Well I have been in Annapolis for the last two weeks relaxing and working on the boat. I have fixed my water maker, the ceiling in one of the cabins, one of the holding tanks, plus several other small projects. In addition I have been going through everything as a “fall” cleaning to clear out things I don’t need.
Since I don’t have much to report on this time I thought I would answer a question I get a lot, which is “what is it like to live on a boat?” The answer is in two parts because the boat has two lives.
The first one is when the boat is at anchor in a harbor. When this is the case life aboard is very similar to life on land except I am my own utilities company and the “car” is different. By utilities I mean I have to monitor how much water I have in the tanks (and either go to a dock and fill up or use the water maker when I get low), monitor the electricity in the batteries (and make sure the solar panels are making enough or run the engines and let the alternators help out), and monitor the holding tank (sewage) levels (and have them pumped out when they are full or go over three miles from shore to dump them).
The other difference is the “car”, which is my dingy (a 12 foot rigid bottom inflatable raft). When I need to go somewhere I have to lower it into the water and off I go carrying my bike if I need to go far once I get to shore. Other than these two differences I cook meals, sleep, watch TV, work at a computer, do improvement jobs with the contemporary window dressing ideas, and ect like most people do at a house.
When the boat is moving it is a different story. Now I am monitoring the trim of the sails, watching the weather and other boats, navigating around shallow stuff (ie rocks – very bad for the boat!!!), and anything else I can do to keep my boat and crew safe and happy. This can all be very stressful sometimes, but most cruising boats are at anchor 80-95% of the time.
I hope you have found this informative and if you have other questions please let me know so I can help everyone understand and enjoy my adventures and travels.