It’s funny, all the books and forums discuss all the macro issues to live on a sailboat. Rarely are mentioned are all the little microaggressions, which if you don’t resolve can make the experience very frustrating. So, here’s a bunch of little lessons learned while living on a sailboat in Key West.
But first some more local images. Most of these were taken on my walk to Stock Island for a job interview (that went really well) yesterday morning.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”42″ display=”masonry”]Living on the hook has a lot more challenges than living in a marina. The benefits are the peace and quiet, beautiful sunsets and daily commutes through nature on the way to work. You just need to work around the challenges.
Corrosion Of Little Parts
The increase of corrosion of small electrical parts on a mooring vs in a marina is spectacular. In just 2 months any connection point has become corroded. By connection point I’m taking about the pins and slots for things like rechargeable batteries, phones and devices. I’ve cleaned all the existing electronics and any new electronics get slathered in silicone grease before coming on the boat. But not knowing this from the start has cost money.
Bag It
When you’ve got to go to work everyday, and on a schedule, sometimes the weather is not the best. Always put you electronics in a waterproof bag. I use ziplocs inside my backpack to keep stuff dry. Couple weeks ago I’d become complacent. I had my computer, kindle and phone just in one of the pockets of the backpack. Stayed in town a little longer than planned and the wind had picked up. Trying to lift a 40lb backpack with one hand, while holding the bouncing dinghy to a bouncing sailboat (which was at a different rythme) ended up being a mistake. I ended up in the water with the backpack. None of the electronics survived. Always bag up.
Redundancy
For anything vital always have a plan for if it fails. Unlike when you live on a dock, if something breaks you may not have the ability to get to shore to replace after the fact.
I’m working two jobs now to catch up on funding my boat projects. This means I’m away from the boat for long periods of time. I have oversized mooring lines holding me to the ball, and I have 3 of them instead of the usual one. If the main line breaks the boat will drift a few feet then be held by the two backups. I also used some 1″ radiator hose as chafe protection. Most people use cloth covers but I want something stronger.
I also use two lines to attach my dinghy to the boat when on board. The only thing worse than swimming after an errant dinghy is waking up to find it completely gone with no way to get to shore. It’s a mile swim to anywhere from the boat.
Where Sleep
We’ve had some wind this winter. One night we had guests in the 45-50 mph range. This makes for a bouncy boat. My main bedroom is in the stern end of the boat. That night the bed would rise or fall 2 feet. Make sure you choose a boat design that has adequate sleeping space at the fulcrum point. I slept comfortably on the couch in the main salon that night.
The Importance Of Electricity
After hull integrity (gotta keep the water on the outside) and sails, the most important system is electricity. My biggest mistake so far has not been replacing the electrical system and adding solar before leaving Jacksonville. I have a small gas generator, which keeps small electronics charged and the 12v batteries healthy, but is not efficient enough to keep up with full power needs. I have 3 small working refrigerators (one can be used as a freezer) but don’t have the means to power continuously without running the generator most of the day. Its noisy and doesn’t make financial sense to do so. So adding solar is a priority in the next couple of months.
So These Are My Lessons Learned
Now that I’ve gotten some of these lessons under my belt, living on a boat has been the best decision I’ve made. At first moving to Key West was very challenging but slowly I’ve figured out how to make things work and have even prospered in the environment. 20 lbs lighter, more active than ever living a stress free life on island time.
