Living on a Sailboat
– Moving Aboard
Living on a sailboat is always a major decision and a momentous event. The big day finally arrives for moving onto the boat, when you give up that terrestrial home for a moving one afloat. I recall so well when I relaunched my first boat, there we all were, a gathering of the dreamers, suddenly no one was looking at as all as mad or afflicted as we were now doing it. Suddenly we were getting envious eyes, comments, admiration even, and infuriating remarks such as “you’re so lucky!” My usual retort is flared nostrils, and the vitriolic response of “Luck has got effing nothing to do with it!”.
Actually getting afloat is a major life achievement, like winning Survivor for boat people. It is always a long journey, akin to the snakes and ladders game. Endless challenges, massive learning curve, unexpected obstacles, setbacks and then slowly the light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train but tropical sunshine. That first week afloat was a tad dismal I have to say, but nothing, not endless and inconvenient rain, a boat that resembled a trash dump, constant leaks that we couldn’t quite locate of fix, nothing could keep the self-satisfied smirks off our faces. We were no longer dreamers, we were afloat, living on our boats, planning our voyages. Welcome to the 5% club! That small exclusive club of dreamers that actually go and do it. Many start but few get there.
Living on a Sailboat – Moving Aboard
The living on a sailboat countdown in those final months, weeks, days, hours and simply just not enough time to achieve it all. The work list, that infernal perpetual job list that takes up a whole toilet roll and more, almost immeasurably starts to shrink. When the Excel spreadsheet is down to less than 50 items, and none in the Category 1 essential showstopper items. So close, but so far! My best advice is work the list, do the Priority 1 items first, then start the Priority 2 ones, don't get sidelined and distracted, if it is a simple nice to have item put it on the nice to have list. Way too many people create self-imposed delays by concentrating on things that are not that important or pursue perfection in almost everything. You need to strike a balance if you actually want to get done. Still, we are some months from departure, North to the warmth, North to the tropics. Finally, I have the stereo installed, and Jimmy Buffet is getting more than normal inspirational airplay, and I find myself singing along even louder than normal.
Living on Sailboat – Moving Aboard
One big change is your daily routine, often to bed early and up at dawn. I was always amazed at how many people were up and about at the marina as dawn breaks. Often to get those daily ablutions done or get the early shower. One of my favorite times on board is awake at dawn, and then sitting in the cockpit in the still of the morning with a cup of tea or coffee. When at anchor or a mooring invariably I have the fishing line over the side looking for a fresh breakfast treat. On pleasant evenings the cockpit and cold beer, and socializing over sundowners and exchanging experiences with others is a daily highlight as people have so much to share. One of the lyrics in the song Cool Change is “There's lots of those friendly people, They're showing me ways to go, But I never want to lose their inspiration”. Those sundowner events are a valuable source of knowledge and exchange of learned and lived experiences, take advantage of them.
Living on Sailboat – Moving Aboard
The first major task prior to or immediately after moving aboard is to clean and organize. Do it the week before as once aboard it is really hard in such a small space. This is a task that initially appears insurmountable in magnitude during and after a major refit. It looks deceptively simple at first glance, after all its only a yacht, not an ocean liner, how difficult can it be? Did I underestimate this task or what! First it was clean up, sweeping and wiping and a systematic vacuuming of dust, grit, debris out of the boat, again! I have based my battery powered tool kit on Ryobi, and absolutely get the vacuum cleaner. We are somewhat pedantic about cleanliness, we weathered a major storm in the marina and were left wondering where all the dust internally originated from given our obsession with cleanliness. It is worth the effort though as it all ends up filtering down to the bilge and I hate dirty bilges. Living on a sailboat where cleaning and tidiness are essential.
Living on Sailboat – Moving Aboard
Living on a sailboat where the second major task is emptying out every locker again, checking every void space, every place with stowed materials. Clean them out again while they are open. Then it is crunch time, a mixture of melodrama, emotion and sacrifice as each single item is put up for critical analysis and appraisal. I possibly have latent hoarder tendencies here, sometimes it is hard to let go. Do I really need it? will I ever need it? I didn’t require it in the last 23 years perhaps I just might need it this trip. Anguish was not the word for this task, I stoically bit the bullet, and consigned old well worn favorite clothes to the rag bin with help from my scissors. You can never have too many rags! Then it was all the broken things that I might one day repair, and they went to the trash can. The boxes of screws, bolts, nuts, and bits and pieces were gradually sorted, and those that didn’t make the “really necessary” grade or were visibly too used were consigned to oblivion. This sorting and stowing is well worth the effort. At the end of this traumatic episode, 15-20kg more weight went off the boat, and I had several more locker spaces in which to stow spares, food and supplies.
Living on Sailboat – Moving Aboard
Books, which books to take, which ones to leave behind and to store away. It is so easy to end up with floating library, and it’s all weight. Top of the agenda was the Self-Help and DIY How To books as well those such a rigging, navigation, varnishing etc. In addition, even though I had downloaded all the equipment manuals from Raymarine and everyone else keeping the hard copies on board in small transparent pocket folders was done, easier to reference. Now I love to cook, so top of my list was my Larrousses Gastronomique. Also, I included a few other favorites books as well. Jimmy Cornells World Cruising Routes (now in the 8th Edition); my Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea because I am a ship nerd! Consider having my ultimate self-help book The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible, 4th Edition which covers every system on board from installation to troubleshooting. It will help save you money on those expensive marina service people. Living on a sailboat requires a high level of self sufficiency to preserve your cruising funds
Living on Sailboat – Moving Aboard
Gradually the piles of excess material reduces, slowly disappearing into the designated stowage location. Did I mention you need to prepare a stowage plan, then assign a number to each space and either label it with a Dymo machine, record the data in a spreadsheet so you know where it is and what is there. I place literally everything in sealable plastic containers or resealable plastic bags. Then I place frequently accessed items in places easy to access. Eventually the boat is tidy and all squared away. But you know it isn’t for long, because you will still have to do another pass through it all. You know that you will have weakened and kept things that are now occupying valuable space, and this phased dematerialization process is the only way to cope with your new, simple, practical lifestyle. The final pass task has been scheduled for a rainy day to be fixed. All that Marie Kondo behavior and I have yet to see her tackle a boat on her Tidying Up a Boat with Marie. However, decluttering is well worth the effort, and on previous boats I just didn’t get the email about that and learnt the hard way. Not this time, making it much simpler. Living on a sailboat and moving aboard is almost complete.