On the water
Looking For Twinspire
The search was on. We were dedicated to buying a sailboat and showing our twin boys the world. The decision was the easy part. It was finding the right boat for what we wanted to do, AND, that fit our budget that was the hard part. We found ourselves back in find money mode. Any penny we could we were setting aside. We started to again liquidate anything that we didn't plan on having on our new home.
What we were looking for was simple yet semi-rare in the price range we were shooting for. We had a couple of leads at first, this being very recent as of Aug 1st 2013. We had even found a boat that fit almost every spec that we wanted, however when it came to negotiations, the seller wanted a non refundable deposit before the initial inspection, this kind of thing was just too risky for our family (and I wouldn't advise it to anyone else either).
So the hunt continues for now for our dream boat, a trimaran. With a length ranging from 37-50 feet (only up to 50 because we do, after all, plan to round the globe).
What we were looking for was simple yet semi-rare in the price range we were shooting for. We had a couple of leads at first, this being very recent as of Aug 1st 2013. We had even found a boat that fit almost every spec that we wanted, however when it came to negotiations, the seller wanted a non refundable deposit before the initial inspection, this kind of thing was just too risky for our family (and I wouldn't advise it to anyone else either).
So the hunt continues for now for our dream boat, a trimaran. With a length ranging from 37-50 feet (only up to 50 because we do, after all, plan to round the globe).
Trying A Different Path
Some of our family members and friends may remember that for a while we had been talking about a plot of land that we had purchased. We had wonderful plans to build ourselves a nice homestead in the country, grow our own food, and raise some livestock. Many people, MANY sailors kept saying the same thing to us, "Farming is hard work". How could they know that I had grown up in the heart of farm country Illinois, where there were more corn fields and soy bean fields than there were houses, or people for that matter. I was well aware of the hardships involved in farming, growing your own food, making an HONEST living off your own hard work (with the exception of those who "farm" genetically modified "food")
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The work that was involved with running a farm was not at all what turned us away from following through with this plan, it was the feeling of being stuck. Here we were with our beautiful view, our spacious land (10 acres was enough for our little homestead), our little camper, and a wonderfully structure plan. However, each day that passed (we lasted two weeks, before walking away from our lease-purchase agreement), we found ourselves pointing out little things we missed about our boat more and more. We would talk about how it could be if we did go back, how the boys would love growing up as sailors, how we could not only teach them about the world, but show it to them.
My wife and I were on our way to a college that I was about to register at. I was going to get my degree in agriculture and help push the movement to further research into things like Aquaponics and Permaculture. I had developed quite a bit in a two week period on our land. I set up solar panels and a generator with two battery banks for electricity. I built an outdoor shower, first a temporary one, then a shower "stall", I cleared 200 feet worth of driveway, then cut it (did I mention our driveway was dust and grass) with a weed wacker. I built a little fire pit we could cook on (and we did) so we could conserve our propane. I even started to dig an irrigation ditch, in Missouri "dirt" (which is just dust and rock), for our waste water. Things were coming together pretty steadily, until that song came on the radio, the song that took us completely back to the days on the boat. Toes, by the Zac Brown Band.
That's it, turn the car around, we're leaving. We're getting another boat. We both said it, almost in unison, that was it, just a song that took us back. I enjoyed the hard work, I really did, but I would rather enjoy the hard work aboard my private Island with the smell of the salty sea in my nose.
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The work that was involved with running a farm was not at all what turned us away from following through with this plan, it was the feeling of being stuck. Here we were with our beautiful view, our spacious land (10 acres was enough for our little homestead), our little camper, and a wonderfully structure plan. However, each day that passed (we lasted two weeks, before walking away from our lease-purchase agreement), we found ourselves pointing out little things we missed about our boat more and more. We would talk about how it could be if we did go back, how the boys would love growing up as sailors, how we could not only teach them about the world, but show it to them. My wife and I were on our way to a college that I was about to register at. I was going to get my degree in agriculture and help push the movement to further research into things like Aquaponics and Permaculture. I had developed quite a bit in a two week period on our land. I set up solar panels and a generator with two battery banks for electricity. I built an outdoor shower, first a temporary one, then a shower "stall", I cleared 200 feet worth of driveway, then cut it (did I mention our driveway was dust and grass) with a weed wacker. I built a little fire pit we could cook on (and we did) so we could conserve our propane. I even started to dig an irrigation ditch, in Missouri "dirt" (which is just dust and rock), for our waste water. Things were coming together pretty steadily, until that song came on the radio, the song that took us completely back to the days on the boat. Toes, by the Zac Brown Band.
That's it, turn the car around, we're leaving. We're getting another boat. We both said it, almost in unison, that was it, just a song that took us back. I enjoyed the hard work, I really did, but I would rather enjoy the hard work aboard my private Island with the smell of the salty sea in my nose.
New beginning inspired by a recent past.
After careful consideration, and with the conditions of which the United States finds itself in, we have decided to return to our previous way of life with our new twin baby boys; and move aboard a sailboat.
We are not talking about any "normal" sailboat however. We are being sure to pick a boat that is big enough, sturdy enough, and reliable enough to live on for a LONG term period of time. We have many requirements and a few requests in the boat we seek for this long journey we have chosen to embark on. All of these needs and desires come from one thing, a year we spent living aboard a 34' O'day sailboat.
Purchased in January 2012 in Little River South Carolina, we spent a month outfitting and repairing our new sailboat. We finished the work we could, let go of the dock and started underway to our wonderful learning experience.
We are not talking about any "normal" sailboat however. We are being sure to pick a boat that is big enough, sturdy enough, and reliable enough to live on for a LONG term period of time. We have many requirements and a few requests in the boat we seek for this long journey we have chosen to embark on. All of these needs and desires come from one thing, a year we spent living aboard a 34' O'day sailboat.
Purchased in January 2012 in Little River South Carolina, we spent a month outfitting and repairing our new sailboat. We finished the work we could, let go of the dock and started underway to our wonderful learning experience.
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