Fly or sail?
- Thread starter ozone
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juskl
Well-Known Member
Though I love to fly and cannot see me doing anything else for a career, that being said, sailing is pure beauty.... There is something soo soothing with sailing that cannot be matched by anything else... Plus the peace, the purity.... and with a glass of wine at sunset....., well you get the point... most passengers (and the FAA) tend to not be thrilled with their captains having a nice Pinot while in cruise.....
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
Dude, you just ruined it with those turbine Geese. This is what is needed for the crew.
Screaming_Emu
Well-Known Member
Murdoughnut
Well sized member
Do Pilots N' Paws flights ... I was like you and kinda felt bad throwing money at flights to nowhere. Doing rescue flights will give you a mission.
Besides, sailing is gay. Ever looked at a Nautica catalog?
Besides, sailing is gay. Ever looked at a Nautica catalog?
averyrm
Well-Known Member
Fleet - but you have to have the radials and at least one plane with a loudspeaker blasting Flight of the Valkyries
pilot4higher
Well-Known Member
Jake Wheeler
New Member
Sailing can be really cheap. Many states don't even require them to be registered (meaning no annual fee) if they are under 15 feet or so. No gas except to take it to the marina. If your boat is small enough, you can tow it and keep it in the garage or at the side of the house, so no slip fees. No BFRs. Easy to teach the wife and kids. Nice for a family picnic, day trip or, if it is big enough, a short camping trip.
I love flying, but it's an expensive passion if you have to pay for it yourself. If you are looking for recreational fun, try sailing first. If the flying bug still has you, check out Sport Pilot and LSA.
I love flying, but it's an expensive passion if you have to pay for it yourself. If you are looking for recreational fun, try sailing first. If the flying bug still has you, check out Sport Pilot and LSA.
splash
your social justice comic center
UHHHHH i see a plan forming here.
JC SKY PIRATE CREW.
irate:
:drool:
Acadia
Well-Known Member
It can be cheap, but if you get into anything of size for cruising that is of any quality, you quickly get into airplane prices. Maintenance and insurance are certainly not as bad, but to keep a boat up properly can get expensive over time. Pound for pound, aviation is more costly, but unless you go the super budget route, sailing can be close behind when it comes to draining your wallet.
As an example, we are a the second owner of a very nice small builder 30' sailboat. It has been very well maintained over the years and it is stored indoors. In the last few years we re-powered to the tune of about $24K, while the engine was out we saw that a water tank that was now accessible needed replacing, which cost close to $2K. We had the bottom stripped of bottom paint and faired for about $2.5K, and had a new head sail made for about $3K. So there is over thirty grand in unavoidable expenses in a short period of time on a fairly modest boat. With any luck we will be in good shape for a little while, but I figure on a few grand a year for the hauling and launching cost and normal maintenance.
XLR99
Well-Known Member
I vote for getting the family more involved in flying. You've dropped some serious coin already; don't let it go to waste! You can fly year-round, can't really sail all year though.
In your area flying can shave hours of misery off of a trip to the Cape, islands, NH/Maine, or basically anywhere. Go check out adventurepilot.com and find some fun places to day trip with the family.
Or take a different, uh, tack, and do some fun flying ie tailwheel, acro, gliders. I also like the Pilots & Paws idea to do a real mission once in awhile (also a good way to get family involved as FAs)
In your area flying can shave hours of misery off of a trip to the Cape, islands, NH/Maine, or basically anywhere. Go check out adventurepilot.com and find some fun places to day trip with the family.
Or take a different, uh, tack, and do some fun flying ie tailwheel, acro, gliders. I also like the Pilots & Paws idea to do a real mission once in awhile (also a good way to get family involved as FAs)
pilot4higher
Well-Known Member
SJM
New Member
Jake Wheeler
New Member
All true, I'm sure, which brings it up to the saying about "If it flies, floats or fornicates, then it's cheaper to rent". My boat is a easy to care for. Just an open cockpit day sailor sailboat which could carry 2 adults and 2 kids comfortably. When the kids are older, they can take it out on their own.
texas_pilot
Well-Known Member
No guarantees on quality or condition, but the ebay prices on BoatAngel Ministries are ludicrously cheap.
Spend some money on a Transportation Company and you might well be the Big Fish in your local Small Pond.
Spend some money on a Transportation Company and you might well be the Big Fish in your local Small Pond.
Maddog1974
Well-Known Member
:rotfl:
Divine Wind
New Member
What did she think about the boat? We have a small sailboat too and also kayaks. In Texas, boats 14 feet or less don't require registration nor to kayaks. Aside from the expense of buying them (all from Craigslist!) the only extra expense was my fishing license.
While my wife loves flying too, the expense can be difficult. The boats are cheap enough they aren't a big issue.
BTW, this is exactly the best time of year to start looking for boating bargains since some people are looking at getting rid of theirs rather than put them up for the winter.
Don't do that - being a professional mariner is nothing like boating recreationally. just like being an airline pilot is nothing like being a weekend warrior. I made that mistake going the other way.
The first couple of ports probably would be cool, but then you realize that you're only in port long enough to unload / load cargo, you're trying to keep to a schedule and it's off to the next port. don't be late (or better explain why you're late), use the most fuel efficient routing, don't deviate from course until the last minute to avoid hitting another ship or running aground (to save fuel)... it's like being in an airline again, except that you're doing 15 knots from point A to point B and it's a few days until you hit the next port.
Don't get me wrong, I mean it is very satisfying to make an approach on a pier and or approaching an anchorage and putting that ship right where you want it in the way you want it, kind of like making a great approach and landing in an aircraft.
But if the flying thing doesn't work out, you could start with an OUPV and look into running fishing charters (carrying up to 6 people). don't need to go to a maritime academy for that, just like you don't need to go to ATP or Riddle to be an airline pilot.
Back to the OP
As far as the OP goes, I would second Maddog's post, get the family interested in flying - now that you have the means, I got my wife interested in day trips to things within several hours drive and she totally got into flying to destinations. She didn't like GA flying at all. After she saw the utility in GA flying, she encourged me to stay proficient/current, add on ratings, etc. That was when I had the job/career to support an aviation habit. Now that i am a commercial pilot, we can't afford to do the weekend flying destination trips anymore.
The boating option that you're considering, it looks like you'll be wanting to get a boat - with a cabin and the attendant maintenance and upkeep costs, and not the kind where you can get a cheap open cockpit dinghy for $5,000 new.
I do go sailing to get away from flying, the wife and kid. I just drive the Laser to the lake, rig it up, and take off sailing by myself, when I'm done, take the Laser all apart and take it back home. And that's not what you're looking at. When my original aviation bug hit, I didn't have any interest in flying anything with an engine, I don't have any interest in boating in anything with an engine either. This time I'm going to try to keep it that way.