Enjoying the Live-Aboard Life

. . . WHAT IT'S REALLY LIKE LIVING ON A BOAT IN THE HARBOR

A cruising blogger we read criticized other bloggers for not telling people what living aboard is like. We're guilty of that somewhat. We've tended to tell about the 10 percent of really, really fun times -- like the trips to Key West and Pigeon Key and such -- and not the 90 percent of everyday times -- the constant cleaning and maintenance. So here it goes: A day on Carina.

Monday, March 4

Squirt snuggles up in his blanket.

6:30 a.m. -- Jane's up. . . heats leftover coffee and turns on the computer. She reads emails,  checks a few Web sites while it's quiet, and bundles up in fleece. 

It's cold for Marathon. . . 54 degrees, jeans weather. The stove helps heat the cabin.

7:30 a.m. -- Kent is up and makes fresh coffee. . . looks at weather sites, reads emails and views funny videos when Jane leaves the computer. The computer is our main entertainment at Marathon since there is no TV reception. He takes Squirt to his green pad outside at the back of the boat and rinses it off. 

The V-berth where we sleep is as wide at top as 
a king-sized bed. The ledge around three sides 
is where we keep most clothes and books, all 
strapped in when we are underway.

8:15 a.m. -- Jane feeds Squirt. She heats water on the stove for a bath on the boat. There are showers ashore, but going would leave Kent marooned without a dinghy. He takes an evening shower. It's one of those timing things we haven't worked out yet. The water heater on board only works when we're plugged in to shore power at a dock or when we've run the engine.

Jane eats leftovers for breakfast to get containers out of the refrigerator.

9:00 a.m. -- Both listen to the Marathon Cruisers' Net on the VHF radio until nearly 10. It was an exceptionally long cruisers' net today.

While "the Net" was on, Jane replaced all full Damp Rid bags on Carina. Boats have moisture issues. The goal is to collect the moisture before it becomes mildew. Tomorrow when the weather is warmer, she'll open the boat and use concentrated Lysol to clean up the small amount of mildew that's in the V-berth. 

Kent eats peanut butter and jelly on English muffins for breakfast.

10:15 a.m. -- The marina's traveling pumpout boat makes its regular stop. We say, "hello," to Steve. Like many marina employees, he and his family live on a boat in the harbor.

The head is the name for both
the small bathroom at mid-
ship and for the toilet.

We put a cup of vinegar down the head to reduce the calcium buildup. After the vinegar is slowly pumped down, it's followed by a little mineral oil to make the shaft pump easily.

Jane takes down the last of yesterday's laundry hanging in the cockpit to dry. Washing and drying costs $3/load at the marina (compared to $4.50-$8.50 in a public laundromat). To save money, we use a bucket and plunger device for lightweight laundry. When we do use the marina's laundry, we try to air dry as much as possible on the boat. 

11:00 a.m. -- Kent takes Jane and Squirt ashore in the dinghy. We take trash and recycling to bins. Kent fills water jugs to take 10 gallons back to the boat. He does it almost every day, sometimes twice a day. That's a small quantity compared to the larger boats around us. Water costs here in the Keys -- five cents per gallon at the marina. Still, that's only $5 for 100 gallons.

Jane and Squirt walk a mile to the dog groomers to have his nails trimmed. He can't walk properly if they aren't kept short. We stop at West Marine on the way back to get holding tank deodorant. Dogs are allowed in many non-food-serving businesses in the Keys.

On the boat, Kent checks the refrigerator thermometer to find that it's 29 degrees in the refrigerator, not the freezer!. He raises the setting.

Noon -- Jane eats granola bar for lunch from marina vending machines because she has Squirt with her. Kent has leftover blackened salmon with spinach and black beans that he found when exploring the refrigerator.

Jane checks the mail area, then runs into Denise who is starting the Loop soon in Gracie, a 29-foot sailboat, and invites her and Ham to Carina Tuesday for appetizers. 

12:50 p.m. -- Kent takes the dinghy to pick up Bonnie and Yasmine, two of Jane's friends, to meet her on the dock. At the dock, he puts Squirt's life jacket on and takes him back to Carina. Such is the life of a water taxi.

Jane, Bonnie and Yasmine bike about 10 miles round trip to several stores past the airport. 

"It's Always Something". . . Roseanne Roseannadanna

While the ladies are gone, Kent and Roy, our neighbor on Yasmine Ann, planned to release Carina from the mooring ball and test her engine to be sure the grinding noise we've worried about was gone. Everyone thinks the noise was caused by a "bad zinc" that was replaced on the propeller shaft. Kent started the engine. Roy released the mooring ball. Kent put the engine in gear. The " chattering" is now a grinding noise and is much, much louder in both forward and reverse. They quickly re-catch the mooring ball and turn the engine off. Kent puts in a call to the diver who placed the new zinc on the prop shaft to come look at it. We won't be leaving Marathon until that is fixed.

4 p.m. -- He picks up Jane in the dinghy and breaks the news to her about the engine. We go back to Carina to talk it over.

5 p.m. -- She takes Squirt to his green pad and then feeds him.

The salon is like the boat's living room where we spend
a lot of time when it gets dark. The hammock in the upper
right holds fruits and vegetables when we're underway.
There's additional storage behind each cushion.

She does her daily vacuum to pick up Squirt's hairs. He sheds his weight in hair every day, it seems. The battery on the vacuum needs recharging, so we'll have to run the generator tomorrow.

5:30 p.m. -- Kent heats water and does the few dishes from this morning (highly unusual!) while Jane checks the computer. She can't get Kent's phone -- with its unlimited minutes -- to connect to the Internet. She uses hers which has very limited minutes. 

6 p.m. -- Kent gets on the computer to check weather and such. Then he gets on the phone with friends. Jane folds her clean clothes to put away.

6:23 p.m. -- He stops talking on the phone long enough to blow his conch horn at sunset. It was a particularly long steady sound tonight. He usually practices blowing with his lips only right before he uses the conch. Squirt seems to think it is the call of the Chihuahuas and comes running up to Kent while he practices which makes us laugh.

The galley is a boat's kitchen.
When we're sailing, everything
that's on counters is stowed
to keep it from rolling around
Carina. Through the door on
the right is a second cabin
with a queen-sized bed that
we use for storage. We call
it "the garage."

6:30 p.m. -- Jane heats leftover Shrimp Scampi and brown rice for dinner. We're out of lettuce or spinach for a salad. After dinner, dishes are rinsed and stacked and will wait until the morning to be washed. 

7:30 p.m. -- Kent checks the weather Web sites again. It's dark. He takes Squirt for a last visit to his green pad. He goes to bed to read his book about Captain Morgan's life. The rum was named after a real Captain Morgan. 

Jane gets on the computer to find an appetizer recipe to make for the next day.

9:30 p.m. -- After two hours of searching, she decides to serve the same appetizer she's made for several get-togethers, Shrimp Salsa. Oh, well! At least one of us stayed up until boater's midnight.

She gets ready for bed, then brushes Squirt's teeth. Dr. Federico will be happy. No, on second thought, Dr. Federico won't be happy. He wants us to brush Squirt's teeth twice a day!

Jane reads Pigs in Heaven from the marina's lending library for awhile. Squirt joins us in the V-berth. 

10 p.m. -- It's lights out on board Carina.