Outfitting - Preamble

Like many part-time sailors, we're on a tight budget; it's all we can do to come up with the two-odd months of free time to head to Alaska (although, being both of us self-employed, we have it easier than some), let alone fit out and provision adequately for the trip. Moreover, like many we have found that getting ready to go sailing has eclipsed our ability to actually go sailing, and so many of the shakedown trips that we had hoped to make before actually pointing the compass NW have fallen off the list entirely.

We decided on this trip early last year and promptly didn't do much to get ready for it until this year. That wasn't my intention, but business picked up quite a bit for both of us at the end of the year, when we had intended to start slowing down and doing boat stuff instead, so like most small business owners we scrambled for the cash while it was on the table and the boat took a back burner.

That's had some mixed effects; while we're behind schedule, we're not quite as strapped for cash as we might otherwise have been. On the other hand, I'm burnt out and badly want to just go, which isn't possible or wise without doing some planning and preparation. Over the next few posts I'll cover what we have done, what needs done, and what probably won't get done at all (not counting the stuff that I have forgotten about even putting in one of those lists, which needless to say, won't be getting done either).