How do people manage there affairs while cruising?

[Steve Laume]

I have managed to get away for about three weeks on a number of occasions. I mow the lawn and pay all my bills before I go. Liz picks up the mail and take care of the dogs which works for a trip of that length. It would take a lot more planning to go for a couple of months and I wonder what other people are doing. Liz can manage most of the daily stuff on her own but it seems difficult and unfair to expect her to do all that I typically take on. So for those of you who have managed to get away for longer periods and do not chose to sell the homestead and cut all ties with land, how do you manage things while away?

I suppose there would be different schemes for a winter or summer trip and I am considering the summer for the near future, Steve.

[Neil Gordon]

Those with vacation homes deal with this all the time. Are you just looking for someone to take care of house chores and the like or to manage your affairs overall?

My brother-in-law has a house in the country, and a local guy who watches out for it, cuts the grass, clears snow, etc., etc., as required.

Local realtors might know.

[Jim Davis]

Just to get the ball rolling.

For our long duration trips we have developed a process that works well, at least for us.

First we set up all our recurring bills to "Auto Pay", this takes care of most of them. Some things like Property Taxes and water bills still have to be done by check where I live so a "trusted friend" is given a stack of signed checks. This should be the same person referred to in the next paragraph. Just before departure put services on Vacation Hold or Suspension. This would be newspapers, TV and Cable. Vacation Hold is cheaper than turning them off and starting over when you return - also faster and easier.

Go to the Post Office and rent a PO Box and have all your mail forwarded to it. You could simply have it forwarded to a "trusted friend", but if the new address is a relation this can be a problem when you come home. I use my sister and since her maiden name is the same as my last name the post office can really screw up things when we return. The PO Box cured the problem.

For packages and important mail your "trusted friend" can let you know that something has come in and you set up a FedEx delivery at a marina 3-5 days ahead of where you are. Do not rely on this if you are in the Bahamas. Even FedEx can take weeks, Priority Mail months.

For Income Taxes have your tax service file an extension for you.

In Maryland our biggest problem has been with Motor Vehicles. Their policy is that their mail is not allowed to be forwarded so we use internet notification for renewals and have had to pay duplicate fees upon return for stickers to go on the tags. For some reason this agency does not mail to a temporary address. For boat stickers it hasn't been a problem.

For the lawn and outside the house we use a lawn service to whack the weeds about once a month - this is season dependent and on auto pay.

Have a neighbor check the house from time to time. Look for packages, make sure there is no mail in the box and take care of any problems. In the event of plumbing, electrical or heating problems they should have something like a power of attorney so they can deal with it and tell you later. For payment just have them mail the bill to you and your trusted friend writes a check.

If you are staying in the US normal cell phone and WiFi type communication is fine. If you are going outside the US set up a Skype account and tell your contacts that if they need to talk to you they should send you an email. Then when you get your next WiFi you will see the message and call them back. Cell phone service is available overseas but if you are on a boat not worth it, at least to us. We can/do use the SKYPE for local calls if needed.

Also common sense things like have extra copies of important papers on board. This would include Pass Ports, Driver's License, insurance policies, ships papers and perhaps medical records.

Finally teach the dog to sail, they generally love it and being with you.

[tjr818]

Discreetly.

...or am I on the wrong track (tack)?

[Joe CD MS 300]

Although we are not crusing, I get most of our bills electronically through a brokerage / cash management account. You can view the billis and then decide what to pay or not pay, also making the payments electronically through the cash management account. Typically the only bills you can't get through the account are small local vendors. Mortgage payments, electric bills, insurance, credit cards, phone bills, all can be paid through the account.

[tartansailor]

I'm gone intermittently from 1 Apr till 30 Nov. RV ing to fly fishing rivers, then Sailing the Chesapeake, then upland bird hunting.
Shut off mail and utilities, hire a landscape Maintenance Co. and attend to affairs online. Finding WiFi at least weekly is critically important.
Dick

[Steve Laume]

I really appreciate the responses. I suppose I knew most of the answers but wanted to check with those who have managed to handle this situation before me.

I already have a PO Box, and have a lot of my bill set up for auto pay. I should probably set up a few more that way. When I have gone away before, I left a few signed checks for things that might need to be paid or to settle an emergency situation at home. Our lawn is a big rough and rambling affair so I have never tried to contact a lawn service but I do know a guy. I should at least ask him how bad it would be and if he is interested in doing it on an occasional basis.

Leaving someone at home helps a lot but then there is the worry that something might go wrong and I will not be there to fix it. Our hot water heater started leaking just before my last trip. I replaced it with an on demand unit and would not have trusted the job to just anyone and would not have wanted to pay what it would have cost to have it replaced, including a new and bigger gas line run in the crawl space. I do almost all of my own work as I am fussy and broke most of the time.

Having a house sitter has generally been the way I have always handled things.

Then there are the Christmas trees on the farm that need to be planted in the spring, then the fields mowed and the trees sheared in May and July. I snuck the 3 week Bermuda trip in right after the early shearing and did the late shearing this year before heading up to Nova Scotia.

I definitely need to do something about getting some sort of computer on board but that is a whole other topic. My Bermuda phone bill was outrageous and I just sent a few tests from NS. Anything in the states is okay by phone. A computer would allow for all sorts of communication and information gathering. Up to this point I have tried to use public computers in libraries and even a visitors center and the post office in Bermuda. There is usually a time limit and it is stressful to use an unfamiliar computer while standing up in some cases. No bookmarks or favorites and in some cases the computers don't even work or the letters on the keys are completely worn off. Is there some sort of tablet in my future?

I feel very fortunate that I can get away for a month but it seems hard to be gone longer than that. I have lots of freedom in my overall schedule but it would help if there was more money to pay to have some things done while I was gone, Steve.

[jerryaxler]

Having your own computer or tablet allows you to use the library, coffee shop etc. even after hours. We have sat on many a doorstep using a wifi signal from a closed building since most places leave their router on 24 hours. With personal Quicken and a computer you can write checks and send them electronically for those bills that are not on autopay. My experience has been with the exception of personal gifts and a few charities all bills including those to government can be handled electronically by credit card or electronic check. Although I'm sure there are exceptions, in my 3-4 months away from home cruises, I haven't found any.

[Steve Laume]

I do miss having a computer on board. Then again, part of the appeal of sailing is the lack of outside influences. I suppose none of that would change while offshore and it would be nice to be able to access my own computer whenever I wanted. Emails could be typed in the comfort of Raven's cabin or cockpit and sent when a WiFi signal was available. Weather is another issue. I do need to get a boat computer, Steve.

[Dick Kobayashi]

A couple of thoughts

- There are a zillion serviceable laptops around - not the latest - but serviceable for cheap $.

- if there is wi-fi you have a phone via skype

- You need a gut, who is well - sort of like you, on call.

- Turn the water in the house off

- for over the horizon use - you might consider a rented sat phone - not that bad a cost for 2-4 weeks - not that bad a cost if you if you don't use it also. Not bad either if you use for data transmission using bursts.

and then there is exploring ssb which I know nothing about.

dk

[tartansailor]

Steve,
Get a couple of the cheapest used laptops (ebay) (along with 12V chargers) you can find!
Salt air, drops, falls and spills play havoc with computer electronics.
Swear by XP.
Dick

[Gary M]

"trusted friend" is given a stack of signed checks

I think I would rather open up a checking account with my name and my trusted friend's name.

I would depost money into the account as needed. At least there would be a limit to the loss if checks were lost.

Gary

[Tom Keevil]

We were gone for six months last year, which is pretty typical. All bills are paid electronically. We forward our mail to a good friend who tosses most of it, since it is junk, and opens things that look like they might need attention. There are always things that we forgot about, or unexpected developments of some sort. When we get a cell phone signal (an uncommon event in Alaska and BC), we give him a call to see if we need to attend to anything. Most items can be handled the next time we're in a town via the iPad or the laptop at a coffee shop or the library. We also carry checks that we can write and put into the mail if necessary.

This same friend also stops by the house from time to time to check for any problems. We usually have various relatives and friends use our house on occasion when they are in town. One year we had a house sitter. The biggest problem has been irrigation system foul ups that have resultd in the loss of some shrubbery, but certainly no worse than the damage from deer. We don't have any lawn to speak of.

This good friend earns a nice gift upon our return.

[Jim Davis]

Let me add that for Stateside cruising there are a couple internet options available that do not rely on WiFi and are relatively cheap. Both assume that you have a cell phone. You do have to have data included in your plan and it needs to have a large enough allowance for you needs. If just for email, paying bills, etc - not real big. If you do a lot of web surfing it should be larger. They both work well where you have 3G or better coverage (1X will work but extremely slow and there are dropped connections). Check with your cell phone company for coverage in the area you plan to travel, not all coverage is equal and I have found Verizon seems to have the best East Coast coverage. Also most companies will let you adjust the size of your data plan as needed.

!. Most cell phone companies have a wireless card/modem that allows to to tie a laptop to the internet. These require that you buy their device and pay a monthly fee. This is separate from your cell phone and can be added to your cell phone account.

2. If you have a smartphone you can go with PDA Net ( http://www.junefabrics.com/iphone/ ) The link is for iPhone but leads to Android and others. This is about $10 one time fee.

I personally use a combination of the PDA Net and the web ability of my Smartphone. The phone for weather, most email and planning such as Salty Southeast Cruiser's Net and Active Captain. The laptop and PDA for anything related to banking or where I want to keep a record of what I have done.

I also use WiFi hot spots such as provided by libraries, marinas and many stores, but I prefer to not take the laptop in the dinghy or have to lug it around while also playing tourist and shopping. Also I do not recommend this outside the US unless you set thing up for use in the country being visited. International roaming get quite expensive even for simple voice calls.

[tom ricks]

Basically, they need to make a key decision: Cruise with the wife or with the girlfriend?
Best,
Tom