richard wrote:

Alice and I are thinking about buying a boat to live on. We live in an
apartment now in Boston, which is being sold. We would have to be out
next Sept. We would like to live on a boat for a winter to check it out
before we buy one. We are not talking about this winter but next.
Currently we own a 25 ft powerboat which we use a lot. Any ideas how we
might get the experience of living aboard in the cold winter before we
buy about?


Hi again, Richard!

My boat and trailer is on the back yard. You are welcome to come
and try camping on it for New Years or March, whenever, if you want.
Be prepared for -20 or so! My boat would need a layer of
insulation on the inside, and you could staple eurothane "pool
planks" up on battens over pink glass wool covered in vapour
barrier, inside your own boat, if you want. Glue won't set in -20.
I would suggest a firelog heater about the size of smoke pipe,
properly set up, if you want "dinghy independance" as at anchor
without hydro. Insulation is the key.

If you can hack long stays on a 25 footer, moving up to a 30' should
be a breeze! a camper van tow vehicle might work out good for you,
too. You could spend winter holidays in Phoenix!

A converted old Lobster boat is a possibility. A friend of mine had
one. Beautiful and cheap! His 5 hp generator doubled as a
centrifugal bilge pump, via the pto. He needed a good pump after
spring launch.

Chinese junks used a "stick in the mud" system to anchor in
shallows. Four such vertical anchor spars, one winched down at each
corner or slinging point, would enable beaching at seasonal high
tide for overwinter drying anchoring in near shore flats. You could
truss up the rig with diagonal rope rigging.

You might need mud boots to get ashore.

As you will be in salt water, near Boston, you shouldn't need air
bubbler de-icing.

I will send floating dock pictures seperately. Such docks could form
the basis for a cheap floating house. All you would need is an
accommodating public beachfront parking spot, perhaps a little out
of town?

Say "hi" to the beautiful Alice for me!

Terry K

Len wrote in
:

In another group Larry W4CSC has been continuously imprving his
"Liveaboard Simulator". I take it he won't mind my posting it here
too.


I'm flattered....(c;


--
Larry

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 21:51:01 -0400, Larry wrote:

Len wrote in
:

In another group Larry W4CSC has been continuously imprving his
"Liveaboard Simulator". I take it he won't mind my posting it here
too.


I'm flattered....(c;

You may very well feel that way...
IMO it combines being funny with various moments of sheer
recognition...
You might consider adding the typical moments offshore, like getting
out of bed at 03.00 going out in your pyama's and being hosed down
with the garden hose by your partner who's yelling "we need to set a
reef"...

Len
S/v Present

Thanks everyone for your responses. You have been great. Doug, I am
still laughing about the sheets in the freezer. Steve, good to know
about the humidity and storage. Terry, I would love to get a situation
where I was a night watchman at a marina for a winter. Stu, Alice and I
did check out Constitution Marina last winter and will do so again,
thanks.Are you there? Which boat? Alice was wondering if it is the one
with the bueatiful wood inside. Capri-I can only say I choose Boston
because that is where we live and work. Len, thanks for Larry's
article and Larry, as always-great stuff! Terry-I will say Hi to the
bueatiful Alice and we loved your pix.

In article , says...


Len wrote in
:

In another group Larry W4CSC has been continuously imprving his
"Liveaboard Simulator". I take it he won't mind my posting it here
too.


I'm flattered....(c;


--
Larry

With your permission, I plan to publish it in the November issue of our
sailing club newsletter. Or at least as much of it as will fit on one
page.

Could you post your latest version again?

Len wrote:

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 21:51:01 -0400, Larry wrote:


Len wrote in
m:


In another group Larry W4CSC has been continuously imprving his
"Liveaboard Simulator". I take it he won't mind my posting it here
too.


I'm flattered....(c;


You may very well feel that way...
IMO it combines being funny with various moments of sheer
recognition...
You might consider adding the typical moments offshore, like getting
out of bed at 03.00 going out in your pyama's and being hosed down
with the garden hose by your partner who's yelling "we need to set a
reef"...

and they hose you off with salt water, don't forget what that's like
when it dries.

The problem though with Larry's simulator is that it leaves off all the
good parts of living on a boat.



--
Stephen

-------

For any proposition there is always some sufficiently narrow
interpretation of its terms, such that it turns out true, and
some sufficiently wide interpretation such that it turns out
false...concept stretching will refute *any* statement, and will
leave no true statement whatsoever.
-- Imre Lakatos

On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 13:03:56 -0800, Stephen Trapani
wrote:

You might consider adding the typical moments offshore, like getting
out of bed at 03.00 going out in your pyama's and being hosed down
with the garden hose by your partner who's yelling "we need to set a
reef"...

and they hose you off with salt water, don't forget what that's like
when it dries.

The problem though with Larry's simulator is that it leaves off all the
good parts of living on a boat.

Yes, I see your point. But as I read it it's an insurance policy
against the hazard of making decisions being blinded by love for
boats....

For us (the mrs and me) the best part of living aboard is the freedom.
We can take our pick of harbours or anchorages to choose from.
When a particular place doesn't suit us, we simple go elsewhere...

And also another type of freedom:
No garden, no home-improvement, no stuffing up garages and attics with
the useless crap that is sold in bundles nowadays, no car, just two
folding bikes.
We altered slowly into a less consuming lyfestyle and in retrospect
that is the major asset.

What do you regard as the good parts?

Regards, Len.

Len wrote:

On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 13:03:56 -0800, Stephen Trapani
wrote:


You might consider adding the typical moments offshore, like getting
out of bed at 03.00 going out in your pyama's and being hosed down
with the garden hose by your partner who's yelling "we need to set a
reef"...

and they hose you off with salt water, don't forget what that's like
when it dries.

The problem though with Larry's simulator is that it leaves off all the
good parts of living on a boat.


Yes, I see your point. But as I read it it's an insurance policy
against the hazard of making decisions being blinded by love for
boats....

For us (the mrs and me) the best part of living aboard is the freedom.
We can take our pick of harbours or anchorages to choose from.
When a particular place doesn't suit us, we simple go elsewhere...

And also another type of freedom:
No garden, no home-improvement, no stuffing up garages and attics with
the useless crap that is sold in bundles nowadays, no car, just two
folding bikes.
We altered slowly into a less consuming lyfestyle and in retrospect
that is the major asset.

What do you regard as the good parts?

Well, for one, lots to do with the mobility as you said, especially if
one is in an area like I am, Puget Sound, where there are tons of
marinas and anchorages to explore, and the whole waterway sheltered, and
the sense of adventure and exploration that goes with it, without as
much of the high speed and high risk associated with highway travel.

The boating culture and increased opportunity to meet people is a
biggie. There's something about boating that encourages camraderie and
leads people to be friendly, like when they have both traveled from a
distance and find themselves sharing the same piece of adventure. Also
there's a healthy chunk of the "live it up" mentality among boaters,
which is loads of fun if one doesn't overdo it.

Another feature of boating to love is harder to describe. It has to do
with the smell of the water, the feel of floating instead of being stuck
to the ground, the forces of nature have you, but they don't, you
partner with them for your ends. But not just that, it's always ancient
and brand new, a part of your history and future and the same time,
deeply familiar yet always strange.


--
Stephen

-------

For any proposition there is always some sufficiently narrow
interpretation of its terms, such that it turns out true, and
some sufficiently wide interpretation such that it turns out
false...concept stretching will refute *any* statement, and will
leave no true statement whatsoever.
-- Imre Lakatos

On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 10:24:23 +0100, Len wrote:

On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 13:03:56 -0800, Stephen Trapani
wrote:

You might consider adding the typical moments offshore, like getting
out of bed at 03.00 going out in your pyama's and being hosed down
with the garden hose by your partner who's yelling "we need to set a
reef"...

and they hose you off with salt water, don't forget what that's like
when it dries.

The problem though with Larry's simulator is that it leaves off all the
good parts of living on a boat.

Yes, I see your point. But as I read it it's an insurance policy
against the hazard of making decisions being blinded by love for
boats....

For us (the mrs and me) the best part of living aboard is the freedom.
We can take our pick of harbours or anchorages to choose from.
When a particular place doesn't suit us, we simple go elsewhere...

And also another type of freedom:
No garden, no home-improvement, no stuffing up garages and attics with
the useless crap that is sold in bundles nowadays, no car, just two
folding bikes.
We altered slowly into a less consuming lyfestyle and in retrospect
that is the major asset.

What do you regard as the good parts?

Regards, Len.

Where are you docked currently, Len?

--
John H.
On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD

Another feature of boating to love is harder to describe. It has to do
with the smell of the water, the feel of floating instead of being stuck
to the ground, the forces of nature have you, but they don't, you
partner with them for your ends. But not just that, it's always ancient
and brand new, a part of your history and future and the same time,
deeply familiar yet always strange.

Stephen


http://www.sleepingwithoars.com/