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May 30, 2014 6:55 PM Subscribe
Twenty-Eight Feet: Life On A Little Wooden Boat
"Lizzy Belle is an H28 class Ketch rigged sailboat designed by L. Francis Herreshoff."
"Lizzy Belle is an H28 class Ketch rigged sailboat designed by L. Francis Herreshoff."
Headin' out for a sail this evening. thanks for the inspiration.
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:09 PM on May 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:09 PM on May 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Very nice! Thanks for sharing.
posted by Bohemian Sailor at 7:50 PM on May 30, 2014
posted by Bohemian Sailor at 7:50 PM on May 30, 2014
My cousin does not have a documentarian, but he's been living this life now for over a decade.
He was a software engineer, living in Manhattan, and in 2004 decided to buy a boat, and sail for "2 or 3 years" around the world. He's been going at it now for just over 10 years, and in the process had become a hero of mine.
posted by growabrain at 8:06 PM on May 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
He was a software engineer, living in Manhattan, and in 2004 decided to buy a boat, and sail for "2 or 3 years" around the world. He's been going at it now for just over 10 years, and in the process had become a hero of mine.
posted by growabrain at 8:06 PM on May 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm mostly interested in how he learned how to sail and maintain the boat. This sort of thing has been a long term never quite realistic dream of mine, even just to start out as a liveaboard thing... and i never really understood how people get that knowledge. Yea, i know you can take sailing classes but there's quite a lot more involved in what's going on here.
posted by emptythought at 10:27 PM on May 30, 2014
posted by emptythought at 10:27 PM on May 30, 2014
and i never really understood how people get that knowledge
The Center For Wooden Boats in South Lake Union, free via your Seattle Public Library Card.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:21 AM on May 31, 2014
The Center For Wooden Boats in South Lake Union, free via your Seattle Public Library Card.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:21 AM on May 31, 2014
and i never really understood how people get that knowledge
One little disaster at a time.
posted by Right On Red at 6:21 AM on May 31, 2014 [3 favorites]
One little disaster at a time.
posted by Right On Red at 6:21 AM on May 31, 2014 [3 favorites]
My cousin does not have a documentarian, but he's been living this life now for over a decade.
That blog is such a tease! Has he been subsisting on previously stored up funds or what?
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 7:03 AM on May 31, 2014
That blog is such a tease! Has he been subsisting on previously stored up funds or what?
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 7:03 AM on May 31, 2014
That is a gorgeous boat. Hard to believe it's only 28 feet; I dunno if it's the cinematography or the two masts or both, but it sure looked to be a good size compared to mine, which is 33 feet (but single-masted).
This guy has exactly the same attitudes towards living space, and money, that I do, and since this is pretty much what I'm planning to do someday the whole thing feels sort of like a message from the universe (that message being, "get the heck off Metafilter and get back to sanding down and repainting the bottom of your boat").
I do depart from this guy in a couple ways - for one thing, I'll happily stick to fiberglass boats, thanks, even though I've seen a number of gorgeous wooden Herreshoffs besides this one. (There are a few Herreshoff designs that are still in production, but that H28 doesn't seem to be one of them.) I'm also planning on adding refrigeration and some solar panels before I'm actually living on board full-time. And I'm not sure I could go two and a half months without a fresh water shower, so there's that.
I'm mostly interested in how he learned how to sail and maintain the boat. This sort of thing has been a long term never quite realistic dream of mine, even just to start out as a liveaboard thing... and i never really understood how people get that knowledge. Yea, i know you can take sailing classes but there's quite a lot more involved in what's going on here.
The best way to start out, honestly, is to have a good friend or relative who will take you out on their boat pretty frequently. Supplement with sailing classes and reading some books on maintenance, and learn as much as you can until you feel like you're ready to take the plunge and buy your own. Then, keep your experienced boat-owning friend on speed-dial so you can call them up and ask whenever you run into something you don't know on your own boat. Beyond that, trial and error accounts for the rest.
posted by mstokes650 at 7:31 AM on May 31, 2014 [1 favorite]
This guy has exactly the same attitudes towards living space, and money, that I do, and since this is pretty much what I'm planning to do someday the whole thing feels sort of like a message from the universe (that message being, "get the heck off Metafilter and get back to sanding down and repainting the bottom of your boat").
I do depart from this guy in a couple ways - for one thing, I'll happily stick to fiberglass boats, thanks, even though I've seen a number of gorgeous wooden Herreshoffs besides this one. (There are a few Herreshoff designs that are still in production, but that H28 doesn't seem to be one of them.) I'm also planning on adding refrigeration and some solar panels before I'm actually living on board full-time. And I'm not sure I could go two and a half months without a fresh water shower, so there's that.
I'm mostly interested in how he learned how to sail and maintain the boat. This sort of thing has been a long term never quite realistic dream of mine, even just to start out as a liveaboard thing... and i never really understood how people get that knowledge. Yea, i know you can take sailing classes but there's quite a lot more involved in what's going on here.
The best way to start out, honestly, is to have a good friend or relative who will take you out on their boat pretty frequently. Supplement with sailing classes and reading some books on maintenance, and learn as much as you can until you feel like you're ready to take the plunge and buy your own. Then, keep your experienced boat-owning friend on speed-dial so you can call them up and ask whenever you run into something you don't know on your own boat. Beyond that, trial and error accounts for the rest.
posted by mstokes650 at 7:31 AM on May 31, 2014 [1 favorite]
emptythought and the man of twists and turns - I learned to sail at the Center for Wooden Boats. They're great folks.
Gosh, that's a pretty boat.
Buying a boat and taking time off and puttering about in a boat is one of those things that I can't tell if it's actually a dream, or just the idea of it is a dream for me. For now, I occasionally crew for a friend of mine who belongs to one of the local sailing clubs and I learn a bit every time.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:38 AM on May 31, 2014
Gosh, that's a pretty boat.
Buying a boat and taking time off and puttering about in a boat is one of those things that I can't tell if it's actually a dream, or just the idea of it is a dream for me. For now, I occasionally crew for a friend of mine who belongs to one of the local sailing clubs and I learn a bit every time.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:38 AM on May 31, 2014
The Center For Wooden Boats
Can attest, amazing place, proposed to my wife in the little park nearby just before we went on their weekly free sail day. Seattle is the richer for having it.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:45 AM on May 31, 2014
Can attest, amazing place, proposed to my wife in the little park nearby just before we went on their weekly free sail day. Seattle is the richer for having it.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:45 AM on May 31, 2014
My cousin built a tri-hulled, 41-feet 10-inches long sailboat. Here is their story.
posted by semmi at 10:18 PM on May 31, 2014
posted by semmi at 10:18 PM on May 31, 2014
Thanks for this.
Like others, this lifestyle has been a long deferred dream of mine. I'm familiar with both sailing, boats in general and the tropics -- I've just never been able to put them together as a cohesive lifestyle for more than a few weeks. The boat -- a sloop rigged ketch, I think -- is gorgeous. But man, did he take on a maintenance load and sailing it solo to Australia strikes me as sheer insanity.
Growbrain and semmi, your comments made me start to wonder just how many people have made this a reality. I can add a third. My cousin and her husband spent five years living at sea with three children.
posted by cedar at 1:10 PM on June 1, 2014
Like others, this lifestyle has been a long deferred dream of mine. I'm familiar with both sailing, boats in general and the tropics -- I've just never been able to put them together as a cohesive lifestyle for more than a few weeks. The boat -- a sloop rigged ketch, I think -- is gorgeous. But man, did he take on a maintenance load and sailing it solo to Australia strikes me as sheer insanity.
Growbrain and semmi, your comments made me start to wonder just how many people have made this a reality. I can add a third. My cousin and her husband spent five years living at sea with three children.
posted by cedar at 1:10 PM on June 1, 2014
I spent three week living on this boat (the article says it's 30' but it's definitely 28') as a teenager, and it was incredible. The Sea School has a free day sail coming up this weekend, if anyone happens to be in the Halifax area.
posted by naoko at 8:33 AM on June 4, 2014
posted by naoko at 8:33 AM on June 4, 2014
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posted by sammyo at 7:09 PM on May 30, 2014