Posted on Nov 5, 2016
How many are living life or taking extended stays on a boat?
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I have been giving great consideration to buying a trawler/yacht and spending extended time traveling. I'm retired at a young age and want to explore while I still can. Where I live in Tennessee, the lakes connect to the rivers, in turn connect to the gulf. Maybe even do the Great Loop one day. What training classes would you recommend? Or books? In the research phase now but looks promising.
Boating
Retirement
Disabled Veterans
Edited 9 y ago
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 18
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SSgt Eric Lamoray
Can be done far cheaper than most would imagine. The websites and magazines are a source of great amusement for many actually living the life.
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I've wanted to live the boat life ... not in the Navy (no offense intended) since I was a child.
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Amazing turn of events over the past couple months. I am now dating a woman with a 43' Hyatt aft cabin yacht and things are going great! We met on Match.com (40, never married, and no kids). She has managed the boat well but needs a mechanically inclined helping hand. That's me. ;) The ladies, twin turbocharged Cummins diesels, need constant TLC. We both want to get our Captains licence next fall. I'm considering diesel mechanics school as well. A great friend of mine and former sailor sent me a Chapman Piloting & Seamanship 67th Edition that is chock full of information and few other great books read. If things continue well, we plan on upgrading to a larger boat and enjoy each others company. Wish me luck!
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Lots of great responses especially about the coast guard training. The one bit of advice I would give is make sure you get safety gear as well, especially if you plan to go out past line of sight from shore. As many have said the sea is unforgiving and it is really tough to find people floating in the water. As a Navy helo pilot I have spent countless hours over the water practicing to find and save people and it is really hard to find people if they don't have really good safety gear. Get something that can send a mayday signal with GPS coordinates and also something that is bright colored if you end up in the water.
Also go for it. Most people only dream of something like this but never actually do it. If you like it great, if you don't, sell the boat and move on having had the experience.
Also go for it. Most people only dream of something like this but never actually do it. If you like it great, if you don't, sell the boat and move on having had the experience.
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CDR (Join to see)
Leo, that is awesome info. I'm glad to know those tools exist. I am going to look into them as I suspect they would have a great military aviation application as well. Many thanks. Steve
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Find your Local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and take their Boating Safety and Navigation Courses.
Next either get online or go to your Local Bookstore and find copies of the following Books, if you live near a Lake or one of the Rivers in or adjacent to the State of Tennessee, find a Bookstore that specializes in Marine Books. If you don't want to buy brand new copies of these Books look for a Used Book Store, they may have these books for half-price.
Look for the following: If you go to USCG.mil and fish around for a while, look for their Publication list and see if you can find the list of their "Commandant's Instructions" . Down load a Copy of the "Boat Crew Seamanship Manual" COMDTINST M16114.5.
There is a civilian version of the afore mentioned publication called the "Small-Boat Seamanship Manual" published by International Marine/McGraw-Hill, which is based on the "U.S. Coast Guard's Boat Crew Seamanship Manual COMDTINST M16114.5", the Edition I have is dated 2002 and is near 500 pages, but there may be a more up to date one available.
"COMDTINST" is short for "Commandant's Instruction" the Number M16114.5 may be followed by a Letter like M16114.5A, these are updated fairly regularly, so there maybe another letter other than "A" by now, (Edition "A" was the First Edition, published in 1985 after the subject matter content was extensively revised and updated & the original publication's name was changed to "Boat Crew Seamanship Manual").
Another very valuable manual with a long and storied history going back to 1917, is called "CHAPMAN PILOTING & SEAMANSHIP" by Charles B. Husick and Published by Hearst Communications, Inc. a division of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (http://www. sterlingpublishing.com).
This voluminous and comprehensive work, is another publication that should be kept close at hand by every boat owner/operator, which should have at least a working knowledge of it's contents. It is Revised & Updated every year or so. The last Addition I purchased was the 66th Edition published in 2009 and is almost 1000 pages. Though I have spent many hours over my 30 odd years in the Coast Guard, working on floating platforms up to 65 feet in length, I have never actually lived on a boat. Good luck with that endeavor, Sir! Be safe. Please Keep PFD's and properly sized & serviced Fire Extinguishers at hand and know how to use them!
Next either get online or go to your Local Bookstore and find copies of the following Books, if you live near a Lake or one of the Rivers in or adjacent to the State of Tennessee, find a Bookstore that specializes in Marine Books. If you don't want to buy brand new copies of these Books look for a Used Book Store, they may have these books for half-price.
Look for the following: If you go to USCG.mil and fish around for a while, look for their Publication list and see if you can find the list of their "Commandant's Instructions" . Down load a Copy of the "Boat Crew Seamanship Manual" COMDTINST M16114.5.
There is a civilian version of the afore mentioned publication called the "Small-Boat Seamanship Manual" published by International Marine/McGraw-Hill, which is based on the "U.S. Coast Guard's Boat Crew Seamanship Manual COMDTINST M16114.5", the Edition I have is dated 2002 and is near 500 pages, but there may be a more up to date one available.
"COMDTINST" is short for "Commandant's Instruction" the Number M16114.5 may be followed by a Letter like M16114.5A, these are updated fairly regularly, so there maybe another letter other than "A" by now, (Edition "A" was the First Edition, published in 1985 after the subject matter content was extensively revised and updated & the original publication's name was changed to "Boat Crew Seamanship Manual").
Another very valuable manual with a long and storied history going back to 1917, is called "CHAPMAN PILOTING & SEAMANSHIP" by Charles B. Husick and Published by Hearst Communications, Inc. a division of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (http://www. sterlingpublishing.com).
This voluminous and comprehensive work, is another publication that should be kept close at hand by every boat owner/operator, which should have at least a working knowledge of it's contents. It is Revised & Updated every year or so. The last Addition I purchased was the 66th Edition published in 2009 and is almost 1000 pages. Though I have spent many hours over my 30 odd years in the Coast Guard, working on floating platforms up to 65 feet in length, I have never actually lived on a boat. Good luck with that endeavor, Sir! Be safe. Please Keep PFD's and properly sized & serviced Fire Extinguishers at hand and know how to use them!
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244ft-long superyacht comes with a 2-person drone
Feadship, the Dutch company behind Steve Jobs' custom-built superyacht, unveiled its 'Choice' superyacht concept at the Monaco Yacht Show.
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I've worked in the recreational Marine Industry just shy of 30 years now, I've had my ticket ( Jack of All Trades, Master of 100 Ton), and the best advice I can give is to get out there and boat. All the books in the world won't match some time on the Wheel.
I'm a part time instructor for Carefree Boat Club, here in Tidewater VA, and it's the best way I've found to get your feet wet. Besides being cheaper than owning and maintaining a boat yourself, it allows you to use a variety of boats to discover your tastes and preferences. Carefree has a number of locations, and I know of Freedom Boat Club as well, and I'm sure there are other similar clubs around.
I'm a part time instructor for Carefree Boat Club, here in Tidewater VA, and it's the best way I've found to get your feet wet. Besides being cheaper than owning and maintaining a boat yourself, it allows you to use a variety of boats to discover your tastes and preferences. Carefree has a number of locations, and I know of Freedom Boat Club as well, and I'm sure there are other similar clubs around.
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SGT Jerrold Pesz
In my first post I was addressing living on a boat. If you just want to go play on the water I agree about boat clubs. There is one at my local marina on Percy Priest Lake here in TN and they have all sorts of boats and they do all of the work.
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