THE BOAT ITSELF
CHOOSING YOUR BOAT. People always ask us if we’d buy the same boat again. I would buy the same make again. We loved the extra width, the 7-foot entrance, the four eye-candy chairs in the deck corners, the stadium seating we had in the stern. We really liked the layout. The engine was easy to get to, the side decks were wide, and we had a good anchor setup in front, a walkway on our bimini, steps to the mast, wide swim scoops, and lots of electronics. Jacumba was a good boat! But we would have gone for a 40-footer instead of the 37-footer in order to have bigger cabins. We would have preferred an owner’s version, so that the owner’s side would have been larger with a bigger bathroom and more clothing storage. We might have chosen a newer boat, as well. But we didn’t have that kind of money, so if we were just wishing for something better, I’d say a megayacht with its own captain and crew would have been nice too.
People also ask us if selling the boat was bittersweet. No, selling the boat was sweet. It was the selling price that was bitter.
ENERGY USE. One of my biggest gripes about the boat was having to run the wind generators and/or the engines in order to charge the batteries. We were supposed to be out there enjoying the serenity of the ocean (or something like that) and all I heard was WHHHHIIISSSSHHH or RUMBLEGRRRRPUTTER.
Before you leave for your travels, make sure the boat is outfitted with the right energy array for your needs. I know this is a dry subject, but you should understand it.
We had two incredibly noisy wind generators that put out maybe 15 amps on a good day (much less when the trade winds died), and two small solar panels that put out a combined total of 6 amps while the sun was out. This obviously could not keep up with a refrigerator and separate freezer using about 16 amps, plus our laptop, VHF, interior lights, and anchor light. We eventually replaced one of the wind generators with a quieter one, but it put out even less power.
Many boats, particularly those with watermakers, had generator sets (or gensets). Usually diesel powered, gensets (both mobile and fixed) can generate 4 to 65 kilowatts of power, allowing for lots of energy-eating appliances on board (even hair dryers), but they also need fuel, can be noisy, and require a lot of maintenance. Had I a do-over, I would have gotten rid of one wind generator and removed the two small solar panels to make room for at least four much larger solar panels. I would have kept the one loud wind generator as a backup to the panels. You can also play with alternator size and number of house batteries.
Most boats have inverters as well. An inverter allows you to use 110-volt appliances on a 12-volt system, so we could use our laptop, charge our cameras, and other electronics. The big problem with an inverter is that because it’s converting energy, it’s not a steady source of energy, and the constant surges wreak havoc on rechargeable batteries. The only alternative to that, I think, is a genset, which provides a more reliable current.
HEADS (TOILETS). We saw every kind of head on boats, from buckets to electric flushing. Ours had to be manually pumped. It had been electric at one time, but it kept breaking down and was prone to backing up. We never had a problem with the manual pumps (other than that one time, but that was user error). Still, once you did your thing, you had to pump about 10 times, close the lid, and then pump another 10 times. Of course, men could just lean over the side of the boat most of the time. It was nice to go to a restroom onshore every once in a while. Ever seen videos of cats that flush and flush and flush, excited about the swirling waters? I felt like that when given the opportunity of a real, flushing toilet.
Many toilets, including ours, used salt water, so we had to stay on top of the odors. You could have seaweed in your toilet and even creatures (an octopus can be itty bitty). Vinegar poured down the heads once a month usually kept odors at bay. The marine life usually found its way back out to sea.
Another source of stinkiness was the holding tanks (for human waste). You’re supposed to use holding tanks (rather than a direct flush) until you’re 3 miles offshore, at which point you turn the valve and the tank empties into the sea. Pump-out facilities exist in some places, too, but we never saw any outside the States. Most boaters don’t use their holding tanks; they just direct the waste below their boat via a through-hull fitting—which is why diving on our anchor, or looking for a missing prop, or trying to cool off in a crowded harbor was gross. Cleaning a holding tank is one of the most disgusting chores ever. I have to admit that if there was a strong current going away from the beaches, we pumped directly too. I’m not proud of it, I’m just saying …
Our head was also our shower. We used our pull-out type of sink faucet as the showerhead; the used shower water was pumped out the bottom of the boat. This layout can be cramped, though (which is why we recommend an owner’s version), so we often used an outside faucet near our swimming ladder (me with a bathing suit on, Michael in his birthday suit). Have a water heater to warm the water (a blessing in cold weather in the Bahamas).
I repeat, the head can be cramped. When shopping for a boat, I highly recommend you picture yourself performing bathroom activities in there. Lots of boaters jump in the water, soap up with Joy (which used to be the only soap that would suds up in salt water), and then rinse off with fresh water. Whatever works!
REFRIGERATION. Just like at home, refrigeration sucks up a lot of energy. You could use a cooler instead, but ice is expensive in the Caribbean, assuming you can find any. You will want cold foods and beverages, I promise you. You will want both a refrigerator and a freezer. Make sure they’re both very well insulated; otherwise, they will use up a lot more energy (running and running) and you will find yourself having to defrost them often as moisture seeps in. Understand that the Caribbean is humid. Your refrigeration system will not be at its most efficient, and some systems are less efficient than others.
Because our boat had a very deep freezer, it took forever to retrieve stuff from the bottom and then repack everything else, which let in warm air so we had to defrost the thing a lot. Pay attention to the layout and efficiency of the refrigeration system on the boats you consider buying. Make sure that when you open the doors to the refrigerator and freezer, you’ll be able to easily get to your food, drinks, and ice so you can load your goodies faster and get to them later faster. The longer you leave the fridge or freezer open, the more often you’ll have to defrost. Consider getting a cooler for drinks and often-used foods to keep you from rummaging frequently in the main refrigeration unit.
TRANSPORTATION
DINGHY. Do not skimp on your dinghy or dinghy outboard. Yachts are like RVs; sometimes you want to ditch the big rig and just take a moped or a car out to dinner. In the case of a boat, you might want to go to a nearby harbor for dinner or across a 2-mile cut and not want to move the big boat. A decent-size dinghy with a powerful motor will keep you dry and get you there. When you are island hopping, your dinghy can be used as a survival raft if you don’t have one. If you plan to cruise offshore, you should have an approved life raft. Don’t forget about those dinghy wheels for the beach! Although none of these are have-to-haves if you’re on a tight budget, you might find them helpful. Most dinghies are sold with oars, but if yours isn’t, make sure you buy some. We used ours a lot. I recommend you practice with them too.
KAYAKS. You should have a kayak or two aboard. We got a great deal on two inflatable kayaks from West Marine; they weighed only about 20 pounds each, folded up easily into duffel bags, came with pumps, and were inflated within two minutes. They had collapsible paddles and were deep and sturdy (we could stand in them to get back onto the boat).
The kayaks were great backups to the dinghy, were extra “cars,” were good exercise, and were fun in shallow tributaries, which were water trails within the mangrove “forests,” usually populated with turtles, manatees, nesting birds, and other wildlife, best seen using quiet, shallow-bottomed transport.
COMFORT. Make sure you have comfortable places to sit, read, and sleep. I can’t understate the importance of this. We did not have a com
fortable place to plop ourselves and were amazed at how much time we spent regretting it. The padding for cushions that is meant to prevent mold growth is practical but not comfortable. None of our seating reclined. Even our mattresses were hard; we finally broke down on St. Martin and got some extra foam to make them softer. Get a couple of light, mobile, adjustable seats made just for boats if your boat doesn’t have comfy built-in seating. Our trampolines were a great place to hang out, but they offered no back support. We found the perfect camper-type chairs with wide feet (so they didn’t fall through the trampoline weaving or puncture it), but they broke halfway through the trip. A hammock that we hung occasionally was also a pleasant nice-to-have.
COMMUNICATIONS. Many boats have a single-sideband radio (SSB). They let you listen and broadcast large distances, and you can send and receive e-mails (for a hefty fee). If your boat has an SSB, great. Ours didn’t, and it’s an expensive addition. We found that Internet was available almost everywhere, whether via a paid-for service, a freebie, or an unsecured network. To pick up signals, however, we needed more than our laptop’s internal wireless card. There are many configuration options to increase the signal amplification. We opted for an external 15 dB omnidirectional antenna, with amplifier, both located in the cockpit. The amplifier was wired to a router located inside the boat (on our navigation center) and connected to our laptop. This system was powerful enough to pick up Internet signals 7 miles away, so it sometimes provided connectivity even while we were under sail. Stronger signals allowed us to stay in touch with friends and family (and boat-part vendors) by downloading a free computer software program called Skype. Conversations were sometimes free (when calling from Skype to Skype) or just a few cents on the dollar.
MONEY
HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU HAVE? Only you know what that will be. In just our first five months, we spent over $30,000 in parts and repairs, from new batteries to salon windows to electrical items to the first haulout. We had a new anchor, a replaced propeller, and new seat cushions. We had yearly boat payments of $13,200 and paid about $4,500 for boat insurance. Cleaning supplies also ate up a surprising amount of money. The cost of cruising guides and charts (electronic and paper) was over a thousand dollars. We also went through quite a bit of money on Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Martin, and Grenada on more parts and repairs of alternators, voltage regulators, starters, bent propellers, winches, leaking compasses, bent anchors, new hatches, new anchor chain, another haulout, new rigging lines (sheets), and everything else you read about in the What Broke sections. This was not chump change. We also upgraded every time we replaced something, such as our house- and engine-starter batteries, alternator (one of them), anchor, anchor chain, chartplotter, lighting (switching to LED), Internet gadgets, and wind generators. Add eating, renting cars, and engaging in other fun things (such as hashing!), and I estimated that we spent about $40,000 to $50,000 per year.
That was us. We’ve had friends hit by lightning (and found their insurance companies only partially paying for affected items, deducting for depreciation) and needing new transmissions, new motors, new gensets, and new sails, among other things. That’s what’s scary about boating and being on a limited budget; you never know what might come at you. This was when the less-is-more adage is good—less stuff; less to break. You can spend more, or you can spend less. Just know that if something is made for marine purposes, you will pay a premium for it. And if you’re unlucky enough to have to fly parts to your location, you can add that to your expenses.
We saved where we could. We had enough money to take the tours we wanted to take and rent a car for a day, but we were also satisfied with getting around by bus or bike most of the time. You might not be, so you’d need more money than we did for taxis or tour operators.
We didn’t want to go back “home” often, so we didn’t need flight money. A few nights in island hotels might have been nice, though, for a boat break. We didn’t eat out much, and didn’t eat meat, so we did okay with our food budget (although we still spent more than we thought we would). Our friends who caught their own fish did even better.
HOW TO GET MONEY. ATMs were hit or miss in the Bahamas but fairly widespread everywhere else. You never knew, though, whether you’d get U.S. dollars or the local currency. Some ATM machines had fees; some didn’t. Not all stores took credit cards, and many couldn’t handle large bills. It’s always a good idea to carry U.S. $20 bills. Almost all the islands accepted U.S. dollars, although they would then give you change in their currency.
REPAIRS. B.O.A.T. (Remember, Bring Out Another Thousand?) If you decide to buy a boat, be prepared to work on it, or watch someone else work on it, or help someone else work on theirs. And when you’re shaking your head in disbelief at how many repairs you’re making, just remember I told you so.
LESSON 105: DO IT YOURSELF You may not consider yourself handy or have any desire to learn to be handy, but if you want to save money for fun stuff and not mechanics, you should work on becoming as self-sufficient as you can (which is why you’ll need to have all those spare parts). You just might surprise yourself and find that you enjoy puttering around and doing atypical things. If not, be prepared to wait for parts, wait for help, and spend lots of money.
ISLAND COSTS. Some islands had prices for tourists that were different from those for the locals. We didn’t find that to be as pervasive as it might have been in the past, but islanders who thought they could get away with it, did. We noticed this mostly when buying produce at a local market. We learned to go with a local or listen to what the locals were paying. If the vendor tried to charge us more, we went elsewhere.
Soda, beer, and junk food are expensive in the islands. Paper goods can be too. Diet anything can be difficult to find, even at restaurants and bars, although this is slowly changing. You can usually at least find Diet Coke. If you find light beer at all, you will pay a hefty premium for it. Diet mixers? Forget about it.
The cheapest place in the Caribbean was the Dominican Republic. The most expensive places were St. Kitts, Mustique, and the European Union money-based countries. The best shopping (groceries, hardware, and boat stuff) was on St. Martin and Puerto Rico, although the Dominican Republic was a strong runner-up. Unique souvenirs were hard to come by anywhere. Most islands sell the same things (made in China), only with a different island name on them.
Eating out can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. There are shacks and fancy places. What you spend depends on your budget.
Buses are a good way to feel the vibe of a place, not to mention getting around cheaply. Hash if you can.
PARKING. How you decide to “park” your boat once you’re at your destination will have a big influence on how much money you spend. You may have a choice of staying in a marina, picking up a mooring, or anchoring. For us, anchoring was our first choice (unless we were forced to do otherwise). Even though marinas provided some conveniences, we didn’t like the price, lack of privacy, or noise. Moorings are hit or miss. You never know what ground tackle is on the bottom and how secure the connections are. Moorings weren’t part of our budget either. Whichever option you choose (and they’ll likely vary), you will have an audience if another boat is nearby. There is nothing more entertaining than watching someone else screw up while anchoring, docking, or mooring.
SAILING INFORMATION
GUIDES/CHARTS/BOOKS/CHIPS. This list could go on forever, so it’s not too specific. We bought many books that were supposedly must-haves on a boat and never opened them. Our priority was electronics, so the Garmin chip for our Garmin chartplotter was a must-have. After a few months I found that plotting our trips on my computer (using the Garmin software) was much easier than using paper charts, and I could transfer the information to my chartplotter chip. After a trip, if I wanted to save the track I just generated, I could use the chip to transfer the data to my computer and save it.
That said, paper charts came in handy when we had to keep our plotter in the oven during electrical storms. T
hey also helped us get our bearings when the chartplotter screen was too small to cover a wide area. You’ll remember that we had paper-chart backups to our electronic charts (on a chip) and also had two handheld GPS units (although that might have been overkill). You, as prudent sailors, will also have backup systems.
Paper charts are expensive, but you might get lucky if you know boaters who don’t need them anymore. Get on the VHF or post a notice in a marina/harbor to see if anyone is trying to off-load their charts (and any country courtesy flags, while you’re at it).
Make sure you have the most current cruising guides for the area you’re going to visit. Just remember that they’ll be at least two years out of date by the time you read them. You’ll be surprised at how much can change.
Make sure you have manuals for all your equipment, including what you’ve brought on board and what came with your boat (for example, the dinghy motor and alternators).
There are plenty of books on boat maintenance, sailing how-tos, and general tips for living aboard. There’s a good selection at www.internationalmarine.com. Read them before you go and have them at the ready once you’re out there and can then understand what you read earlier.
WEATHER. Find some good Internet sources for weather and then bookmark them. Use all of them. Here are our favorites.
www.buoyweather.com—We paid for the subscription and found them to be fairly accurate for both wind and sea conditions.
www.windguru.com—Just about everyone uses this website for wind and sea conditions. We liked to compare their data to that on the buoyweather site.
www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml—During hurricane season, having access to the National Hurricane Center statistics was imperative.
www.stormcarib.com—This site was exceptionally informative and had good tools to use during hurricane season.
A Sail of Two Idiots Page 35