They aren’t swear words. But Noel has his, and I have mine.
They are our verbal duelling swords. Each is sharp and effective at putting a shiver of fear up each others’ spine.
It’s a new tactic for Noel. Whenever I say, “I have an idea.” He stuffs his fingers right in to his ears and sings as loudly as he can, until I get the hump and say, rather sulkily, “Right, I’m not telling you now.” Which is, of course, his desired effect.
Don’t let the innocent face fool you!
So, in addition to this tactic, whenever I mention my B word, he slinks off and starts researching his B word.
Have you guessed them yet? Mine is Books and his is Boats!
Image courtesy of Supertrooper at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
When I was talking about more book ideas yesterday, Noel went very quiet and I caught him looking up sailboats for sale!!
I’ve been reminded about how crappy sanding a boat can be. I must have whinged about the job a fair bit as Noel bought me an electric sander today – and they say romance is dead!
Covered in a layer of sanding dust and looking forward to a beer!
This gift is almost as ‘romantic’ as my first wedding anniversary gift, ‘The 12 Volt Bible’!! But that’s a different, (and a rather incredible), story (more details here).
With the pipes clean I turned my attention to the next part, preparing the wheelhouse roof for painting.
First I removed all the loose paint, then I became a sanding maniac. My sore knees, stiff muscles and the fine coating of ‘dust’ reminded me how much I hate sanding.
Lying down on the job – I was just glad I didn’t fall off!
But a good painting job is all about the preparation and after one full afternoon and a full morning – hurrah! I could finally paint!
To the paint, I added Rustol Owatrol, Antirouille Incolore, the French equivalent of Penetrol, which makes oil-based paint stick and flow better. I added fifty percent to the first coat, ten percent to the second coat. The mixture is very good at covering rusty parts of steel, provided there are there no loose flakes.
The first (‘scratch’) coat went on well and highlighted all the bits I missed. The dapple pattern from the rain that followed left me a bit peeved! But, the second coat (and final) is now on and I can play plumber next – extending the ‘down-pipes’ to the water tanks.
Before
After
My new sander and I will work on the rest of the boat . . . soon . . . when I recover!
Recovery food! Chocolate mouse, macadamia and vanilla ice-cream and strawberry tart!
Well the ‘you-beaut-fan-dangled’- cleaning wotsit BROKE! – on its first use! After saying some rather naughty words I sat, and had another drink . . . I mean think.
Where I had ‘made’ the thread, the handle snapped!
I needed:
to get the brush into the pipe
a brush small enough to go around corners
a way to move the brush up and down to clean the inside of the pipe
So, I cut the handle off the brush and trimmed the brush down (a new one). Then I drilled a hole through the middle and plaited some string (for strength) and threaded that through the hole. Then, to that string, I tied some strong cord. Ha Ha! That should do it!
Small brush
Until I realised it was impossible to get the cord to thread down the down-pipe. After much uhhming and arrhing – I dismantled the gate-chain on the boat and tied that to the cord. This slinky chain slipped down the pipe dragging the cord with it.
Cord and chain
The top of the roof
What followed was a rather awkward tug-of-war on the cord, each end, to clean the pipes, but it worked! Success. Now I have to get sanding and painting!
The key to cruising is feet. It is -really, or something similar – like hair or legs or . . .let me explain.
Love the boat you have, is one of the snippets of advice we provide in our book Cruisers’ AA. This was a tip we received from a down-to-earth, long-term cruiser.
Love the boat you have. (Mariah II)
What does this mean? Well, maybe you have a dream you aspire to – a bigger boat, a better boat, or a boat with more equipment. Well, you can wish for all this . . . but still, love the boat you have.
Maybe that won’t make sense until you are cruising. For us it means that you put whatever resources you have into the boat you have, with love, with care, with effort and respect. Then that boat will pay you back, it will love and care for you and it will even respect you.
Feet? So what the blazes has feet got to do with it?
I hate my feet. Well, I did up until about two weeks ago. You see, I have rather wide, and in my opinion, ugly feet (for one reason or another, let’s just say they aren’t the prettiest of feet).
Sailing the Pacific Ocean on Pyewacket. Making courtesy flags & resting my feet!
For the last few weeks I’ve been really caring for my feet, exfoliating, moisturising, and buying and wearing nice shoes that hide the ‘not so nice bits’.
Tonight, as I rest my naked feet up on the settee they feel nice, they’re healthy, and they don’t look half bad. And that is what we mean by love the boat you have. Love what you have.
I take care and love my feet and now they feel great, so I feel great. They may take care of me for longer than they would have, had I not cared for them. Now I quite like my feet – actually, I’m quite attached to them!
Whatever you are dealt with, in either body parts or possessions – love what you have. Make of it what you will, and it will make you.
WOB is a new FB group, which could have been called BOOBS! . . . but we’ll get to that.
I use Facebook for marketing my books Cruisers’ AA and Of Foreign Build, and keeping in touch with friends and family. It is only recently that I’ve been joining groups AND I have become an administrator of one such group. (I use the word administrator lightly as my fellow administrator is being far more, uhm, administrative than I am!)
Noel and Jackie’s Journeys
I do not join groups lightly. I want to be a member of groups that are friendly, contain quality information, are fun and, very importantly, are safe.
One of my favourite groups is WWSA (Women Who Sail Australia), an off-shoot of WWS (Women Who Sail). These are closed groups. In both I find love, respect, friendship, help and a safe haven for any help and support that I may need. These groups also contain a wealth of incredible experience and advice.
Women who sail – that’s me!
I got to know Carole Eardman Grant via WWS a few months ago and we met when we were in the same town. It really is remarkable how these groups (and FB) bring people together. Carole is Canadian and is currently renovating a barge in Kent, (UK), with her husband Barrie. I am from the UK, but live in Australia and was in the UK when we met.
Boats, canals & all that goes with it!
Carole helped me with lots of information while Noel and I were looking for our barge. Our relationship has grown quickly into a marvellous friendship. We chat a lot on FB, mostly about boats! We support each other and we are very open and honest. Carole always has a positive word when I slip into negativity.
Together we have set up Women On Barges (WOB). Our group has, very quickly, become a place of friendship, respect, support and again, a safe place for women to share doubts, fears, accomplishments, hopes and dreams. It’s a marvellous resource of information as well.
If you like boats, live on one or just dream about doing so, WOB is for you (oh yes, you must be a woman too!)
These are my experiences of Facebook and groups. So far I have had not had a negative occurrence. But I’d love to hear how it’s changed your life. With a bit of time management on Facebook, it is always a positive event for me.
And just where does BOOBS fit into all this? Well of course, the group is for women . . . . but a name that has been whispered around decks and between friends (and I’ve stolen this from my mate Carole 🙂 ) is Babes On Old Barges = BOOBS! I, for one, think that is pretty neat! For now we’ll stick with Women On Barges (WOB) – come take a look, you’ll be made very welcome.
WOB info
Women on Barges! This group is a place for women on every shape and size of barge — or any other type of boat — to come together and connect. Some of us live on barges, some only holiday on barges and some of us want to. Some of us know a LOT about boats in general, some know not much at all. We are single; we are married; we have kids, grandkids, we are working or retired. Some of our barges are in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland or the UK or other countries. We are from a variety of countries which are as diverse as we are. No matter who we are, this is a place for women to share respectful, supportive discourse.
What does it cost to run a boat? The answer is irritating. The answer is a question.
How much money do you have?
This article is an attempt to help you think about what it may cost. This exercise will guide you towards your potential expenses. However, you cannot forecast equipment failure, taxes, medical emergencies, breakdowns etc.
First off
It is important to remember that an enormous quantity of money does not guarantee success in this lifestyle. A simple boat equals simple costs. The fewer things you make do without, the less you will spend.
Can you ‘do without’ a marina and carry your own water?
Regular payments vs ad hoc
At first glance the land-living expenses listed below looks much shorter than the cruising list. However, the land list has regular (monthly/weekly) payments, whereas the cruising list has ad hoc costs. You may have marina costs once a year. You may have few breakdowns/repairs or no medical costs.
1) Make a list of your current (land living) expenses:
Mortgage/rent
Utility Bills
Rates
Insurance
Phone/Satellite TV/Internet
Car (all inclusive costs for our small Barina (5 years ago) was AUS$28 a day!). Click here for cost calculator.
Entertainment (eating out/movies)
Food
Checking in costs can be reduced if you DIY the process and not hire an agent
2) Make a list of what you may spend cruising (after boat purchase)
Charts/pilots
Checking in charges*
Cruising Permits/taxes (changes with each year/country)
Marina fees (you may not always be able to anchor out)
Accommodation (can you stay on the boat when hauled out?)
Sight-seeing
Flying home (family emergency)
Gas/LPG/Fuel/Water (in some places you will pay for water)
Storage costs (are you renting your house/selling your house, storing possessions)
Transit charges (Panama canal/Suez canal)
Repairs/maintenance/new equipment (25% of the value of your boat is a good budget)
Medical costs
Exchange rate fees/currency variations
Mail forwarding services
Bribes ($20 here and there)
Food (some places it will be incredibly cheap, other places it will be incredibly expensive!)
*Checking in charges can range from $1,000+ (Galapagos, current charges) to nothing. We estimate our checking-in costs for around the world, including cruising permits, but excluding visas, to be around US$2,500. The most expensive (for us) was Sri Lanka (US$200) and least expensive France ($0). However, this was a few years ago! (Galapagos’ charges were under $200 then.)
Can you make your own repairs, or do you need to hire an expert?
Personal situation
Obviously, you also need to account for your personal situation, for example:
Retired/retirement fund/savings?
Working as you go?
Skills to use while sailing?
Sold up? Still paying mortgage and/or storage?
Just how cheaply can you live?
We have friends who claim they often lived on $1 a day. They caught fish and had a very simple 28 footer. They were expert ‘fisher-people’ and had the know-how (and spare parts) to complete 99% of their necessary repairs. This is quite unusual. You must not rely on catching fish! Also, you would have to be prepared to only use five litres of diesel a year.
Bicycles and dinghies instead of cars and marinas.
Our expenditure
At the top, under SAILING STUFF/FAQ we have listed our expenditure in Ecuador for over a month (Ecuador Expenditure), including our daily jobs. There is also a description of where we started from, ie what we already had on board.
This was my second question to Noel when we were searching for our first boat – (see the first question here).
At this point I hardly knew the front end of a boat from the back end. I also found the cruising world completely mind-boggling.
Noel’s response to this question, ‘getting to port’, holds a lot of truth (for us). I love being out there but with only two of us on board, after several days of a tag-team match (one is always on watch) it does become tiring. The constant demand on your body to move three-dimensionally, twenty-four hours a day, causes fatigue (the reason most accidents occur). Plus we are always looking forward to exploring our next destination.
What’s it like?
Sailing oceans is not like a plane or car ride. Nothing is certain except a vast puddle of water and a great stretch of sky…
This was advice from a long-term cruiser and a friend.
I had to stop and think about this for a bit. I knew, with just five small words, she’d said something remarkable.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Months of hard growth on the lines – days of cleaning . . . is it worth worrying about?
What is the small stuff on board?
The laundry (in cold water, by hand)
The blocked loo (marine toilets are renowned for this delightful occurrence)
The entire boat turning into a workshop
Running out of gas in the middle of cooking
Salt saturated cushions that just won’t dry
A lumpy sea
Too much wind
Big waves
Cleaning behind the cooker – is it worth getting worked up about it?
So when do you ‘sweat’? Well usually you don’t, usually there’s no time.
Maybe you’d sweat during a storm, which can last for days. But, generally ‘sticky’ moments on board are in bursts:
fingers of lightning
winds shifting to create an untenable anchorage
dragging anchor
broken rudder . . .
. . . these are moments when you may sweat . . . IF YOU HAVE TIME.
Instead of sweating you’ll be too busy doing what’s necessary.
The great thing is, those moments where you don’t have time to sweat are great training for when it really matters.
Rough seas – do what’s necessary to make the boat safe, then relax
Yes, cruising can have its shitty moments, it can be scary, but each challenging moment will build your confidence and faith in your boat and yourself – creating comfort and a more relaxed life that just keeps on improving.
Tomorrow is the next instalment on our CRUISING CLINIC – What’s so great about cruising?
Thanks to fellow author and blogging buddy Rachel Amphlett who invited me to join this blog tour. I have to answer four questions posed by her, and tag three more writers to answer the same questions on their blog or FB page.
What are you working on?
Of Foreign Build which is about sailing around the world on a 33 foot boat for nine years. It is not just about the journey on a boat. It is also about the journey of life and how I changed from a corporate girl into a sea gypsy woman, and how I did battle with the testosterone fuelled nautical world to become both a professional captain and a qualified maritime teacher. Of Foreign Build is a deeply personal account. Currently I am at the editing stage, while working on designs for the front cover.
How does your work feel different to others in its genre?
I write about stuff I am passionate about. It flows that way, it is completely honest and, I think, more natural. OfForeign Build peels back layers of a women’s character that you rarely see. I had to think carefully about whether I wanted to publish this manuscript which contains so many raw emotions.
Why do you write what you do?
I enjoy writing about life transformations. It is as simple as that. When I am asked to write articles about subjects I am less zealous about, I have to work harder. The subjects that I know about and love just flow out through my fingertips. I have no control, I just HAVE to write.
How does your writing process work?
I’m afraid it’s just as and when. My life has no order in it at all. Currently I am travelling on a boat – that’s the way I like it. However, as far as writing goes I would love to be more organised and have a plan. I plan to have a plan – one day!
When I am at the editing stage, I do become a lot more organised. I have to. My manuscripts go through several editing stages, husband, beta readers and then a professional editor.
Thanks for visiting, now the baton goes to . . . .
If you are interested in boating, The Frugal Mariner has something for you. Whether you are a new boater, an experienced boater, a weekend boater or a full-time cruiser, there is information here you can use. Saltwater Suzi and Captain Larry, the authors of the Frugal Mariner, have lived aboard for 15 years and cruised many thousands of miles.
Sailing around the world was a dream Linda and Bill had for 30 years. They achieved their dream. Sailing in my Sarong written by Linda describes building their yacht Valiam and their epic voyage, with 400 images. $39.95
‘As a writer I do my best. I write for magazines, radio and fun. I have a healthy ego, and a fertile imagination which combines with a robust work ethic to make me a well rounded individual. As the proud possessor of an enlarged funny bone I’m bound to say it has a marked influence on my writing style and my life in general.’ Purchase Hetti’s books here.
Please stop by at their Facebook/blog/website, they’re worth a look . . . and don’t forget to write!
When Noel and I decided to go cruising, as a complete beginner I had two very pertinent questions on my mind. I asked these questions as we hopped on the back of Noel’s motorbike, searching for a boat.
‘So, what’s it going to cost, running a boat?’
He replied, ‘Everything we’ve got.’
A little perplexed, but not yet deterred, I then asked, ‘What’s so great about sailing anyway?’
Noel, with his brutal honesty and years of experience with boats replied, ‘Getting in to port.’
‘Good grief’, I muttered. After about two hours of silence while I digested these little gems, I said, ‘Why do it then?’
Without hesitation Noel responded, ‘It’s the closest thing to freedom I know.’
That did it for me. It was right then that I was sold on the idea. Sixteen years later I still see the wisdom in his answers.
What’s so great about sailing . . .?
I’ll write about the ‘what’s so good about sailing?’ question down the line. Right now, I guess you’re thinking, ‘well so what?, that doesn’t help me very much.’ However, think about this: cruising WILL cost you everything you have, if you let it.
So, let’s look at the right questions to ask to see if we can make sense of all this:
1) What budget do I have to purchase a boat?
2) What will it cost to run?
3) How will I earn money along the way?
4) How can I save money along the way?
Boats can be as expensive or as cheap as you make them. We find that living on board is a cheaper way to live, but we know how to save money, I am extremely prudent with our dollars and we employ smart tactics. AND you have to start with a good boat, then maintain it – constantly (a job a day, however big or small).
We were still trying to figure out where to stow everything!
Now, let’s try and find some answers.
1) What budget do I have to purchase a boat? Whatever budget you have it is extremely likely that you will find a boat you love for a ‘bit’ more and go over your budget. This amount does NOT include:
a) all the unexpected problems found during survey that need to be fixed
b) all the things the vendor neglected to tell you that needed to be fixed
c) all those things that just pop up at inopportune times that need to be fixed
d) on-going maintenance and repairs
e) additional equipment (your own ideas/wants)
Summary: Keep at least 10% of your budget for those unexpected issues.
A job a day kept Mariah ship-shape.
2) What will it cost to run? It depends on where you started from. If you are really lucky and have a good, well maintained boat, then it will also depend upon:
a) the size of your boat*
b) amount of use (little use is not always a good thing)
c) your skills (can you maintain it and carry out repairs? Or do you need help?)
3) How will I earn money along the way? Be creative. Use the skills you have. Other cruisers need expertise in all areas. We’ll tackle this subject later on too. However, running your own business is not easy on land, don’t expect it to be easy while cruising. You have the added challenge of communications.
4) How can I save money along the way? This is the easy bit – if you are prepared to change your lifestyle.
Stop spending it! Really. Don’t eat out all the time, figure out how to fix stuff yourself. Learn how to get the best bargains on boat equipment, learn how to keep food for weeks and weeks (without a fridge if necessary, we did for nine years), anchor out and avoid mariner fees. I could go on and on, and I did in our book Cruisers’ AA (accumulated acumen). I’ll supply more tips down the line, on each of these subjects.
If this all sounds off putting, well you’ve given up too soon. Cruising life is fantastic, but it is not for everyone. If you like a challenge, can adapt to new situations and want to enjoy your life in a way you never dreamed of – then maybe it is for you.
A good boat to start with & on-going maintenance will ensure you get to all those places you dreamed of.
I’ll write more on all these subjects (1-4) in the coming weeks. Cruisers’ AA (accumulated acumen) covers all this and much more in far greater detail, see www.jackieparry.com for more information – available in paperback & ebook). (Or look at the top of this page and follow the links!)
You can sail to the most wonderful places & experience new escapades!
Jackie Parry - author 