Here’s 40 reasons why living on a sailboat full time ROCKS!

One afternoon while sitting in my cockpit, rocking back and forth (at anchor) I decided to write 40 reasons why living on a sailboat full time rocks. If you need to convince yourself or perhaps your partner on the benefits to sailing off into the horizon, give these a review.

In all honesty I’m not sure why anyone would choose a life on land over a life on the sea!

Here’s 40 reasons why living on a sailboat full time ROCKS!

1. Travel. Ability to travel anywhere in the world using wind to get there.

2. Views. Wide variety of views on offer including the deep blue sea, quiet rocky bays, lush green countryside, buzzing cities, majestic mountains, rolling plains, mystic rivers, historical ruins and even volcanoes.

3. Changeability. If we don’t like our view today, we can easily change it tomorrow.

4. Warm weather. Having the option of following or staying in areas where there’s warm weather is fantastic.

5. Culture. Each new country offers a new culture full of interesting traditions, unique foods and flavors and fascinating customs to experience. Just walking around an old town and absorbing the views, smells and people provide an essence of what life is like in that community.

6. The universal language of non-verbal communication. Becoming a full time cruiser helps to increase a travelers ability to communicate through body language and ultimately feel comfortable not knowing a host language. When we first started out I tried to learn the language basics of each country we visited. Despite my best efforts most of my communications usually consisted of smiles, pointing, charades and more smiles. In the past I was afraid to visit non-English speaking countries for fear of not being understood. Now I know I don’t need to speak any language to figure things out.

7. Food. Amazing varieties of food, food preparation and tradition dishes! Every place we go I look for the traditional dishes, order them and then try and recreate them back on the boat.

8. People. The people I meet when traveling is probably my number one reason why cruising around the world rocks. Whether we meet a local person, another cruiser or a tourist we almost always enjoy a wonderful connection. Stories are shared, information is offered and joy is created. Some people we meet and they stay friends for years and others we share just a quick passing communication. Most often communications are authentic – we only chat with people because we want to, not because we have to.

9. History. Investigating ruins, absorbing the chronicles of each new country and voyaging along paths of our founding explorers can be extremely interesting and enlightening.

10. Feeling the rhythm of nature. When living on a boat your body learns to not only accept the motion of the waves but to even preempt the motion. Flowing with the sea is like dancing with nature – it’s a part of the concept of being one with the world and feels right.

Are you sold yet? Read on for 30 more reasons…

But before you read on, if you’re just starting out and the boating lifestyle is just a dream, check out my ‘Boat Buying: How To Live The Dream‘ guide.

Reader Review "I purchased this after having this dream for years, Kim provides a step by step process in how to make your sailing dream come true. Remember a dream will never happen unless you set goals and a goal is nothing but a dream unless you take action. Kim questions / answers section as well as make a movie section helps you visualize where you want to do and helps you take action to make the goals you set become reality GREAT job Kim!" Jerry

11. Being surrounded by nature. Smelling the salty sea, feeling the caress of the warm breeze and absorbing the golden power from the sun is true bliss. And most anchorages surround the boat with lush green trees, native animals and a variety of geography showing the layers of time.

12. The sense of community in the sailing world. I’ve written about this at length! Sailors/boaters all help each other out. When at sea if someone is having difficulty, everyone works together to help out. When on land, boaters pass important information, share tips and create strong bonds. There are no divides and no boundaries. All boaters speak the same language and are ready to help and be helped.

13. No news! There’s no TV, no radio, no newspaper at sea so that means there’s no constant broadcast of negativity, doom, gloom and non-beneficial information. Not having news provides room in your brain to think of more personal and valuable thoughts.

14. Sharing with others. It’s great to have friends, family and even strangers on the boat to share the experience of the boating lifestyle. It’s wonderful to she children and adults alike experience the sensation of gliding through the sea powered by wind.

15. Freedom. Most of our view is open sea. The view provides a cruiser with an ongoing sense of freedom. At any time, we can sail into the horizon – go left or right or straight ahead. There are no restrictions…we’re free to choose life’s course.

16. Going with the flow. Living full time on a sailboat teaches you to go with the flow. You sail when there’s wind and you rest when it’s calm. Perhaps you set off for destination C but have to change to D. You want to leave today but can’t for two weeks. You learn to go with the flow and life becomes easier.

17. Stars. Sailing at night, away from land, and looking up at the stars is truly awesome. The feeling that comes over your body when you see how magnificently vast the nighttime sky is incredible. With nothing to obstruct or dim your view, the stars come alive and blanket you with awesomeness.

18. No utility bills. We use the sun to keep our batteries topped up and a generator to run our oven, washing machine and water maker. Our only running cost is Diesel.

19. Clothes are not important. There’s a reduced pressure to dress a particular way or even get dressed! When in warm climates you live in a bathing suit and wear the same pair of shorts 4 days in a row! During the winter, you live in a pair of khaki’s and sweatshirt. After a year of living on a boat all your clothes become sun bleached, holey and marked with rust stains (from drying them on the safety rails)! Many boaters, much to our amusement, sail around naked.

20. Comfort zone expander. Sailing around the world constantly provides new opportunities to learn things and grow. On a weekly, if not daily, basis we’re doing things we never knew we’d be doing – and often the things we do really stretch us. We have to learn how to fix things, get things and react in potentially emergency situations. Being outside our comfort zones doesn’t always feel good but we certainly feel alive. And once the experience is over we’re always happy to have lived through it!

21. Life-long learning. During our first year of sailing we met a sailor named Jim. He set off around the world for three years and fifteen years later, now in his late 70’s, says he’ll probably never return to land. The thing that draws him to full time cruising most is his ability to learn something new every day. Jim explained to me that with sailing you’re always learning something new whether it’s through a new friend, having to fix something or simply touring new lands. Life never gets dull when you’re pushing forward to new horizons.

22. Reduced need for stuff. There’s only so much room on a boat! And the room that is available is needed for must-haves rather than senseless purchases. On a boat everything has a purpose and the few luxury things we have are true luxuries. Without having many rooms, cupboards and a basement and/or attic there’s no desire to buy stuff. The whole concept of working to make money to buy stuff doesn’t exist when you live on a boat.




23. Spontaneity. Often we plan on going to X but meet other boaters going to Y. At the last minute we change plans. On many occasions we’ve spent weeks and even months longer in one area just because we wanted to spend more time with friends. We’ve also had times where we were sailing to X but someone told us of a very special spot called Z…we then, at the last minute, change course to Z. It’s a great way to live.

24. Reality check. Living on a boat full time provides many difficulties. In a sense, it’s glorified camping. There’s a very limited supply of water (for drinking, cooking, etc.), lack of warm water (for showers), stability is not common and you can’t just hop in the car and go buy anything you want. In fact, you can’t hop anywhere and do anything fast! In most cases, there’s no dishwasher or handy gadgets to make life easier.

Living on a boat makes the day-to-day tasks harder! That being said, the act of doing things by hand, being respectful of water, cooking what you can find at the local shops and not being able to get particular things makes having those things (when you do get them) much more amazing. I’m so grateful for things like celery, broccoli, warm showers, stable ground and supermarkets that are open 24 hours a day! Being on a boat is a great reality check – it opens your eyes to how good we have life back on land.

25. The world is good. Living on a boat and sailing around the world puts you in contact with different people from all walks of life. For 99.9% of the time we’ve discovered people to be kind, generous, loving and eager to connect. Sitting in your house watching the TV does not paint this kind of reality.

26. Animal visitors. Can anything be more precious than sailing along with a pod of dolphins by your side? Or how about hanging with a bird that needs a well deserved break when 100’s of miles away from land?

27. Your pool (the sea) doesn’t need any maintenance. Furthermore it can be accessed from 360 around your floating home.

28. Fresh fish. If you like fish, you’ll freak out when you have fresh fish. It’s the most fulfilling, rewarding and tastiest meals a boater can enjoy. (Unfortunately, however, you’ll never be able to eat old supermarket fish again after experience what a fresh fish tastes like).

29. Anchoring is free. Not only can you see the world, mainly using wind as the energy to move you around, but you can also enjoy the most amazing sights for free! In some parks, and in certain countries, fees can be imposed for anchoring but mostly it’s free to lay a hook.

Still need more reasons? Read on for 10 more…

But before you read on, if you’re at the point where you’re getting more serious about living on a sailboat full time, consider purchasing my ‘Boat Buying: Boat Ownership Cost,’ guide. Every week I get at least one email from a reader asking, ‘but how much does it cost to buy and live on a boat?!’ 

The answer is always, ‘how long is a piece of string’ That is…until now!

I spent weeks creating a guide that lists every cost involved in buying a boat, getting the boat where you want it, finding a home for the boat, owning/maintaining the boat and sailing on the boat. With this guide, the reader can do his or her research to find out if a cost will apply to their particular situation and then research the exact cost. You don’t know what you don’t know. With this guide, you’ll be armed with the right questions so to finally find the specific answer to the question of, ‘but how much does it cost?’

Reader Review "I thought I understood all the costs with buying and owning a boat but I was missing several! Thankfully I read Kim's guide and it helped me to make more informed decisions about the boat I wanted and the sailing destinations I was interested in visiting. In some cases costs were lower than I expected and in other cases there were costs I didn't know existed. This is a must-read for any first time boat buyer" Julie Walker

30. Learning about trust. If you’re an ex-control freak like me, trusting God or the Universe might not come easy. When living on a boat there are all sorts of circumstances that force you into trusting in life. Sailing in the dark (and not being able to see ahead of you), getting caught in a storm and even anchoring can be scary. Worrying won’t do anything about the situation, so becoming a full time cruiser teaches boaters to trust. It’s been an invaluable lesson for me.

31. Noise is limited. There’s the sound of the wind, the waves hitting the hull, sails flapping, sporadic winches grinding and the motor when in use. Otherwise, there’s the occasional chin-wag over the VHF radio, the tug-tug-tug murmur of a distant cargo ship and that’s it. THAT’S IT.

32. Showering every day or even every week is not necessary. There’s something about being a salty sea dog even if you’re a woman. I never thought a day would come when I’d say I was happy with living in my own smell, but I am. I actually don’t mind being salt, sweaty and carrying a head of greasy hair. No one sees me anyway. I think that I used to shower every day because I never wanted to be seen as dirty. Now…I don’t feel dirty. I simply feel at ease with myself. And considering we’re in and out of the sea so much, showering just doesn’t seem as important as it used to be.

33. Exploration. Nothing is more exciting than finding a new bay, anchoring, dropping the dingy and then going to the beach for a nose around. Whether we’re in a town or a secluded bay it’s great to climb to the top and see the surrounding area. Through our exploration we’ve discovered loads of things – a totally abandoned town, spiders the size of Coke bottle bottoms, caves, farms, nature walks, local tavernas/restaurants, breathtaking views, white stone beaches, black sand beaches, trees with fruit and on and on!

34. Waves. I’m talking about hand waves rather than sea waves. No matter where we are we wave to anyone that comes close enough to pass us. The only time someone doesn’t wave back is if they don’t see us wave in the first place. Back on land it’s not normal to say ‘hi’ to people when walking around anymore. On the sea, however, most people are eager to share a reciprocate a wave hello and goodbye.

35. The person you have to become is awesome. As a person it’s interesting to discover who you have to become to be a full time cruiser. There’s a definitely You now and a different You after you’ve been cruising for a while. Fears have to be overcome, skills need to be developed and life, as you once knew it, has to change. I still have many years to go but looking back over the 1 ½ years of full time cruising I can certainly say that I’ve changed massively. I have more patience, less of a need to control things, a higher trust or faith in life, an ability to live in the now rather than the past or future, a more authentic approach to life, a deeper and stronger love for my husband and daughter and overall my fulfillment with my life has increased dramatically.

36. Sunsets. My eyes will never tire of a sunset or a sunrise. Living on a boat provides many opportunities to experience one of natures most beautiful gifts.

37. Sense of peace. Once the engine goes off, the sails are filled with wind and the boat is travelling easily through the sea I often look out over the sea and am confronted with a feeling of peace. It’s as if a blanket of bliss covers my body and in that fleeting moment I feel grounded, balanced, alive and connected to everyone and everything. Sadly, the feeling doesn’t last for very long…if only I could bottle it!

38. Confidence builder. When we started sailing full time we had experience with the art of sailing but lacked the technical ability to maintain, service and fix engines, pumps, motors, rigging, refrigeration, hydraulics and on and on. At first we had to rely on ‘experts’ to help us out but as time went on we picked up a new skill here or there. Now we fix most of our problems ourselves and our confidence is always growing. Surely we’ll be jack of all trades master of none but that’s exactly what’s needed to live on a boat!

39. Bonding with family. On our boat it’s me, my husband and my five year old daughter. We have friends and family join us often but it’s mainly the three of us. Almost every day we make new friends and have a social life far superior to the one we had on land. But…at the end of the day, it’s us three that are making our way around the world. We are a team and we work together. There’s loads of love on our boat and nonstop hugs. Our experiences – both successes and failures – have helped to bring us all closer together in a way that surely wouldn’t have occurred if we kept our previous lifestyle.

40. No regrets. For me, failing to become a full time cruiser would have been a big regret if I didn’t do it. Often, I think, ‘when I’m 80 years old will I look back and regret that I didn’t do XYZ.’ I definitely won’t regret that I didn’t work harder at my job or make many millions or regret that I didn’t buy an Aston Martin. I would have, however, regretted not being able to experience these 40 things that make being a full time cruising live aboard the most amazing thing ever!

So…I’m sure there’s 40 more things that can be added to this list. This was all I could come up with while sitting here swinging and swelling on our anchor in Minorca, Spain. What can you add? Leave a comment below.

What made me want to write this list?!

The other day, while surviving through a swell (the boat dramatically rocks back and forth while anchored), I felt a bit down and despondent. It’s funny how things become normal after a certain amount of time and, as humans, we tend to look on the negative side of things after a while.

I suppose the newness of ‘living the dream,’ wears off a bit.

Last year I would have noticed the swell, told myself that it’s only temporary and just laid down while it took it’s toll (made me seasick) or I would have taken the dinghy to shore to seek stable land.

Now days I find swells as an inconvenience that slow me down. Instead of writing, cleaning or carrying on as usual, I have to change plans and just chill out. I suppose that over time, even if you are living your dream, there are things that simply become normal and annoying.

And good things turning sour isn’t limited to the full time cruising live aboard scene.

For example, a new job seems great for a few months but after time things start to get irritating. A new partner seems awesome at first but later down the road, we find faults, frustrations and annoyances.

Needless to say I was working myself up into a tizzy about the swell and decided to change tack.

In the midst of my light anguish I asked myself, what do I love about living full time on a boat? What do I love about being a full time cruiser or full time live aboard?

With my head resting on a pillow in the cockpit, I grabbed a pen and paper to create a list. Interestingly, the swell failed to be noticeable and an increasing smile grew upon my face as the list expanded.

Just as quick as we find frustration in life, we can just as easily find solace.

And  before  you move onto something else, if you’re getting close to actually looking at prospective boats to buy, please check out my ‘Boat Buying: Viewing Boats To Buy,’ guide. I offer a list of things to look at on deck, below deck and in between.

Reader Review "Finding and buying a boat is a daunting task. There's so much pressure to get the right boat for the right price. Emotions take hold and bad decisions can be made. With the 'Viewing Boats to Buy' guide my wife and I knew what to look for and why we were looking. After we saw a few boats we knew the one we wanted. We then got a survey and we're extremely pleased with our decision. John & Sally