Family living on a sailboat off grid for 10 years reveal biggest challenges they face away from land

This family lived on a sailboat for 10 years and opened up about the biggest challenges they faced living away from land.

Brian and Karin Trautman live off-grid, relying on solar and wind power for electricity.

With a device to make salt water drinkable and tons of storage space for food, they lived very independently.

But that raised the question – what challenges came with this unorthodox lifestyle?

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How this family managed to live for 10 years on a sailboat

On the face of it, living out at sea on a boat isn’t too unorthodox.

After all, plenty of billionaires make ample use of their yachts, right?

Whether it be Richard Branson, the co-founder of Google, or NBA star Tony Parker, these boats are getting a lot of time out on the sea.

But it’s one thing to sail the waves when you have staff and a ton of amenities.

How do you do it when it’s just you and your bare necessities?

Well, Brian, Karin and their six-month-old daughter Sierra managed just fine.

Their boat Delos had a small but functional kitchen with a stove, fridge, and a washing machine.

The washer would run every second day, as they would need to clean the cloth diapers they used for their daughter.

Karin said: “We save a lot on trash and I would not want to wash it by hand, so I’m very happy for this feature.”

Thanks to freezers, they had ample room for food storage.

And drinking water is no hassle either, thanks to a desalination system that makes salt water safe to drink.

What challenges come with this lifestyle?

Space was something of an issue on this boat, but it was compact.

Canned foods and milk were kept under the floor in containers.

Reflecting on life off-grid, Karin said: “When you run out food, that’s it. There’s no store close to you.

“I remember when we first sailed up to the islands of Indonesia, we ran out of fresh vegetables and we were eating cans for like a month.

“It was an eye opener for me.”

The couple estimated that they spent approximately 90 percent of their time anchored, and 10 percent sailing.

This 10 percent worked out at 8,000 nautical miles a year.

When anchored, they tried to avoid ports with bars and restaurants, as they could prove pricey.

Instead, they opted for remote islands.

Bad weather, anchor issues and emergency situations all brought up challenges for the trio.

Brian said: “It can be quite harrowing, because your house is in peril.

“You’re always sort of living on-guard.”

Whether or not it’s something you could see yourself doing, you have to take your hat off to Brian and Karin.

To see a video detailing how this family lived on a sailboat for 10 years, head over to the Exploring Alternatives’ YouTube channel.

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