9 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Buying A Sailboat and Live on a Boat Full-time!

We’ve been receiving a lot of questions about what made us decide to buy a sailboat. Well, it’s really Jonathan’s dream and he’s my husband, so I was just left with no choice but to support him! Haha. Just kidding. :p

We didn’t arrive at this decision overnight because let’s admit it: Owning a sailboat comes with a lot of responsibility. We thought about it every day until we finally decided let go of our fears and uncertainty. Here are some things we asked ourselves to arrive at that decision and you should be asking these to yourself too in case you’re planning to buy one and sail the world ;)

1) Are you rich??

Hahaha. Just kidding! You don’t have to be rich but at least you should be financially stable. Let’s be frank here. Buying a sailboat is like having 5 mistresses. And they’re not just any kind of mistresses-- they’re very expensive ones. Buying a sailboat is not a one-time big time monetary commitment, it’s rather a lifetime (or up until you decide to sell it). The cost of a sailboat plus the insurance is pretty much, maintaining and upgrading it costs even more!

As for us, the cost of our repair and upgrade was twice the price of what we bought our sailboat for. So I’m telling you, you have to be financially prepared for this. We’re not rich but we have saved up for this! Plus we got some of our things for free from our sponsors so we’re really lucky :)

2) What are you gonna do with this sailboat?

Are you gonna rent it out? Take it out for small sails? Or perhaps you want to travel the world with it like we do? If you answered yes to the last question, then proceed reading.

3) Have you ever sailed a boat?

Nope, watching someone sail isn’t counted. Have you ever maneuvered a sailboat on your own? Do you know all about the nitty-gritty details? The engine parts? The safety precautions? If not, then I suggest you try it first and if you’re serious about it, get a formal training.

Mind you, riding on a sailboat with a glass of champagne on hand is very different from maneuvering and owning one.

3) Do you know how to swim?

Drowning is one of the risks of being out at sea. So if you do not know how, then it will be great if you learn first. It could be better if you take a First Aid Swim Training too! It will really come in handy.

4) Are you ready to do #2 in a 3x4 ft. toilet?

This is the first thing I asked myself. Doing #2 is like a luxury for most of us and the toilet is even considered by some as a throne. So seriously, can you do your business in such a tight space?? Not only does it feel uncomfortable, it feels crazy too (it’s the feeling you get when you can’t even begin to start your business) when you’re out on the sea.

4) Are you claustrophobic?

If you are, relax. You can still sail! You just probably need a bigger sailboat but you know that means more cash to spend.

5) Do you like the feeling of adrenaline rush?

If you like having that intense and extreme feeling of adrenaline rush, then sailing could be for you! It looks easy on a fine bright day but wait until you cross the rough seas-- especially at night. It’s a crazy feeling I’m telling you. I can’t even put into words how I felt during our first sail from Florida Keys to Bimini, Bahamas.

But just to give you an idea of how crazy it was: At some point during midnight, we found salt water inside the boat, our main sail was ripped/shredded on two of our reefing points because of the wind so we only had our jib sheet sail to use. We even run out of fuel when we were just 10 miles away from Bahamas!

6) Are you ready to bathe in salt water?

While you can fill your tank with fresh water every time you’re on land, it can’t be helped that you you’d rather use it for most important things like drinking and cooking so you sometimes can’t use it for shower especially when it’s almost out. In that case, we usually just jump out of the sea. Can you do that?! :)

7) Are you ready to get seasick??

I don’t think anybody is ready for this! Seasickness is an inevitable part of sailing. I swear I get seasick almost every time we sail and it’s probably one of the things I hate most about it. I’m still in the process of finding the best seasick medicine that will work for me! Don’t worry because there’s a lot seasick medicines to choose from :)

8) Will you have someone to sail with you?

Sailing is daunting. Sailing alone is even more. For first time sailors, I suggest you find someone who wants to sail with you be it your wife, girlfriend, a friend, or even an employee! It is important to have a hand especially when things at sea get rough (or perhaps rougher).

9) Are you ready to let go of all the comforts that you get inland?

Sure you get a bed in a sailboat, but not king size. You can get a full blast air con too, but just a tiny one. You can get some wifi too but very weak. A 30-minute shower like what we do on land is unlikely though. Are you ready to let go of all of these?

If you answered yes to ALL questions except #4, then you’re almost on your way to sail the world! You just need a little more courage to leave things behind and we might just be boat neighbors in one marine when the time comes! :) For those who haven’t answered yes to all of it, it doesn’t mean that sailing isn’t for you. It’s just that you have some work to do so just focus on it and you’ll get there soon too :)

If you’re curious if I’m happy with sailing, I DEFINITELY AM. I have never met such genuine people as the liveaboard community. I learned so much in this journey and I’m happy to go around the world with my little family in a place that we call home ♡

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