I am going to live on a sail boat

I am going to live out my life on a sail boat!

Well, not quite. But just the concept alone is intriguing! The idea is the challenge of creating a self sustaining place to live for months at a time. Anyone who reads this knows I frequently talk about our spot in the sun in tourist land up north. I don’t see a much of a major difference between there and living on a sailboat. Well ok, we’re on dry land. We’re located within 30 minutes of a hospital and medical facilities. We don’t have to know ocean navigation, tides, weather, or sail boat care and maintenance! But everything else is pretty much the same.

I had this wonderful opportunity to talk to a young lady (I say young lady because she’s younger than I am) who, along with her husband live on a sailboat. She said she was looking for a library  so he could  get online to make sure their finances were in order. We were on the street in a town near a marina on our vacation. We didn’t know but we knew how she could find out. It was amazing that that couple was at the same place we were for dinner, a seafood shack on the beach (cheap). First, brace yourself, they’re trust baby’s. Yup, every month they get free money and don’t have to work for it. Trust baby’s usually just spend. Sometimes they figure out how to make more money from their trust money. Sometimes they still work. Some even own their own big business, they don’t know how not to work. But those trust baby’s are rarely found. This couple admitted they do not work or learn any other income from anywhere. I restrained myself from saying all the things that came to mind about trust baby’s that I knew. I wanted to learn, not shut them down. So at the risk of turning my tongue into hamburger, and fighting the internal laughter track, I asked questions.

Between the two of them they get about $3000 a month. $3000 A MONTH?!!!!! He inherited daddy’s sail boat 5 years before. He learned as a child everything there is to know about survival on a sail boat. Thanks dad! They said they looked at it like this. It’s costs next to nothing to live on a sail boat. Once a month they have to port. Over time they have found three of the best that work for them. So I had to ask. What works for you?

First and foremost it has a reputable sales and service place for sail boats that doesn’t overcharge, has experienced service personnel and has excellent customer service. Every three months they have to leave their sail boat for service so they go where there is a massive grocery store, a library (gee, I wonder why?) an American doctor and dentist that takes their medical ins., etc, etc. And it all has to be within walking distance of a good motel.

While on shore they live by rules. There rules the average person doesn’t know about. They try to not eat more on shore than they would on board the boat. They said it’s a lot like eating a huge Thanksgiving meal. The day after your starving, on the boat your menus are planned. There are no leftovers. You can’t eat a second helping, there are no second helpings. If you want a lot of food you have to fish and actually catch fish. The time you spend cooking is also the use of the LP gas or fuel for the generator for electricity. On board everything is measured. They have spreadsheets. Hand written spreadsheets. There are no laptops on the ocean. The salt air is not good for electronics. The salt air is why the sailboat has to be maintained every day, sometimes two or three times a day. You have to know your sailboat, stem to stern. You have to know everything about the maintenance of it.

I wanted to share this with you because with a little creativity you can turn your retirement world into a world of creating your own “living on a sail boat” world. We all know our retirement days will be nothing like the days we worked. But it wouldn’t take a lot of money to live with all the comforts of home without paying through the nose. At you know I refer to our inexpencive get away often. You have to have some knowledge and be willing to do a few things. But it's a great way to begin our future.  Have a great day!