Life on a Boat

Many things are just like at home.  Get up, start the coffee, brush your teeth, wash your face?  Oh no, there is no hot water from sitting at anchor all night and it is too early to shock my system with cold water in the face.  I plan to do that later after the engines been running for a while making hot water.  In the meantime, the sun comes out so we quick put on sunscreen then later bug spray.  Next thing you know, there is a lock to be handled, lunch to be made and by night you want to get a putty knife to scrape your face before you wash it.

People ask, what do you do all day on the boat.  Scott says “It’s not all sunshine and cold drinks” What? Isn’t that what I signed up for? It is amazing how busy we are on board.  Have you ever heard of keeping things “ship shape?”  Before we get underway, we have to tidy up the boat.  The payment for not doing so, is glasses on the floor. Chairs tipped over, Cupboards open and things all over. Etc.  You may think, “but you’re on the river not on Lake Michigan for heaven sake.” There are these little evil things called wakes.  One bad wake means clean up.

We are forever watching maps, to keep out of danger and to decide where the next stop is.  That doesn’t always work because lock delays change everything.  Locks take a fair amount of time.  Scott drives the boat and I am the deckhand running around putting our fenders and lines out.  I now know how to tie a rolling hitch (knot) without issues and getting more efficient so when the lock master changes sides the last minute, I am not as panicked as I was in the beginning.

Living on a boat means there are certain commodities that are very precious. Fresh water, electricity, holding tank space and most importantly Ice. It would be tragic if we didn’t have ice for docktails.

Water: You learn to not leave the water run while washing your hand or brushing your teeth. You take sea showers ( wet down turn the water off, soap up, then turn the water back on and rinse quickly).   There is no hot soaking showers on board but when we get to a marina we make up for it.

Electricity:  Charge things off the inverter when the engine is running.  You want to save your power, for the fan at night and the coffee in the morning.  These are the important things.

Holding tanks:  We are frugal with the use and sometime share a #1 flush.  Good thing we have been married for 34 years.

Ice:  When we are at a marina with free ice we fill the cooler to the top and put a bag in the freezer.  When we are rolling down the river, we have an ice-maker on board that runs off the inverter. At first we thought an ice-maker was not needed but so glad we have it.

Exercise:  I was worried we wouldn’t get enough exercise sitting around on the boat. When we are docked, we walk and ride our bikes. On board, there is a never ending list of chores.  For instance, this morning I washed all our lines (ropes) and scrubbed our fender because the free dock we stayed at was seagull poop heaven. I have been gaining upper body strength because of Scott’s lifting restrictions after his back surgery.  Dang those tool bags are heavy. I have to heft the bikes up and down, and do any other lifting.  If only this lasted forever, I would be buff. He is up to 20 pounds now so he is starting to do more.

Internet:  It is elusive!  We go many days without having it.  That is why you will see no posts for days then all of the sudden many post.

In some ways life seems primitive, but let’s face it, we live on a pretty cushy boat and are living the dream.  It is amazing how tolerant we have become to accept inconveniences that would normally bug us at home.  This is living life on a boat.