Cost to Cruise: August

 

Note: This post was written in Atlantic City a couple of days ago. Since then, based on our own observations and the advice of a long-time cruiser, we have chosen to run up the Delaware Bay in advance of Hurricane Hermine, and are safely tucked into a marina halfway up the C and D Canal, waiting for the storm to pass.

Boilerplate disclaimer: this is not what it will cost you to cruise.

The little red lighthouse at the foot of the George Washington Bridge
The little red lighthouse at the foot of the George Washington Bridge

 

People’s constant advice, discussing cruising finances, always seems to be: It’ll cost what you have. We did not find this helpful in our planning, however true it may be. What we’re trying to show is the cost to us, more or less, for one month to go cruising. We’re going for monthly expenses, because they’re easier for us to track; so you won’t see the boat insurance amortized, you’ll just see that expense when we pay it. It won’t be what you’ll spend, but it was the kind of information that helped us out when we were trying to wrap our heads around that magical number for our cruising kitty.

Well, we knew it was going to be a brutal month for boat expenses. Boat work—like taking down and putting up the mast for the canal—plus time in the big city was going to put a dent in our finances. We decided not to let it worry us too much, and make it up in the future. Here’s the skinny:

Marinas: $485
Grocery: $938.27
Restaurant: $366.86
Supplies: $18
Booze: $25
Ice Cream: $46
Laundry: $40
Transportation: $191.50
Communications: $103.60
Entertainment: $209
Pump Out: $14
Boat Parts: $388.54
Fuel: $193.35 diesel; $34 stove fuel
Boat Work: $821.38 (includes an upgrade to our boat insurance south of the George Washington bridge)
Grand Total: $3874.50. Ouch.

We actually did pretty well for marinas, considering we spent 14 nights either at a dock or paying for a mooring ball. I have no idea what happened in the grocery category, really, but here are two theories: one, we were right near Zabar’s at our NYC spot—always dangerous; and two, we got a lot of rides to the grocery store. Nothing like free transportation to a major grocery store to make you splurge on fancy food. Transportation this month included a whopping $37.50 for our pass through the Erie Canal, plus a bunch of subway and cab fare in New York. Our diesel costs surprised me, since we spent almost the whole month motoring; I guess going really slowly pays. We upgraded Michu’s cheap phone, and spent shamelessly on data—wifi was spotty most of the month. And, of course, the boat work and boat parts categories were predictably grim.

With one notable exception, everywhere we stayed this month was a dollar a foot or less for dockage. We are now completely spoiled, and struggling to justify the $3/foot being asked in our current location. At the moment, we’re sitting pretty in a calm, free anchorage in Atlantic City, while the rest of the boating world pays $3-$6 a foot for the right to exist in space. Maybe they get a discount at the buffet? I don’t know, but we’re not paying it. September goals: get back on our frugal game.

New York City, Baby!

…..aka, massive photo dump.DSC_1411

Boat sushi with the auntie
Boat sushi with the auntie

After picking up Michu’s sister in Beacon, NY, we sped down the Hudson to the 79th Street Boat Basin for five nights in New York City. Like most of  our experiences on this trip, our time in New York was filled with spectacular highs and challenging lows–some related to normal traveling-with-a-family moments, but some very boat-specific.

Approaching the George Washington Bridge
Approaching the George Washington Bridge

The most trying aspect of our trip was the conditions at 79th Street. Let’s not try to be polite, here: it is a TERRIBLE anchorage. We more or less knew this going in: no one has good things to say about it, the amount of boat traffic on the Hudson is huge and this mooring field catches every wake from each passing ferry. Traffic further down the Hudson sends waves up the river all day and night, and when the current and the wind direction aren’t in agreement, the boat ends up riding up against the mooring ball and banging on the hull all night long. That’s right next to my head, people–and so alarmingly loud, it sounds like a hole is about to be punched in the hull.

The advantage of the 79th Street Boat Basin: this view.

View from the stern. That's an empty mooring right behind us, if you'd like to join us for a night of sleeplessness.
View from the stern. That’s an empty mooring right behind us, if you’d like to join us for a night of sleeplessness.
We were probably parked at about 85th...
We were probably parked at about 85th…

The Boat Basin puts your right on the Upper West Side for $30 a night; if you stay a week, the seventh night is free. There is no couch space available for that price in Manhattan, no broom closet at half that rent. Also: free laundry! So who’s to complain about a sleepless few nights. The dutch family in the boat behind us was toughing it out for two weeks!

Central Park, post-ice cream
Central Park, post-ice cream

Our goal for our time in New York was to see and do some iconic things without exhausting ourselves. As we were traveling with the tides, we arrived early enough the first day to check out our neighborhood, including the American Museum of Natural History and a fair amount of Central Park. Turns out that my kids are awesome at the most crucial of New York skills–walking.

Perusing the High Line
Perusing the High Line

Michu’s sister and I were anxious to see the new High Line Park, so that’s where we headed the next day. It’s an impressive feat to wedge an extra mile and a half of park into an area as packed as Manhattan, and the way the plantings work in the city is great, but holy cow was it packed. I know, millions of tourists, busy city, etc, etc; but in truth, I rarely feel crowded in a NYC park. This one was beyond capacity, on a Thursday morning. The new park has spurred a huge amount of development, as well, so half the park is shrouded in scaffolding as condos spring up alongside the walkway.

DSC_1501The High Line spat us out parallel with the Empire State Building, so we decided to spend All The Money and head to the top. When you have kids immersed in the Percy Jackson books, the top of the Empire State shoots to the top of the must-see list. It was pretty much the only big-ticket item on our to-do list, so we gritted our teeth and ponied up the cash.

Michu strikes a superhero pose, top of the Empire State Building
Michu strikes a superhero pose, top of the Empire State Building

DSC_1536From there, our starving and exhausted family caught a cab to Shanghai Joe’s for soup dumplings. Basically, an insane amount of New Yorkiness for one day, and all we could handle.

Post-dumpling bliss
Post-dumpling bliss

The next day we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art–also high on the list, thanks to early and frequent readings of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. (We are mostly directed by children’s literature, it turns out.) A quick walk across Central Park and we were there.

Early lunch outside the museum
Early lunch outside the museum
The three graces--the original meme
The three graces–the original meme

We could have probably spend the entire rest of our time here. Everyone chose one exhibit they wanted to see, but we still had to skip over much of what was in front of us–and we still managed to be there for four hours. The kids were both loving it; T was relating the entire Greek and Egyptian wings to his Rick Riordan books, and F was particularly drawn to the Japanese wing.

The armory was pretty popular
The armory was pretty popular

I don’t remember photos being allowed here when I lived in New York, but either way, the explosion of social media and constant documenting has changed the way people experience this space; even if you are not seeing things through a lens yourself, you’re constantly trying to avoid other people’s selfies.

Our family was pretty spent after all of that culture, so we took a cab to try and find some quiet space at the big central library. It wasn’t happening–the kids’ area was packed, the main reading room was closed, and we didn’t manage that quiet library experience that brings our family back to life.

We did, however, get to see Christopher Robin's original stuffed animals from the Winnie the Pooh books.
We did, however, get to see Christopher Robin’s original stuffed animals from the Winnie the Pooh books. Piglet looked particularly chewed-upon.
Statue of Liberty at night from Red Hook....
Statue of Liberty at night from Red Hook….

Michu’s sister left us, and we spent a lovely day with friends on our boat and at their house in Red Hook, including time at the Union Square farmer’s market and swimming in Brooklyn; that left us with one day to recover the boat–laundry, groceries, cleaning up, and a crucial trip to Zabar’s–before heading out to Sandy Hook, the ocean, and points south.

....and Statue of Liberty from the harbor on our way out.
….and Statue of Liberty from the harbor on our way out.
Don't hit the ferries on your way out of the harbor!
Don’t hit the ferries on your way out of the harbor!
See you later, New York!
See you later, New York!

 

Boat, inside

Before we bought our boat, we looked at SO MANY BOATS online. Months and months of perusing yachtworld.com, of course, but also lots of time looking at other cruising blogs and seeing what was actually working for people who were  out cruising. Every now and then, I’d come across a blog that had no pictures of the interior of a person’s boat, and I would be incensed. Where was the galley? How could they omit this crucial piece of information? Don’t they know I have planning to do?

You can see the irony here.

We don’t have much info on the “about our boat” page on this blog. In my head, I know we have more projects to finish; the boat is not “done,” even though we’re living on it, and that extends to the interior as well. But really, people–enough is enough. The boat will never be done. Maybe I will never finish the cork project; maybe the bathroom will never look amazing; maybe the chart table will always be scratched. We cleaned up for Michu’s sister’s visit, and it’ll have to do, I think. We will never look like a yachty magazine, but we do, in fact, actually live here.

V-berth, looking forward
V-berth, looking forward

So, this is looking forward at the foot of our bed in the bow of the boat. It’s insanely hard to get good pictures, but I think this one shows the tiny, cramped nature of the space pretty well. We’re not trying to sell you anything; there’s barely room for my feet and Michu’s at the end of that bed. There’s a long shelf than runs along either side; we keep most of our clothes in there, stashed in fabric bags to try and maintain some level of organization. The netting at the foot of the bed holds our “Bag of Bags”–vital feature.

Starboard side (right, facing forward) at the head of the berth in the V
Starboard side (right, facing forward) at the head of the berth in the V

We’ve got one cabinet up in the V-berth–three shelves, containing some of Michu’s clothes and his not-currently-functioning CPAP machine, and a “hanging closet” that we use to stash all our warm clothes like fleece and foulies. The white wall peeking out from behind the pile of warm clothes in the closet is actually the side of our holding tank; we can shine a light on the side and check how full it is. At the moment–very.

Looking toward the v-berth, with the door open to the bathroom
Looking toward the v-berth, with the door open to the bathroom

So generally, the door to the head stays closed, and the door to the v-berth stays open; if you want to use the bathroom, you have to do a complicated door-switching routine to get in there. The long purple thing is a towel…pretty exciting, right? I’m telling you, this is information I would have like to have, back in the day. The E-Scow jib sailbag on the floor between the compression post (“pole”) and the bathroom is our dirty laundry spot. You know. In the living room. Like a normal house.

Head. Port side.
Head. Port side.

The head, or bathroom. I’m not worrying too much about sailorly terminology here, since the majority of people we know who read this blog are not sailors. Please do not yell at me in the comments. Also–friends who think this space in unacceptably small, please remember: if you are using the toilet and the boat is jumping all over the place in the waves, it’s important to have things to hold on to. You do not want a large space. That does not mean I love this room. Let’s move on.

Looking aft from the v-berth
Looking aft from the v-berth

Hey, look! People! F is blocking up the hallway between the dining table and the forward part of the boat–annoying for someone trying to walk around, but comfortable for the person on the couch; there is always someone from our family perched here. In this pic, F’s room is on the left, T’s on the right; stairs to the cockpit are right in the middle.

Port side looking forward
Port side looking forward

Living room/dining room/saloon. Notice how the laundry conveniently blocks the seating on one end of the settee/couch. Also, we will never use that kerosene lamp, and I should really take it down. Most important thing in this picture: the fan in the corner. (You thought I was going to say the hat, right?) Also, please notice the cabinetry above the settee; that was originally a pilot berth–just a big open space for a bed. Michu build in the storage. Isn’t it amazing?

Galley. Port side.
Galley. Port side.

Hey, it’s the galley. Some things to note: the double sink is really helpful to manage dishes. We’ve got a foot pump for the water tanks (excellent clean water in stainless steel storage, with multiple filters), and also a foot pump for outside water (currently disgusting Hudson River water, but soon-to-be cleaner ocean water that can be used for dishwashing, with a fresh water rinse). The Origo stove/oven is hanging out back there as well. The curtains are currently stuck up there with push pins, because curtain rods are way down on the list of priorities. You couldn’t tell, though, could you?

More galley, looking forward
More galley, looking forward

We’ve just hung that net up there, and are not 100% happy with it, but I guess it’s working for now. The real highlight of this pic: look at all that amazing counter space, folks! Coffee cup for scale. Believe it or not, the little ledge that juts out on the right is pretty useful for wedging your butt into when it’s rolly and you need to feed the masses. Also: paper towel roll. You know how important that is to me.

Galley storage
Galley storage

Trying to make this appear larger by making the photo big. This is some of the storage in the galley; the bonus about this setup is that snacky children can access things without disrupting the flow of work in the galley. Also, that’s our one drawer. The butter knives don’t even fit. And you see the clean dishes drying in the top center on the counter? That’s the top of the fridge. If you need anything from the icebox, you have to put the dishes away first.

T's room, port side
T’s room, port side

There’s been some kind of origami finger puppet explosion in here. The kids have to store a few Boat Items in their rooms, but otherwise they pretty much have free reign; the walls have a weird carpet on them that they stick stuff to. Long shelf along the wall, cupboard with shelving forward under that blue box on the right, plus a hanging locker that’s forward of that. Note the cello on the left. The enormous cello. T’s bunk companion.

F's room, starboard side
F’s room, starboard side

F’s room is a carbon copy of T’s, but without the enormous cello. She gets to keep a bin of boat gear at the foot of her bed, though. Lucky! Letting the kids have their own space was a huge priority for us when we were boat shopping; we couldn’t afford a catamaran, but we rejected boats that would have had a kid sleeping in the saloon. So far, we’re pretty thrilled with that decision.

Secret Passage!!!
Secret Passage!!!

This used to be the second head–the tiny, cramped, direct-discharge-to-the-ocean second head. It’s now not-very-organized storage between the kids’ berths. That’s the code zero sail in there, plus some bins of food and homeschool stuff. Back in the toilet-containing days, you could use the head, check out the engine and talk to the driver through that tiny window–all at the same time! Seems kind of boring now…

Nav station, starboard side
Nav station, starboard side

Big finish–the nav station! Home of monitors, electrical panels, electronics hidden under the lid of the table, binoculars, Yachty books that we don’t really use, headlamps, junk drawers and the very useful flyswatter. Please remember that this was cleaned up for visitor purposes, and does not ever look like this in real life.

Ok, that’s it, that’s our home, that’s what we’ve got. It’s not polished or fancy, and most of the organization is a facade, but it’s working pretty well for us so far.

 

End of the Canal, start of the river

We’ve finally eased our way out of the Erie Canal, and are heading south and to New York City on the Hudson.

Grandparents in Baldwinsville
Grandparents in Baldwinsville

The second half of the canal was less about the excitement of the locks, for us, and more about visiting family and friends. Our method of travel–motoring, regardless of the weather–and the proximity of the canal to the interstate made it easy to arrange visits.

For people who have a blog, with their kids’ faces splashed all over the internet for the world to see, this will sound weird; but we are actually kind of private people, and want to protect our kids’ internet presence. With that in mind, we hesitate to post pics of other people, especially kids, on our very public blog. We won’t be showing too many photos of our visits, but we were able to meet up with two very dear families from Wisconsin, traveling back home from Maine; the above grandparents; and cousins from upstate New York.

Playing in the waves with cousins; Sylvan Beach, NY
Playing in the waves with cousins; Sylvan Beach, NY
Old-school amusement park in the rain; Sylvan Beach
Old-school amusement park in the rain; Sylvan Beach

We were able to spend some extra time with the cousins, as they’d rented an apartment in Sylvan Beach. Storms rolled through all weekend, but our family was pretty ecstatic to sit in air conditioning and watch some Olympics. Spending time with family was great, regardless of the weather.

Bike ramp to infamy, outside Guard Gate 2
Bike ramp to infamy, outside Guard Gate 2

After all the visiting, it was full speed ahead to get a jump on our next plans: mast up, and meeting with Michu’s sister further down the Hudson.

We managed to get through the Canal by the skin of our ten-day pass. To add an additional two days would have only cost us $15, but we were ready to exit. Despite high winds that almost turned us in a circle within lock nine, we made it down the Waterford flight and took our place behind three other mast-down sailboats at the very friendly town dock. Best feature: the KID BOAT right in front of us!

The lineup, Waterford
The lineup, Waterford

Perla VII is traveling with four girls, all French-speaking; F. has been learning to work around a serious language barrier. Fortunately for my rusty French, the parents’ English is quite good, and we’ve been traveling in concert for the past few days.

Photo by F
Photo by F
Anchorage on the Hudson
Anchorage on the Hudson

I feel like we are entering a third phase of out trip. After our extended time in the Great Lakes, which mostly felt familiar, and our trip through the canal, we are headed to the ocean, learning about tides, sniffing the air for salt. Mostly we’re smelling some funky pollution on the Hudson, but the excitement is building for the coast.

More lighthouses to discover, this one outside of Hudson
More lighthouses to discover, this one outside of Hudson
Outboard maintenance
Outboard maintenance

At the moment, we’re holed up at Hop-O-Nose marina, turning our boat back into a sailboat and doing some deferred maintenance. Michu’s just gotten the outboard running again, after a hiatus of two months (yeah, that’s pretty much the whole time we’ve been cruising. Getting pretty good at rowing the dink). We discovered that a mouse had made its home in the exhaust…which may have been affecting the outboard’s performance. Oil change to the diesel, sails bent on, rigging run, resealing the lower unit on the outboard, fixing a broken weld on the stove…and maybe some cleaning. Maybe. The guys at Hop-O-Nose are pros, the dock is only a buck a foot, and there’s a pool. Who knows how long we’ll be here!

Up she goes!
Up she goes!

Things whose value we didn’t understand two months ago

Our Bimini

We are shade-seeking missiles
We are shade-seeking missiles

I mean, we knew a bimini was an important feature; sun protection is a priority, and you almost never see a cruising boat without one. When we were getting the mast down in Buffalo, one of the yard guys was super-insistent: You HAVE to get your bimini up under that mast. Make sure there’s room for the bimini. Bimini, bimini, bimini. Ok, guy, we get it…but we really didn’t. Holy cow, do we need that shade; there are frequently days where everyone on the boat is huddled in the back, hogging the last pieces of shade and gasping for any kind of zephyr. Our brains would be lasagna without the bimini.

BinocularsDSC_1261

It is maybe possible that, when Michu bought these binoculars on sale at West Marine, I might have made fun of him for “unnecessary impulse purchases.” It is also maybe possible that Michu has the opportunity to remind me of that every day, since we use these binoculars every. single. day. To see if the lock is open. To see if that boat over there is actually moving. To find the harbor entrance. To watch the Coast Guard do some kind of helicopter rescue on Lake St. Claire at dusk. Every. Single. Day.

Deck of cardsDSC_1257

We have so many games on board. I spent a whole day sorting through—storing some, selling some, eliminating superfluous packaging—but the thing that sees the most use BY FAR is this deck of cards. Michu taught everyone gin rummy the first week we were on the boat, and since then, the tournaments have been epic.

Paper towels (You know what these look like, right? Because I don’t have a picture…)

In our land life, we rarely used paper towels. Some deep frying, some window cleaning, picking up something really gross; but mostly, we used rags and dishtowels in our day-to-day lives. Here on the boat, though, there’s a need: checking the engine oil alone has used up an entire roll over the course of the trip. We are no longer snobs about paper towel use.

SmartphoneDSC_1258

I love you, smartphone. I admit it. You are the one with the power to locate the grocery store, keep the family up to date via Facebook, let me check my email in the middle of nowhere. You pick up the wifi before anything else, and take pretty decent pictures. You keep me up to date on the election insanity, and let me approve blog comments. You help me locate friends who want to meet up on the Canal, and can always find the library. We knew the iPad would be great for navigation, and the laptop would be important for the blog, but we underestimated your intrinsic value, smartphone. Thank you for being there for us.

Sunrise, entering Lake Oneida to meet up with cousins on Sylvan Beach.
Sunrise, entering Lake Oneida to meet up with cousins on Sylvan Beach.