Today's Thoughts

Okay so this might seem random, but I was just thinking of some of the on-board equipment I may need to have aboard my vessel when I get her.  Maybe it's just food for thought kind of thing, but I thought it might be useful to at least document some of the things I will need along the way.

Laptop
GPS
Chart Plotter
Charts (Paper/Electronic)
Depth Sounder
Electrical Generator (Solar/Wind/Water)
Generator (Gas/Diesel)
Some kind of internet access (Sat/Wireless)
Some kind of long range communication device (Sat/Wireless)
Short Range Radio/Weather Device
Dinghy
Autopilot Device
Emergency Kit (Life Raft/etc...)

Now I know this isn't a complete list, but I had a brainstorm and had to write it down somewhere.  I want your ideas, so let me know so we can make a complete list.

On another side note I've been thinking about changing my food choices to be more inline with what I may experience on the boat.  So I am going to start writing a little about what I've learned thus far and how I go about taking action.

Edit:
Water Maker

Overwhelmed

The one feeling I am finding that likes to constantly creep up on me is a sense of the overwhelming task in front of me.  There is so much to do and so much to learn.  I am finding that I have to break things into little steps.  Just in researching what boat to buy brings up so many new challenges to overcome.  What size do I want?  How much will it cost to buy? Boat surveys, haul outs, insurance, slip fees?  How much will it cost to repair and make it truly worthing of the ocean.  How much is it going to cost to outfit her with needed equipment?  A lot of my concerns are the upfront costs and the running costs.  I'd ideally like to live a very simple life aboard enabling me to have a significantly reduced income.

Where to begin?

I know I have basically settled on the 30-35 foot range of boat made in the late 70's or early 80's.  I'd also like to purchase one here in West Michigan so I don't have to travel too far to view the boat.

Anyways, that's just some of my thoughts for the day.

Less Materialistic

One of my early goals is to start being less dependent on the day to day things we have to have, or so we tell ourselves.  That being said, I have acknowledged that I am a pack rat and too dependent on materialistic things. Time for a change.

So the first thing I did was go through my entire basement and pulled anything that I haven't used in over a year, basically previous hobbies, clothes, books, etc...  I am in the process of organizing everything I have removed from the basement and putting price stickers on it to sell in my yard sale.  My next step will be to craigslist and ebay anything I did not sell in the yard sale.  Then I will basically repeat the same process all over again with things I haven't used in 6 months again for 3 months.  At this point I'll be able to potentially begin living a reduced lifestyle.