Head Refit: Complete

The head refit took significantly longer than I expected. Part of my underestimation was my belief that I could accomplish more in a given day than was possible, the other part was due to the fact that I ignored the fact that “curing time” is a thing.

The project started with a simple plan to change out our head cabinet to “open” the space up further. After some light demolition, serious rot was discovered in the bulkhead and further demolition needed to take place to accomplish the task.

The project was planned to take about 2 weeks, but in reality, it elapsed over 6 months.

I'm Back!

Hello everyone!

Sorry for having been rather sporadic in my posting schedule, or rather completely failing to post to the blog entirely during the month of August.

I’ve had some time to grieve over Sammy and I am now able to get back to doing what I enjoy and find joy in doing what I love.

The blog posts will once again resume their usual daily posting.

To be completely upfront with the technicalities of the blog. When I move between countries and time zones, I am not entirely certain that my blogs come out at the right time. I aim for having them publish at 9am EST, but that might be off by an hour or a few because I may not have the proper time entered into the scheduling program.

See, it was easy to maintain this schedule when I lived in the same state and time zone as the blog. I would write on my computer and schedule it to publish at 9am. Done! Now, we are back and forth between Maryland and Portugal and the time difference is about 5 hours. Throw in Daylight Savings Time and I am totally confused…

So, if the post shows up early or late, just know that I am intending for it to publish at 9am EST.

When Will It End?

To start off, yes, our sailing trip will come to an end in the future.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

When I only lived aboard and dreamed of a cruising life, I was always perplexed by “retired cruisers”. I couldn’t fathom why someone would “Stop Sailing” and move onto land somewhere. I was baffled by this thought and knew that I would never leave this boat.

That was 7 years ago and my thoughts have changed. When we were just starting our cruising life (after living in a marina for 5 years and cruising for only 6 months), the thought just struck me. We were offshore beyond the sight of land, several miles (but looking back, still pretty close to the coast) off the coast of Virginia when I decided that upon our return to the United States, we would buy a house and live on land.

I wasn’t thinking about where I wanted to live or what I wanted to do in the future; it just came to me out of the blue out in the deep blue. I thought this was madness and dwelled on this thought for several days before even mentioning a word of it to my wife, Maddie. She always wanted to live on land and if I mentioned it, there would be no turning back. The fear of leaving the boat made me remain quiet about this thought for several weeks after I first came to this realization.

Then one day, I told Maddie. At first, she thought I was injured or ill; then she thought I was joking! I had to reassure her that this was not a “spur of the moment” thought and that I have actually contemplated this for a long time now. Needless to say, she was very happy!

We didn’t turn around early to get a house, instead we carried on down the East Coast of the United States, down to the Bahamas, back up to Bermuda, across to the Azores, and now onto Portugal. We still have to sail to Greece, then back to the Caribbean, and then back up to Maryland. Needless to say, when we get back, we will have sailed further than most “wishful” cruisers dream about!

So, in short, when we get back, we plan to save up and buy a house. We will not sell Wisdom, and we will not give up on sailing. Sailing is such a huge part of our lives and when we get back, Wisdom will be the longest place I have ever lived! She is so much more than just a boat, she is our home and we can’t just forget about her!

Sailing will become something that we do less often, as we will be working during the week and sailing on the weekends; but it will still be a major part of our lives and not something forgotten as we begin our next adventure: RV road trip through the National Parks in the United States.

It seems that most cruisers we meet are retired. After a lifetime of working and saving up to cruise in retirement, this is their last hoo-rah! We are very young, and if we spent a lifetime cruising, we would run out of waves to sail over! We started cruising when I was 31 and Maddie was 26. Now we are 33 and 28, and when we get back, I will be around my late 30s and Maddie in her early 30s. At that point, we will still have many years left for future adventures!

The journey is still continuing strong, and when this voyage reaches its end the adventure still will have not!

BOAT LOANS AND FINANCING OPTIONS

Buying a boat is a dream for many water-lovers, whether for sport or pleasure. However, a boat can be a significant purchase that is not easily covered with cash on hand. The purchase price range of a new motor boat is between $20,000 and several hundred thousand dollars, while a pontoon boat averages around $35,000. 

For most boat enthusiasts, this is not something they can pay for out of pocket. That’s where boat financing and boat loans come in to lend a helping hand.

Types of Boat Loans

Boat loans are specifically designed to cover the cost of a new or used boat for a qualified borrower. Some lenders offer loans for boats, with special terms and rates, while others do not offer this type of financing, even if the borrower is qualified. 

Like other types of financing, boat loans may be available with a wide range of interest rates, repayment terms, down payment requirements, and other up-front or built-in costs. It is necessary to understand your options before purchasing a boat.

Types of boat loans may include the following:

• Fixed interest rate boat loans with a set interest rate and repayment amount over the life of the loan

• Variable interest rate boat loans with a fluctuating interest rate and fluctuating payment over the life of the loan

• Balloon payment boat loans with a smaller monthly payment due for the majority of the loan term and then a large, lump sum payment at the end

• Personal loans for boat purchases that do not require the boat to be used as collateral to back the loan

• Home equity that uses a borrower’s personal residence as collateral instead of the boat itself, with either variable or fixed interest rates

In addition to these traditional options for financing a new or used boat purchase, there may be specialized boat loans that combine one or more of the features listed above for qualified borrowers.

Any type of boat may be financed, so long as the prospective boat owner qualifies for the new loan. Lenders may have specific requirements for minimum and maximum loan amounts for boat purchases, as well as specific terms for how long repayment can extend. However, just about any boat purchase, including speedboats, yachts, pontoon boats, and water sport vehicles, can be financed. 

Borrowers should note that boat loan lenders may differentiate between used boats and new boats, similar to how auto loans are priced. Because used boats represent more of a risk, loan terms may include a higher interest rate, a shorter repayment term, or a combination of the two. Typically, new boat purchases have the best available loan terms.

See the full article here: Boat Loans and Financing Options

Our Most Recent Episode!

Hello Everyone! Thank you for following along on our adventure as we sail to new lands with our electric motor and synthetic standing rigging. We are venturing along using only the power of the wind to carry us across the great blue world that we live on!