What's the Most Affordable Boat to Escape (1 Way Trip) SHTF?

I am going to go slightly off topic but......
What if currently you are in a metro area working and gaining savings to eventually move to a remote location? What if you are younger and are in the working mode, gaining funds and working towards a goal? Most country living I know is not rich living. It usually is quality over quantity. So what are those of us that are currently in a metro area to do? We want a chance to survive, we are here gathering info, looking at our situations and trying to make the best plan if S does HTF.

Back on subject- I would not do a boat. You would be a floating target and if you need to do a boat, a rubber raft is store-able in an apartment. I would have a back up plan because I am unsure of LA's waterways but I read a lot about droughts so that may affect your floating ability.

 

I don't think some of these people understand the concept of "in the working mode, gaining funds and working towards a goal", etc. which is sad. My concept of a boat was to be able to escape LA within hours of the SHTF and using the boat to get to an area out of State. I don't think on the first day, people will be shooting at the boat in the middle of the ocean.

 

I believe you are correct on this. Depending on the incident that causes stuff to halt, many will not realize what is happening. The officials will be saying stay calm, we are working on fixing etc... as long as one is alert and can recognize the incident of being SHTF, then you will have a head start before the masses.

 

Two things come to mind:

1. FerFAL, FerFAL, FerFAL: ferFAL Some first hand experience A brief story of Argentina | Survival Monkey Forums
   Any of us currently in or near a metro area needs to read this not just once, but every so often.
   
   
2. Relocate to a smaller city (say about 50,000 people) that still has the amenities you want from a metro area but also a strong agricultural influence. The area I'm moving to has 2/3 the cost of living as my current area and I can buy a house twice the size with four times the property for half as much. The equity I have gained in my current house over the last three years will pay for half of my new house. The hellish aspects you will read about in the FerFAL thread are greatly reduced. These areas also have communities that are already more self sufficient and more likely to respond well in everything from an economic downturn to a natural disaster.

 

Perhaps not, but better to plan for being shot at before you can clear the harbor is far more likely. Be careful to not underestimate the thought processes of the masses, they are remarkably quick to perceive that something is amiss and react in unexpected, unplanned ways.

Wasn't it Robinson Caruso that built one of those? I think I remember some moaning about how well a coracle will handle. (But they will float ---)

 

Move to Miami and watch the Cubans land...

 

Would a kayak or something be a good investment to get some sun and exercise now? Give you a better idea of how likely your plan is for minimal investment.

 

ed-gain escape from la modular kayak!

 

Like Teddy Roosevelt:

 

I think the first step is to check escape routes and water ways near you, follow them the whole way. No sense in buying a boat unless you know what you will be floating on. There was a Doomsday Prepper episode that showed a guy that made a float-able cart. He could cart it then he was able to float his family across a waterway. Dual purpose is good.

 

The first two miles of escape are powered by the Voight's rubber ducks, then you can pull the corks on (your rubber duck) a flotation device. If someone has left you and inflatable raft equipped with a paddle or two anchored at a predetermined location? Then you might be able to escape the carnage of L.A.

 

So ED, lets take a look st this situation and see what fits! Firstly, Axes mentioned a Kayak, but for open water, You will NEED a SEA KAYAK!!! Now lets take a look at what it takes to make something like this work! My personal Sea Kayak I built my onesome from a kit, but you can buy them all day long for pretty cheap. Once you have the boat, you NEED to learn to paddle it and to build stamina, and this takes a lot of time. Sea Kayaks are the fastest means of human powered water craft you can have, but they come at a price, and that price is load capacity! My boat can haul around 200 lbs of gear plus my fat ass, and can do about 8 miles per hour "cruising" and can sprint at about 11 for a mile or two before I get winded. I can cover as much as 60 miles at sea, mostly depending on the water conditions! In order for you to escape from L.A. county, you are in for a seriously long paddle, and there are very few safe havens that will provide you with food and shelter, mostly you will find private property and or sheer cliffs along the way. If you were an experienced paddler and were conditioned for that sort of trip, I would head north and make the Inland Passage your new home, and learn to speak Canuk!
The second thing I am going to lay out for you is a real boat! Mine is perfect for what you would want, but because it is perfect, every one else is going to want it! That said, my boat would cost you about 90K and would take a semi to haul around, so it's not land portable or "portage able" easy, so it would need to be moored and that cost me about $ 1200 a month with shore power and dock side water hook up! Then there is the cost of fuel, and @ 4:40 a gallon for diesel dock side, and a tank capacity of 1600 gallons, that adds up right quick! Fuel burn per engine is aprox 1.4 gallons per hour at slow cruise, but for getting outta dodge in a hurry, fuel burn is around 16 gallons per hour, per engine! Once you are out in open water, you have about 3000 miles range, which from L.A. would just about get you to Seattle against a 6 knot southerly current! This is just a start, I can add more info, but the point is, a real boat ain't even close to cheap!!!

 

There are some folks down San Diego way that practice escape from LA on a daily basis. I'd recommend that you practice what they preach. JMHO.

 

I think you need to take a good look at the movie Water World.
the boats and floating craft are unrealistic , however the life on the ocean is not easy .even experienced sailors die .
Little boats on the ocean don't last and you can't carry enough gear much less survive a tsunami . I reference you to the movie San Andreas.
IF you have a serious fantasy about launching into the pacific during an event , you'd best start now learning every thing possible about living on the ocean and operating a boat .
At best I would not venture out with out at the very least a 40 foot sail boat with a diesel engine, and a minimum of five years experience, on the water .the knowledge and spare parts for the engine and for the rigging and making boat repairs.
The sea is not user friendly, and every thing in it eats what can't swim away.
I worked on boats several years , all on fresh water , on a lake .
Ocean water is a whole different animal and a lot more corrosive , that's why Water World is not realistic, but the conditions are worth the entertainment with a few grains of truth .
Another condition that exists are pirates which are around still/today.
Coast guard if they are still around post SHTF will have bigger fish to fry , and less resources to accomplish their tasks. A marine radio would be handy for at least asking for help or finding out what is going on .
I guarantee you no cell service , but you might get satellite if it's functional . an EMP or CME would take that out too.
Food for thought.

 

AAB, this is very much a side issue, but yes, kayaks are excellent exercise. That said, solo kayaking off shore is not well advised. As with most semi risky physical exercise, it take two for safety. 'T'ain't just a boat and paddle, there's some really desirable gear. Particularly radio stuff.

 

I live 6hrs from a coast, so I wouldn't know. Figured I'd try getting the ball rolling in the right direction again.

 

Thanks that's my only purpose. A one time use to get to an area where everything is fine.