The boat idea wasn't a bad plan

[Scaeva]

Kenny's boat idea was actually a good plan.

While I don't think the group was likely to find salvation in the boat, which is what Kenny seemed to expect, I think an island off the coast would make a perfect place to bunker down assuming you can find one with some shelter.

Many of the islands off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina are likely to either be completely free of, or mostly free of walkers. The ocean would also be a far more effective barrier against those monsters than any man-made structure.

You can also use the boat to potentially travel hundreds of miles unlong the coast line and up rivers, raiding deserted farms, box stores, towns and cities for food and supplies like Vikings (not literally) whenever the oppurtunity presents itself. By operating in a boat you'd give the group a much larger 'territory' to scavenge than you would by operating on foot or in a car. Assuming you could scavenge enough gas to keep the boat running (and why couldn't you, considering the amount of territory you could cover) you'd have a very good set up. Of course supply runs would be as dangerous as always, but you could cover huge swaths of territory, and your home base would be much better protected than if you were set up somewhere inland.

I can't recall now if the found boat had a sail, but even better if you had a boat that could function by wind power as well as by engine.

Depending on how large island is and the quality of the soil, you may even be able to raise crops or livestock there, so long as you able to scavenge equipment (and farm animals) from abandoned farms. If neither of those is an option, you could create a greenhouse to grow some crops, while relying on the boat and the ocean's bounty to provide protein. An island has coasts from which to fish or crab, and the boat gives you potentially hundreds of square miles to harvest.

Using the boat, you could also access military bases which would have massive stockpiles of MREs (Meals Ready-to-Eat) that literally last years without spoiling, as well as huge stocks of military grade weapons (assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, ect) and all the ammunition you could possibly need. Military bases would also have CS gas (the stuff you you see being used by riot police) and gas masks, which could be useful against potentially hostile humans, and things like flares (for signalling or night time illumination), compasses, maps, drums in which store water, shovels, sledgehammers, and other assorted tools, radios, batteries, field phones and communication wire, and claymore mines. The Marine Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina, is only about 45 miles from Savannah, Ga.

The biggest drawback for sheltering on an island off the coast, is that hurricanes or large storms could be dangerous. But since potentially lethal storms are usually years apart, I think that is a less pressing concern than walkers.

If you had been part of Lee's group, what would have been your plan?

[Sutinen]

I thought the plan was great, if you have enough supplies on the boat, you could last with them for a week or two and then go scavenge for more. Save from bandits and walkers too. Would be pretty boring though.

[distortion]

The boat was never the end of the plan, though it seemed like everyone thought so. Kenny was too grief-stricken to think about much else, but everyone else should have realized they weren't just going to sit out on the ocean in the boat. It would just be the means to get them to wherever was next.

[o0HeaDShoT0o]

I also agreed with the boat plan. Just so long as they had come up with a destination to a safe place before sailing off. (Vernon obviously had one in mind when he stole the boat.)

[CarScar]

All you really need to make the boat viable is supplies, then you're pretty much golden for the entirety of the apocalypse. Problem is finding a working boat.

[Mornai]

I agree with the boat plan as well. If we could have taken those months worth of supplies from Vernon's hideout, it would have been near perfect...

[montesinos7]

I agree--- it was a really good plan. I was pissed I didn't get to do it.

[Scaeva]

Originally Posted by montesinos7

I agree--- it was a really good plan. I was pissed I didn't get to do it.

I'm hoping we run into the cancer survivors' group in the second season.

[DreadMagus]

And introduce them to shotgun rhinoplasty.

[LauriNicole]

The thing is though, how are you going to get enough supplies to get you wherever you want to go? What about when the boat runs out of gas? It's very possible, especially if you get lost. You can't row yourself out on the ocean to an island, that's just unreasonable.
What about when you get to the island, if by a miracle you do? Where's your fresh water? What if there's not enough food? Depending on the size of the island, it can either a.) be already covered in Walkers if there's enough people living there or b.) if the island is small, your food supply isn't going to last forever, guaranteed. How do you plan on getting back to the main land, since you'll be low on gas?

Imo, not a good idea at all.

[Mornai]

Originally Posted by LauriNicole

The thing is though, how are you going to get enough supplies to get you wherever you want to go? What about when the boat runs out of gas? It's very possible, especially if you get lost. You can't row yourself out on the ocean to an island, that's just unreasonable.
What about when you get to the island, if by a miracle you do? Where's your fresh water? What if there's not enough food? Depending on the size of the island, it can either a.) be already covered in Walkers if there's enough people living there or b.) if the island is small, your food supply isn't going to last forever, guaranteed. How do you plan on getting back to the main land, since you'll be low on gas?

Imo, not a good idea at all.

My plan wasn't getting to a destination, but staying on the deep waters near the coastline. Far enough away so walkers and bandits aren't a threat, and close enough to move in along coastline cities and towns to gather supplies and quickly get back out to water.

[AnnaSan]

I liked that plan, and everybody in the group seem to not agree with it. I still prefer the going to the farmlands or somewhere rural since their is a lot more open space and less chance of getting trapped in.

[Scaeva]

Originally Posted by LauriNicole

The thing is though, how are you going to get enough supplies to get you wherever you want to go? What about when the boat runs out of gas? It's very possible, especially if you get lost. You can't row yourself out on the ocean to an island, that's just unreasonable.

A boat that could operate by wind power (sails) as well as by its engines would be the best bet, because gasoline would then just be something that made the boat more effecient rather than a necessity.

The found boat may not have fit that bill, but if you had enough gas you could potentially cover hundreds of miles of coastline. Considering the amount of territory you could cover and the fact that most people were dead, the chances of finding another boat that could operate by both wind and its engines was almost certain.

As for scavenging gasoline, it is no more difficult than scavenging for food or other supplies, which is a necessity. There would literally be millions of abandoned cars and trucks, all of which can be siphoned for gas, not to mention abandoned tankers and gas stations. The Marine Corps recruit depot at Parris Island (just 45 miles from Savannah) would also have stockpiles. Gas would not be in short supply. The main problem would be dealing with walkers or potentially hostile groups of survivors while scavenging, but you face the same risks while scavenging for food or other supplies.

If need be, getting to an island by wind power would also be neither unreasonable nor difficult. People have sailed that way for thousands of years.

Originally Posted by LauriNicole

What about when you get to the island, if by a miracle you do? Where's your fresh water? What if there's not enough food? Depending on the size of the island, it can either a.) be already covered in Walkers if there's enough people living there or b.) if the island is small, your food supply isn't going to last forever, guaranteed. How do you plan on getting back to the main land, since you'll be low on gas?

Imo, not a good idea at all.

Getting to an island would be no miracle if you have a fully fueled boat, or one that operates by wind power. There are numerous islands just a short distance from the mainland off both Georgia and South Carolina, both of which are within reach. Blackbeard (the famous pirate) and his crew sheltered on a couple of them.

Obtaining fresh water is going to be a problem regardless of where you bunker down. Your options in either case is either scavenging for bottled water, setting up something to collect rainwater and/or desalinate saltwater, and boiling and drinking water from streams. (or all three) The last of those options, is also the riskiest.

This would no more a problem on an island that it would be on the mainland. In either case, it is going to be one of your main day-to-day concerns.

If sheltering on an island the group's best bet IMO, would be set something up for rainwater collection, a makeshift filter to render salt water drinkable, and supplementing that with scavenged water from the mainland. There are simple setups that survivors can create both to desalinate salt water to render it drinkable and to collect rainwater, both of which have actually been done by people in real world survival situations.

Food could be an issue if the island's soil is entirely sandy or otherwise unsuitable for farming. In that case the group would be forced to scavenge, but that would be no different than if they were set up on the mainland.

So long as you had gas or a boat that could operate by its sails, it would be a short trip to the mainland to scavenge for supplies.

The best bet would be an island in which you could farm. Short of that, perhaps scavenging supplies to erect a greenhouse for vegetables. They could be found in many parts of rural Georgia and South Carolina.

Sheltering on an island isn't a perfect solution, and still presents some difficulties, but no more than would present survivors on the mainland.

The main difference is that on the islands the resident walker population is likely to be either low or non-existant, since many are either entirely uninhabited or very sparsely populated. Your home base with either be entirely safe from walkers, or mostly so. In either case, your home base would not be threatened by the massive zombie herds of hundreds or thousands of individuals that are roaming on the mainland. Those herds are a constant threat to any place you decide to bunker down on the mainland.

[Rommel49]

Originally Posted by Mornai

My plan wasn't getting to a destination, but staying on the deep waters near the coastline. Far enough away so walkers and bandits aren't a threat, and close enough to move in along coastline cities and towns to gather supplies and quickly get back out to water.

This is actually the biggest problem with the boat plan, though. Going to a coastline is about the worst thing you can do in a hypothetical ZA; why? Because that's where you'll logically find the highest number of undead Americans or hostile humans. About half the nation's population currently inhabits about one-fifth of the landmass.

If you're stuck out at Sea and can't disembark because a horde is waiting on the coastline where you want to go, you're pretty well screwed if they stick around for a few days. Ironically the #1 survival necessity (fresh water) is the least mentioned in the game; starvation takes weeks, dehydration will kill in days. As a standard, you should have atleast a three-day supply of fresh water, and the average person needs atleast a gallon per day for sanitation and drinking - twice that for physical activity or warmer climates (like say, Georgia). At about 8 lbs. per gallon, two gallons (just to account for the warmer climate), three days supply... A group of five people would need over 200 lbs. of water.

There's a reason my Lee said we've been dicking around with cities and coastlines and boats for too long. The fallout shelter (prior to Vernon clearing it out anyway) was a better option, ditto for the country... if only because neither require isolating yourself from the resources of the mainland.

[thestalkinghead]

the coast wouldn't be lined with undead there would be gaps (even if it were it would be mostly eaten zombie bodies rotting on shore because they got swept out to see and destroyed) the coast would just be like a highway around america and a good sleeping/parking spot, and if they did ever find anywhere half decent to stay, the boat would be an escape plan

[Rock114]

So long as you don't take the boat too near cities or highly infested areas, you shouldn't have to worry about walkers more than you would on a normal supply run. Thought the resources along the coast WILL eventually either dry up or become unobtainable (ie surrounded by walkers, or buried in debris) the coast probably wouldn't be a permanent solution. It wouldn't necessarily be the worst one, but I'd prefer to settle on land, but NEAR the coast. You could keep the boat hidden, and use it to scavenge up and down the coast still, while having access to areas further into the mainland depending on the size of your group. The boat could also be an excelent escape vehicle. If you're being hounded by bandits or pursued by walkers, you could hop in the boat and begin heading up the coast.

[plaqueconspiracy]

What if we play as Vernon or someone else in the group the next season?

[Scaeva]

The main reason why I think the boat idea wasn't a bad plan, is that it potentially puts the survivors within reach of a place where they can enact a long-term survival plan.

Scaveging might sustain them in the short term, but it sucks as a long term survival plan. Most of the food stockpiles will have expired and spoiled within the first days, weeks, or months of the zombie apocalypse. Food 'products' that last a bit longer like instant ramen noodles or Spaghetti-Os, aren't exactly the most nutritious foods. They are fine to get you through a day, but not something you'd want to be surviving on every day.

Even stockpiled military rations, while plentiful, have a shelf-life. They'll last years, but not decades. Good for a five year plan perhaps, but not for a ten or twenty year plan.

A viable long term survival plan has to involve switching from a reliance on scaveging and hunting/gathering to sustain the group, which are short term solutions, to producing their own food (agriculture) and either having access to a permanent water source, or a sufficient water collection/desalination setup.

The main obstacle to executing a long term plan that relies on agriculture and access to a permanent water source in the Walking Dead universe, are zombie herds. Herds of hundreds or thousands can potentially overrun your setup, and if it doesn't destroy your group it knocks them back to square one, forcing the group to flee and survive by only what it can find.

The solution to zombie herds is finding a place sufficiently isolated or protected by terrain, that keeps them out. Islands fit that bill perfectly.