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Worst Thing
Question: What is the single WORST thing about living on board a sailboat?
Tracy Watkins wrote:
The worst thing about living aboard for me is having to leave for work in the morning! Especially when the wind is blowing!!!!
The Lillie Family wrote:
You have to want to appreciate the quiet. It's beautiful on the water, away from shore., but you have a lot of time for yourself.
Doug Abbott wrote:
Realizing that you waited far too long, listened to and believed far too much crap from others, and never listened to YOU. If your career can handle the location and not need special requirements then there is no difference. Carpenters, welders, AC techs, lawyers, cops, teachers, engineers, programmers, painters, photographers, scientists, writers; the list goes on and on, all live aboard. What makes what you want to do so different?
Mark Fay wrote:
[Robert's Note: Mark Fay was kind enough to share some gripes that other people have posted about living aboard. Mark's comments are in
bold italics]:
 | Move everything into your smallest bedroom.
(40 feet is more like a 2 bedroom two bath efficiency apartment). |
| Use plywood to block off everything in your bathroom except a 3' x 3' square over your toilet. Use the shower in the EIGHTH house down the street for bathing to simulate walking from your boat to the marina showers down the dock.
(We use the showers aboard). |
| Use a laundromat to wash all your clothes. Park your car a minimum of 300' from the laundromat to simulate hauling the clothes and stuff up the dock. Do laundry at LONG odd intervals, only when you would be in a marina that HAS a laundry. Take a cab to a strange laundry across town to simulate stopping at a marina without one or with one that is broken.
(This is the only thing the Mrs does miss. But finds it tolerable. If the marina is well operated there are adequate laundry facilities). |
| Seal off your kitchen and cook all your meals on a camp stove in the little bedroom so you can experience sleeping in a boat where someone burned dinner.
(We have a full galley with three burner CNG (bottle gas) stove with oven. A small roast or bird fit quit well. Regular B&D toaster oven mounted in the overhead. Built in refrig/freezer. Microwave and twin tub sink). |
| Get a humidifier and run it wide open in the bedroom for practice in "mildew control".
(We live is St. Pete, Florida. Our central AC/Heat keeps this under control year round. The one place we did have a condensation problem, under the aft cabin mattress. We fixed with a low power heater type dehumidifier. We put it the space under the bed. Only seems to be a problem in winter). |
| Shut the breaker off to your water heater, air conditioner and any other electrical luxuries...leaving only one 20A circuit energized.
(We have ALL these "luxuries". 30 amp shore power carries our loads without a problem. 50 amp shore power is also becoming more common. We have meter service with the local power company. Our bill averages $60-70/month). |
| Use more plywood to block off 3/4 of the closet so you can practice storing stuff in lockers. Cut off your TV cable and watch TV on rabbit ears.
(We have cable TV and even ISDN telephone service for you tech heads. When I owned a home I never had more than one TV/VCR in the house. Now we have three. Vee berth, salon & capt cabin). |
| Park your car at the same house you take showers (8 houses away).
(It is a schlep, but no worse than a high rise condo dweller). |
| Put in a Change-of-Address card and have all your mail sent to a friend's house 20 miles away.
(St. Pete has residential delivery to your "apt style" mailbox in the dockhouse. UPS & FedeX also deliver to the dockhouse and the office staff sign for deliveries. US mail packages are also accepted and they put a "package" sticker on you mailbox. Never a "missed you" note). |
| Rebuild your toilet once a month taking apart all the plumbing and putting it back together.
(Yes, you have to be careful with what you put in the toilet. If you are, and do some upkeep maintenance, you won't have real problems). |
| Every time you do anything electrical, leave your lawn mower running outside your bedroom window for "The Generator Effect".
(We have a water cooled diesel 6kw gen set aboard for when we are out. It carries all AC loads including AC/Heat so we can sleep comfortably and have all the other "luxuries" mentioned earlier. Yes it is quiet enough to sleep with). |
| Take the screens off your windows and leave them open so every fly, mosquito and gnat in the yard has easy access to your "cabin".
(We have not had a problem with bugs below. We generally air condition or heat year round so we keep the boat closed. And we do have bug screens on ALL hatches & portholes, except the main hatch. Naturally, there are some absolutely fabulous days when we do open up the ship). |
| Use a boat battery to power all your "stuff" through an inverter. Charge it only once a week to simulate being in a marina. (There is 30/50 amp shore power and 6 kw gen sets). |
| Give that 8th neighbor $7/foot every 30 days.
(Rates vary, shop around). |
| When you fill up your car, say with $15 in gas, give the 8th neighbor an extra $15 to simulate marina gas prices.
(Diesel is about $1/gal in St. Pete Municipal Marina). |
| Don't go to WalMart. Buy all your supplies at the most expensive 7-11 you can find. If you MUST go to any other store, use public transportation or call a cab...livaboards don't have cars on their boats.
(Well, we have two in the parking lot. And shop like normal folk). |
| Paint your house, or pay the most expensive painting company in town to paint your house, every year. Use the most expensive paint you can find. Paint the bottom floor twice to simulate putting anti-fouling paint on a hull.
(Use good paint and this can be extended to 24-36 months. And shop around. We set aside $2000 in the 24-36 months for our yard visit). |
| Take your car to the most expensive dealership in town. Have him overhaul the engine and do whatever he wants to it every year. Make believe he is the ONLY place this can be done within 100 miles. Be nice and smile at him.
(Good work can be found at good rates. But the more you do yourself, the better. And boats, unlike houses, DEMAND that you not defer repairs or regular maintenance. It could cost you your life). |
Capt. Neal wrote:
The single WORST thing is to have people like YOU living aboard. You did not ask a single sailing related question. You are more concerned with large spaces, an electronic office with air conditioning, showers, washer/dryers, and other amenities. You would be much better off just to rent some office space somewhere and forget about living aboard. Who wants to be in the slip next to you and have to listen to your air conditioner running 24 hours a day anyway? Forget your dream! You, sir, are no sailor.
What I
decided (1998):
Well, I simply had to respond to Capt'n Neal. Here's what I wrote:
You are absolutely right, I am no sailor.
I was and English major in college, and we managed to perform five Elizabethan plays during my studies (mostly the works of Christopher Marlowe). The first time I performed on stage, I was no actor. I was a nervous wreck, and forgot some of my lines. With the help of my fellow thespians, I learned the tricks of the trade and became a much more convincing actor. By the fifth play, I was given a leading part--and judging by the audience's reaction--felt that I could finally claim the title, "Actor."
When I purchased my first computer as a teenager, I knew nothing about programming, systems design, or telecommunications. Over the years, I learned about these things and made plenty of mistakes along the way (I've crashed my share of networks over the years). Now, I earn my living by designing computer systems that change the way people do business. I travel the country to conduct lectures on the benefits of computer imaging and automated data collection. I'm often introduced as an "Expert."
Now, I am beginning to take infant steps towards an entirely new endeavor--sailing. I've decided to make boat payments rather than mortgage payments on a house. Eventually, I'll develop the skills necessary to cruise in this boat wherever I decide to go--and in 10 years, I'll have the freedom to do it. I'm going to make a lot of mistakes on the way (annoying others with my noisy air conditioner may be one of them). Over time, I'll make fewer mistakes. With the help and guidance of experienced seamen (and seawomen), I'll one day be able to join their ranks and call myself, "Sailor."
Am I a sailor today? No. But ask me that question again in a couple of years!
Thoughts
from 2003:
Well, it took a while,
but I can now claim the title, "sailor."
More specifically, I feel very comfortable with the
title, "Captain." I have logged in
excess of 3,000 miles at sea aboard Candide in the past
four and a half years (hey, not bad when you've got a
full time job that interferes with your cruising
desires!) So, Capt'n Neal, my questions have
gotten a little more sophisticated! ;-)
Now that I've had time
to liveaboard for several years, I've been thinking
about this section of the Web site. What IS the
"single worst thing" about living aboard a
sailboat? After a great deal of reflection and
introspection, deep thought, and careful pondering, I
have reached a conclusion. The answer is, "I
don't know!"
Sure, there are some
things about the boat that took some adjustment on my
part. Candide is small compared to a house, she's
more expensive to maintain than a small mansion, and my
clothes smell like diesel fuel. But the positives
so outweigh these trivial matters that I honestly can't
think of a single "worst thing." I
absolutely love this lifestyle!
Please
drop me a line at:
robert@sleepingwithoars.com
©
2007 by Robert Doty
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The single WORST thing is to have people like YOU living aboard.
-Capt'n
Neal
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