In Situation X, Would living on a boat be a good idea?

Hello All,
Just wondering what your thoughts are about living on a boat and escaping a situation x. What do you think are the pros and cons?
For a police state scenario, I think that it would be easy to escape to the high seas (according to the UN laws of the sea, 200 miles out of the nearest country is no man's land, no laws except for whaling and polluting). You can broadcast on the radio from there and no one can regulate what you say. (although may not be a bright decision).
Another pro is that if there was a zombie breakout, as far as I know, zombies can't swim. And generally people will stay on the land and move about searching for help from houses and towns instead of trying to find someone living on the ocean.
What are you all's thoughts?

Sometimes I think about living on a boat... not an easy task over here in Brazil.

I think for a Situation X it would be a good "get away" method. Except if the sit. X is about a huge flood (like Noah's) or tsunami-like events. Then it could be dangerous to be on a boat.

Either way, don't forget your fishing gear.

Peace

reply to post by Sator

---

You're only gonna be in danger from a Tsunami if your boat is close to the shore.

Definently a good source of food all around you in the fish, but you would need to have an adequate water supply as rain water is not always an option.

I have had this same thought. It would be a good way to travel. Quietly at night near the shore but not so close as to be approached. Long term may not be great, but if you were heading to an island or following the coast to avoid trouble, I think you would be fine.

I think this deserves more attention as a means of getting out of a sit-x.

You're right about the danger from a tsunami... but if you're far from shore there's difficult in catching fish as well... so it's a two edged blade, right? hehehe

You're also right about the water.


Peace

I would go with a sailboat. Preferably a Catamaran for more room. Most boats now come with a water maker. Gas generator/solar panels/wind generators and the ability to use the diesel engine is the norm aswell. I have given this alot of thought and plan on trying to live aboard sometime in the next couple of years.

You would either need a huge water supply, or some way ro desalinate saltwater. You would also want a boat large enough to take the worst ocean storm possible. I've never been on the ocean during a big storm, but from what I have heard and seen, you wouldn't want it to happen even if you were on something as large as a cruise ship.

If it were a real "Sit X" breakdown of society, you may need a way to defend against pirates overtaking your ship as well.

Personally I think you face a lot less obstacles (and easier to solve any problems you DO encounter) here on dry land.

[edit on 12/13/2007 by Yarcofin]

Hi all,

I have considered this as an option before and I think for a short period of time this might be a good idea but what really put me off the idea was pirates.
This may sound like a joke but there are still pirates around even today and now they are packing automatic weapons rather than your average cutlass. You could be sleeping soundly one night and the next moment find your ship swamped with people who have taken you at gun point and left you for dead in a life raft.
If society really broke down and the world became totally lawless it would be inevitable that the number of pirates would grow so unless you knew lots of good places to hide out then it would only be a matter of time as far as I am concerned.

Peace.

How about a good canoe on inland waters? That way you can easily and quietly get to virtually unlimited remote locations including islands. Game is easy to approach from the water if you're quiet enough. Don't stay in any one place long enough to attract attention. Be a ghost on the water. Do your moving at night if possible. Hole up and get your rest in the daytime. If danger approaches from land (most likely approach) then quietly slip away on the water. Stay under the trees overhanging the water for cover while you're slipping away.

reply to post by SemperParatus

---

A kayak would be almost-perfect for both transport and shelter, especially here in the UK where we have a huge interconnected network of canals and navigable rivers that allow sailing from scotland all the way down to the south-coast.

Interactive English inland waterway and canal network map

(I live just 5mins walk away from the nearest canal)

If its fibreglass or GRP hulled kayak, it can be easily repaired with patches of resin and glass-matting - making sure you carry a supply of both, and would takeup little room amongst the overall cargo capacity

Sea-shelter, If there are two of you with a boat each,can be doubled-up turning the kayaks into a catamaran-configuration for stability to sleep and shelter overnight on any large inland body of water such as a scottish loch, with a good length of rope and weight as a sea-anchor. A single person in the kayak on their own could attach a cargo-barrel on one/each side of the boat as out-riggers for stability

Land-shelter would be as simple as upturning the kayak,piling camouflage on top and crawling underneath. If you use the cargo-barrels, the hulls can be propped on top and a tarp draped over to give more head-space and room in your hull-shelter

all cargo could be carried in 1 or 2 roped-together (and then roped to the hull) 5 gallon polypropylene drums with sealable lids per kayak. In the event of a capsize, the drums should float but contents remain dry, and not float too far away as they are all tethered together.

A skid or lightweight portable dolly that can be affixed to one end of the keel would enable a single-kayaker to drag their vessel across land, if having to negotiate locks on a canal, without too much hassle. If you have two or more kayakers then it makes the job a whole lot easier.

The only problem with being on a boat is that there would be no way to hide from an attack - you would be totally exposed. Personally, I would much rather take to the mountains where you can find some sort of shelter (Cave, hollow etc.) that would also allow you to hide. In a situation 'X', hiding vs. fighting, in my opinion, is the preferred choice if your ultimate goal is survival.

agreed, if/when "sit x" comes around in my lifetime you can bet i'll be hiding out somewhere in the colorado rocky mountains.

The open ocean is a killer: Only qualified sailors can survive at sea for long: Exposure, lack of fresh water, waves that can top 100 feet in freak occurences, pirates ( anyone with a bigger and faster boat and a bigger gun), open to airplanes, open to everything. Unless you are living right along the shore and go from cove to cove, you will not last long.

Boats are great IF you have a BIG one, with all the amenities, sails when the fuel runs out, a good crew, and a plan, as well as lotys of cash and gold for food and barter as you go. Lets face it, if things get really bad, only a few will thrive, the rest will persioh or succumb quickly to the system. Sad but true.

reply to post by eyewitness86

---

If you're into ocean sailing, you can bet your best bet of survival will be the same as on land...to be part of a flotilla community!

no man is an island...so to speak

Perhaps if you cannot beat them, join them.
Anyone want to be a pirate?

Also on the high seas you're a blip on someones radar. Someone you're completely unaware of.

y'arr me heartie! we've 50 crew, cannon-a-plenty and ready to plunder the Carolina coast-runners

deny them any quarter, deny them their vessel, and deny them their ignorance

yours,

Cap'n Smith of the Citizen's Navy



[edit on 14-12-2007 by citizen smith]

Alternative to a boat would be to grow gills like Kevin Costner in Waterworld....then blow hundreds of millions of dollars by making a film about your adventures.....

What about suriving sit X with a boat in a lake?

Not like a dam or small lakes, but big lakes with zones where you can't see land.

There wouldn't be any huge storms and there would be lots of fish.

But there would be alot of pirates, and you should be alert so you dont get ashore while you sleep (unless you have an anchor, you could also bring someone with you).

There are also plenty of small lakes and dams with few boats anchored. You could sabotage them (no chance for pirates), jump in your boat, and anchor in the middle of the lake (only if you have an anchor).
Are there other ways to "stop" your boat without an anchor?

You should also be alert for any swimmers.

Having a boat in the marshlands or swamps may be helpful in camouflage or hiding. The swamp would have to be big and not too close to land. You could eat musk rats and fish. Maybe make algae soup.... j/k
I think that finding a big enough lake would be good. Out of these pics, what would you chose or think to be the most ideal?

external image

external image

external image



[edit on 15-12-2007 by leira7]