Having a bug-out boat is similar to a bug-out vehicle or a bug-out location, but combines the best of both.
PROS:
- you can escape any disaster area, even when governments want to stop travel. Police/military can close roads, you can't close the ocean.
- gathering food is simple. Anyone can fish, while hunting/trapping takes skill
- you can generate your own electricity and water
- when travelling you take your house and all your supplies with you. And all your comforts too... if you have to leave your house are you going to take your Playstation & 50" TV? We've got ours!
- being on the water is much safer than being on the land. 2021 saw 132 incidents of violent crime on all the oceans (ICC International Maritime Bureau). There were likely more violent crimes in your state every single day.
- sailing is easy to learn. We taught ourselves with books and videos, but lessons are easy to find
- you can start relatively inexpensively. If you can afford a house, you could have bought an ocean crossing boat
- growing up on travelling a boat is an amazing experience for kids, and they learn more than they would in a school
- when a region has a disaster, you can cross the ocean and go to the grocery store, living normally
- you are at your own command
- communication is easier and cheaper than ever. You can get global cell packages usable in nearly any country (when <20 miles from shore). Starlink now provides high-speed internet anywhere for $100/month
- annual weather patterns are predictable. Hurricanes in the Caribbean from June-October. Winter storms in the Mediterranean from December to April. We winter in the Carib, and summer in the Med
- surviving major weather events is easy when you have a storm plan with checklist for preparation (and follow it).
- #1 PRO; YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY.
CONS:
- boats are smaller than houses. You're not going to have as much space
- you can't put on an addition to make it larger like a house
- the bigger the boat, the (much) higher the price (double your house size is probably less than double the price. But double your boat size is likely 4 to 10x more money)
- if you lose electronics, navigation becomes much harder. Celestial navigation is a skill and needs to be learned and practised.
- if you lose electronics, then you have to predict your own weather. Another skill to be learned and practised.
- as a parent, you are also now principal and teacher
- you need to be handy. Things break and you can't always just wait to get them fixed
- if weather patterns change globally, you may have to be prepared for storms at any time.
- #1 CON; YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY.
Safety and survivability on the oceans is all about mindset. If you are a "hold my beer and watch this" kind of person, the oceans will eat you. If you command your boat with the mindset of an airplane pilot, then you can do fine.