Catch a glimpse of what living aboard a sailboat is like on a daily basis - the good, the bad & the salty.
We have living aboard our sailboat full time for about 3 years now and of course, boatlife is not for everyone, but we’ve definitely fallen in love with life on the water.
When I first moved aboard, I felt instantly at home. My OCD side loved that everything has its place and multiple functions on a boat, since space is precious.
Although I had to get rid of about 6 garbage bags full of clothes, it was easy to adapt to boatlife.
For others who are unfamiliar with this type of lifestyle, we want to share a couple of the day-to-day challenges and blessings of life on the water.
Therefore, this post is titled: “Liveaboard Life is Like..” Repeat this phrase as you read each item and if you’re lucky, you might just be able to get a taste for what our life is like on any given day.
“Liveaboard life is like.. Waking up in the wee hours of the morning to a noisy bat ray slurping his breakfast off the side of the dock."
Feeling the same connection that you would with a dear old friend or relative as you do with your tiny floating home. We say, “hello boat” & “bye boat” when we leave the boat, and “we’ve missed you” when we return from landlubbing adventures.
Waking up in the wee hours of the morning to a noisy bat ray slurping his breakfast off the side of the dock.
Ditching the shower on nights when it’s stormy and cold, just to avoid walking up to the marina showers and having to leave your cozy spot inside.
Feeling as though your boat is a living, breathing thing who lets you know when you’ve neglected her, usually by something malfunctioning or breaking unexpectedly.
Spending every minute of your free time working to improve your boat so that you may one day set sail to warmer waters.
Feeling that there are always dirty dishes in the sink, when it's really the size of the sink creating an optical illusion.
Constantly putting things away so if you randomly decide to go sailing, you don't have your stuff flying across your galley. Of course, we occasionally still hear a “crash-BANG” down below, to which we always say: “that's what we get for sailing our house!!”
Living in a perpetual fort. We have pretty much found a socially acceptable way of hanging on to the childish pleasure of hanging out in cozy, small spaces.
Owning more boat parts than clothing.
Being a full time janitor. You clean your head (toilet) more than you could ever expect - a stinky head means a stinky boat.
Creating a lifestyle that is conducted by the upcoming weather forecasts, determining weekend plans, boat projects and more importantly, laundry day.
Driving yourself crazy when you hear a swinging dockline or your neighbor’s halyard in the wind, playing a tournament of Ro-Sham-Bo to decide who is bundling up to fix the noise.
Silence & peacefulness like no other imaginable, waking up on the hook (anchored) in a new spot, taking in your surroundings while still feeling the comfort of being at home.
Getting home late at night to find a White Egret or Black-Crowned Night Heron perched on your bow, doing our best to tread lightly onboard as to not scare him away.
Becoming aware of our trash and single-use waste consumption, as we have to drag our trash up to the marina disposal sites. Finding new ways to be resourceful: using mason jars and homemade Bees Wrap to eliminate plastic waste.
Learning to stop & enjoy each sunrise/sunset, because you can't help but be in awe of the beauty in your backyard.
"Tiny living is all about learning to be happy with much less. It’s about going back to what is really important to us: human relationship & connection, living life by experiencing instead of acquiring."
Until next time!