The Sea-Steader’s Institute

Several key aspects of self-sufficiency at sea at once stand forth for consideration:

Financial Viability: No one has ever gone to the frontier because they were already well-to-do—rather they went there as a means to discover some sort of better life for themselves. The same is true of the Sea-Steader—if the initial cost of the Sea-Stead is too high, it becomes unviable. Thus, an effective Sea-Stead must demand as little financial support as possible while creating the means for independent income.

Quality of Life: It is pointless for us to seek this lifestyle if the quality of life that we receive for our efforts is not at least as rewarding as a conventional life on land. Life can be drudgery anywhere—the sea is no exception. It must be important for us to recognize from the beginning that alienation, loneliness, and boredom have always been as great a hazard to the homestead lifestyle as crop failure and violence. We must be aware of this risk and look for ways to minimize it.

Mobility: In no other subsistence lifestyle is man capable of being so effectively mobile—it is possible for this homestead to perpetually live within the ideal seasons—to always live at harvest. Mobility made possible by the modern sailboat—likely constructed from modern materials and requiring a minimum of expense and care for up-keep.

Skill: The self-sufficient life, of course, relies on few others for support. This demands a great deal of skill, both in particular and in scope—one must be capable of a great many things.

The model of Sea-Stead I suggest is based upon a sailboat that has been built or modified to provide an individual or family a home on the sea. More than a cruising sailboat or a recreational vehicle, this vessel is designed and equipped to provide for both shelter and livelihood, allowing its residents to live perpetually, albeit semi nomadically, where fortune and safety might lead them. This is a very special kind of vessel and a new one—although many traditional lessons learned through vessels of other types might well be of use.

There has been, in the last ten years, a sort of movement within the idea of Sea-Steading that has attempted several different forms. Several sorts of modified oil-rig platforms and other very complicated structures have been posed. Without exception they have been expensive and ungainly. What has mystified me is why the obvious solution—the sailboat—hasn’t been much considered, although perfectly functional and non-experimental examples exist!