What comes easy won’t last;
What lasts won’t come easy.
Anon
The reality of owning a boat is not publicised as much as it should be. The reality of ‘living aboard’ is starkly different from ‘living the dream’. Still, the migration of people shifting from land to sea in search of a new, less encumbered lifestyle, seems to be growing, if YouTube is any indication.
While the illusion that cruisers spend their days sailing azure tropical waters; sipping Mai-tais at night; watching dolphins frolic at the bow (although we have done this…), the focus of our existence, and the reason we’ve managed to stay ‘afloat’ for over ten years living aboard is the attention we give our vessel and sticking to a budget.
The main focus of our lifestyle has to be keeping the boat afloat.
This year is no exception. Our last haulout was 2019 when we put in a new engine and propeller. At the time, our hull was in great condition after a year in the fresh water of the Baltic. This year, the same excellent condition – I found only one barnacle tucked behind the cutlass bearing housing. Back in Trinidad in 2016 we stripped the bottom paint off right back to gelcoat and repainted completely. Since then, antifouling the bottom has been relatively easy and straightforward.
With Blue Heeler hauled for the eighth time in 12 years, we set about giving the waterline a light sand, then wet-scrubbed the rest of the hull before applying two coats of Hempel Cruising Performance ‘True Blue’. The growth up in this part of the world is minimal, unlike the heavy growth of the tropics, so that made the work so much easier.
With Blue Heeler looking schmick, we also arranged for a survey – a requirement of continued insurance for a boat over twenty years old.
I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but for some reason in the UK, marinas and boatyards don’t like people staying aboard their vessel while it’s on the hard stand. I don’t know why, as we are aboard during the day fixing things and moving up and down the ladder. The good news is that we found a no-frills boatyard for the work we needed to do. Itchen Marine Towage at Southampton on the River Itchen is a small boatyard and has all that we need to do the work ourselves. Sure, the ablutions are not fancy, but they’re clean and now that we’ve figured out the settings on the instantaneous hot water system, showers are hot and luxurious after a day of sanding and painting. The town centre of Southampton is about 1km away and chandleries, hardware stores, and so on are nearby too.
Living aboard during maintenance is ideal for cruisers around the world.
To keep costs down, we do all the work ourselves. Anything from dropping the rudder, replacing the engine, prop and shaft, through-hulls, bow thruster and so on (actually, Wayne does the thick of it, while I’m his enthusiastic assistant). If we need to have anyone do work on our boat, it’s usually because we don’t have the tools to do the job ourselves, such as removing a stubborn seal, or lathing out a cutlass bearing, or welding up an aluminium engine part. There are some things that we just don’t have the resources to do ourselves. The UK is a great place to source parts and products and delivery is usually within a day or two for most things.
The truth is, living aboard a boat is a numbers game. 90% of the time you’ll be planning, preparing, saving, scrimping, covered in bilge muck or antifoul, or waiting somewhere for a part to be delivered, or just waiting for the seasons to change. You’ll be away from your family and spend most of your days in isolation within 3m of your better half (who you’d better get on with).
The remaining 10% of the time you might be out sailing; and maybe 10% of that it’ll be just perfect.
From Melbourne’s Port Philip Bay to the Gulf of Mexico and Cuba; it’s that little percentage of heaven that makes this lifestyle worth it.
With summer approaching, despite the pandemic still raging across Europe, there is a developing optimism here in the UK re COVID – rightly or wrongly. COVID restrictions in the UK are gradually easing, and by 12th April non-essential shops may open, including hairdressers, outdoor venues/pubs, and so on. Boatyards are filling up with weekend sailors polishing and preparing their hulls and others with ideas of sailing the world planning their futures; there’s a sense of anticipation in the air and movement on the water as yachties, cruisers and sailors, look towards the horizon and set their sails accordingly.
With no firm plan due to COVID restrictions in Europe, we too are looking towards the horizon, ready for the next stage of our sailing adventure.
Until then…
During the cold dreary winter, he’s enjoyed working in the warm cabin doing interesting projects, rather than the usual jobs neck-deep in engine oil or bilge filth.
This year is described by many as ‘unprecedented’, ‘apocalyptic’, ‘calamitous”, as well as urban slang such as ‘omnishambles’ and ‘hellacious’. Hunkered in Blue Heeler for most of the year, ‘tedious’ fits our situation. Besides the anxiety caused by COVID19 around the World, unforeseen health issues, relationship breakups, and loss of livelihood have upset the lives of those I care about. The recent death of my brother’s dog ‘Reg‘ made 2020 that much sadder.
December 2020 is our tenth anniversary of living aboard Blue Heeler. Back in 2010, the World economy was recovering from the GFC; Australia had its first female Prime Minister and the U.S. had a witty, intelligent and popular President… My, how times have changed.
England’s latest approach to tackle the increasing number of infections of COVID19 is a three-tiered system (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have different restrictions in place). Southsea is Tier 2, which means we’re unable to mingle with friends for Christmas. No matter though, I’ve put up the tinsel, bought some Christmas pud, and we’ll stay as warm as ‘pigs-in-blankets’ in our cozy floating home and watch Christmas favourites The Castle and Love Actually for the umpteenth time.
