May 20th 2012
Position N 27° 22.225’,
W 82° 37.075’.
Longboat Key Club Moorings, FL
To reiterate the mission here...it is to report on the travels of
‘Partners’, our 42’ Kadey Krogen, the places we visit, our life on board, both good
and bad; what it takes to run a boat and, hopefully, to encourage those of you who
are already interested in a cruising lifestyle to actually get moving forward
with a plan. It is not to ‘sell’ the idea of a cruising life style to those who
don't have a basic interest. We want to deliver real information, good and bad,
about our lives and travels aboard ‘Partners’. For those who stumble across
this blog and are not interested in a dream of cruising and exploring far off
places then be encouraged to follow your own dream whatever it may be, do
something.
One of the things that many of our friends have asked is “how do you
manage the maintenance and repairs on the boat?” Well, I am not a diesel
technician, plumber or electrician, I am, however, willing to learn and realize
that there will, not might be, an occasion or occasions that require me to
wear those hats. The main thing here is not to be affraid to try. Believe it or
not the most difficult thing I found is actually getting started with each job.
Once you are going the mystery tends to evaporate and one ends up saying to
one’s self “that wasn’t so hard”. Another retrospective thought is we are glad
that we have given ourselves a year at the dock to prepare and practice. I have
added tools and materials to the tool kit and spares collection that if we had
just sailed off I wouldn’t initially have had but would have needed. I am not
saying that one couldn’t get by with a basic tool kit and the minimum of spares
but believe you me, a comprehensive tool selection and a few speciality ones
does make life a lot easier. The bag of plumbing pieces, a selection of hose
clamps all make sense to have. The obvious spares such as a fresh water pump
and a starter solenoid are easy to remember the windshield wiper blades and
spare navigation computer (we use Nobiltec software on a laptop which drives
the autopilot and supplies the navigation data to the other instruments) are
other items we have accumulated in the last six months. We plan to travel south
to Key West, across to the Bahamas and then the Caribbean where getting spare
parts and the qualified labour will be more difficult. We want the independence
to be self sufficient and not be spending all our time as ‘marina queens’
waiting for a part shipment and having to ‘trust’ an unknown labour force.
Doing it one’s self is the way to go, most serious cruisers, both sail and
power, share this opinion and are prepared to help each other out. In all ports
of call there is radio communication among cruisers and the ‘net’, as it is
known, is a daily broadcast usually in the morning when one can listen for the
activities of the day that are planned and anyone will have the opportunity to
ask for or offer help if it is needed. In other words one can find the
labour/help within the cruising community.
All the above said, I can’t tell you the satisfaction that one gets
from successfully accomplishing a task or project...it makes you wear that
‘Cheshire Cat’ grin. The Admiral also becomes more confident with the Captain,
very important! Not exactly miles under ones belt but may allow the Captain to
go and get the miles under his belt, if you know what I mean! You smile but
this is the real world...Lavinia had no reason to believe I could perform and
execute a home maintenance programme, jump to in an emergency and avert a
disaster, she had never seen me do anything other than cut the grass, clean the
car and other minor ‘labours of love’. During my full time working life
anything and everything required someone else to repair everything, I simple
did not have the time or the inclination. The budget afforded it whereas now
the budget needs a lot more ‘management’ and besides, the more we have from the
budget for the fun things of life the better; this is what our lives are all about
nowadays.
Our choice of boat, a Kadey Krogen 42’ walk around, was made based
on the sea keeping qualities first and the liveability second. Obviously the
ability to carry us to the places we want to go is imperative and to be able to
cope with the occasional adverse sea condition important. Equally though to be
able to accommodate us and provide the space and layout which fits our
lifestyle is a big consideration. Other details that come into play is the
range, i.e. fuel capacity, storage capacity for provisions and spares etc., there
are other capable and comparable boats to choose from, enjoy the ride, we had
so much fun looking at different boats and making our choice, it is very
exciting! Nordhavn, Diesel Duck and Selene were all considered. An opportunity
will present itself when you are ready and in our case this is what happened. I
had a list of desired equipment which included stabilizers and a water maker
which not all used boats have and as a retrofit are expensive to add. The
Admiral had an affinity to Kadey Krogen, especially the liveability, the
president of the company John Gear had gone out of his way to help us and avail
his time and services to show us different boats and advise us. All these
things convinced us that a Kadey Krogen 42’ was the boat for us. Only buy
enough boat for the job, the bigger you go may not be what you need and will
cost more to maintain and run. We had made the decision to sell our house and
get the ball rolling. A buyer came along for the house and we had made
arrangements to rent a small villa until we found the ‘right’ boat. Just before
we closed on our house sale what appeared to be the ‘right’ boat came up on
Yachtworld. I said to Lavinia this could be the one...her reply was just buy
it! (I should explain that we had been looking for well over a year and had
seen a couple of boats that met our criteria. We did not get them alas; we were
‘pipped at the post’). I immediately called John Gear and made an offer sight
unseen but with the contingency ‘subject to taking a look’ and, of course, a
survey. We did minor negotiation and the price was set that day. The next day I
jumped into my car and drove 700 miles to New Bern, North Carolina. The rest of
the story is history we closed on the boat purchase eight days after the house
sale closed. We had disposed of much of our belongings and continued to move
into the rented villa as the boat needed some work so would stay in NC until
the end of hurricane season which I have written about in previous renditions.
We have truly not looked back; both of us love our boat and have completely
adjusted to less space and a whole different routine and life style. We are now
six months into fulltime live aboard status. I brought the boat from NC to FL
during November 2011 and we moved aboard Dec. 1st. One thing all of
you ‘wannabees’ out there will experience when your time comes is a
revitalization, a new fresh approach to life. This living on a boat and
cruising lifestyle is physically demanding and mentally absorbing, yes, you will
lose weight! Both of you! I still work as a realtor and our friends ask “how is
work” my reply is “which job” both are full time jobs really. Boating is not
for you if your idea of retirement is doing nothing and not having to worry
about a thing, in other words vegetate. Cruising and boat ownership is
stimulating, it is fun and above all it keeps you interested in life. The
thirst for life is actually never quenched as long as you are actually living
it! We are in our mid 60’s and are constantly looking forward to future adventures
and life ahead not reminiscing our lives and the memories of the past. Don’t
get me wrong past experiences and memories are great and make stimulating
‘current’ conversation. It’s where you are having the conversation, with whom
and what one actually did that day which presented the opportunity for the
conversation...that is life.
May 15th 2012
 |
| The two Sisters! |
Today I had a visit from Tex who was on a trip to his future home which he and his wife bought recently here on Longboat Key, yes Tex from Key Biscayne, owner of Manatee ‘Bucky’. His wife Eva was not with him on this visit as she was the last time. We spent some time on board ‘Partners’ chatting and talking boats...
