So in the last blog, over our social media, and most recently on our YouTube channel, we announced our plans to take off work for 6 months starting in March and take our sailboat, Nuala, down the Tennessee River and out to the Gulf of Mexico for some bluewater adventures. Most people who know us, know that this is something we’ve been trying to make happen for nearly 5 years, but even knowing that it’s something we’ve been planning for so long hasn’t stopped nearly EVERYONE from being at least somewhat concerned that we’ve lost our minds.
What I mean is that everyone has questions and concerns ranging from how comfortable we’re going to be, to how far we expect to make it down the river before the boat flips over; from how we plan to fend off pirates, to how many days we can use the head (boat word for “toilet”) before we have to start dumping it into the ocean. (WE WILL NOT BE DUMPING ANYTHING INTO THE OCEAN, by the way.) So, I thought if I could share a little bit more about our boat, why we chose a sailboat to begin with, and what it means for safety and comfort, I could answer some questions and assuage some concerns our friends and family have for us.
Sailboats in general have a lot of advantages for this type of long-term trip, particularly for those of us who don’t have lots of spare money floating around, because the cost of buying AND using them can be significantly scaled down. For starters, sailboats tend to cost considerably less than powerboats. Our boat, Nuala, is a 1982 Hunter 27. Hunter is a production boat, not exactly a high-end model, but you can find plenty of them around. (This is the third Hunter we’ve owned but the only one we’ve actually used, another story for another day, lol).
Nuala can sleep five people. In all fairness, only one of these beds, the v-berth that sleeps two people at the bow, or “front” of our boat, has a door for privacy, but beds for 5 people, nonetheless. We have a small galley (boat word for “kitchen”) and a private head (the bathroom, which includes a toilet and sink). Our boat also has an inboard Yanmar 1GM diesel engine. Yes, we do have a motor.
Look around and see what the typical cost for powerboats meeting just these specifications are in your general vicinity. When I hop on my local Facebook Marketplace to find a non-sail boat that meets these requirements, the least expensive boat I found was $8500, slept only 3 people, did not have a working engine, and was sitting outside for several years growing mold in the cabin that was in complete disarray.
Our sailboat was in pristine condition, despite being nearly 40 years old, with a working engine and several sails when we bought it in 2020 for $3500. In addition to being cheaper than powerboats on the initial cost, sailboats are usually less expensive to operate as well. Since we don’t have to motor all the time and can utilize wind to propel the boat, we conserve not only the fuel but also hours on an engine that’s already designed to pretty much run forever with proper maintenance.
It is because of the low initial investment and low cost of operating this boat that we can even consider taking a trip like the one we have planned without breaking the bank. There has been the cost of keeping the boat in the marina. Here on our lake it’s anywhere from $100 to $165 for a slip, but that does include power and water. We’ve also spent a good bit of money just over the past two months to add safety features and upgrades to the boat that we’ll need once we’re in salt water (there will be another blog and YouTube video detailing those costs) but even with those costs, we’ve spent less than $15,000 (not including the slip fee over the past 4 years) so far on what has been our lake condo up until now, and will become our ocean front home for 6 months out of the year.
Aside from how we afford to do this without sinking any of our physical or metaphorical ships, the other concern we’ve heard from lots of people is about our safety, especially having kids aboard. With regards to safety, I’ve got to tell you that the monohull sailboat is my choice hands down, and in particular, a smaller monohull like our Hunter 27, for several reasons. A monohull is a sailboat with one hull, or bottom, unlike a catamaran, which has two hulls, or even a trimaran, which, you guessed it, has three. While catamarans tend to have considerably more living space and heel (or tip over) much less than a monohull, a catamaran does possess the ability to be flipped over completely with no way of righting itself. In fact, catamarans have hatches built into the bottom of the hulls to provide an escape route should the boat flip over. That has always been a deal breaker for me, not to mention that catamarans tend to cost significantly more than monohulls as well.
So, even though our monohull has less living space, heels over pretty decently while sailing, and rocks more than a catamaran at anchor, it is built like a weeble wooble. A monohull has a weighted keel built to act as a counterbalance against the pressure of the wind on the sails. For that reason, the boat can be pushed over but will right itself again by simply heading up into the wind to decrease the force on the sails. This technique of heading up, or just pointing more directly into the wind, will also keep the boat from heeling as significantly. So, while it’s necessary for the boat to heel some to move more easily in wind, we can control the amount of heel and don’t have to worry about being completely knocked over.
Another big safety feature of Nuala is her size. Should anything happen to me or my husband, (whether an injury, seasickness, or anything else that might require the other’s attention), we are each capable of managing the boat underway independently (single-handing in boat speak). This is SUPER important in keeping us and our family safe, and it has been a focal point in some of the adjustments we’ve made onboard. One of our first purchases upon committing to this trip was a windlass, a winching system that provides a mechanical advantage in pulling up the anchor. This needed to be something that I could manage if Ray is unable to do so. Our boat is also designed so that the sails can be managed from the cockpit (the hollowed-out bathtub/outdoor living room part of the boat) while helming (driving) the boat.
On our previous sailboat, someone had to run forward to the mast to raise or lower our main sail. A person also had to run all the way to the bow to hank on a head sail and raise/lower that from the mast as well. Now, we have a roller-furling head sail (which I actually have a love/hate, but mostly hate, relationship with), and the head and main sail sheets and halyards are all accessible from the cockpit. Couple this set up with the smaller size of the boat, and it becomes a ship that is manageable even for someone smaller like me, (I’m 5’1” and 125 lbs).
While I wish the boat was a bit older, (older boats tend to be a bit “over” glassed which makes me feel a little better about potential bottom hazards or grounding) and was more of a full keel design (again, more sound for grounding and less heel), I feel pretty good about the boat we have and the condition she’s in. And I suppose there’s one more thing on that note…outboard engines have been the bane of my boating existence on previous boats, (lots more stories for another time). While buying a boat with an inboard diesel seemed a bit daunting at first, I have found that our 1-cyclinder diesel has been a breeze to work on, and Ray and I both have a pretty good understanding of our engine now which will also help to keep us safer going forward. The engine is reliable and we BOTH know and understand how to keep it that way and work on it if necessary.
Because we haven’t spent all of the money just buying and running the boat, and because we have a boat that we feel pretty safe on already, we’ve been able to splurge for a few more safety items. We have purchased some great PFDs (personal floatation devices, or life jackets) that we can use to tether (we have to buy the tether still) into the boat to keep us from going overboard. We have safety netting, another precaution to keep us from falling off the boat. We were able to buy a great dinghy that is big enough to hold an outboard motor which will serve as the backup motor for our boat should things go wrong with our primary diesel engine. We got the previously mentioned windlass to help with the anchor. We also got new portlights so that we can open and close windows, letting in fresh air, keeping out rain, and making it possible for us to see outside even if we’re not in the cockpit.
But maybe most importantly (though not inexpensively), we were able to purchase an EPIRB. EPIRB stands for Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. It’s a small electronic device that can be used by the Coast Guard and other rescue services to find us if we are in distress. Coupled with our VHF radio and ditch bag (as it sounds, filled with everything we need in case we have to evacuate or "ditch" the boat), this EPIRB gives us the best chance at making it to safety if something goes wrong.
My hope is that knowing some of these things about our boat in particular will help give peace of mind to the friends and family we have that are concerned about our safety and well-being. While this blog doesn’t address the questions about how comfortable we’ll be aboard, I hope it does explain the mental and emotional (and financial) comfort we have in taking this kind of leap.
I will absolutely have another blog and YouTube video to discuss the space on Nuala. I mean, at only 27 feet long, and maybe 100 square feet of living space, it’s obviously going to be tight quarters. And while that will have its “uncomfortable” moments, we can take comfort in all the experiences, memories, and time together we GAIN from making our little voyage. We’ve had four wonderful years aboard already. We take the boat out and camp for days at a time on the lake. We’ve also raced against members of the local sailing club. And lots of times, we just spend weekends at the marina using the boat like a condo on the lake. We’ve already gained some really great moments, experiences, and opportunities.
That said, with this new adventure in the works, we have a boat that is so affordable to maintain and operate that we gain a 6-month vacation without giving up our home. And we have a boat that is safe enough that we should be able to get it from shore to shore without any (fingers crossed) major issues. We’re all gaining incredible experiences and opportunities that we can’t gain in our land-based lives. And we’re guaranteeing ourselves these opportunities NOW rather than trying to guarantee a hope of them later. For us, that’s probably the most important part.
Well, there’s a little more about our boat and why we’re feeling pretty good about being able to make it work. I’ve included some pictures so you can see our little space. We’re also working really hard to upload some new videos to our YouTube Channel, Here and There Travels, that will show not only the space, but how we use it, in addition to our adventures. I hope that this blog gives some good information, but please feel free to reach out. You can find all of our contact information on our website www.heretheretravels.com and we would LOVE to hear from you. We can’t wait to get the trip underway and have some real content to share!
Peace and blessings,
Mindi
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