4 1/2 months of Sailboat Living

    I can either say," Has it been that short a period of time" or I can say, " Is that All! "  There are times when I feel as if we have always lived on the boat then, , , ,there are times  when we run out of water, can't pull the boat to the dock to get off, etc. that I feel as if we just moved on.

    I read an article written by a woman who has lived on a sailboat for many years in Annapolis yesterday, the question she is asked the most is how do you keep warm? It seems to Land Lubbers that is a main concern, it's not to us. Heat is important but you will find a way to keep warm no matter what. Safety is the main concern, the marina this woman is docked at has many people living year round on their boats(in Maryland? yes), they attend far to many memorials because of people being careless and sliding off the finger pier from there boat and into the water  not thinking of the conditions. This is the reason Ava has 13 1/2 days absent from school. . . SAFETY. We did put up a bungie cord on the back side of the finger pier so that if we slide the bungie will act as a slingshot and shoot us back on the boat or at least give us something to hold on to. In nice weather it doubles as a clothes line.  We do have 4 methods of heating the boat, elec. (baseboard), central( which does not work when the water goes below 45 degrees), warming blankets and then the stove. The cock pit has been staying between 58 and 70 with the Winter sun , we had coffee and read the paper and felt we were somewhere secluded for the Winter. . well I did. . I am sure Papa was thinking how long before I can fit into a bikini!

We are looking for a town house in Delaware to move into the beginning of May, this will keep us close to the boat as we have her hauled out in early Oct for cleaning and painting and work we want to do inside next Winter. Our boat neighbors are asking if we have had enough of living on the boat.  . our answer is "NO". I must say the walk to the bath house, trudging down the dock when it is full of ice, loading groceries on the boat, pulling a cart full of stuff on and off the boat does get tedious. Again I would not give up the view, the feeling of a casual lifestyle, the family arguments and no where to go after you lick your wounds in private, putting a baseball cap on to use the potty and make coffee in the morning(because your hair looks like Rod Stewart's but not on purpose). Watching Ava  skip and sing down the dock is enough for me to say. ." What a Life"!

It's not for everyone! but it is for us. We still have February to get through, the 9th will be our 37th wedding anniversary and we are living our dream, March will throw heavy winds in our direction but May will bring the start of our first sailing season together. Even though we will have a home on land the boat will be our main home until Oct. Ava will start home schooling ( be good to me God) so that we have more time to do out side structured activities and visit family and friends with out having to worry about missing school.

"Some People say I'm a Dreamer" (Thank You John Lennon). . . and maybe I am. . . but I say "Don't burst my bubble and I won't burst your's". I will handle what comes my way good or bad.

I hope to see many smiling faces this Spring and Summer as the wind is blowing through there hair and thinking " You are not Crazy People" !

Winter and staying in Sailing condition

After having several bouts of dizziness and profuse sweating I went to a Dr. for a physical, which should have been done before moving on the boat (no body is going to call me fast). It appears to be an inner ear issue which does not surprise me at all with all. Our systems have been given a challenge as well as our bodies.

Weight is good ( not in my eyes. . or should I say Papa's. . he still has visions of me in the crow's nest on look out duty in a bikin. . .we don't have crow's nest nor do I have a bikini), BMI good and again muscles where I did not know you could have muscles. This will only improve as sailing weather arrives.  I do need blood work done however I have that done faithfully every year as well as a mammogram, the tricky one will be a colonoscopy(sp). . the prep will be tricky with the bath house being a walk and not somewhere I want to be for a long period of time with others using it also. . .this will take some planning.


As for Adventuress, her electrical system needed upgrading which was done yesterday and I blew it our this morning. When the hot water heater kicks in and I have both heaters going plus the coffee maker something has to go. . . in my case it all goes out. Papa had to make a trip from DC to check it out. . . remedy. . . turn the hot water heater off! I am learning.

I also learned never to let him tackle a job such as re wiring with out me being there to move everything in his path. I am surprised my blood pressure was not sky high. Another challenge facing us is condensation in the Captains bunk, the cushion is soaked on the bottom, I turned it on it's side with the fan blowing on it and Fabreezed the heck out of it. We know there is a little leakage  in that area that will be tackled in the spring.

All in all , Adventuress and I are healthy and look forward to Spring. I am planning a trip to see Puxatawny Phil to explain the wonderful benefits of seeing his shadow and over come the urge to hide for 6 more weeks.

I wish everyone a warm and speedy February!

Time away

As do most sailors and Live Aboards, you look forward to time away from your boat. It does not mean you are tired of it or re-thinking your decision. . it just means time away. Ava and I manage a few of these a month for 1 or 2 nights at the most. Papa stays to make sure everything runs properly and to do maintenance that's easier when we are not there. the cats also need company and would not appreciate all of us being away at the same time. Who would hear them playing with there noisy toys during the night?

Living on the sailboat during these cold months is not something we planned on it just happened, given the time of year that we bought the boat and how quickly we moved on was the deciding factor. You need a back up plan. . we had and have none. I can't honestly say that, our back up plan is getting to the media room safely to watch movies and play Wii, bowling. Which I might add, Ava is still the champ. She nightly passes out straws because we suck!

We eat our share of pizza( not sure if pirates eat a lot of that or not), tonight we are going in search of an OutBack, , we have a map (from the Internet) and some pieces of gold(gift cards). Believe it or not. . .and most of you will choose not to, but I have become thrifty and not so meticulous. Thrifty as far as household items and clothes shopping, meticulous as in things being put away. There is something hanging from every possible place. I know come Spring most of this will go in storage and we will live a simpler life. .(haha) 

We are due a big Winter Storm later tonight, we will be tucked away in our cabins with the blanket warmers going, our tv with the antennae will be switching between Balt/Philly stations, I will have wine( I drink warm water /lemon most of the day) Papa will have his drink and Ava will have her occasional glass of Pinot(watered down). We will keep warm by our ceramic heater and talk of trips in the near future and how lucky we really are to be able to live this strange life right now.

We do have sad news. . Papa's father. . whom he had just formed a relationship with over the past 3 yrs has terminal liver cancer. Papa's father lived on a sailboat over 20 yrs ago with his new family, he was a driving force in why and what we are doing now. When Papa proposed to me his father pulled me aside and said," I hope you like living on a sail boat because that is what my son will be doing". Naturally I said , "YES". . .really thinking you crazy man!   I honestly think that is when this became my dream. This time from the past came flooding back as I was standing on the bow of Adventuress sweeping snow off. I felt as if I was living a scene out of a movie(anything but Titanic or Perfect Storm).  Papa is trying to make plans to fly to Texas this weekend, needless to say Ava and I will be holding down the boat.

We continue to enjoy our Dream and look forward to the day we untie the lines and sail to warmer coves with family along board! FairWinds to all

Winter has arrived

Here we are in early Jan. and I am already counting the days until Spring 77 to be exact. I will try to describe what living on a 40 ft sailboat is like during Winter months in Maryland. . .COLD and windy. We have seen snow 4 times so far, 2 dustings and 2 snow falls over 4 in. It's not the snow that is a concern but the winds and freezing temps. Trying to get off a sailboat that is rocking or away from the dock due to winds and tides is tricky. the deck of a boat is fiber glass and gets slippery. We wear a form of Uggs when we leave the main cabin and wear boot slippers when we are in the main cabin for warmth. The floor of the main cabin is beautiful teak but stays around 48-52 degrees, there are throw rugs scattered abut the temp of the water keeps the floors chilly. We sleep with one ceramic heater on, and electric warming blankets during the night. By morning we turn on 2 little elec. heaters and go about our day. Cooking on the propane stove helps heat the boat also, I fixed bacon and grilled cheeses sand wiches this week. . yeah for me!

Since Christmas and Ava's birthday the boat is scattered with toys from Barbie's, Tangled and Justin Bieber dolls to  ZuZu pet and castles . . but it's important for Ava to play. May I add 2 pillow pets reside with us.

We are learning to sleep now to a lot of rocking, thumping as the boat next to us hits the pylon and the lines clang against there mast. For some reason the bubblers in the water are not running so chunks of ice hit our boat all night long. . .it is a nauticle opera. After a few hours these become soothing noices. I dream of warm temps and gliding through the water of the Chesapeake Bay soon.

This week we are suppose to have more snow and freezing temps, it will be a challenging next 77 days! Ones we are looking forward to as a family

3 months and a New Year

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!

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!

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!