isn't much need for all that much storage. His refrigerator and freezer is slightly larger than ours but he found that often he would not have that much food on board because he would be eating in the places he visited and thus needed a lot less than many cruisers acquire. He also would be traveling back and forth to the states and leaving a lot of food on board is not the best idea either. We have a feeling that except for the long voyages we will most likely live much the same way.

We talked a little about budget and he seemed to think that though cruising life is less expensive than land life, people don't change all that much. If you like to cook at home rather than going out, you will most likely continue that way aboard and if you eat out a lot you'll most likely continue that way as well. He has spoken to many long time cruisers and has come to the conclusion that a budget for everything of $40,000 a year makes for a very comfortable cruising budget.

Lastly, it was really nice to sail on a well-founded boat and to see how simple it is to get in the rhythm of relaxing and just leaving your troubles and daily worries behind. We can't tell you how much we are looking forward to that day of just casting off the dock lines and seeing where the wind takes us.

That's all for this month. Happy sailing everyone.