It's hard to believe we have owned the sail boat for 4 months and have loved on it for 3. New challenges come up weekly especially in the Maryland Winters, we have learned to expect mishaps. Heat and water seem to be our main concern, for weeks the water tank seemed to be full after hand pouring 6 1/2 gal. of water into it, when we ran out of water twice we knew this was not true. The water line was frozen and had air in it, which was not allowing water in or out. Locating the line was also tricky, then defrosting it. . hand filling the tank is always a challenge with 6 1/2 gal. jugs at a time. We actually don't use a lot of water since we take showers in the bath house, occasional cooking(which will change in the New Year) and some dishes.
Over the holidays we had many visitors, our youngest daughter came from LA. to experience boating life, she was quite the trooper. Luckily we did not have many rocky days, we did have 6 inches of snow over Christmas that kept us away from the boat for 3 days. Visitors from NH came, at times I felt as if we were at a boat show where you allow only so many people in the main cabin at a time. During the week after Christmas the Sun became our friend and the enclosed cock pit was registering in the high 70's so no one minded sitting there and waiting there turn to go below. I was also lucky enough to have my brother, sister and mother pay Adventuress a visit with a nice lunch at a local restaurant after wards.
The main question asked is how do you live in such a little space. . . we do have a large family. . however we bought the boat for 3 to 4 people to live on, the rest being vistors. When most visit it will be Spring,Summer and early Fall, the deck and cock pit will be in full use at all times. Our living space is 2 cabins side by side at the Stern, a full bathroom at the bow, a main salon, galley and Nav station. I am the only one on the boat by day then Ava after school and Papa much later in the evening. The hardest part of boat living is you are constantly cleaning, especially with 2 cats and a newly 6 yr old.
The New Year is going to bring with it cleaning the sails and repairing 2, starting the search South for a marina to move to in the Fall of 2013. Our first trip will be in March to N. Carolina, April we fly to the Bahamas to learn Ocean sailing with our friend Captain John . Our goal will be in 5 yrs to be in the Caribbean for Winters, we do everything by 5 yr goals but they usually end up happening in 4.
We spent and will spend much time at the Hampton Inn in Middletown ,De for Winter breaks, it's only 12 miles away and has a nice indoor pool and hot tub. By August of next year we will rent a house or cottage for the Winter of 2011 close to Ava's school. .so ends the 50 miles a day one way I drive her to school now. The boat will be pulled out of the water next Oct. to have the bottom cleaned and painted and maintenance done. This is an every other year must, although I am sure we will keep whatever place we find as a back up for visitors and bad weather.
We realise we are entering the hard time of the Winter months now . . but . . .the end is in site. Which brings us to Spring and the challenge of putting the sails back on. . .YIKES.
I will say. . . the dock is a long walk and cold at night, it's extra hard to get out of a heated bed in the morning and step on to a 48 degree floor and sit on a cold toilet. I will also say there is nothing like having morning coffee or tea looking out to a beautiful Sunrise on the water.
To those that say we won't make it through the Winter or will be buying a house after this Winter. . .don't know who Kevin, Ava and Nita Knighton really are! Along with Adventuress we are enjoying this New Life and Welcome what the New Year brings us!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, December 19, 2010
and so it is Christmas
What can I say. . .Winter has come to Maryland. . .we are known for humidity in the summer and non drivers in the snowy Winter months. Snow on a boat is another thing, while we are toasty warm below deck but we need to come up from our warm haven eventually.
This week I will go buy a table top Christmas tree for Ava, the mast is not cutting it for her so she says. Shopping for her is done, I have put to use the media room for wrapping and storing and Christmas movie night. Ava says Santa needs a lot of room for her gifts. . .
Not much going on right now at the marina, everyone is gone. . .we are alone and taking over the place. . The bubblers are up and running in the water around the stern (back) of the boat, noisy but doing there job. We will be installing a hanging rod in the shower for clothes this week and changing the rugs to all one color. . .I am going with an off white theme and will do the same with curtains come the first of the year. Cleaning takes me 45 min. a day and I am hoping Santa brings me a new Dirt Devil for Christmas since I vacuum every day and mine is old and worn out. For Christmas Papa and I are ordering from Santa reclining cock pit seats. . .NICE. We are already getting our selves ready for Spring Sailing, funny how all of our boat neighbors are saying they will visit us in Feb. to see if we have survived. . .not sure what they expect to happen to us. What people do not understand is we are gone during the day and home only in the evening when the boat is toasty warm, our beds are heated and the temp is 72. The coldest part is walking up the dock but we know we are going to a warm place and the scenery is beautiful.
For Christmas we will be going to our son Shannon's and Grandma's, the week after Papa's family is arriving and staying at the Hampton Inn 12 miles away with a pool and Spa. . .that is where you will find me! We really have 2 1/2 months to go of dreary Winter. . we can survive that!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Warm Night!
This week I will go buy a table top Christmas tree for Ava, the mast is not cutting it for her so she says. Shopping for her is done, I have put to use the media room for wrapping and storing and Christmas movie night. Ava says Santa needs a lot of room for her gifts. . .
Not much going on right now at the marina, everyone is gone. . .we are alone and taking over the place. . The bubblers are up and running in the water around the stern (back) of the boat, noisy but doing there job. We will be installing a hanging rod in the shower for clothes this week and changing the rugs to all one color. . .I am going with an off white theme and will do the same with curtains come the first of the year. Cleaning takes me 45 min. a day and I am hoping Santa brings me a new Dirt Devil for Christmas since I vacuum every day and mine is old and worn out. For Christmas Papa and I are ordering from Santa reclining cock pit seats. . .NICE. We are already getting our selves ready for Spring Sailing, funny how all of our boat neighbors are saying they will visit us in Feb. to see if we have survived. . .not sure what they expect to happen to us. What people do not understand is we are gone during the day and home only in the evening when the boat is toasty warm, our beds are heated and the temp is 72. The coldest part is walking up the dock but we know we are going to a warm place and the scenery is beautiful.
For Christmas we will be going to our son Shannon's and Grandma's, the week after Papa's family is arriving and staying at the Hampton Inn 12 miles away with a pool and Spa. . .that is where you will find me! We really have 2 1/2 months to go of dreary Winter. . we can survive that!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Warm Night!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Early Winter
Time for an update. . since I last wrote we have taken down the sails and Winterized the boat so no sailing(haha) until Spring. It was not really as sad a day for us as it is for many other sailors taking down the sheets since we live on our boat, what was sad was thinking that we have to put these back on in the Spring. We insulated everything that did not move, this makes a huge difference in sound and warmth and light entering the boat.
Sunday the hatches were insulated and there went the light from the out side, I now know what living in an igloo is like. I might add I have not vacuumed in 3 days because I can't see the dirt and this may be a good thing until I can't find Ava or the cats.
Last week we had a front come through which brought torrential storms, we had what was called a "Fall Tide" it was high tide then with the winds and current it brought water from the bay into the River. For us this meant the water was over the dock, there was no getting off the boat or on until after 8 pm when the tide went down. At one point Ava and I had to sit and hold on to each other the boat was lurching as if we were sailing.
This week we have had below freezing temps and Gayle winds out of the NW, it has made walking down the dock quite difficult. Ava now rides in a cart to and from the boat and we only access the boat alone if it is day light , if not we wait in the media room for Papa to walk with us.
Our heating system has been a challenge, we are now back to using electric heat not the boats central heating system, since the water is to cold to run through the coil. The beds are heated with electric blankets, we put them on top of the mattress with a comforter on top . We then sleep on top of the comforter with another on top. . very warm. Most nights we can hear the water lapping or beating on the hull and the winds not so gently rocking us to sleep. I also now know what is meant by" sea legs" I can be standing anywhere on land and feel as if I am going to tip over.
As for cooking, I have mastered both the stove top and the oven. . . the water has been turned off on the dock which means we now carry water to the boat in 6 gallon containers to fill the tank. This is the main reason we do not shower on the boat, our tank is only 100 gal.basically all we use water for now on the boat is washing dishes. . .this all sounds very primitive to me.
I find my daily clothing consists of Sketcher boots, boot socks(colorful) black leggings and a wool fisherman's sweater full of holes and a blouse underneath because the wool itches. . . I pick a pr. of stylish earrings to wear and that is it. . .wow. . I have changed.
I can tell I am firming up and building muscles in places I have never had muscles before. . nice. Christmas decorations are up and not so different for us, Papa has never been one to decorate, Ava and I decorated the cock pit with garland and ornaments, most of our singing animals are sitting all around the cock pit which is enclosed. For our tree we wrapped the mast that stands in the salon with garland and hung ornaments all around, no lights since we have limited electric. We do have a Parrot on a swing that we light up on weekends.
I Love my new Life but have to say I can't wait for Spring!
Sunday the hatches were insulated and there went the light from the out side, I now know what living in an igloo is like. I might add I have not vacuumed in 3 days because I can't see the dirt and this may be a good thing until I can't find Ava or the cats.
Last week we had a front come through which brought torrential storms, we had what was called a "Fall Tide" it was high tide then with the winds and current it brought water from the bay into the River. For us this meant the water was over the dock, there was no getting off the boat or on until after 8 pm when the tide went down. At one point Ava and I had to sit and hold on to each other the boat was lurching as if we were sailing.
This week we have had below freezing temps and Gayle winds out of the NW, it has made walking down the dock quite difficult. Ava now rides in a cart to and from the boat and we only access the boat alone if it is day light , if not we wait in the media room for Papa to walk with us.
Our heating system has been a challenge, we are now back to using electric heat not the boats central heating system, since the water is to cold to run through the coil. The beds are heated with electric blankets, we put them on top of the mattress with a comforter on top . We then sleep on top of the comforter with another on top. . very warm. Most nights we can hear the water lapping or beating on the hull and the winds not so gently rocking us to sleep. I also now know what is meant by" sea legs" I can be standing anywhere on land and feel as if I am going to tip over.
As for cooking, I have mastered both the stove top and the oven. . . the water has been turned off on the dock which means we now carry water to the boat in 6 gallon containers to fill the tank. This is the main reason we do not shower on the boat, our tank is only 100 gal.basically all we use water for now on the boat is washing dishes. . .this all sounds very primitive to me.
I find my daily clothing consists of Sketcher boots, boot socks(colorful) black leggings and a wool fisherman's sweater full of holes and a blouse underneath because the wool itches. . . I pick a pr. of stylish earrings to wear and that is it. . .wow. . I have changed.
I can tell I am firming up and building muscles in places I have never had muscles before. . nice. Christmas decorations are up and not so different for us, Papa has never been one to decorate, Ava and I decorated the cock pit with garland and ornaments, most of our singing animals are sitting all around the cock pit which is enclosed. For our tree we wrapped the mast that stands in the salon with garland and hung ornaments all around, no lights since we have limited electric. We do have a Parrot on a swing that we light up on weekends.
I Love my new Life but have to say I can't wait for Spring!
Monday, November 15, 2010
6 weeks
Spent a nice night off the boat, I must admit I missed hearing the water lap against the Hull. Hard to believe it has been 6 weeks and I am still not organized. I am going to try something new tomorrow. . .moving things into different storage areas. The hanging lockers are useless in the Winter since they are a haven for moisture, clothes in the drawers need to be rolled not folded. I will pick 5 of my favorite tops and bottoms and that will be my weekly wardrobe. I will keep good clothes in the car along with my shoes, under ware and socks go in plastic bags in the drawer for freshness. I need to unpack my suitcase that is stored in the shower as well as the sea bags that hold work clothes and sweat shirts.
We have had frost already and are due 3 days of straight rain, the tides have been high as well as a current which makes it hard getting on and off the boat but we manage. Our favorite laundry /TV room has closed for the Winter so it's back to the media room here and going to different laundromats.
I drive 47 miles every day to take Ava to school then hang out at the gym in Centerville instead of driving back to the boat, by Spring I should be back in shape again. We eat out at least 3 nights a week and fix meals at least 2. . .the other nights are some sort of left over. Monday is usually Pizza or something carry out,Tuesday Ava and I eat at the Club, Wed. I cook something easy, Thurs. is out somewhere, Friday is leftover night, Sat. is a Rest. close by and Sunday is family dinner night. . either out or in.
The boat is Winterized except for the hatches and bunks, we will tackle those this weekend. Ava and I will start decorating for Christmas next week, this should be a challenge also but have gotten many great ideas. from boat magazines. We look forward to whatever the Winter brings, being the only people in the Marina at night makes it lonely but nothing we weren't used to in the house. We now have a light in the cock pit which gives us another room to use. . .a plus all around.
We have had frost already and are due 3 days of straight rain, the tides have been high as well as a current which makes it hard getting on and off the boat but we manage. Our favorite laundry /TV room has closed for the Winter so it's back to the media room here and going to different laundromats.
I drive 47 miles every day to take Ava to school then hang out at the gym in Centerville instead of driving back to the boat, by Spring I should be back in shape again. We eat out at least 3 nights a week and fix meals at least 2. . .the other nights are some sort of left over. Monday is usually Pizza or something carry out,Tuesday Ava and I eat at the Club, Wed. I cook something easy, Thurs. is out somewhere, Friday is leftover night, Sat. is a Rest. close by and Sunday is family dinner night. . either out or in.
The boat is Winterized except for the hatches and bunks, we will tackle those this weekend. Ava and I will start decorating for Christmas next week, this should be a challenge also but have gotten many great ideas. from boat magazines. We look forward to whatever the Winter brings, being the only people in the Marina at night makes it lonely but nothing we weren't used to in the house. We now have a light in the cock pit which gives us another room to use. . .a plus all around.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Laundry weekend
Something I will never get used to. . . after 36 years with a washer and dryer at my disposal. Oh Well. . .this week has been a hustle and bustle one at our marina and the 3 surrounding ones. This is the time of year boaters either Winterize there boats or haul them out of the water. Not the Knighton's! We are it at the Marina, good thing we have had dogs in the past to know what walking down a long dock to take a shower or use the computer in sleet,snow,ice and wind is like. We will have the boat pulled out next winter to paint the bottom and have some work done on it so this year will be a get to know you boat.
Yesterday we did what they call flipping the boat, we pulled the stern in first. . .or as land lubbers call it we backed the boat in. It took a village and then some, our boat does not respond to backing up at all, it was the way it was designed. But with help from Shannon, Shawn and 3 other boaters plus Papa they did it. I was below with Ava and Luke making them lunch and watching all the activity. The good thing is we will now have central heat until the real blast of heat hits us, then we will be back to some kind of space heaters. There is a Hampton Inn Convention Center 10 miles away with a pool and Spa if we need it.
The next luxury we will get is Direct TV. I am not coming to another Marina to watch TV when the bad weather hits. We have mastered so far. . .sleeping and cooking. . for the first month that is not all bad!
Yesterday we did what they call flipping the boat, we pulled the stern in first. . .or as land lubbers call it we backed the boat in. It took a village and then some, our boat does not respond to backing up at all, it was the way it was designed. But with help from Shannon, Shawn and 3 other boaters plus Papa they did it. I was below with Ava and Luke making them lunch and watching all the activity. The good thing is we will now have central heat until the real blast of heat hits us, then we will be back to some kind of space heaters. There is a Hampton Inn Convention Center 10 miles away with a pool and Spa if we need it.
The next luxury we will get is Direct TV. I am not coming to another Marina to watch TV when the bad weather hits. We have mastered so far. . .sleeping and cooking. . for the first month that is not all bad!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
It's been 1 month
Hard to believe we are having the same weather one month later. . Rain. hmmmm. . if I had a personal astrologer I would have asked if this was a good Fall to move on a boat. I don't so here we are. I type sitting in the cock pit because we do not get a signal in the cabin, one day I will get an antennae but it's not today. We have not turned the boat around yet so we are heating the cabin with a tiny elec. heater, to most this does not make sense. It takes 2 elec. cords to get power below. . .with the boat in the slip nose first we only have one cord plugged in and that is for daily use. Most of the time I spend tripping the switches because I am trying to run 2 things on one side of the boat at the same time. Just like my house growing up, I can't have the heater running if I want to make a cup of coffee. .I can't use the microwave if Kevin has his sleep machine going. . trust me that is all that is plugged in. I have become an electric minimalist. Because we pay for the elec in our slip fee I can have all the lights on at one time. . .big deal they are little dome lights. Since Kevin has not put a light in the cock pit yet I now wear a headband with a light attatched, good thing we are the only ones in the Marina. Why we are not sailing South is beyond me,
I believe the big event of turning the boat around and taking the sails down for the Winter will happen this Sat. Then we can turn on the heating system that is on the boat. . until we hit the really cold weather in Jan. or tomorrow.
I ask myself everyday. . Am I crazy. . .or is this the part of the Dream where you wake up to go to the bathroom and miss it all together.
The Great part of this adventure is, I have Mastered the game "Go Fish" and am ready to start playing "War" with Ava and Papa tonight. We will start decorating our sea shells "Martha Stewart" style next week. I have learned to sleep with 2 cats laying on top of me to keep warm and not have to go to the bathroom because the bathroom has no heat right now.
As I stop because I have no feeling in my fingers you can say. . ."Yes Nita, You are Crazy or that is one Crazy Dream" !
I believe the big event of turning the boat around and taking the sails down for the Winter will happen this Sat. Then we can turn on the heating system that is on the boat. . until we hit the really cold weather in Jan. or tomorrow.
I ask myself everyday. . Am I crazy. . .or is this the part of the Dream where you wake up to go to the bathroom and miss it all together.
The Great part of this adventure is, I have Mastered the game "Go Fish" and am ready to start playing "War" with Ava and Papa tonight. We will start decorating our sea shells "Martha Stewart" style next week. I have learned to sleep with 2 cats laying on top of me to keep warm and not have to go to the bathroom because the bathroom has no heat right now.
As I stop because I have no feeling in my fingers you can say. . ."Yes Nita, You are Crazy or that is one Crazy Dream" !
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