I loved the 4 summers I lived on my boat. Wish to this day I had not sold it. I'm hoping to be living aboard next summer, if my plans and $$$ come through.

All good stuff. I am pretty handy around the galley. The boat I am looking at has the same type grill-stove combo; I will consider your ideas. Love the fishing and the fish - but all are polluted in my area. Will work. Already have a mail / forwarding service set up. Using wireless internet now; will have a set on the boat.

Thanks for the great thoughts!

I am starting research on equipment to make fresh water, respecting the Rule of Threes.

AMEN!

and plan on having to do repairs by yourself, at night, without light, while the boat's moving. sure, you probably will have light, but that's icing on the cake.

so much comes back to me - make sure you know where all of your bilge spaces are and how to get to them in a hurry. and don't put anything on top of any of the floorboards / bilge covers that can't be removed in a heartbeat.

bilge spaces can make great hiding places for things - just make sure whatever is waterproofed. typically you'll find water / fuel stored here.

Don't forget the easy one - RAIN!

I am almost overwhelmed. But I am also excited! My "spare" time is filled with reading about sailboat rigging and anchoring, my dreams with ocean cruising. I'm guessing it will take a few busy years before the boat and I will be ready to do much cruising the Pacific Coast.

Best bilge use I have read so far: cases of things to drink that should be chilled / cooled.

A mid-sized dog is a wonderful alarm system, and a good anti-theft deterrent. A trained boat dog is a nice friend to have with you also. Many boats sailing out the marina near me have a dog or two aboard.
You just need to figure out a place for the dog to do it's business.

You can also hard boil eggs for later eating. You can reheat one in a microwave, but you probably won't have one of those. Or will you? You can also reheat one in hot water. You then mash it up into instant scrabbles eggs. Or something similar...

Okay, back to basics. When in doubt make a list.


Water: storage, desalization, sources away from home, money.

Shelter: the boat, ditch bag bivy? ?PSK?

Food: ship's stores. ditch bag supplies, fishing gear, crab/lobster traps, diving, money ?PSK?

Fire: ship's stove, ship's barbecue, ditch bag stove, survival gear, ?PSK?

First aid / hygiene: boat kit, ditch bag kit, ?PFAK?

Navigation: charts, compass, GPS, stars-sun, internet?

Signaling: VHF, Coast Guard required gear, cell phone, email? ?EPIRB? signal mirror, boat flags,

Light: ship gear, ditch bag gear, ??

Self-protection: nav lights, sound-signals, training, improvised,

Morale: training, experience,


And now I need to take a break,

It is back on.

Different boat: 1977 Albin Scampi, 29'9" LOA, 9'9" beam, 4'6" draft, fiberglass hull, wood stringers, 20 HP Yanmar diesel, alcohol stove, electric refrigerator that runs on shore power off battery and inverter.

After the basics I am going to try to increase the "cruisability" of the boat with larger tanks, solar power, LED nav lights, better electronics, laptop with internet and wi-fi ability, better and more running and anchor gear. It is going to take a while.

I will take a navigation class or two and probably some basic classes geared toward self-sufficient coastal cruising north and south of the San Franciso Golden Gate Bridge. But for now, cruising and gunk-holing in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.