( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Reconsidering How to Spend My Retirement! ಠ_ಠ

Most recent post about my retirement plans is HERE!

If you read the previous post linked above you will see that I had been planning on doing something along the lines of:

Option 1:

Buy/Build an Overland/Off-road Vehicle that can take me anywhere I want to go and set off on a 26 country, 3+ year, 46,000+ mile trip through every country in North, Central and South America. Then proceed (if I have enough money) across the pond and continue the road trip through every country from New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Europe that I can drive to (or ship my vehicle to).

Of course I also planned on filming all of this and posting regularly to my Youtube Channel (linked below) to raise enough money to continue traveling after completing the Americas.

While I love to travel and drive I am not rethinking if I want to do it by a Land Vehicle due to the following concerns:

• Border Crossings
• Regulatory Issues in each new country concerning my vehicle
• Insurance Issues in each new country concerning my vehicle
• Inability to carry my firearms (in my vehicle) in many countries I plan on visiting
• Terrain - Lets face it my back/knees are killing me already and I am always in a truck on relatively descent roads in the USA.....driving Off-Road and on Poorly Maintained Roads in a vehicle is probably not going to do me any good.

I had planned on this vehicle costing me around $50,000 USD and an additional $5,000 USD per year on Fuel, Oil Changes, Tires, etc.

All of these factors and others I have failed to mention (I am sure) have led me to consider another option.

Option 2:

Become a seafarer! The truth is I have always loved the Ocean and as a Child if I was within 10 miles of the Ocean and you weren't paying really good attention my ass would disappear and be in it. I am especially attracted to Dolphins and Whales and will repeatedly risk my life to be in the water with/near them. I would have considered this option from the beginning but I thought it would be beyond my Budgetary Constraints until I began noticing a spate of Solar Powered Boats on Youtube. Most of them people built from scratch and use them on Lakes and Rivers but recently I have found a few videos of Older Sea Faring Sailboats converted to Solar Powered/Propelled Ocean Worthy boats. In fact someone actually managed to travel all the way around the Globe in a Solar Powered/Propelled boat.

The solar powered/propelled boats I have seen so far where rather slow, typically less than 5 mph, and quite noisy. However, I think I have a solution for those problems.

My idea is to:

• Buy an older STEEL HULLED Catamaran or Trimaran, like this:
• Build a Steel Frame all the way around the boat that supports a Raised Roof of Solar Panels that covers the entire width and length of the boat and is tall enough you can stand on the top deck and not touch it. Rack will hold roughly 20 200 Watt Solar Panels (4,000 Watts).
• Install Eight(8) 400 Watt Wind Turbines rated at up to 100 miles per hour on the four vertical poles at front of boat and 4 vertical poles at rear of boat. Giving me an additional 3200 Watts of Power.
• Build a Battery Compartment in the center of Each Pontoon to hold Four 200 Amp Deep cell Dry or Gel Batteries in each.
• Build (from off the shelf parts) a Custom Charge Controller to collect power from Solar/Wind Generators and charge the Eight(8) 200 Amp batteries that will provide me with 1600 Amps of power (almost double the max of the two electric motors.
• Install a GE 300 Horsepower 500 Volt 485 Amp DC Motor in the rear of each Pontoon connected to a Gear Box (to multiply the rotation of the motor) that connects to Twin Propellers outside the rear of each pontoon.
• Fill the remainder of Each Pontoon with high density foam to increase the buoyancy of the vessel and allow for traveling through shallower waters.
• Build a two foot wide Garden Area on Each side of the main cabin (where the windows are) to grow fresh vegetables and herbs.
• Build the Cockpit (front of main cabin) for multipurpose use. It will serve as navigation and steering area as well as double as a desk/dining table and have storage underneath for my clothing, personal hygiene, etc.
• Install a small Desalinization Unit and 50 Gallon Fresh Water Tank in the Main Cabin (in a closet like area) that can desalinate 50 gallons in 1 day or less.
• Build additional storage under the Garden Areas on each side of main cabin.
• Build a Center Island Kitchen Counter with Sink, Electric Stove Top and food prep area on/in the counter top. Under the counter top will be a Microwave, Grey Water Filtration System (that Automatically Purifies the Grey Water and drains it into the Ocean) and additional storage for Kitchen Wares. Above the island will be ceiling mounted cabinets accessible from both sides with magnetic doors for additional storage. At the front end of the Island will be a Full Sized Fridge/Freezer.
• At the rear of the main cabin (on the outside) will be a Shower located on one side of the door. The other side of the door will have an Outdoor Electric Grill (George Foreman on Steroids) permanently secured to the deck with a Cover over it when not in use.
• On the front deck will be a seating/lounge area.
• At the rear of the craft will be a small platform attached to the end of the solar panel platform that holds my Satellite Navigation/Radar Dishes, Antennas and so forth.
• Have the entire exterior of the craft (minus the propellers) sprayed with multiple coats of Rhino Lining or Kevlar Coating to protect it from rust.

I am expecting to spend between $50-75,000 USD (depending on what the Ship Hull costs) to build the aforementioned ship. However, unlike the Vehicle in Option 1 I will have no recurring fuel/maintenance expenses unless something breaks.

So it would appear that over say 20 years of traveling the Sea Option would wind up being drastically cheaper. I can store my guns ONBOARD and even when I am in Port in a country the boat (and its contents) would be protected by International Maritime Laws. I wouldn't have the issues with Border Crossings, Roads, etc. In fact the only major issue I can foresee is Harbor Masters/Police or Local Police wanting to check me out when ever I made Port in a new place. However, as a general rule, if you arrive via a Private Boat and are JUST VISITING you do not require all the Travel Visa's and other Regulatory Headaches as when traveling by Land or Air to new countries.

As I see it the only real expense would be Harbor Fees whenever I make port but if I carry a small Dingy with a small Electric Motor to get to and from shore I can anchor in most places I want to visit and take the Dingy to shore and tie it off FOR FREE. I could also take a Jet Ski along instead of a Dingy if I wanted to anchor farther from Land and have less of a chance of it being stolen as I could LOCK it and equip it with a GPS Tracker as well.

So what are your thoughts. Which option would you choose? Please let me know in the comments below which option you would prefer and think would serve me best in the long run.

Make sure you follow me on Youtube @ VenusPCS!