We decided to stay where we bought our boat before starting to cruise to gain experience with refiting and learn how to sail. At times I started to wonder if we were ever going to untie or if the jobs were just going to keep piling on. You guys have inspired us to go ahead and leave next season regardless of where we are financially. We like to figure things out as we go but it is intimidating when we imagine finding work along the way. Thanks guys.
Hey guys! We felt EXACTLY the same way! We had never met anyone in person who had been able to find work while cruising, so it was super intimidating! Definitely stop by Isla Mujeres- it's a great place to find work! Good luck and let us know how it goes! ROCK ON!
Thank you for this video you two lovelies!!! I am still on land, but started with some skills, sowing and cellphone screen repairs. Will be expanding more like you mentioned... once again thank you...
I've enjoyed watching both of you mature as cruisers. I only sporadically watch your videos, but I remember the first one a couple years ago when you were in a dinghy on the way to look at the boat seeing you now is refreshing. Two young people actually driven to achieve, to grow outside of the mainstream is awesome. Your advice could not be more spot-on! For anyone with the desire, the dream to cruise who do not have the financial resources they must learn to do as much as possible on their own. Then, if necessary or desired, one can increase one's expertise in a specific skill so as to be marketable as the two of you have done. Between your combined skills you seem to have most cruising needs covered. Congratulations!!
Hey S/V Tranquility! Thanks so much for your kind comment! It did take us a long time because we didn't go in with as much $ as we anticipated needing, and it took us a good 1.5 years to become proficient at boat and sewing work, and then we needed another 1.5 years to work to keep the refit going and finish up in our free time, but it has definitely been an empowering experience! I can remember so many times thinking- we'll never actually leave, haha! Glad we broke through and made it happen! It was a stressful process getting here, but we wouldn't trade it in!
I love these tips! Thank you for sharing them. You see so many cruisers who work online and I am not a work online type of person. I prefer DIY and hands-on projects and this information is very helpful!
What a great video! Finding people on you tube like you two is very rare. You are real and people can really relate to you guys. Keep up the great videos. I am still going through trying to get up to date on all your videos. Enjoy your sailing venture!!!
I’m 20 and learning to single hand. The thought of being able to pay for all the boat projects , tools ect .. is terrifying. Thank you so much for making these videos!! It has been such a big help for me.
You two are so right. We bought a boat that was in terrible shape with the thought that we were going to do most everything ourselves. And, yep, the bonus is that you collect all the tools needed for a refit! First Mate learned a lot about sewing on her Sailrite by watching their vids. They are a great place to start. We heard of two women that sailed the South Pacific with their sewing machine. They followed the storms and offered to repair blown out sails.
Hey Tom! That's great to hear! Yes, I've had a TON of sail work! There is always someone around who needs a repair- Anne will rock it! Thanks for sharing!
Hey JCAJCA3! Thanks for sticking around with us from the beginning! I see you commented on our Peru/Appledore delivery video from 2 years ago! Awesome! Thank you for your kind words!!
Desiree, I was watching "Sailing SV Cuba" on RUclips and they were struggling with a sail repair. I mentioned I had watched a video you did about repairing sails but could not remember the exact episode. You did one where you actually went into a house either in Isla Mujeres or in Guatamala. Maybe if you reference a couple of those for the girl on SV Cuba that might help her in the future. You also had a video where you talked about sources for your equipment. Maybe if you reference that one for them it would help them out. Thanks for any help you can provide. I know you guys have your hands full right now but if you could take a minute or two to get them going in the right direction it would really help them.
You guys are hitting so many great points lately. You're really on a roll, thanks so much guys! Now, I'm crazy. This I know. But and when I started looking into refitting a boat, I instead decided, why not build? For a LOT of the reasons you guys have stated here. If I build a plywood/fiberglass boat, I can build in and fix fiberglass for other people later. etc on down the line. After more than 4 years of research, your video is one of the first I've found that really re-enforces all the pipe-dreams, regarding working along the way, I've been building.
Mike Hayse you can do this...check out my channel...got her on eBay...once done I will know EVERYTHING about Oria...good luck and these guys are a great channel to follow...cheers!
Hey Mike! That's so awesome to hear! Glad we could help! The only issue we've faced so far is how tempting it is to stay in one spot for a long time because we've established such good roots working here. That being said, websites like active captain could probably be a good tool getting set up in a new location. Anyways, go for it and let us know how your build goes!!
I could have phrased that better; I would jump on rebuilding the right boat, but there's a distinct lack of boats to re-fit here in Colorado. So I started looking around at options and found that I could build most of a catamaran here and spend a couple of months finishing it on a coast later. Don't have to change my entire life to get started. Thanks for the thoughts and encouragement though, I just subscribed. Building or re-building, there's no such thing as too much information.
Hey Mike! Awesome idea- start the build at home in a nice spot and move to the coast when you're ready! Very much like Linn and Lary Pardey! Keep us updated on your progress! And thanks for subbing!!
Very good tips. Most of these tips work for anyone who is self-employed, anywhere. People with good, professional quality skills are hard to find. Always strive to be the best at what you do, never make a promise you can't keep and never burn any bridges. And most of all, when you're good at something, don't sell yourself cheap. My business motto is, "I'm never cheap but I'm always a bargain."
Hey Lowell! Great points! We definitely struggled with pricing out our time initially. We both took on jobs that ended up not necessarily being "worth" the time in the end. It took a couple of jobs like that before we built the confidence to hold out for well paying, fair jobs. Thanks for sharing!!
A video on reefing ( sails) would be interesting...sailing to india...sailing to Japan...exploring islands where U.S discarded all their military stuff after the korean and vietnam war...etc...doing things no-one Else are doing...exploring the meditarranean sea etc would be interesting
Hey TalkCade del Mar! Thanks for watching! Glad we could provide some lessons learned :) What's your timeline for sailing? Any sailing spots on your bucketlist?
I'm into SUP at the momento only. :) Long term plans to get a boat and go sailing, but without any pressure of a time limit... when we have the money and the feeling to spend it on a boat. We don't, atm. :) I'm in europe, so for spot, first to explore the mediterranean sea, mainly the balearic islands, then head to Canaries, Madeira, Cape Verde and/or Azores, and to the Caribbean..... there is a whole world out there. :D Main target is to be on the water and far-enough from land. :)
Hey RM! Another great idea! We're pretty minimalist at the moment with our cooking gear (pressure cooker, omnia stove top oven, cast iron skillet, and 2 stainless steel pots) but we can definitely bring in some other cruisers to get a comparative analysis going about other options- thermal, solar, etc.
Thanks for an interesting watch! We are really hoping to start doing more jobs like this but as you say it can be tough setting the right price. Fair winds and cheers from Martinique
Hey Steffi & Chris! Yes, very true! It's so hard to turn down a job when you have so little, but at the end of the day it's better to hold out for a good customer- that's what we learned here anyhow! We might have to start taking any jobs down the line if the ol'cruising kitty gets too low :)! We'll see, haha!
Also your last episode about sailing with kids was AWESOME! Thanks for taking the time for make it! We'll definitely add it to our "kids" research list ;)
Hey S/V Thirteen Winds! Thanks for saying that! Glad you enjoyed the video! Your boat looks awesome- where are you located? Any requests for other topics you'd like to see us cover? Gracias!!
Project Atticus Hey Thanks...On the hard in Pa freezing getting the kitty built up! The struggle is real..Lolllllllll but as far as subjects go...I would like to see "your" methods of passage planning.Not the obvious stuff but what maybe is something you do and the MUST knows of the plan? We all have 8-10 steps or so what are yours? Maybe the apps you use,maybe what you do for a passage CHANGE without internet..etc etc..love the channel thanks for asking me...
haha! The struggle is real- stay warm! You'll get to warmer weather soon! We did a live stream about passage planning here: ruclips.net/video/FlGHgdIGnD0/видео.html but we could condense it into a shorter video for sure! We'll add it to the list :) Thanks for the great question!! What are your steps?
Thanks for stopping by our channel guys. Some good info in there. It’s nice to see other cruisers working to make a living while sailing. #KeepingItReal! We’ve subbed back 😊 Let’s keep in touch.
Thank you both..... as usual what you have to say makes perfect sense. One of the most useful acquisitions is good advice and you are the 'go to' people for that. Now you have become so well established at Isla Mujeres, do you have specific plans for moving on? Any more projects on Atticus or is she 'ready'?
Hey Peter T! Thanks for saying that! We actually very recently switched gears back to Atticus projects because we realized that at some point we need to get her up & ready or we'll get stuck here! It's an easy place to call home, haha! We're paid up for one more week at our dock and then we're going to haul Atticus out for a bottom job, to raise the waterline, and to paint our DIY hard dodger which we've been working on for about a month now. After that, Jordan is building our water maker, and then we'll be ready to head out and start sailing again! We've saved up enough to cruiser for about 5 months. Check out our facebook page for updates on our daily projects: facebook.com/TheProjectAtticus/ It's hard to say when we'll actually escape Isla's clutches, but we're hoping it will be soon! You know how boat projects go- you think they'll take 1 week and they take 1 month and then some!
So glad to hear your positive messaging about cruisers nets and their usefulness for finding work. My wife and I spent quite a whole lot of time moderating the St. Augustine Cruisers Net and we have just kicked off a Key West Cruisers Net (but just facebook for now). THE SACN has been growing like gang busters and it helps that we have members that are experts in a wide range of subjects. We are still building the KWCN to accompany the Stock Island Net and the Garrison Bight mooring net. We are looking for local experts to help fill in areas to help other cruisers and in turn the get a bit more favor in advertising personal wares and services to members. We are in regular contact with the moderators of the other nets and we hope to able to support a community where a member can move from net to net and bring along their expertise as they go. SO maybe they start in SACN and then in cruising go to the Abacos net, and then on to Georgetown or Key West, the IMCN... etc. great job - this was an excellent video.
Hey JostVanDykeFan! That's such a great idea- Key West and stock island could DEFINITELY use a net. When we were living in stock island, the captain's lounge became by defacto sewing office, and eventually I got a ton of sewing work that way, but it would have been great to have a net! Wow! Let us know how it goes!!
Hey Andy! Thanks! Hope it was helpful :) We had trouble finding information out there when we got started so we figured we might as well share some lessons learned!
I've been enjoying all your videos over the years. I recently rewatched your video on the Lofrans Royal manual windless. Do you still have it? Still like it? Have you done any internal maintenance on it? Thanks for all the great videos!
Hey Sailing Vessel Southern Lady! Thanks for commenting- I just subbed to your channel- love your sewing videos! Awesome! We still have it; we haven't had to do any maintenance on it yet- just make sure to rinse it with fresh water as often as possible. And we love it! No problems!
Hey H.V! That's a great question! And it depends on where you are. In Key West I started charging 1/2 of what the local sail shop charged, so $40/hour. Once I got to Isla, I kept my price the same. Jordan also charges $40/hour. He got his price by charging 1/2 of what high end boat repair/painting guys charged in the yard in Key West. We thought we would have to come down on price once we arrived in Isla, but we found that people are willing to pay our prices because we offer the best work possible- no cutting corners. When I do bigger jobs, I just charge a lump sum. Also, I always ask for materials costs upfront as a deposit. I have a friend in the states who has her own canvas shop, so when I'm in doubt, I just email her what she thinks a fair price would be. It takes a little bit of trial and error to get it right, but you'll get it down eventually. My biggest problem initially was that I was constantly underestimating the amount of time it would take to finish a job. So eventually I started overestimating by at least an hour or two, and then I'd say, if I can get it done quicker, I will try, but I like to overestimate my quotes just in case.
I think you are Canadian,. But , if you are a Us citizen remember you need to file Fed tax forms at the end of the year. I believe this year you can earn $97k tax free. Anything over that you owe US taxes. Regardless of the amount earned you still have to file by April 15th
S/V AIRPOWER I have had clients move back to the US and just get reamed for back taxes and not filing. Not because they thought they could get away with it just because they didn’t know.
Hey Phil! Thanks so much for mentioning that! Actually I'm in the process of working on it- was going to go through "visor"- I hear they do traveler's tax packages- do you have any other services you'd recommend? We'd like to at least report our Patreon earnings
Project Atticus I shoe horses for a living but clients have been hammered by the IRS for not filing while abroad. I am looking into getting US citizenship so I looked into how it affect me in the future as we could look to retire back in Europe. I found that earning under 97k a year no tax worries in the USA. However, file annual 1040. Money earned this year in US and money earned outside US Non resident Tax paid in US zero. Amount owed zero. Check if you can pay some form of Social Security to stay up to date, it might be in the distant future for young whipper snappers but why throw it away if you don’t have to. It is easy to forget about dealing with the gov but they don’t forget about you. Sleep well and not worry about returning in the future.
Just wondering if you put any money away for “retirement “, or have some type of savings plan in place for when the time comes to pay for life later on? Also what do you do about medical/dental insurance?
Hey Amy! Right now we're not quite there- ie putting aside $ for retirement. We'd like to transition to 100% video and content creation in the sailing space, and start to put some $ aside once we start making more than enough to simply stay afloat. Our hero's in the space are Gone with the Wynns- they really created a business around their lifestyle and produce amazing content, so that's our ultimate goal! As for health insurance, we just pay out of pocket. So far in Mexico, we've had a couple medical issues, but nothing too expensive! Here's a video about my trip to the dentist in Cancun- facebook.com/TheProjectAtticus/videos/1832507273426519/.
Hey Dave22 and Rob S! Thanks for keeping us on our toes- we were originally thinking about reserving the swing outtro for story-based episodes, but it sounds like ppl missed it here, so we can definitely implement it in our next "how-to" or educational video. Thanks again for chiming in!!!
it's your channel, you run it your way. I just love the swing outro, but you can use it only for story based episodes, that's cool, or not use it, it's up to you. love the channel. thanks for sharing and thumbs up
Hey Casanova, you forgot about a skill of yours. Get on the morning cruising net and tell people...." I can help you Woo that beautiful girlfriend and show you how to set up a romantic marriage proposal she cant turn down" These hopeless single male cruisers out there need your help. There's got to be money in being a wing man. That sounds lots more fun than working on varnish or rudders.
Project Atticus, I can confirm... wing women are indeed much better to have than wing men. Women don't have their guard up as much when approached by other women.
We decided to stay where we bought our boat before starting to cruise to gain experience with refiting and learn how to sail. At times I started to wonder if we were ever going to untie or if the jobs were just going to keep piling on. You guys have inspired us to go ahead and leave next season regardless of where we are financially. We like to figure things out as we go but it is intimidating when we imagine finding work along the way. Thanks guys.
Hey guys! We felt EXACTLY the same way! We had never met anyone in person who had been able to find work while cruising, so it was super intimidating! Definitely stop by Isla Mujeres- it's a great place to find work! Good luck and let us know how it goes! ROCK ON!
@@ProjectAtticus thanks so much for the tip. Isla Mujeres is on the list. Keep being awesome.
Oh how I wish I could experience what this video describes. What fun. Sail on...
Wow! What great advice.Well thought out and presented. Thanks
Thank you for this video you two lovelies!!! I am still on land, but started with some skills, sowing and cellphone screen repairs. Will be expanding more like you mentioned... once again thank you...
I've enjoyed watching both of you mature as cruisers. I only sporadically watch your videos, but I remember the first one a couple years ago when you were in a dinghy on the way to look at the boat seeing you now is refreshing. Two young people actually driven to achieve, to grow outside of the mainstream is awesome. Your advice could not be more spot-on! For anyone with the desire, the dream to cruise who do not have the financial resources they must learn to do as much as possible on their own. Then, if necessary or desired, one can increase one's expertise in a specific skill so as to be marketable as the two of you have done. Between your combined skills you seem to have most cruising needs covered. Congratulations!!
Hey S/V Tranquility! Thanks so much for your kind comment! It did take us a long time because we didn't go in with as much $ as we anticipated needing, and it took us a good 1.5 years to become proficient at boat and sewing work, and then we needed another 1.5 years to work to keep the refit going and finish up in our free time, but it has definitely been an empowering experience! I can remember so many times thinking- we'll never actually leave, haha! Glad we broke through and made it happen! It was a stressful process getting here, but we wouldn't trade it in!
I love these tips! Thank you for sharing them. You see so many cruisers who work online and I am not a work online type of person. I prefer DIY and hands-on projects and this information is very helpful!
What a great video! Finding people on you tube like you two is very rare. You are real and people can really relate to you guys. Keep up the great videos. I am still going through trying to get up to date on all your videos. Enjoy your sailing venture!!!
I’m 20 and learning to single hand. The thought of being able to pay for all the boat projects , tools ect .. is terrifying. Thank you so much for making these videos!! It has been such a big help for me.
Just started watching you guys, after seeing you and SV Uma! Love this video btw! You guys are awesome, so glad your putting out longer videos!
"started putting all the pieces together" ... loves what you've done there ...
You two are so right. We bought a boat that was in terrible shape with the thought that we were going to do most everything ourselves. And, yep, the bonus is that you collect all the tools needed for a refit! First Mate learned a lot about sewing on her Sailrite by watching their vids. They are a great place to start.
We heard of two women that sailed the South Pacific with their sewing machine. They followed the storms and offered to repair blown out sails.
Hey Tom! That's great to hear! Yes, I've had a TON of sail work! There is always someone around who needs a repair- Anne will rock it! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you..
Great Job Kids!
Hey! thanks so much! And thanks for watching!
This is great,thanx!!
Great spirit attitude and ethic. I'd hire you any day.
Haha! Thanks Cyclomaniac!!
Been watching you guys for a long time now. So proud of how far you have come. Great job! GOD bless. JC
Hey JCAJCA3! Thanks for sticking around with us from the beginning! I see you commented on our Peru/Appledore delivery video from 2 years ago! Awesome! Thank you for your kind words!!
Desiree, I was watching "Sailing SV Cuba" on RUclips and they were struggling with a sail repair. I mentioned I had watched a video you did about repairing sails but could not remember the exact episode. You did one where you actually went into a house either in Isla Mujeres or in Guatamala. Maybe if you reference a couple of those for the girl on SV Cuba that might help her in the future. You also had a video where you talked about sources for your equipment. Maybe if you reference that one for them it would help them out. Thanks for any help you can provide. I know you guys have your hands full right now but if you could take a minute or two to get them going in the right direction it would really help them.
You guys are hitting so many great points lately. You're really on a roll, thanks so much guys!
Now, I'm crazy. This I know. But and when I started looking into refitting a boat, I instead decided, why not build? For a LOT of the reasons you guys have stated here. If I build a plywood/fiberglass boat, I can build in and fix fiberglass for other people later. etc on down the line. After more than 4 years of research, your video is one of the first I've found that really re-enforces all the pipe-dreams, regarding working along the way, I've been building.
Mike Hayse you can do this...check out my channel...got her on eBay...once done I will know EVERYTHING about Oria...good luck and these guys are a great channel to follow...cheers!
Hey Mike! That's so awesome to hear! Glad we could help! The only issue we've faced so far is how tempting it is to stay in one spot for a long time because we've established such good roots working here. That being said, websites like active captain could probably be a good tool getting set up in a new location. Anyways, go for it and let us know how your build goes!!
Thanks for the encouragement, Sail Oria!!
I could have phrased that better; I would jump on rebuilding the right boat, but there's a distinct lack of boats to re-fit here in Colorado. So I started looking around at options and found that I could build most of a catamaran here and spend a couple of months finishing it on a coast later. Don't have to change my entire life to get started. Thanks for the thoughts and encouragement though, I just subscribed. Building or re-building, there's no such thing as too much information.
Hey Mike! Awesome idea- start the build at home in a nice spot and move to the coast when you're ready! Very much like Linn and Lary Pardey! Keep us updated on your progress! And thanks for subbing!!
Very good presentation, guys - well laid out and delivered. You are both excellent communicators.
Hey Jack Rabbit! Awesome! Thanks for watching!
Great and informative video. I will never be in your situation but I love learning more details about what you are doing.
Hey Tim! Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoy a little peak into our life :)
Excellent. I would love to see an explanation on the tools you keep and what spares you carry.
Hey Snake Plisken! Great question- we can definitely do that! Between our sewing gear and power tools, we've got a LOT!
Very encouraging. Thank you!!
Thanks Michael! -Desiree
Very good tips. Most of these tips work for anyone who is self-employed, anywhere. People with good, professional quality skills are hard to find. Always strive to be the best at what you do, never make a promise you can't keep and never burn any bridges. And most of all, when you're good at something, don't sell yourself cheap. My business motto is, "I'm never cheap but I'm always a bargain."
Hey Lowell! Great points! We definitely struggled with pricing out our time initially. We both took on jobs that ended up not necessarily being "worth" the time in the end. It took a couple of jobs like that before we built the confidence to hold out for well paying, fair jobs. Thanks for sharing!!
A video on reefing ( sails) would be interesting...sailing to india...sailing to Japan...exploring islands where U.S discarded all their military stuff after the korean and vietnam war...etc...doing things no-one Else are doing...exploring the meditarranean sea etc would be interesting
great info. thank you
Hi Lynn! Glad we could offer our tips :) Thanks for watching!
Legends.
Haha! Thanks Todd!
This sounded useful. Not that I'm close to quit my 9-to-5 job and go sailing, but when I will, this'll be useful for me too. :D
Thanks!
Hey TalkCade del Mar! Thanks for watching! Glad we could provide some lessons learned :) What's your timeline for sailing? Any sailing spots on your bucketlist?
I'm into SUP at the momento only. :)
Long term plans to get a boat and go sailing, but without any pressure of a time limit... when we have the money and the feeling to spend it on a boat. We don't, atm. :)
I'm in europe, so for spot, first to explore the mediterranean sea, mainly the balearic islands, then head to Canaries, Madeira, Cape Verde and/or Azores, and to the Caribbean..... there is a whole world out there. :D
Main target is to be on the water and far-enough from land. :)
another great video guys.... Im in Mexico City again.... Hope to catch up with you guys soon!!
Hey Wardell! Thanks for watching! Awesome- enjoy MX city!!
I am not surprised you are both successful - well done.👍
Hey Norman!! That's really awesome of you to say! Thanks so much!!
Another great video. An idea for a future vid: comparing cooking equipment for cruising. Thermal cookers vs pressure vs solar vs induction.
Hey RM! Another great idea! We're pretty minimalist at the moment with our cooking gear (pressure cooker, omnia stove top oven, cast iron skillet, and 2 stainless steel pots) but we can definitely bring in some other cruisers to get a comparative analysis going about other options- thermal, solar, etc.
What a great inspirational video guys thumbs up can wait to meet you both ou there one day
Hey guys! Thanks for watching again! Ditto- would be great to meet up!!
Great stuff. Thanks
Hi Adam! Thanks for watching and saying hi!!
Great video, both in content and quality.
Hey Dan! Thanks!!
I sure am getting a great education by going backward with your vlogs !! :-)
Thanks for an interesting watch! We are really hoping to start doing more jobs like this but as you say it can be tough setting the right price. Fair winds and cheers from Martinique
Hey Steffi & Chris! Yes, very true! It's so hard to turn down a job when you have so little, but at the end of the day it's better to hold out for a good customer- that's what we learned here anyhow! We might have to start taking any jobs down the line if the ol'cruising kitty gets too low :)! We'll see, haha!
Also your last episode about sailing with kids was AWESOME! Thanks for taking the time for make it! We'll definitely add it to our "kids" research list ;)
Project Atticus soooo happy you watched it! Just made a comment hoping you'd do that. Thank you!
Project Atticus please put a comment on our video. We get so few views so it would really mean A LOT :)
Done and Done :) Love your channel!
Spot on..thanks guys!
Hey S/V Thirteen Winds! Thanks for saying that! Glad you enjoyed the video! Your boat looks awesome- where are you located? Any requests for other topics you'd like to see us cover? Gracias!!
Project Atticus Hey Thanks...On the hard in Pa freezing getting the kitty built up! The struggle is real..Lolllllllll but as far as subjects go...I would like to see "your" methods of passage planning.Not the obvious stuff but what maybe is something you do and the MUST knows of the plan? We all have 8-10 steps or so what are yours? Maybe the apps you use,maybe what you do for a passage CHANGE without internet..etc etc..love the channel thanks for asking me...
haha! The struggle is real- stay warm! You'll get to warmer weather soon! We did a live stream about passage planning here: ruclips.net/video/FlGHgdIGnD0/видео.html but we could condense it into a shorter video for sure! We'll add it to the list :) Thanks for the great question!! What are your steps?
Subscribed & Liked. 👍
Heeey Johnboylong40! Welcome to the channel!! Thanks so much!
Thank you for putting put great videos with great information. May I ask you how much you guys spend a month while sailing on a budget?
Thanks for stopping by our channel guys. Some good info in there. It’s nice to see other cruisers working to make a living while sailing. #KeepingItReal! We’ve subbed back 😊 Let’s keep in touch.
Definitely! Wohoo!
awesome video guys, thats my plan :-)
Hey Curacao! That's awesome!!
Thank you both..... as usual what you have to say makes perfect sense. One of the most useful acquisitions is good advice and you are the 'go to' people for that. Now you have become so well established at Isla Mujeres, do you have specific plans for moving on? Any more projects on Atticus or is she 'ready'?
Hey Peter T! Thanks for saying that! We actually very recently switched gears back to Atticus projects because we realized that at some point we need to get her up & ready or we'll get stuck here! It's an easy place to call home, haha! We're paid up for one more week at our dock and then we're going to haul Atticus out for a bottom job, to raise the waterline, and to paint our DIY hard dodger which we've been working on for about a month now. After that, Jordan is building our water maker, and then we'll be ready to head out and start sailing again! We've saved up enough to cruiser for about 5 months. Check out our facebook page for updates on our daily projects: facebook.com/TheProjectAtticus/ It's hard to say when we'll actually escape Isla's clutches, but we're hoping it will be soon! You know how boat projects go- you think they'll take 1 week and they take 1 month and then some!
So glad to hear your positive messaging about cruisers nets and their usefulness for finding work. My wife and I spent quite a whole lot of time moderating the St. Augustine Cruisers Net and we have just kicked off a Key West Cruisers Net (but just facebook for now). THE SACN has been growing like gang busters and it helps that we have members that are experts in a wide range of subjects. We are still building the KWCN to accompany the Stock Island Net and the Garrison Bight mooring net. We are looking for local experts to help fill in areas to help other cruisers and in turn the get a bit more favor in advertising personal wares and services to members. We are in regular contact with the moderators of the other nets and we hope to able to support a community where a member can move from net to net and bring along their expertise as they go. SO maybe they start in SACN and then in cruising go to the Abacos net, and then on to Georgetown or Key West, the IMCN... etc. great job - this was an excellent video.
Hey JostVanDykeFan! That's such a great idea- Key West and stock island could DEFINITELY use a net. When we were living in stock island, the captain's lounge became by defacto sewing office, and eventually I got a ton of sewing work that way, but it would have been great to have a net! Wow! Let us know how it goes!!
Here is a link to the Facebook page for the KWCN.. facebook.com/groups/133331007271335/
Sweet! Thanks!!
Good tips guys. Andy UK
Hey Andy! Thanks! Hope it was helpful :) We had trouble finding information out there when we got started so we figured we might as well share some lessons learned!
I've been enjoying all your videos over the years. I recently rewatched your video on the Lofrans Royal manual windless. Do you still have it? Still like it? Have you done any internal maintenance on it? Thanks for all the great videos!
Hey Sailing Vessel Southern Lady! Thanks for commenting- I just subbed to your channel- love your sewing videos! Awesome! We still have it; we haven't had to do any maintenance on it yet- just make sure to rinse it with fresh water as often as possible. And we love it! No problems!
Doves and butterflies... I thought, I heard angels.
haha Thanks OPE!
You guys hit outstanding points. My question is, what’s a fair price? I don’t know what jobs would cost? How do you come up with the number?
Hey H.V! That's a great question! And it depends on where you are. In Key West I started charging 1/2 of what the local sail shop charged, so $40/hour. Once I got to Isla, I kept my price the same. Jordan also charges $40/hour. He got his price by charging 1/2 of what high end boat repair/painting guys charged in the yard in Key West. We thought we would have to come down on price once we arrived in Isla, but we found that people are willing to pay our prices because we offer the best work possible- no cutting corners. When I do bigger jobs, I just charge a lump sum. Also, I always ask for materials costs upfront as a deposit. I have a friend in the states who has her own canvas shop, so when I'm in doubt, I just email her what she thinks a fair price would be. It takes a little bit of trial and error to get it right, but you'll get it down eventually. My biggest problem initially was that I was constantly underestimating the amount of time it would take to finish a job. So eventually I started overestimating by at least an hour or two, and then I'd say, if I can get it done quicker, I will try, but I like to overestimate my quotes just in case.
Project Atticus Desiree, thank you so much for your detailed response.
Absolutely!
I think you are Canadian,. But , if you are a Us citizen remember you need to file Fed tax forms at the end of the year. I believe this year you can earn $97k tax free. Anything over that you owe US taxes.
Regardless of the amount earned you still have to file by April 15th
Phil The Farrier I am sure they’ll get right on that.
S/V AIRPOWER I have had clients move back to the US and just get reamed for back taxes and not filing. Not because they thought they could get away with it just because they didn’t know.
Hey Phil! Thanks so much for mentioning that! Actually I'm in the process of working on it- was going to go through "visor"- I hear they do traveler's tax packages- do you have any other services you'd recommend? We'd like to at least report our Patreon earnings
Project Atticus I shoe horses for a living but clients have been hammered by the IRS for not filing while abroad. I am looking into getting US citizenship so I looked into how it affect me in the future as we could look to retire back in Europe.
I found that earning under 97k a year no tax worries in the USA. However, file annual 1040.
Money earned this year in US and money earned outside US
Non resident
Tax paid in US zero. Amount owed zero. Check if you can pay some form of Social Security to stay up to date, it might be in the distant future for young whipper snappers but why throw it away if you don’t have to.
It is easy to forget about dealing with the gov but they don’t forget about you. Sleep well and not worry about returning in the future.
Hey! Haha! That's a good way to put it, haha! they don't forget about you! Thanks for the tips!!
Just wondering if you put any money away for “retirement “, or have some type of savings plan in place for when the time comes to pay for life later on? Also what do you do about medical/dental insurance?
Hey Amy! Right now we're not quite there- ie putting aside $ for retirement. We'd like to transition to 100% video and content creation in the sailing space, and start to put some $ aside once we start making more than enough to simply stay afloat. Our hero's in the space are Gone with the Wynns- they really created a business around their lifestyle and produce amazing content, so that's our ultimate goal! As for health insurance, we just pay out of pocket. So far in Mexico, we've had a couple medical issues, but nothing too expensive! Here's a video about my trip to the dentist in Cancun- facebook.com/TheProjectAtticus/videos/1832507273426519/.
funny outro, but I miss the swing...
Hey Dave22 and Rob S! Thanks for keeping us on our toes- we were originally thinking about reserving the swing outtro for story-based episodes, but it sounds like ppl missed it here, so we can definitely implement it in our next "how-to" or educational video. Thanks again for chiming in!!!
it's your channel, you run it your way. I just love the swing outro, but you can use it only for story based episodes, that's cool, or not use it, it's up to you. love the channel. thanks for sharing and thumbs up
Rob S. You can use the word "loved" if I can use the word "ballerina"🤣
Rob S love you man!
Salty.
Hey Casanova, you forgot about a skill of yours. Get on the morning cruising net and tell people...." I can help you Woo that beautiful girlfriend and show you how to set up a romantic marriage proposal she cant turn down" These hopeless single male cruisers out there need your help. There's got to be money in being a wing man. That sounds lots more fun than working on varnish or rudders.
Hey Pate Allan! Haha! You know it might even be a better job for me- female "wing men" are the best!!
Project Atticus, I can confirm... wing women are indeed much better to have than wing men. Women don't have their guard up as much when approached by other women.
true! I was actually Jordan's wing woman once upon a time when we were just friends! I was pretty great at it!