Living Afloat

We live on a sailboat. For two years we stayed in a marina on the Chesapeake Bay; now we spend our time traveling. When people hear that we live aboard a boat, they usually have many questions: How do we keep warm in the winter? Do we have running water? Where do we go to the bathroom? Do we have a television? Don’t we miss our home?

We’ll start with the last question - no, we don’t miss our home. That is because Solitaire is our home. We have everything on board that we need to live comfortably. Let me show you around and answer some of the most common questions. For orientation, the bow (pointy end) is forward and the stern is aft. Facing forward, port is to the left and starboard is to the right.

Our front door is called a companionway and it is located in the center of the boat. We have a door that locks – but instead of opening it; you pull two boards upward out of a slot and set them aside. You descend a small stairway – more like a ladder – and enter our salon (living room).

This is the point where most non-boaters get a shock because it is hard to believe how roomy a sailboat is inside when you are looking from the outside. The first thing most people comment on is that is looks like a real home inside – and they can’t believe that they can stand up and walk around. Our ceilings are nearly seven feet high in most areas.

Solitaire has teak and holly hard wood floors, and teak cabinets throughout. Curtains on the ports (windows), decorative pillows on the settee (sofa), pictures on the walls (bolted into place), and knick knacks on the shelves (held securely with museum putty) give our cabin a homey feeling.

Starting at the bow, we have an anchor locker that holds 275 feet of chain and over 350 feet of rode that we use on either a CQR 45 or a Fortress FX55. (We just bought another anchor that we can’t wait to try out – a Rocna). In the V-berth, there are sleeping accommodations for two; shelves, cupboards, drawers and storage holds for nearly a year’s worth of supplies, and a combination washer/dryer. I wouldn’t trade anyone’s laundry room for mine – it is so convenient to put a load of clothes in, add the detergent, and close the door – when the cycle is over the clothes are cleaned and dried – all in one machine.

Aft of the V-berth, there is a hanging locker (closet) to the port side where we store our foul weather clothing (aka rain coats and water-proof pants), and a head (bathroom) to starboard. In the bathroom, there is a sink and a toilet that flushes with a hand pump into a holding tank or when are in the ocean, it flushes overboard. There are also cupboards crammed with all the normal stuff you typically find in a bathroom – a blow dryer, makeup, medicines, toothbrushes, etc. – it’s just a little bit smaller than most people are used to.

Continuing aft to the salon, there are two captain's chairs (like an easy chair in a living room) to port separated by a writing desk. Opposite to starboard is a U-shaped settee (couch) with a dining room table that folds up when we aren’t using it. Six people can sit around our table. The settee converts to a double berth (bed). The settee has storage behind and under the seats. It also has a flat screen television, a DVD/VHS player, a Play Station II, and two computers. For recreation, we have a collection of nearly 300 movies, cards, games, and dozens of books.

Next is the galley (kitchen) with more than 12' of counter space plus four drawers & ten cabinets. There is a deep double sink, dry storage hold, propane stove with an oven and two burners, a refrigerator and a freezer. I have room to store all my dishes, glasses, utensils, cookware, spices, staples, and about a year’s worth of canned goods. It is compact, but really handy to cook in since everything is within reach. For the past twelve years, I have been cooking gourmet meals in my onboard kitchen and have even published a cookbook of over 250 favorite recipes, “Notes from the Galley of Sailing Vessel Solitaire”, that is available on amazon.com.

Across a hallway from the galley, on the port side, is the navigation station with bench and a large desk top. This is where we have many of our navigation instruments and radios. In the desk and drawers, we store charts, flashlights, and tools.

The engine area is in the center of the boat. You can get into the engine compartment through double doors that open into a hallway, but you have to sit or kneel to do much work. This area holds the battery bank with glass mat batteries, a 66 hp Yanmar engine, 6 kW Northern Lights generator, electrical boxes, refrigerator and freezer compressors, tools, and spare equipment. Solitaire has two aluminum fuel tanks that hold 85 and 90 gallons of diesel. We also store 15 gallons of diesel in jerry cans on deck. This gives us a range of about 1,000 miles under power. On the port side of the hallway, across from our engine room are the 125 gallon water tank, a work bench and storage. We have a Watermaker on board that converts sea water to fresh water by reverse osmosis. We can make up to 200 gallons of fresh water per day.

There is a second head (bathroom) that is entered through the aft cabin. It has a toilet, sink, cabinets and drawers, and separate shower stall. The master stateroom has a large double bed, and lockers, shelves and drawers for storage. It is hard to describe how comfortable it is to sleep on a boat; most of the time, the boat rocks gently like a cradle. The sound of the waves lapping against your hull put you to sleep.

Moving back to the center of the boat and up the companionway stairs; our center cockpit is fully-enclosed so that we can stay dry and warm in all kinds of weather. This is our helm; with a steering wheel, throttle and gear controls, and navigation instruments. Most of the time we use our Simrad-Robertson autopilot to steer the boat. It even has a remote control, so we can sit back comfortably, and watch the scenery; making small adjustments to our heading. We follow our progress on a GPS screen and also on paper charts (maps) – so we always know where we are.

Most of the time, we aren’t traveling – we’ll find somewhere nice and stay a few days, a few weeks or even a month to see the sites. Sometimes we are the only boat for miles around; other times we travel with friends or meet new friends along the way. Our cockpit also has a fold-down table and serves as an additional room for entertaining friends. We spend most of our time in the cockpit when we’re on board. It’s like having a “Florida Room” on your house – except the view outside your windows or screens changes all the time.

Our cabin has heating and air conditioning; although we prefer to spend our time in climates where we need neither. In really cold weather, we carry an electric space heater for extra warm. All of our ports and hatches open up to let in the breeze and have screens to keep out the bugs.

Most of the systems on our boat operate on 12 volt DC power and run off of our battery bank; although I do have a few appliances (coffee maker, toaster, and microwave) and gadgets (television and computer) that operate on 110 volt AC power. When we are in a marina, we hook up to shore power and get AC power, just like in a house. When we’re away from a dock, we can use our 6 KW diesel generator. We also have two 130 Watt solar panels and a 400 Watt wind-powered generator; which makes us self-sufficient and “green”. Speaking of “green”, we work very hard at keeping our trash to a minimum and we never leave litter behind.

For cruisers, their dinghy is like the family car – it’s how we get to and from our anchorages and land. We use it to go get groceries, sightsee, and visit other boaters. We keep our dinghy on davits if we’re coastal cruising and lashed to the deck if we are going off-shore.

In the “backyard” behind in our cockpit, we have an outdoor propane gas grill and a life raft. We also have an herb garden. The lifelines that surround the boat work quite well for a clothesline. We have a swim ladder and places to hang our diving gear. Most of our favorite activities involve the water – swimming, snorkeling, diving, spear fishing, and beachcombing.

As far as we’re concerned, no home is complete without four-footed family members. We have our “two cats in the yard” - ten-year-old Tippy and twenty-year-old Blazey; both of whom have adapted remarkably well to living on a sailboat. They love to travel to new places and will often sit in the cockpit; sniffing the air, looking at the scenery, starting at the sea creatures, and having an occasional catnap.

One more question that alot of land-based couples ask, "How can you stand to be in such close quarters with your spouse?". I could be glib about it and tell you that we actually like each other's company and enjoy being together. While that is true; like any couple, there are times when we need personal space. That is one of the reasons we got a centercockpit sail boat - there are plenty of places to get away by yourself.

It’s a good life. You can read more about our adventures at www.nancyjim.org. If you have been thinking about living on a boat yourself someday and have more questions, feel free to contact us.