Chapter 31: Daily life aboard a “project” boat…

Sun, sea, sailing, and sundowners every night.  Isn’t that what Youtube says liveaboard life will be like???  The reality on a “project boat” like Meraviglia looks very different.  Well, except for the sun.  We get a lot of burning hot sun in Georgia.  And I will admit to some cocktails at night but we are definitely not looking like the beautiful people of Youtube!  So what does daily life really look like?  Here is an example of what our day is looking like currently….

5:15am:  Bob leaves for his workout at the local gym.  This will need some adjusting of course when we are not living in a marina and don’t have a car but for now it works.  I typically get up a few minutes later and go walking. It is surprisingly peaceful to be out that early – pretty quiet except for the birds and the Coca Cola trucks.  John Stith Pemberton sold the first glass of Coca-Cola. Originally developed as a health cure, Coca-Cola went on to become the most recognized brand in the world. For many, it symbolizes the growth of American business and international expansion. And, it all started here in Georgia. The trucks roll early in Brunswick!

6:45am:  I am back on board firing up the propane stove to boil water for coffee in my french press.  This requires using a hand coffee grinder for the beans – no electric grinder or coffee pot anymore! Avocado toast made on the camp stove and then time for cleaning up.  Washing dishes is an acquired skill when you are trying to conserve water.  Soap everything up and then use as little water as possible to rinse. And the coffee grounds cannot go down the galley sink – no garbage disposal on a boat so everything takes a little longer.   Bob usually has to make the daily stop at Home Depot for something on his way back to the boat.

7:30am:  Time to sunscreen and go through the list of the day’s projects to tackle.  Deciding on the project for the day is a bit dependent on if we have outside help coming on that day.  Plumbing and electrical have been the big projects and depending on how many other people will be on board and where they will be working that day determines what projects we will take on – there is only so much room to move around and work in a small space!

8am:  Time to get to work.  This looks different each day but may involve taking things apart, putting things together, sanding, cleaning up from sanding, more sanding, painting, varnishing, taping and prepping for sanding, more sanding…you get the gist.  There is also a lot of, “ Kim, can you get me the XYZ?”  which means a lot of climbing up and down the companionway to retrieve tools or put them away. It is also a lot of considering how to do a project, how to do it in a way that doesn’t make a total mess, and then coming up with alternate ways to complete it when we run into a corroded bolt or rotten wood.  Problem solving and strategic thinking are key so thankfully my time at Dell and as a former DI coach prepared me for this!!

12:30pm:  Lunch usually consists of any leftovers from the previous night or whatever we can put together quickly that does not require cooking. And pretzels.  Lots of pretzels. 

1:00pm:  We often will identify something we need in the morning that we do not have on board like a specific fastener, a specific grit sandpaper (see back to sanding again!), some type of adhesive to put something back together so it is not unusual to run some afternoon errands. 

2:00pm:  Back to work. Repeat above.

5:00 pm ish:  Time to clean up and make our space livable again for the evening.  This always requires putting away a lot of tools or at least moving them off of our table so we will have a place to eat, using the shop vac to clean up the day’s sanding dust 😬, and pulling the seat cushions back out of our cabin.

5:30pm:  Shower time which currently means walking up the dock to the marina facilities with all of our gear!

6:30pm:  I usually prep and make the evening meal while Bob catches up on office work and bill paying.  It has been a learning curve to find meals that will not require long baking or cooking times as it really heats up the boat.  We also have a grill so that helps to keep the heat outside. Finally it is time for a glass of wine, a little music, and some food!

7:30pm:  Dinner, clean up and time to read, do a crossword, or connect with our family.  Sometimes if it is not too buggy we can be outside especially with my new party lights from Bob but often the bugs do not want to cooperate with that plan!

9:00pm:  Back up the dock to the marina facilities one last time before bed and typically fall asleep by 9:30pm to get up and do it all over again the next day! The only variation is Sunday when we go to St. Athanasius for worship – such a great community and we love attending! Then back to boat work!

I tried to count today but lost track. It feels like we typically go up and down the companionway ladder a million times a day.  We typically climb on and off the boat at least half that.  And walk up and down the dock at least 20 times a day.  It can be exhausting but this is life on a boat, project or not. We are learning new things every day, we are together, and we WILL eventually get to sail! This may not look like the “beautiful” life of Youtube sailing channels but we are not divorced, haven’t killed each other, and are getting pretty good at sanding!!!  Until next time….