The Great Wander

So, as I said last week, we’ve really only experienced docklife and not boatlife.  But I was thinking about it and we are still in a position to be able to see some real differences between this and our life in a house.  Sure, there’s a lot that includes not having full time jobs anymore, but really what I’m thinking of is, how is it day to day living on the boat vs living in a house.  You could take this as the pros and cons of living on a boat.  You could take this as pros and cons of living on a boat, but really I’m just making some comparisons.

1. Your home is always moving.

I’m not talking about changing location, because we haven’t changed location.  I’m talking about it’s moving.  Unless the water looks like glass there is a bobbing and swaying that is always happening.  It doesn’t matter what you do.  Your home is moving.  So, generally, you walk and not have to worry about it, but sometimes you are reaching for a counter, a handrail, and wall, something to steady yourself. You are always moving.  On land, if your house or apartment is moving, you’ve got big issues to deal with.  Not so on the water, it’s just part of the day to day life.  

• Trash management

Even though we have a small dumpster right outside on the dock.  I find myself, with only one 8 gallon trashcan (and no place for another), looking to consolidate trash.  We had looked at plastic sequestration (the process of cutting up plastic trash and then compacting it into a larger plastic jug), but we’ve held off on that for now.  But, when I look in the trash can see two cups from the local coffee shop that could be put together, and then I can fill the top one with more trash, I do it.  I don’t have the luxury of a large rolling dumpster that I can fit 15 13 gallon trash bags into.  

• Cooking preparation

I am much more conscientious about getting things out and ready when I cook.  One, I don’t have counter space the way I used to.  In our last house, we had an 8 foot by 3 foot island for food prep.  Now I have 3 feet by 16 inches AND some of that includes access to the top loading fridge/freezer.  So, I get everything out that I need from the fridge/freezer.  I have all of my cutting./dicing done before I even turn on the stove (we have a propane stove).  I try to be as efficient as possible, because we only have two propane tanks, so I don’t want to spend any of that propane unnecessarily, and getting things out of the fridge and freezer can be a real pain.

• Bathroom dangers

It’s hard to think about this, but the head (bathroom) on a boat can be one of the most dangerous places for the boat.  That’s because you have several through hulls there.  A through hull is spot where you have a pipe going outside the boat.  So, you have valves to ensure that the water from the outside doesn’t come inside.  Only for your toilet to work, you have to have water from the outside come inside, which means opening a valve.  If you forget to close the valve, you can have water coming in through that open valve, and I’ve had people tell me that they’ve forgotten about the valve, gone outside for several hours, and come back in to a foot of water on the floor of the boat. Not exactly a good situation.

When you are going to the bathroom as well, if you choose to stand (which is a bad idea), you also have the added bonus of the waves knocking you over…even when you’re at a dock!  I quit standing to use the bathroom anymore.  Sitting is just safer.

• Cleaning

I have traded mowing the lawn for cleaning the deck.  Our boat is white fiberglass, so you have to clean the deck regularly or it will stain.  And since we live at the dock, even when you try to be good about shoes coming off as you get on, you still track dirt everywhere.  Having the dogs makes it hard too, because you can’t really wipe their paws down before they get on board, so they track the dirt as well.  I try to take advantage of condensation on the deck, or rain and break out the mop to clean while it’s wet already.

Even dishes, you don’t let them pile up.  You wash after every meal.  The sink we have is decent in size, but you really don’t want to wash a full day of dishes in there if you can avoid it.

I’ve got a few more that I can add to this list, so I will continue it for you probably next week.