Customer Reviews

All in the Same Boat : Living Aboard and Cruising

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Being homeschoolers we have a number of friends who live full time on their boats and many sail around the world which is a great hands on learning experience.

The thing I like about this book that other books lacked, is information on things like what to do about mail, TV via satellite, computer use, and information that helps you realize even if you live on land, just how much stuff you DON'T need. It's a book that will inform the 2007 reader well.

Banking, paying bills and everyday information that is a must to know. And buying food locally, fishing etc. Visiting other places and knowning the stuff you need to know there.

As well as how to have the right boat for your needs so that you have the comforts you need and even some you want. Now that I am a widow I am seriously considering getting back to living on a boat full time.

This book is an excellent resource worth much more than the price. I've read a few books on this subject and this is by far the best. We are in the process of looking for our live aboard boat. We feel we have a better understanding of what we need and what we want since reading what the Neele's had to say. I enjoyed the different viewpoints from all the family members. Highly recommended!

I'm a wannabe bluewater cruiser and this is the first book I bought to learn about this adventure. I would highly rate this book for basic and technical information, with some limitations. Neale covers all the systems on the boat and the problems and the advantages of each. There are four limitations of the book though. First of all he is a coastal cruiser primarily and the open ocean sailing part is not there. Secondly, there is some other info that's left out. An example is anchoring. He discusses this thoroughly because of its importance, but never tells you what a CQR or Danforth anchor really is. I know there are limitations on length. Also, he never mentions product names. It would be good to have some names of products that really worked well or were dismal failures. This is probably my biggest gripe. And some cost factors too. We can adjust for the time factor. But again, this is a great book. I understand much more how the electrical inverters, toilets, stoves, water systems, frigs, etc. operate on a boat and why I do or don't need them. Buy this book if you're looking for a good read that's loaded with info.

You use the saying "all in the same boat" when you're with at least one other person and you find yourself in a not-so-good situation, but you're stuck there, so you grit your teeth and say, "We're all in the same boat here, so let's make the best of it." That pretty much sums up the feeling I got about living aboard a boat full time, i.e. cruising. It sucks, but if you're really determined, you'll probably survive it.

The perfect example of the way this book is written is the "Dollars and Sense" chapter (chapter 5). The back cover of the book proclaims that it will show you how to "Earn a living, and hold onto the money" while cruising. Out of over 350 pages, the money chapter is a meager 13 pages long. And as an added bonus, most of those pages are all about your expenses: marinas, insurance (both boat and health), clothes, etc. Then the author tells you how it almost never works to keep your old job ashore, so just forget about that. After starting the chapter by saying that 2-4 people cruising need $20-35k per year, he literally spends 1.5 pages on how you might make some money. Even this 1.5 pages wastes paragraphs on how other cruisers have no money either, so don't expect them to pay you for any services. The best bet, according to the author, is to get odd jobs ashore, like waitering, fast food and secretarial work! I'm sure I don't need to tell you that these are not high-paying jobs. In fact, you'll probably find yourself hovering somewhere around $8/hour, and at that rate, you'd need to work over 40 hours/week to make the $20k per year he says you'll need! How does that fit into the idea of a life, living aboard your boat, anchored in the Bahamas?

Now, making money seems to me to be a rather important subject that deserved more time. As much as it sucks, money is a requirement of life these days. But the author decides to go into much more detail on other topics. For instance, while only 13 pages were spent on how to make money, he spends 25 pages on how to anchor your boat. All I could think while reading this chapter was, "How will I ever have the money to afford a boat, let alone an anchor, let alone getting the chain galvanized every three years?" Of course, I only had time to wonder about affording my anchor rode when I wasn't reading the extended sections on the fact that your rode will get chaffed and break when you least expect it, or another cruiser's anchor will come loose, letting his boat crash into your boat - after which, you won't be able to get ahold of your insurance company to get money for the repair, and even if you do, where will you get your boat repaired in the middle of nowhere?

Chapter after chapter of all the things that can go wrong - and will! Just you wait! Even the chapter on scuba diving and fishing (which the author had lead me to believe that he liked, so I thought it might be a good time) quickly deteriorated into a discussion about what to do when the sharks show up. Oh, and don't eat fish X Y and Z because you'll get ciguatera poisoning. And thinking about a nice walk on an isolated beach, kicking your feet in the surf? Well, watch out for all those little creatures in the sand that can puncture/cut your feet, and if such a wound does get infected, don't expect to find good medical care anywhere around. And did you know that a broken off bit of coral can live and thrive in your wound? Excellent!

There was one - ONE - chapter that made cruising sound at all appealing: the last one, chapter 23, "Our Neighborhood." 13 pages of relative happiness where the author tells you about cool things you can see and do.

I'm giving this book 3 stars because it does have a lot of information in it. A lot. Information that I'm sure it would be good to think about, consider, and prepare for in advance. However, I do think that the author could have written the information in such a way that everything didn't seem, well, unappealing. Isn't cruising supposed to be fun - at least on some level? Otherwise, why do it? On the other hand, perhaps it's good that he writes it this way, because now I can cross that idea off my list.

This book is outstanding! This is the most thorough, down to earth, well thought out how to account of cruising life that I've found. If you find a better book out there about the realities of cruising please contact me with the title. I can't imagine anyone who is thinking about living on a boat not being thouroughly satisfied with this book.

Tom Neale has published a few books on sailing and I bought this with great expectations of hearing a fellow sailor's journey as no two journeys are alike. After sailing for 5 years I looked forward to kicking back and taking in some of that life through an others words. He is billed as being a good writer on the subject of sailing and world cruising so the hopes were high. I thought there would be either powerful story telling or some kind of insights into what make up a good journey. It is often difficult to explain the nuances of being out on the big blue reading about it is certainly worth the price of a book if the reading is good. In reading, I found he is most impressed with himself his boat and his abilities more than anything else. He spent so much time about him that he forgot to talk about the journey the awakening and the discovery that goes on. After two chapters I gave the book away.

Great book for those who dream of living aboard a sailboat one day. Though some of the information is a bit dated. I think it would be impossible to keep up with certain electronics, but that is only a tiny faction of the book. Has some really good advice and interesting stories.

I was expecting a brief explanation of several buzzwords. Instead, I found a very detailed and relevant discussion of actual life experiences and technical details that give enough information for other prospective blue-water cruisers (with and without families) to prepare them for all things relevant and critical. The author provides enough comparative information for users to decide on different types, sizes, and even brands of many types of boats, equipment, and methods. He gives several examples of cruising conditions, mixed with family, boat, and equipment considerations so a user can tell which is the safest and has the most cost effective prices or when it just comes down to personal choice.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, Neale emphasizes serious, life-and-death owner responsibility and involvement. Topics like engine accessibility, daily and other periodic maintenance on ALL equipment and by ALL appropriate members of the family-crew. He describes some equipment failures that can, and do occur (punctuated by appropriate real life examples), and asks the bottom-line questions; who can make the repairs; what materials and tools are necessary/available; will it be a permanent fix, or can the repair be "jury-rigged" to last until the next anchorage? Intermittently, Neale interjects a short list of various boat floor plan comparisons with explanations of advantages/disadvantages of each; similar descriptions of engines: size, noise, capabilities, gas vs. diesel; generators; electrical systems, in-depth discussion on the different voltage system options, e.g., 12v/24v; AC/DC; inverters (YES!), and some of the acquisition impacts on appliances and power tool choices, etc. He also dedicates a large section to boating etiquette, especially as it relates to adequate anchoring, and other boaters anchored nearby. Importance of your own dinghy, what type, how it is stored, dangers of towing, size, human and/or motorized. Frequently, Neale emphasizes the importance of regular and frequent crew maintenance and repairs compared to having long delays and prohibitive costs when the work must be done by the yard and other professionals. He even suggests considering learning an additional marketable skill with the related equipment/materials to save or earn some extra bucks now and then (welding, sailmaking) during your cruising journeys.
Personal boat designs and modifications you can do for family safety, especially with babies/infants/toddlers/young adults/teens. Structural and other modifications each family can implement at different stages and under different family requirement stages. Also, how to develop/avoid contact with other boaters for fun, safety and teen social development or educational advantages. Neale also goes into substantial detail about home schooling, correspondence coursework and educational benefits discovered along the route, and those unique to the cruising life style itself.
Neale does a great job of covering all the above topics, and more, and he does it in an interesting, humorous, and informative writing style. Any way you look at it, the book rates 5 stars!
Get it, sit down for long periods of enjoyable reading, and prepare for your own bluewater cruising experience!

The book is very informative, and since I'm considering the same type boat...and headed off for several years...I found it quite helpful in my planning.

This is a non bias book depicting life on board. I really enjoyed how he brought his family into the book as well. This is on for the shelf in the boat as I think I would enjoy reading it again