The Cruising Readiness All-Access Pass is a complete online curriculum for people preparing to live aboard or cruise full time: eleven courses covering the practical side of the lifestyle — provisioning, food storage, tiny-fridge cooking, boat organization, budgeting, VHF radio, hurricane prep, cruising with a dog, and getting ready for the Bahamas — in one organized place instead of scattered across YouTube, forums, and random articles. If you're serious about making this lifestyle work and want a clear, trustworthy path through everything there is to learn, this is it.

What's Included

11 Full-Length Courses

• The Uncertain Cruiser: For the partner or crew member who isn't sure yet — how to work through the decision together and get on the same page. Taught by Katherine González, who was herself an uncertain cruiser before sailing 11,000 nautical miles from Seattle to New Zealand.
• From Dreamer to Cruiser: A step-by-step plan for getting started even without a boat or prior sailing experience. Taught by Pam Douglas.
• The Basics of Living on a Boat: 31 topics covering the everyday systems and routines of life aboard — laundry, trash, provisioning logistics, mail, sleep, marina etiquette, anchoring basics, handling emergencies, and fitting in with the cruising community. Taught by Carolyn Shearlock.
• Storage Solutions for Life Aboard: How to organize and stow gear, clothing, tools, spares, food, medications, and documents in a small boat — and keep it all accessible. Taught by Carolyn Shearlock.
• Provisioning, Meal Planning, and Food Storage: How to shop, plan meals, store food for extended passages, and manage supplies when grocery stores aren't nearby. Taught by Nica Waters.
• Eating Well With a Tiny Fridge: Maximizing a small marine refrigerator, keeping produce fresh, cooking without refrigeration, and reducing waste on passages. Taught by Carolyn Shearlock.
• Cruise Farther, Spend Less: Managing cruising costs — maintenance, marina versus anchoring decisions, provisioning budgets, insurance, communications costs, and earning income while underway. Taught by John Herlig.
• VHF Radios: Everything You Need to Know: Channel 16, hailing marinas and bridges, Mayday and Pan-Pan calls, DSC and MMSI, weather broadcasts, cruiser nets, and radio etiquette. Taught by John Herlig.
• Comprehensive Hurricane Prep for Boaters: 23 topics across 8 modules — pre-season planning, choosing the safest location, reading forecasts, executing a storm plan, cruising during hurricane season, and post-storm recovery. Taught by Carolyn Shearlock, who has been through two direct hurricane strikes including a Category 4 with less than $1,000 in total damage.
• Boating With Your Dog: Safety, gear, onboard toilet training, and international animal paperwork for cruising with a dog. Taught by Pam Douglas, 7 years cruising the US East Coast and ICW with her dog Honey.
• Get Ready to Cruise the Bahamas: Click2Clear customs procedures, cruising permits, Gulf Stream crossing preparation, Bahamas provisioning and communications, weather, and emergency planning. Taught by Carolyn Shearlock.

Bonus Materials

• Provisioning Spreadsheet
• Boat Buying Comparison Sheet
• New Boat Checklist
• Boat Details Document
• Before Moving Boat Checklist
• Important Info for Your Emergency Contacts
• Boat Safety Briefing for Guests
• The Boat Galley Cookbook PDF sample — 33 boat-friendly recipes
• Boating Daily Checklist

Why One Curriculum Beats Piecing It Together

Most future liveaboards already know about YouTube channels, cruising forums, and Facebook groups. The problem isn't that the information doesn't exist — it's that it's scattered, unordered, and nobody explains how the subjects connect. Provisioning affects your budget. Storage affects provisioning. Hurricane prep affects insurance decisions. Communications affect safety and confidence. These courses are built around that reality: a coherent sequence from early planning through daily life aboard, with each topic getting full treatment instead of a ten-minute overview.

What sailing schools teach — boat handling, navigation, seamanship — is genuinely important, but it's a different subject. These courses cover the side that sailing schools don't: how you actually live aboard day to day, manage food and supplies, handle emergencies, stretch a cruising budget, and prepare for the specific destinations and conditions you'll encounter. Over 8,200 cruisers have used The Boat Galley's courses and resources.

Format

All courses are primarily written — text with photos and illustrations — with a small number of short audio and video clips. That format is a deliberate choice: written lessons are skimmable, searchable, and easy to return to mid-task when you need to check a provisioning list, review a hurricane checklist, or look up radio procedure. Everything is online and self-paced with no schedule or deadlines. Access works on phone, tablet, or computer. Internet access is required.

Lifetime access includes all future courses added to the catalog at no additional cost.

Your Instructors

Every instructor in the All-Access Pass is an active or longtime cruiser with specific expertise in the course they teach — not a generalist covering topics they've read about.

• Carolyn Shearlock — Founder of The Boat Galley, 17 years liveaboard cruising, US, Mexico, Bahamas, Central America, Virgin Islands, Turkey. Former Cruisers University instructor; teaches ASA online webinars. Teaches The Basics of Living on a Boat, Storage Solutions for Life Aboard, Eating Well With a Tiny Fridge, Comprehensive Hurricane Prep for Boaters, and Get Ready to Cruise the Bahamas.
• Nica Waters — Provisioning expert and podcaster, living aboard on and off since 1992, Atlantic and Pacific crossings, US, Caribbean, and Bahamas, years of cruising with kids. Former Cruisers University instructor. Teaches Provisioning, Meal Planning, and Food Storage.
• John Herlig — Delivery captain, experienced budget cruiser, US East Coast, Bahamas, Haiti, Caribbean. Cruisers University instructor. Teaches VHF Radios: Everything You Need to Know and Cruise Farther, Spend Less.
• Pam Douglas — 7 years cruising the US East Coast and ICW with her dog Honey, 15-plus years writing about dogs, contributor to Go Pet Friendly. Teaches From Dreamer to Cruiser and Boating With Your Dog.
• Katherine González — The Uncertain Cruiser herself: a complete sailing novice who went on to sail 11,000 nautical miles from Seattle to New Zealand, including French Polynesia. Teaches The Uncertain Cruiser.

Details

• Format: Online courses, primarily text-based with photos and illustrations; includes short audio and video clips
• Courses included: 11 full-length courses plus 9 bonus materials
• Topics covered: Liveaboard daily life, provisioning, meal planning, food storage, tiny-fridge cooking, boat storage and organization, cruising budget and costs, VHF radio, hurricane preparation, cruising with a dog, Bahamas preparation
• Access: Lifetime, including all future courses added to the catalog
• Delivery: Online only, no shipping; internet connection required
• Devices: Phone, tablet, or computer
• Schedule: Self-paced, no deadlines or set times
• Instructors: Carolyn Shearlock, Nica Waters, John Herlig, Pam Douglas, Katherine González
• Updated: Courses reviewed and updated on a rolling basis; lifetime access includes all updates at no additional cost
• Publisher: The Boat Galley