Doing the dream with little money
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:35 am
Is it possible to do a cruise with minimal funds? Well, it certainly is, and I,m living proof.
For years, my wife and I looked at boats online and in print, dreaming of taking a "big" trip. It can get old sailing the same lake. I said several times; we could buy that boat, fix it up, sail it on our big trip, and sell it when we are done.
One day we noticed a Cheoy Lee ketch on the hard at our marina in southern Illinois. I told my wife that it would be a good boat for our dream trip down the rivers to the Gulf, and then to Key West and up the east coast to Maine. Well, as we were looking at the boat, someone told us it was for sale at a good price. We bought the boat, worked on it for a year, and put it in the water for trials. This spring, after working on the boat all winter, including a motor rebuild, we launched at Kentucky Lake dam. Over 3 months later, and 3500 total miles, including 1800 offshore; we ended our trip in Penobscot Bay n Maine. We sold the boat and recovered some of our money. ( you never get it all back, or paid for your time).
It's been a fantastic trip! We've learned more about sailing, anchoring, docking, tides, currents, navigation, and living aboard than I could have imagined.
Dreams can be reality with enough hard work. You don't have to have a lot of money to do something worthwhile.
For years, my wife and I looked at boats online and in print, dreaming of taking a "big" trip. It can get old sailing the same lake. I said several times; we could buy that boat, fix it up, sail it on our big trip, and sell it when we are done.
One day we noticed a Cheoy Lee ketch on the hard at our marina in southern Illinois. I told my wife that it would be a good boat for our dream trip down the rivers to the Gulf, and then to Key West and up the east coast to Maine. Well, as we were looking at the boat, someone told us it was for sale at a good price. We bought the boat, worked on it for a year, and put it in the water for trials. This spring, after working on the boat all winter, including a motor rebuild, we launched at Kentucky Lake dam. Over 3 months later, and 3500 total miles, including 1800 offshore; we ended our trip in Penobscot Bay n Maine. We sold the boat and recovered some of our money. ( you never get it all back, or paid for your time).
It's been a fantastic trip! We've learned more about sailing, anchoring, docking, tides, currents, navigation, and living aboard than I could have imagined.
Dreams can be reality with enough hard work. You don't have to have a lot of money to do something worthwhile.