What we learned from owning a boat for a year (and living onboard full-time)

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It has officially been 1 year and 6 days since we splashed our 1989 Marine Trader and we have come to learn a ton from this huge life shift. From conservation, to projects and maintenance, to just mental shifts in how we approach our daily lives - we discuss it all as we cruise from Islamorada to Marathon in the Florida Keys.
Thanks for watching!
Cheers from the Loop,
Jennifer and Elliot
#greatloop #boatlife #trawler
🎥 Episode 199 | Filmed on February 11, 2022
🇺🇸 America's Great Loop | Islamorada, Florida
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:33 Engines On and Anchors Up
01:18 Introducing our Boat Crew
02:48 Our Perspective and Experience
03:02 The Highs and Lows
04:36 Preventative Maintenance
05:50 Water and Electrical Conservation
07:48 How to move a Boat
08:34 Dealing with Weather
09:21 Entering Marathon
09:48 Final thoughts
12:17 Bloops
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ABOUT US
Hi! We are high school sweethearts from Atlanta, Georgia who decided to take a year off to travel around the world. Together we decided to create vlogs for our journey as a fun way to remember it. On September 15, 2019, we left Atlanta with 3 bags, 2 one-way tickets, and 1 goal of traveling for a whole year. Little did we know, 6 months later we would find ourselves in a nationwide lockdown in India. After spending 5 months in India, we came back to the United States and decided to purchase a 34’ Trawler, dive head first into boat life, and kick off America’s Great Loop.
The good, the bad, the ugly - and most importantly, the real and real funny. We’re not here to tell you “how it’s done.” Just how we’ve done it. And that whatever it is that’s calling you - the way you’ll do it is much more attainable than it may seem.
Thank you for following us along our journey!
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Опубликовано:

25 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 103

@AdventuresofAplusK 2 года назад

Woo! Happy one year of boat life! 🥳 Very proud of y’all for how much you’ve learned this past year and stayed positive when things were rough. Year two let’s gooooo! 🙌🏼 Also that breakfast sandwich looked sooo good!

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Woohooo! Thanks y'all 😁

@edaponte687 2 года назад

Great to see y’all going strong. Safe travels as you head back north. Can’t wait to see and learn more from you. Would love a video on all the apps and nav gear y’all use. Thanks for having us along.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Sweet, we will add a video on that in the future - thanks for watching Ed!

@thomcoolidge6524 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for inviting me to travel with you for the past year. I may be to old to do the loop alone but I certainly can travel with you vicariously. What a life you are having, congratulations on having the courage to live hour dreams... Go Pivit...

@tmac709 2 года назад

It was an enjoyable year watching your trials and tribulations at the start of your boating adventure. I would say it was a good year.

@vipercoil630 2 года назад

Congrats on one year. You’re no longer rookies. No question that you’ve learned so much. Great job of putting it all in perspective in this video.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thanks so much!

@haroldconnell2973 2 года назад

We have enjoyed your journey , thank you for sharing!

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thanks for watching Harold!

@rcpoling7 2 года назад

We absolutely love your videos. Just binge watched your first year. We are planning to head out to start boat life in a little over a year. We are learning so much from you. We would love to see an upcoming video that shows specifics of how you dock, tie up the boat, and handle lines in a lock. We’d also love to see more from your time in Islamorada and Marathon.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Hi Catherine - thank you so much for watching!! We will make a video about docking for sure in the future and will also do a deep dive into Islamorada and Marathon :)

@rcpoling7 2 года назад

@@SchoandJo Big smile that you responded. p.s. We got a good laugh that a Catherine was asking you so many questions during your Q&A session. I kept thinking, “Hey, that’s another question that I would have asked!” :) Enjoy your time in the Keys.

@lesterwicklein717 2 года назад

thanks for your vids! enjoyable!

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thank YOU for watching 😁

@hueandsteve1989 2 года назад

Thank you for sharing.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thank you for watching Steve!

@storyboardman9459 2 года назад

Yes,, this is inspiration ,,I’ve saved this video 😊❤️

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Cheers! Thanks for watching!

@WanderingNature Месяц назад

Oh I wish I could live on a boat!!!❤❤❤

@JoseSuarez-cb8wk 2 года назад

First time viewing. Great video. I'm a west coast boater. Thinking about doing the Loop. Looking forward to see videos when going through locks. Cheers!

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thanks for watching Jose!

@JoseSuarez-cb8wk 2 года назад

Enjoyed your video. We are hoping to do the loop next year. We would love to do it on our boat. But that would be a more complex adventure as we will need to cross the Panama canal and we would be limited by our height. We will probably get a Looper boat for the Loop. If you are ever in the west coast text us. Our boat is bertehed in Ensenada MX. Great place. This summer we plan to go up north to Northen Pacific ! Cheers!!

@alwaysadventure3950 2 года назад

Congratulations on the one year mark! You will certainly never forget this experience. Question…What was the solar power app you’re using and how’s the set up work?

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thanks! That app was our called Victron and it's the same manufacturer of our Solar Controller and Battery Monitoring System. We have 700W of flexible solar on our biminy and 600ah of lithium batteries! It does the job!

@bradpritchett3161 2 года назад

Boat People Rock you are correct!

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Right on Brad!!

@delfino607 8 месяцев назад

Congrats on your 1 year anniersary.. I am a retired Police Officer from Rhoda Island. I have been retired in Punta Gorda Fl since the age of 51. I do own a 20 foot pontoon and love boating. I would love to live on a boat, but my Wife is not there yet..

@PhilD22 2 года назад

I’d love to see a video during a bad storm. Very curious what that’s like.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

We will have to take some time and film one! I think our Cumberland Island video (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8WsGqFEEjE0.html) might have some stormy footage, but we mostly try to just sit tight in as protected a spot as possible...

@debakey7111 2 года назад

The cruising community is absolutely the best part of the life.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

100% agree - btw we snapped a picture of your family's boat! Will share it in an email soon 😁

@brianbavington4665 2 года назад

Great explanation and painting a pic of living aboard / cruising . FEB Marked one year on the hard for us and are new trawler 1978 Thomson 44 120 HP Ford L .after moving up from a Chris Craft 29 foot 230 hp Yanmar Diesel powered .I spent years building it was to be my last build wonderful vessel . the wife and I did get a few miles under are belt together and decide to head north from are home port FL West coast little north of clearwater ended up in Elizbeth city NC after we retuned 7 months later home to FL Bette my wife gave me a list first off running hot /cold water with a real shower more water supply on board. and to not have to be so conscious about power /electric use when not under way we like to stay on the hook .so now we have two gens large 12.5 KW kohler Diesel main gen and 3KW gas very easy on gas our new larger house battery bank and Victron 2000w charger inverter can sustain us 40 hours running refrigerator coffee pot in the morning and few others items no problem then i need to start the little gen for 3 hours to bring battery bank back up.most likely run small gen every morning or evening to power hot water heater and charge batteries back up not sure about that one yet how many watts are your solar panels and how many ? i enjoy your chanel .

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

I just looked up a 1978 Thompson 44 and they seem pretty cool! Seems like your wife's list is very considerate haha - big quality of life improvements! We loved Elizabeth City when we took our trawler up there... Did you check out the Dismal Swamp, just north? We have 700W of Solar and it is fantastic. With that and our alternator we very rarely need to run our generator, like maybe once a week if we stay on anchor and never if we are cruising. Of course if its cloudy all week, we might need to run it after 3-4 days and that is with laptops, a 120V freezer, etc. We have 600ah of lithium batteries which also is important - coinciding with the Solar. Thanks for watching!

@brianbavington4665 2 года назад

@@SchoandJo thanks for the solar info very clear easy for me to follow I did notice it in the video and one of the answers you posted previously .upon leaving Elizabeth City our trip was to end in Delaware. Going to marine just north of the bridge for fuel starting are trip Up the dismal Swamp hit a dead head log .did some Em repairs to limp home and headed south back To FL hid out in Black creek Jax FL to ride out a Hurricane that luckily passed offshore not to bad you know normal Boatling stuff

@chrishargett3314 2 года назад

Enjoying the videos and following your journey! One question, does Pivot have an autopilot as I am always seeing someone on the helm during the long passages. If not, that’s one thing I would recommend from my experiences.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thanks Chris! We do, but it hasn't been tested. Since day 1 the display unit has been busted and we've been contemplating getting a replacement...

@johnschieffelin3226 2 года назад

Thanks for summing up your take on living aboard. Have you been surprised by the amount of mechanical, plumbing, construction, electrical and other gremlins that occur in an old boat? Does the boat feel too small when bad weather keeps you cooped up for a couple of days? Are there times when you wish the boat could cruise at 15 or 20 knots? Has living aboard been stressful at times in the relationship? Has it been more expensive than you expected? Overall it sounds like it has been a positive year. I've enjoyed the videos.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

It has definitely been a learning experience this past year... our boat doesn't ever seem too small. There is a lot of light and plenty of room! It would be nice to go faster and our relationship has survived docking so thats a win. Check out our Q&A video if you want to know more details (it's long but we go into it a bit more). Cheers and thanks for watching!

@pjdretiree5119 2 года назад

If you want your dinghy to stay lined up with Pivot while in tow tie the dinghy off with a bridle off Pivot’s stern of sufficient length to let the dinghy bow run just behind Pivot’s first stern wake crest and replace the electric outboard on the dinghy with 4 or 5 feet of pretty heavy chain

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Awesome, thats a great tip - thank you!

@paulstclair4348 2 года назад

Should do some fishing where you're at.wish i was in the warm weather!!

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Haha maybe... it's been warm but very windy lately unfortunately!

@willhoyle752 Год назад

By the way, I love the healthy way you guys eat. Not sure who comes up with your menu ideas but yall set a great example for all. PS- I still want to volunteer to redo your bright work wood for free. Hope you know I am messing with you. I love to do woodworking so it's my thing. Spar varnish and a beaver brush. Oh yeah!

@SchoandJo Год назад

haha! Jenn does all our meal planning, we have accumulated a list of over 500 recipes that we rate as we make them 😬 We love to cook, which is one of the reasons we are loving boat life, we get to travel with our kitchen 😁

@WanderingKnapps 2 года назад

Oh wait.... we were your neighbors. We are in Islamorada (eye, la, morada) ! 😀

@MrTbullit 2 года назад

Great vid, look to follow you more, What is the LOA of your vessel? Thank you

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thanks for watching! Pivot is 34' but with our anchor and swim platform our LOA is more like 36 ish.

@Prototheria 2 года назад

After the purchase of and repairs/upgrades to the boat, and excluding food expenses and the cost of excursions ashore, what would you guess the annual operational cost to do what you're doing is? I'm not asking what you spend (that's your own personal business), or a breakdown of costs, but just the aggregate number at the bottom of the equation to kind of get a baseline on what to expect with a boat similar to yours.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

We will be sharing how much we spend on the Great Loop soon, but that is more specific than simply living aboard so it really depends on what you want to do. A lot of costs come from fuel and stays. Since we don't go to marinas often that factors in. You can calculate it yourself if you consider a few hundred for insurance, how much you want to cruise x 4 mpg diesel, how often you want to stay at marinas x $80, plus say $200 / month for maintenance & fixes. If you are going to be in a slip or mooring for the month you can roughly consider that $500 plus or minus. Cheers!

@ygrittesnow1701 2 года назад

Question. Just as an adventure have you thought of going to say main and just riding the currents back to Florida. I call it current sailing. Would you say your cost of living on a boat is less, than equal to or more than, say renting an apartment. Do you dock in a marina, anchor out somewhere? How difficult is it to find an out of the way location to anchor for a night or so? Do you get hassled by the coast guard a lot? Do you find there are enough protected places to wait out weather events(not hurricanes but extra choppy waters)? Sorry for a lot of questions. Am considering this lifestyle as an alternative. I find the independence and freedom very attractive.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

There are plenty of places to wait out bad weather, we've never been harassed at anchor (but we move frequently, most time at one spot for a week), cost of living could be less than or more than an apartment depending on the state of your boat and bigger boat projects, but less in the long term, we anchor 99% of the time and it is very easy to find an anchorage! Offshore cruising is totally different than inland waterways so it could happen but unlikely!

@alholliday1808 2 года назад

Will. You be doing a longer video on recoring of Pivots decks, I have the same boat with that job to do ?

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Yes we will, but it won't be on RU-vid, did you sign up on our website for future information? schoandjo.com/how-to-fix-soft-decks/ If you have an immediate question, just send us an email!

@alholliday1808 2 года назад

@@SchoandJo thanks for letting me now. Well check web site

@young_light3695 2 года назад

Marathon is beautiful. I got married a few years ago while scuba diving off of sombrero lighthouse.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Oh so cool!

@PAULEYBOY84 Год назад

Sounds like life

@nancyhealer8257 2 года назад

You will remember this boat experience the rest of your lives! So good to hear from you again! If you let me know your address l will send you my book on our trip so many years ago! It was the best time of my life.

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Thanks for watching Nancy, our email is contact@schoandjo.com!

@neilstagner1961 2 года назад

Is Burdines Restaurant still open in Marathon? WE like that place. Marathon is where Lori and I go usually yearly! Haven't been since COVID though... Enjoy the lower keys!

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Not sure! We'll have to walk by and see if it is. Thanks for the recommendation Neil!

@neilstagner1961 2 года назад

@@SchoandJo Enjoy, we go to Marathon around our anniversary most years. There also is a little green restaurant just north of the Blue-Green resort in Marathon and we love their pizza. They also have a Mexican lunch buffet! Surprising how good that place is, at least to us!

@krautAmerican 2 года назад

that's cool you guys made some friends

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

No doubt!

@andymoore3526 9 месяцев назад

Hi . I gave my farm to the kids . My 12 year old beagle and i are moving on to my 36ft trader in sw fl. How should i deal with my dogs needs . Flake grass maybe at the bow . What do you all about that . Thanks i will look for you reply

@WanderingKnapps 2 года назад

Hey! Someone told us we could find yall on RU-vid! We are your neighbors. MV Illuminate

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Hi there! Nice to virtually meet 😁 We actually have been following y'all on instagram and was just watching about the crazy situation with this last Northerly. Pretty much the only reason why we left - Islamorada is fantastic! We will be back and will say hi when we are 😁

@timgreen4137 Год назад

What size is your current solar array? Is it enough to power your computers, freezer, fridge, and other electrical loads?

@SchoandJo Год назад

It is 700W! If we have a week of rain, about 3/4 days into it we will run out of juice and need to run our generator for a couple of hours to charge back up. If we have more sunny days than shade then we are infinitely set up.

@timgreen4137 Год назад

@@SchoandJo Thank you. Just planning for probable solar array on my boat. When we get her into full swing.

@timgreen4137 2 года назад

Having watched a number of your videos, I have a couple questions. Did I see a small chest freezer in your salon? I think that would make great sense for longer voyages, where you may not be able to provision as often. When you are rinsing the mud from the anchor chain, is that raw water? Or is it water from your fresh tank?

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

Hey Tim! Yes it is a pretty big sized freezer, it runs off AC only. We keep it packed and it helps a ton! Our fridge is pretty small and since we cook most our meals any extra bit helps. As far as rinsing the anchor, it is using the surrounding water from a thru-hole and pump 😁

@timgreen4137 2 года назад

@@SchoandJo Thanks. Good info. I'm hoping to get my first boat this summer. 35-40' trawler. Don't need a speedy boat.

@timgreen4137 Год назад

@@SchoandJo I just sent the check out for my boat. 1967 Grand Banks 36 Classic. She's been sitting at the dock for about 5 years. Going to take several months of TLC to get her back ship shape again.

@SchoandJo Год назад

@@timgreen4137 that’s very exciting, congratulations!!

@johnleblanc4553 2 года назад

How is it you guys are able to afford doing the loop

@SchoandJo 2 года назад

A combination of many factors but most importantly making our boat our full time home and living on the water super frugally 😁

@ErinSchill 4 месяца назад

do u need a captains license or any license at all to full time living on a houseboat at sea?

@SchoandJo 4 месяца назад

Nope, no license is needed! We'd recommend getting a safety certificate though. A captain's license is more for earning money while on the water, for example, by running sunset cruises or similar.

@ErinSchill 4 месяца назад

@@SchoandJo thanks me and my husband are thinking about living full time on a houseboat and wasn't sure what it all required

@SchoandJo 4 месяца назад

No problem, let us know if you have any other questions!@@ErinSchill

@ErinSchill 4 месяца назад

@@SchoandJo thank you i certainly will :)