Still Hard At It

The work on the boat goes on at a steady pace. The old saying that life is what happens to you when you are making plans is all too true. Our original plan when the boat was purchased was to be on our way to the Bahamas by now. Things obviously did not work out that way but maybe that is not such a bad thing. In as great condition as the boat was when we bought her, she is in need of a LOT of work before she is able to comfortably do any long distance cruising. It appears that we will be here in Beaufort until at the very least next year. That might seem like a long time but with the work we need to do and the need to raise enough money to pay for all of the improvements and keep the cruising kitty intact, the time will fly. When we left on our previous boat to cruise from Houston to come here, it might have been the first time the boat was completely equipped and tested and we were not still working on projects as we headed out. It was a nice change from the past and we would very much like for this boat to be in that condition when we next leave the dock for a while.

Simple and Inexpensive WiFi

Part 1.

More and more cruisers, be they just weekenders or long distance travelers, are wrestling with the issues of staying connected and yes, I mean to the internet. My first boat had nothing more than a VHF radio and I was able to sail from the US mainland to Bermuda. Later on as the boats got larger and communications improved, a marine SSB radio was added. Then a famous person, I can’t remember who, invented the internet. With that, the ease of email crept into our lives and grew like a weed along the banks of some of the rivers we have traveled. We were hooked and began the search for the latest and greatest technology. Our first device was a hand held unit that was called Pocketmail and needed to be held up to a phone after calling a special number and it would send and receive your emails. It was a pretty neat device and very popular in the cruising circles. Next we added a Pactor modem to our SSB radio and after acquiring a Ham license, used the Winlink system to send and receive email and get that all important weather information. We still have and use extensively the Winlink system. But the more we were exposed to the internet itself, the more important it became and the more functional we found it to gather information on weather, emails and the areas we were traveling- something the Winlink could not do for us.

And The Beat Goes On

We have just had a couple of days of some pretty steady rains and found out we have not yet resolved all of our water leaks. The good news is that the serious ones have not resurfaced and it appears that right now we have only one to deal with. This one is in the forward cabin coming from the area of the cap rail. We are assuming this is coming from the stanchion bases since that is one area we have not sealed yet, so that is priority since rain is forecast again in a few days. After removing fasteners from the bases we are pretty certain this is our problem. The old screws are loose, rusted and broken and most are the originals. As is our usual deck repair, once the fasteners are removed we fill the holes with a thickened mix of West System epoxy. This seals the wood around the holes and perhaps some of the spaces where the water can pass through. Prior to filling anything the areas are taped well to make a cleaner, neater job when it is finished. A small hardwood dowel is inserted in the holes to give the new fasteners something to grab to. A healthy dose of caulk is injected into the hole and the fasteners are also coated with caulk. I am using stainless steel lag bolts in place of the old slotted screws. This allows me to tighten them more than with a screw driver. One of the little tricks is to not tighten too much and allow the caulk to dry. Then come back and tighten the fasteners later and the dried caulk will actually form a gasket. The tape is also removed after the caulk is dry and the caulk is trimmed to make a finished look. The radical change in fasteners also makes it very apparent which ones still need to be replaced.

One of the more fun projects is completed and that is the installation of the new stereo system and six disc CD changer. We have used Clarion products in the past with good results and performance so stayed with what we know. The hard part was getting the panel cut to flush mount the CD changer since they are not designed for this. The Clarion also allows us to run audio cables to it and connect those from the output of the TV. With four new stereo speakers mounted forward and aft in the main cabin we now have surround sound from the TV and DVD player without the large entertainment systems taking up valuable space. We found marine stereo speakers by Dual at Boaters World at a great price and they sound fantastic. Now the TV, DVD player, CD changer and of course the stereo itself are all together. With the DirectTV satellite system we also have satellite radio which now can be sent through the stereo.

The teak master is also starting on all of the outside teak, and there is lots of it. The former owners put a deck stain on all of the teak and while this did protect it we need to remove it all for the refinishing process. We also had lots of exterior teak on our previous boat and have been down the varnishing and other finishes path for a lot of years. We have recently settled on Sikkens Cetol and don't regret it one bit. It is much, much easier to apply and maintain than varnish, looks great using the Natural Teak and lasts much longer than varnish in the tropics. Adding maintenance coats is a snap. But we are just in the beginning stages.

Battery charging has been on my mind of late and charging the starting battery without overcharging has been a consideration. I have decided to use the Xantrex Echo Charger for the starting battery, rather than try and connect it to the house charger. This is a simple connection from the house bank to the starting battery and it senses when the starting battery needs a charge and borrows it from the house bank charger or alternator. Otherwise the house charger and alternator are connected to and charge the house bank. It solves my charging problems and does a very efficient job.

The windlass is also in the starting phase. It is mounted on the bow platform but I still need to do the wiring and install switches, etc. The water leaks have caused a few things to be put on hold until they are resolved but the windlass will be a pretty straight forward install. We will also need to upgrade our anchor rode and chain but all things will get done eventually.

Cruising on a Working Class Budget

Our Mariner 40 ketch, Sea Trek, had been our home for 17 years until the purchase of our current new to us trawler Beach House. In that time we have lived aboard and cruised her whenever the kitty reached the magic number we had set for our next voyage. Since leaving our previous home base in the Florida Keys for one particular trip, we had put a bit more than 3,000 miles under her keel. We visited four countries and transited the coastline of five states — two with the largest coasts in the United States and two with the shortest. We have put 750 hours on our engine and that means eight oil and filter changes and five changes of our three fuel filters. This does not take into account our trip from Houston Texas to Beaufort, South Carolina. Our unscientific estimate of anchoring is that we have dropped and raised the anchor more than 190 times (and with a manual windlass). We were very fortunate in only having three pieces of equipment break down and we believe this is a result of good preparation and a good maintenance schedule along the way.

We only spent 127 days at a dock out of 20 months. We anchored behind a reef with nothing but ocean on the other side for thousands of miles. We visited remote Mayan villages and dispensed medicine to a people that once ruled the land in a grand civilization. We visited thousand-year-old ruins of that civilization. It was a grand adventure.

We also spent a few hard-earned dollars. Walk any dock or visit any cruisers’ hang-out or surf the Internet and stop in at any boater’s discussion board and the “How much does it cost?” question always pops up. Our expenditures presented here are for one year only and do not include preparation, gear, provisioning purchased prior to leaving or money needed to get by once you return to reality, but before the paychecks start coming in again. It includes actual money spent from the time we left the dock until the end of the 12th month. Our cruise began April 1, 2005 and the figures are through March 31, 2006.

We enjoy eating out occasionally, and love to travel and explore the countries we visit. Boat maintenance and repairs are a fact of life and how much you need to budget for repairs is going to be mostly guesswork based on the condition of the boat and the age of your equipment.

Assuming that you have fully outfitted your boat with all the gear — watermaker, life raft, wind generator, solar panels, dinghy and outboard — that you feel you must have to enjoy cruising and to be comfortable and safe, you will then have to provision the boat with foodstuffs and other non-food items. Again, I am not counting this in our expenses, but mention it because there are some items we generally stock up on prior to leaving U.S. waters because they are often difficult or cumbersome to get in remote places. We buy toilet paper and paper towels in large quantities and store them in our largest hanging locker. (The clothes that resided there are packed away for the duration, off the boat and in storage in a friend’s garage.) We also buy as much soda and beer as we can stow on the boat because it is much cheaper in the United States and it is easier than bringing it by dinghy back to the boat. A year’s supply of vitamins, herbal remedies, prescription meds, over-the-counter remedies, etc., are also placed on board. The over-the-counter medications are generally cheaper in the United States and you might have favorite throat lozenges and if, by chance, you can find them in Belize, they will cost two to three times the amount. Regarding paying the bills: If you have a boat payment to make each month, have those payments automatically deducted from your account. We only use our debit card from that same account when traveling so we don’t have to worry about monthly credit card bills.

We decided to keep our car instead of selling it this time around so we had the insurance automatically deducted from said account every six months. The car was left with friends, who drove it instead of just letting it sit and rot. Any other bills that may be floating around get sent to us periodically through our mail forwarding service. They are great and will even open the mail and tell us how much the bill is if we can’t access it online, or if we don’t want to pay exorbitant postage to have it sent to us outside of the United States.

We also have made the decision not to carry health insurance while cruising outside the United States. If we need healthcare, we have found it to be affordable everywhere we traveled (except the States) and there are competent physicians in most places. Knock on wood — we have not had any serious health problems in all of our years aboard. This is a personal decision that someone with specific health issues may not be able to make. We don’t own a home or any property anywhere that has to be maintained and the kids are grown so when we are ready to go, all of the strings and umbilical cords have been severed.

Breaking it down

Now, after spending $1,000 or so putting canned foods, paper products, snacks, cookies, juices, shelf milk, rice and so forth into every possible nook and cranny aboard Sea Trek, we are ready to go. The budget consists of about nine months spent in the Western Caribbean and three months in the United States. The category for boat fuel consists of both diesel for the boat and gas for the dinghy. Boat repair consists of what we paid others, and parts and materials for repairs and replacements that we did ourselves. We have found this figure to be pretty steady throughout recent years. Remember, the wear and tear you put on your boat while under way is much more than it would be just sitting at the dock, so these repairs are inevitable even for a relatively new boat.

The amount we spent on dining out was a big shock to us, but we have included all trips to the local ice cream shop and stops for sodas and beer as well as lunches and dinners in restaurants. If it didn’t get consumed on the boat, it was considered dining out. Dockage was a fairly large figure for us, but it seemed we spent more time in marinas for various reasons than we usually do. In some places, anchorages just aren’t available due to shoaling or the anchorages have been replaced by mooring fields. In other areas, like Belize City, services can only be accessed by going into a marina. Entertainment included Internet cafes, CDs, museums, concerts, visiting ruins, satellite TV and the like. Travel is taxis, buses, rental cars, etc. Housing was our boat payment. Miscellaneous was haircuts, insect repellent and strange things that didn’t fall into other categories or cash that was spent that we could not account for. Maintenance included any item that was purchased to maintain the boat in her present condition. Most of the other categories are self explanatory and should not require any further explanation.

So here is how it breaks down for the year:

Auto insurance (recreational use only) – $378.20

Gas for borrowed cars and rentals – $130.21

Bank charges – $270

Boat fuel (diesel and gas) – $1,440.06

Boat insurance (covering Caribbean) – $2,631.92

Charity – $13

Clothing – $63.02

Dining – $1,792.05

Dockage – $1,833.07

Entertainment – $654.46

Gifts – $229.02

Groceries/provisions – $3,828.54

Housing (boat payments) – $4,479.36

Laundry – $165.10

Maintenance – $888.97

Medical/doctors – $242.50

Medicine – $233.09

Miscellaneous – $730.39

Port fees – $608.83

Postage – $17.28

Subscriptions – $52.86

Taxes and registration – $45.60

Utilities/electric – $161.99

Phone – $304.40

Hotels – $395.07

Travel – $369.66

Our total expenditures for the year were $25,805.10. If your boat is paid off, you’re down to about $21,500 and the amount can be even less if you only anchor out, don’t eat out, etc. Again, we feel this amount is fairly accurate as other friends of ours whose boat is paid off figure they spend about $20,000 for a year off in the wild blue yonder. Surprisingly enough, as I look at our budget for previous years, the costs have not changed dramatically except in the areas of insurance and fuel.Your cruising destination will also determine the final costs. Cruising the eastern Caribbean is much more expensive that our cruise of the western Caribbean.

Behind the numbers

To give you an idea of what boat repairs we encountered, the depth sounder transducer needed to be replaced and it had to be a special length so it cost more than your standard transducer. We hauled the boat and had the bottom painted, which should probably be in the maintenance category, but we had the depth sounder installed at that time so we considered it a repair. We also had our outboard completely rebuilt when it was becoming sluggish. We decided that our anchor rode was a little tired and should be replaced. Also, we had to buy a new microwave oven in Guatemala when the old one gave up the ghost. If it was on the boat and had to be repaired or replaced, it was counted in the boat repair category. The last thing you have to take into consideration over and beyond the above-mentioned expenditures is the amount you will need when you return to keep you going until you are gainfully employed once again. How much depends on how long it might take to start generating a steady income.

Let your needs and considerations be the determining factors to help you compute your costs, but by all means go and have fun.We expect the numbers to change somewhat with the new boat. Fuel costs most certainly will increase and since our cruising grounds will be more towards inland lakes and rivers of the US we must assume other costs will also change. But the numbers still give you a general idea of our costs for long distance cruising. Individual wants and needs and boat size as well as comfort levels will also dictate expenditures.

Some New Equipment

We have taken a break from caulking and sealing leaks since it appears we may have corrected most of them. We have been doing our part to stimulate the economy and spent a whole bunch of money on new equipment so it is time to install some of it. The original VHF on the boat is an older Standard unit and although it worked, well we needed a VHF at the lower helm as well as the flybridge. Buying a new radio and putting it on the flybridge would only cost slightly less than buying the radio and installing a remote mic and would be a simple install. In addition, the VHF would only need one antenna and no splitter. I like the Standard Horizon equipment because past experience has shown it to be dependable, well built, easy to interface, and very user friendly. It has all of the features we need and not loaded with features we will never use. The Standard Horizon Quest VHF at the lower helm and the remote mic at the bridge make a great solution and will connect to our Standard Horizon Chartplotter at the helm to give us GPS capabilities for the DSC portion of the radio. Running the single cable to the flybridge was a snap and the remote mic gives us full control of the radio from that location. One cool feature is the intercom setting which allows you to speak to the person at the other station.

Preparations Are Under Way

Since we have finally put the boat delivery behind us we have been working on the new boat every day from morning to evening. We only have a few weeks before we need to head south. We have a commitment in the Bahamas so really want to be under way by December 1st and still have lots of work to do. We have ordered new equipment, a VHF radio with remote mic for the flybridge, a wash down pump for the anchor, a new windlass and a whole lot more. But before any of that gets installed we have a few other priorities.

In The Beginning

With the survey completed and the boat hanging in the slings it did not take a marine engineer to see that the bottom had not been painted in a few years and although not as bad as we expected was indeed in need. We have received good feedback and recommendations for the yard here, Marsh Harbor Marina, so we decided to have them block the boat and paint the bottom and save us some money doing another haul out later. Since we had thrown this at them outside their already busy schedule and even brought another boat over with us for them to work on (another story), we were surprised when they said “no problem”. After a thorough power wash and blasting the prop, shaft and rudder of old paint and lots of marine growth, she was blocked and ready to be sanded, faired and painted.

The Survey.

The survey was just completed on the new trawler today and all went well. We found a surveyor Named Bob Dolce from Hilton Head that is both experienced and very knowledgeable and has intimate knowledge of the Marine Trader line and has been familiar with the boats since they were first imported and sold. We were very fortunate to find him. He was able to immediately go to the usual potential problem areas and recognize the correct repairs and upgrades that have been done on the boat. He will also be able to best establish the correct value of the boat instead of just using the WAG method ( wild ass guess) that many surveyors use for older boats.

A New Boat?

We have been looking for the next boat almost since the closing of Sea Trek. As a former Broker for many years and 35 years in the marine industry I should not be surprised by what we have seen but I still am. Boat owners trying to sell their boats yet they have pretty much abandoned them and they are for the most part in deplorable condition. The outsides are filthy and the interiors are dirty, moldy and smelly. And they really think someone is going to come along and pay tens of thousands of dollars for these disasters. Sometimes the photos on the listings look pretty good but the reality in person is quite the opposite. Over and over we ask ourselves "what are they thinking?" maybe the answer is, they are not.