Were I ever put on trial for one-track-mindedness, I would conjure the ghost of E.B. White as council. He is universally remembered for "Charlotte's Web" and "Stuart Little", but was also a passionate sailor. We never met, but he voiced my feelings on the subject of living aboard better than I could.....

"If a man must be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most. A small sailing craft is not only beautiful, it is seductive and full of strange promise and the hint of trouble. If it happens to be an auxiliary cruising boat, it is without question the most compact and ingenious arrangement for living ever devised by the restless mind of man - a home that is stable without being stationary, shaped less like a box than like a fish, or a bird, or a girl, and in which the homeowner can remove his daily affairs as far from shore as he has the nerve to take them, close hauled or running free - parlor, bedroom, and bath - suspended and alive."

E.B's son Joel combined his artistry with a deep technical understanding of Naval Architecture earned at M.I.T. to create stunning and well behaved boats. His grandson Steve carries on the art and skill at Brookline Boat Yard.

How Much Land Does a Sailor Need?

Tolstoy’s short story – “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” (http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/tolstoy.html) concludes with the rather morbid treatise that 6’ is adequate. I think about this conclusion often in my landless floating existence. I realize though, that Tolstoy’s conclusion is accurate in death not life.

The simple truth is we all need land. I can’t say how much, but I know I have an unconventional view point as I’m not much interested in putting my name on any. We need land to grow food, and to walk on. We need it to derive fuel and decompose waste. We need it to build and manufacture. Most folks need it to live and dwell upon. That’s the only point I really can claim exemption from.

Most indigenous peoples viewed their relationship with land very differently from our societal norm. My limited understanding is that theirs was a stewardship role and not an ownership one. I was a fly on the wall for an argument between a local tenant and an American landlord on a Caribbean island once. The part I remember came after the American told the local to “get off his mountain.” The reply, “Mountain be here long after you dead,” will stick with me forever. I’m not passing judgment here, but it does seem to me that we get into an inordinate amount of trouble by elevating land to the status of our ultimate possession and investment. Community doesn’t benefit from real estate profit flip.

So I borrow and rent land. Not a lot of it, but a path to and from the sea, some to plant and harvest, and a bit to store parts and build ideas into objects. Even a bit for an office to work out thoughts like these. This may prove a foolish decision in later life, but freedom from debt has certainly made early and midlife nice.

One of the places I borrow is a field of new growth swamp trees. The ground is soft and the trees grow close and tall with out much in way of roots. I think it was a farmed field in the not too distant past. Every year a few of the spindly trees are blown over and if I get to them before the bugs, they make pretty good firewood for my tiny woodstove. One year I struck upon the idea of using the stump hole from a previously uprooted tree as the end location for the proceeds from Charis’s composting head. Since the ash from the stove is part of the carbon source I mix into the compost, it seemed a pretty good full circle sort of solution. Those who are ready to cry environmental foul need not worry. As I have explained elsewhere, I have provided myself with the means to contain and compost waste in isolation from the ground for a minimum of about 10 to 12 months before returning it to the earth. So, lacking a flower bed or shrub base in need of fertilization, and anticipating the scarcity of dinner guests if I used the stuff in my vegetable garden, I simply filled in the stump hole.

Now I don’t have offspring, and many think this speaks well for the intelligence of women as a gender. And lest any should think I’m single for lack of understanding of the mechanisms of carrying on the race, I know this isn’t how it is done. But when I returned to the woods this fall to claim some downed wood, I have to admit to twinges of paternity toward this little holly tree due to where it is growing…

Solar Jack-Tar-O-Lantern

Otherwise known as 101 uses for a solar garden light!

Solar Bilge Buddy

So I have this dinghy dock neighbor. Smart man they tell me. A man of letters, I’m told. Ivy League at that, they say. Yet, as sure as the seasons, his skiff will sink and dunk its shiny new-ish outboard at least once a season. That, “they” don’t have to say. I can generally see it happen. Must get expensive running a boat that way. I know it gets frustrating. I’ve heard the chanty to which the inevitable post-dunk start up is set and it isn’t choir music. As I write, we are getting one of those refreshing summer downpours that is so often the opening curtain on this drama.

There are a few things about living aboard that I would gladly give up. High on the list was going out in the middle of the night to bail the skiff during persistent heavy rains in order to preclude becoming act 2 of the afore mentioned drama. Not that it happens all that often, but once out of a sound sleep and into the cold rain on a work night is enough.

And another thing…I hate asking anyone else to tend my chores. Since I have a tendency to wander for undeclared lengths of time, and as the fleet has expanded to include a pretty little Whitehall pulling boat besides the E-10 gasoline allergic outboard skiff, I wanted a way to take bailing both off everyone’s chore list.

In full conformity with a friend’s assessment that I have the “most complicated simple life he’s ever seen,” I came up with a fix. Presented herein is prototype 2. Prototype 1 works just fine, but isn’t as sleek and svelte. It’s living in the motor skiff. The Whitehall needed a bit more style, even in its' bilge pump.

The fix is this. One small 12 volt bilge pump and standard issue float switch, connected to one 12 volt battery (from one of those kiddie plastic monster trucks at Wal-Mart,) connected in turn to a solar panel and all bundled together with tie wraps in a Tupperware type box. That and an inline fuse holder to protect the sensitive parts from shock, though at this time I cannot say exactly which are the sensitive parts.

I don’t plan to get into wiring instructions. Some legal type would probably eat me alive for it anyway. Suffice it to say that you connect the positives to the positives and the negatives likewise, installing the float switch in between on one side or the other, and set the whole thing in the sun for a while to get the battery charged up. Avoid the rain dance until you are sure it’s full up. If red and black wires get you all confused, write and I’ll build you one. Just don’t expect it to cost less than the parts. Or for that matter, less than one of the several engine repairs it will save you.

Here are a few things I learned in early experiments with the idea.:

Avoid the solar panels intended to be set on a car dashboard and plugged into a cigarette lighter. For one, I don’t know what good those are in a car since every car I ever owned had the lighter socket switch off with the ignition, but that’s outside the scope of this study. The fact is they can’t take getting wet, and the whole premise here is that the thing will eventually get rained on. Here’s what one looks like after a few dunkings……Utterly useless. And for obvious reasons, a downbound spiral that can only end with the whole project submerged and me bailing. An E-bay source delivered the replacement panel today. If it works out I’ll add the link.

Make big holes in the bottom of the plastic box and install both the pump and the float switch to hang down below it so they rest on the dinghy bottom. This way you will get the water down to a couple of scoops of residual instead of a couple of inches.


Come up with a good way to secure the pump hose overboard. It’s a loosing proposition if that hose gets loose and winds up in the bottom of the boat with the pump. No battery will keep up chasing it’s own tail. I have a system with a piece of wood dowel and an oarlock holder, but I suspect almost anyone can beat that idea.

Make sure the assembly stays out from under seats and lifejackets and such enough to charge up the battery. I feel like I shouldn’t have to include that, but I will anyway just so I can say I told you so.

DO NOT try to take this on an airplane. It has far too much in common with an I.E.D. and will not get past security no matter how much 'splainin you do Lucy.




That’s all there is to it. Go forth. Build it and be smug in climbing aboard the one un-swamped dinghy at the dock after the next downpour. Unless you live in Seattle, in which case you may want to consider a wind turbine charged pump……

Solar Book Light

I once worked for a very great personage in the yacht industry who confided in me that he had really never invented anything. One credited with so many advances in sailing systems and materials modestly reported that each was actually an existing idea he adapted. To whit, I would say that modesty makes great men greater in my esteem.

Anyway, here's a combination of established and readily available ideas I'm presently experimenting with. No greatness. Just a new slant on collecting some sunlight and pulling it out later for entertainment purposes!

Ingredients:
1. One well used loved "LightWedge" book light (www.lightwedge.com) which after many years succumbed to corrosion. If you have not tried one of these, here's the concept: light from 2 small LED bulbs is refracted through an acrylic wedge and distributed over a book page with less loss to less desired directions than with typical booklights. Perfect for those who enjoy reading about things that happened outside, and know that authentic surroundings enhance the experience as ambiance does a good dinner.

2. Two solar garden lights. You know the type. Available at any hardware store for a few $$. They charge a nicad battery during the day and switch on at night with a little photo-cell. I've already made much use of them for other decorative and practical purposes.

3. A few odd tie wraps and miscellaneous bits of string and such.

Tools:
1. One cordless drill, preferably charged by solar and wind power!

2. Old fashioned duct tape and bailing wire, Rube Goldberg type horse sense.

Directions:
Strip away the defunct elements of the lightwedge until the basic acrylic lens itself alone remains. Drill the edge holes from the original LED bulbs large enough to accept those on the garden light. Remove the lens and mounting post from the garden light until all that remains is the top part- in which are housed the solar cell, battery, switch and LED bulb. Drill more holes in the edge of the acrylic wedge such that tie wraps can be used to secure the garden light tops to it. This is where the horse sense comes in. The only wrong way to complete this attachment is one that blocks sunlight from the solar cell. Attach a light fishing line such that the whole works can be hung in the sun with least shadows cast on the solar cells.... or just stand it up outside.

Mine's outside getting powered up as I write. Try it and let me know how yours works!

Coming soon to a blog near you....The solar bilge pump - for the optimist who knows it is more often sunny than rainy, in most places anyway.

The Zen of Alternate Energy

Of all the wonders presented by our changing world in the last century, none astounds me more than the increase in the amount of energy in various forms that each of us has available for our use and pleasure. Consider that before petroleum products, most of our heat, light, and transportation was derived from plants and animals, dead or alive. I’m sure there are too many of us in the world today to ever revert to those days, but there may be a place for some of the old ways of thinking about energy use. Few lifestyles are better suited to provide a demonstration of the polar opposite to conspicuous energy consumption than living aboard. I know that there are many options for controllable on board power production, but this is a discussion of how to work with the two most commonly harnessed variable resources – wind and solar energy.

I always advocate renewable energy devices with the cautious caveat that alternate energy requires alternate expectations. When connected to the grid, using energy in greater quantities rather than lesser simply means a larger energy bill at the end of the month. This is not in itself a bad thing as long as a balance is maintained. However it is a mindset that must be left behind if you are going to unplug for a while. What I refer to here is not simply a matter of switching off unused lights or lowering the thermostat at night. It is an overall comprehension that once the shore power chord is cast off, every use of energy is subtracted from that which you create and store. With time, the mental accounting becomes subconscious – like knowing when to turn back on a long walk so you can make it home. I am referring here to energy use as related to lifestyle and not necessarily that connected with navigation and sailing. That is a separate and different set of concerns. I won’t get into the plethora of gadgets designed to aid our perception of electrical energy in the manner of fuel in a tank. The matter at hand is the mental process of understanding that flow out cannot for long exceed flow in. For reasons obvious in the American economy, I will avoid any cross reference involving finance.

The most significant step preparatory toward life unplugged is to catalog your energy outflows. This is a highly individual process, so don’t rely too heavily on someone else’s list. You should break your power uses into those which are discretionary, such as entertainment, and those which are relatively constant such as refrigeration and pumps. This will help you to move closer to an understanding of the difference between need and want in your power demand, although the longer you are out here, the more items you will shift from one list to the other. Since you need a starting point, it is only important to understand that larger your list of constant consumers is, the larger you investment in storage batteries and generating equipment will be to feed them.

I will start with one of the most thirsty and insatiable of the energy eaters; the chilly bin. For some, refrigeration is considered an unnecessary luxury and this discussion can be dispensed with. I find this attitude most prevalent in those from cultures which also promote warm beer drinking. Once upon a time, refrigeration was achieved by heating a liquid ammonia compound. Heat source refrigerators still exist, though they are out of favor afloat due to fire risk and a tendency to become vapor locked if not kept reasonably level. These days, we use mechanical compressors to create the desired effect. But compressors must be rotated and that requires a motor of some sort. Often, the duty of cold box sentry falls upon the main engine and so is outside of the realm of renewable resources. This road carries the unpardonable sentence of being aboard for the required number of hours per day to run the engine. For the rest, a balance must be achieved of amp hours consumed in proportion to size of the cold box. Isotherm has created a DC electric refrigeration system based on the theory that it is more efficient to store ‘cold’ in a holding plate when more electrical energy is available than it is to store electricity in a battery. Their voltage sensing units are widely hailed as a boon to small battery bank cold beer lovers worldwide. The poor-man parallel solution on Charis involves keeping a supply of ice in the box and using the old Adler Barbour refrigeration unit to slow its melt when adequate energy is available. Local “ice-capades” are a cultural exchange opportunity and there are always rocks to clink in your sundowner.

**Updates from the Deep:  August 2012
The Isotherm ASU air cooled unit depicted and I have been shipmates for several years since I wrote this post. It is all I had heard it would be and more. It keeps silent watch over my batteries and sips the juice when power is scarce. It automatically ramps up and makes ice when the energy level is high. It has a rather unnerving auto-defrost schedule that can leave me concerned about food spoilage, but it's easily circumvented by powering down then up again. Alas, my "ice-capades" are a thing of the past.

Imagine an existence where your urge to watch TV becomes naturally in tune with the strength of the wind or intensity of the sun in recent hours. It may sound like cruel torture if you are a serial TV addict. On the other hand, if you can see it as the opportunity to work on the “must read” book list, you are getting the point. As an added perk, decreased exposure will alloy you to remain coolly aloof while land dwellers complain about, laugh at, and generally are intellectually twisted by bad commercials. Audio entertainment can be similarly classified, except that it is commonly less power thirsty. In both cases I have noted the critical transition to be that I no longer allow myself to consider them background noise. On board conversation quality has improved as a side benefit.

Some say I have a lighting fixture fetish after spending time on my floating home. There are fluorescent lights, incandescent lights, small directable reading lights, and oil lamps. I learned long ago that one light in the right place is worth 3 in the wrong locations and my power use for interior lighting dropped accordingly. I regard my gimbaled oil lamps as a more seaworthy cousin to candles for mood lighting, as well as good general background light exempt from the electron flow concern. If eyestrain is a worry, consider an LED book light to augment your other sources.

While in most instances I have been able to use latitude and trade wind for my air conditioning needs, small electric fans have produced notable comfort at times. My favorites are small swivel mounted fans made by Hella. Their electrical consumption is almost unnoticeable and they move plenty of air with little noise. As with lighting, placement is significant and power use will generally be inversely proportional to the number installed.

Life conspires to keep me from always choosing my geographic home, so I sometimes list heating on my necessity list. It was a long search to find a solution which fit my energy creation and storage capacity, but a huge lifestyle improvement when I did. (See Living Aboard January/February 2006.) I am fortunate in that the colder cruising months for me bring stronger winds, generally allowing the wind generator to compensate for the seasonal increase in electrical use. Now and then though, a movie is postponed in favor of a book and push button warm air.

For most, pressure water, sump, and bilge pumps are on the constant and necessary list. I do know some very well adapted liveaboards, however, who use gravity and muscle to power these needs. I will only say that I envy them every time I have to service one of my electric pumps. It can be difficult to estimate the thirst of these devices, and only experience is likely to teach you how much you will need to put back into your energy ‘tank’ to break even. Since you are assumedly also working on a similar thought process conversion relating to water use, this item tends toward its own solution. Less water use means less pump run time, and therefore less energy needs to be created to keep up.

Computers are our modern day Man-Friday. It’s not easy to imagine life without them anymore. I’m sure there is a specific state of Nirvana reserved for those who find a way send “Windows” out the porthole, but sadly, most of us will never reach it. In the mean time, only you can decide where your electronic brain weighs in on the necessity scale. In the tropics, I have reached an easy compromise. It’s too hot at midday for maximum outdoor enjoyment, and my solar panels are generally making more electricity than my batteries will accept. Therefore I have reversed the whole siesta concept and find I now do my best work from noon to 1 pm while goofing off most of the rest of the day. It’s a compromise not entirely out of line with the reasons why I went cruising in the first place.

There will always be the odd incidental small power uses such as the propane gas solenoid and maybe a kitchen appliance or three. The reality is that these will either be fairly low in their demands for juice, or highly intermittent in their application. The compromises required to keep them fueled will be small if you are already making some of the bigger choices discussed. Again, the significance of the issue is that you are aware of both the result of pushing the on button and the cost in terms of energy consumed.

There is a slow but noticeable shift in perspective beginning to occur even among conspicuous consumers. Gradually we are waking up to the reality that we must be more accountable for our personal energy appetites. The change has to take place slowly to keep our economy rolling along in the immediate, but it must certainly occur to keep it alive in the long term. As liveaboards we are afforded the opportunity to lead in the thought conversion that will allow this to occur, while improving our own lifestyle. It isn’t inexpensive to outfit your floating home with wind and solar power collectors, but it is a long term investment partially offset by absent monthly energy bills and otherwise justifiable with lifestyle improvement. The key to fully appreciating your return on the investment is to learn in advance how to feel comfortable within the varying range of energy your system will deliver.

The author’s Alberg 35, Charis, employs two Siemen’s M55 solar panels (flawless) and a SouthWest Windpower wind turbine (loud but productive) to channel renewable energy to a battery bank comprised of 3 group 31 batteries. The installation of numerous electric lifestyle gadgets is tolerated by the system since most of them are on the discretionary use side of the list.

The Most Useful Gift….

…..of living aboard is perspective. It is true that one cannot usually see the forest for the trees. Panorama is polar opposite to macro.

I enjoyed many things about a recent sustainable living festival. And I saw at the same time how very far we have to go. Coming to alternate energy use from the position of having cut land ties has caused me to see implementation of renewable sources from a very different perspective from land users.

I am entirely grateful to my friend Carol Steinfeld, (http://www.carol-steinfeld.com/) environmental author and purveyor of real working solutions, for persuading me to get out to this event. The bike ride there was great fun and, so was the lift home as it was a long day. I’m also grateful to the organizers as it was an inspiring venue with great entertainment. Attendance, I’m told was less than hoped. Here are some thoughts from the experience and maybe some ideas for how to make it more interesting.

It seems that land application of renewable energy still lacks an important element of considering the balance of use and production. It is convenient that grid connection allows us to overlook discrepancies between what we consume and what we make, but that makes it paradoxical. The incentive to achieve balance is diminished if the only consequence to excess consumption is a higher monthly bill. I’m speaking in general terms of the difference between on and off “grid.” The festival offered an ideal setting for a balanced off grid demonstration, but relied on portable generators for power needs and left massive solar arrays displayed for sales purposes connected to nothing. Authenticity and purpose would have been enhanced were this not the case.

A notable lack of technical expertise has also invaded the sales arena of renewable energy materials. I know that not everyone is interested in numbers, but it seems something other than vague concepts of benefit and easily manipulated statistics should be at hand when an innovative idea is offered up. I’m not speaking of knowledge of product on a molecular level, but I would expect more than to have a tape measure produced in response to a query about solar array size… or a voltage meter in response to the clarification that wattage was my interest. I suppose that buying a solar array to replace energy formerly schlepped aboard or to provide comforts focuses one’s interest on what the product can achieve. I’m reminded of a shop front in Brooklyn which installed solar panels on their sun awning. The two that are installed directly under a fire escape equal my entire array, yet will never produce a Watt. Their only achievement is to advertise the good intentions of the shop owner. Yet their cost in human and fossil energy to come into existence was the same as those which would give back for 20 years and more. To me they represent, like the ill informed purveyor, how many false starts a good idea must survive before it provides the service for which it was designed.

It was inspiring to meet and talk to lots of folks who want to learn how to do something, regardless of what it is, to lessen impact. But it was equally disconcerting to find still a large number who would reject solutions that required them to do something. Yes, a composting toilet requires more direct responsibility than the flip of a lever. There is a price to be paid in personal energy if society is going to be relieved of expenditure of other forms of energy. The lesson was that it’s still a long road to the realization that we will need to ratchet down expectations of convenience to truly make a difference. Again, I feel fortunate to have made choices many years ago that make convenience a gift and not a birthright to me. As the great sailor and mountaineer Bill Tillman said, “One cannot miss what one has not become accustomed to.”

There was a miracle machine truck that supposedly ran on garbage on display. I hope I’m mistaken, but the vague and general process explanation, coupled with the maze of PVC pipes masking taped together and spray painted flat black, screamed of snake-oil to me. I have been called a harsh critic, but the utterance of even one phrase familiar from my thermal dynamics classes would have granted the benefit of doubt. Instead I could not get the image of the crystal-ball wielding carpetbagger from the “Wizard of Oz” out of my mind.

I liked the fuel cell hotrod. Here was a working application of the early phase of a promising concept in a package to grab the attention of a boy of any age. Its huge bank of batteries, though, were a reminder that we still really don’t have a clue how to store energy unless it is in the form of fossil fuel. As well, our appetites for energy are poorly suited to the slow and steady production of renewable sources after a century of taking for granted the instantaneous and large energy release of petroleum sources.

There were many, many other ideas and concepts present. There were also many people present who genuinely wanted to find inspiration to move in the right direction, and I’m certain, some who did find it. For me the question arriving and leaving was the same. How can one life’s experiment with finding balance and a form of sustainability, albeit in a unique choice of setting (living afloat) be carried ashore to help land based folk in their quest for similar solutions? I guess the answer is just to get out there and connect and hope to eventually find the sort of collaboration that opens doors.

Lest those living in (fiber) glass houses be accused of throwing stones, I will admit to copping out, staying late for the best of the entertainment venue, and bumming a lift home in a fossil burner!

Stay or Go?

On the dock late one summer I was confronted with a question that had become a standard greeting after a couple of winter cruises to warmer places. “Going south this year?” I was feeling a bit sarcastic, and more than a bit tired of the question, so my response was “No, I’m taking this year off.” Subsequently I noticed that the few remaining acquaintances who believed there was more to my lifestyle than madness began drifting away.

I’ve lived aboard for sixteen years now and feel quite fortunate to have escaped New England winters for four of them. I suppose the common three-season query of “Isn’t it cold in the winter?” would indicate that many land dwellers think I should instead begrudge the twelve northern winters. It’s taken a while, but I feel like I’m finally reaching the point where I can see the silver lining and the cloud both in staying and in voyaging. As crazy as it sounds, I actually enjoy looking ahead toward a season “off.” I didn’t decide to live aboard simply as a prelude to the ‘event’ of a tropical cruise. It’s a lifestyle I arrived at eyes open (and then I realized I needed glasses.)

Boldfaced self justification is probably the verdict many are passing at this point, but maybe I can explain myself. I won’t deny the challenges that the winter months present on board, headed I suppose by fresh water acquisition. But then these challenges are as individual as the people who pursue this lifestyle. It took a last minute cancelled cruise for me to sit down and quantify the pros and cons, so to the detractors I at least award recognition of the inception of these thoughts. In a particularly active early winter storm season a few years ago, I was faced with challenging arguably suicidal weather or tying to the dock. The list helped me quantify the collateral damage in terms of lost preparation costs. I didn’t start out to rethink the philosophies surrounding my choice to live afloat, but that’s exactly what happened.

At best, the offshore passages to the Caribbean from New England and back occupy one to two months on either end of the cruise. Ridiculous! Even a thirty five foot sailboat is good for 100 to 120 miles per day. Yes, but the crew has learned over time that just the right weather window is well worth the wait. Time is a principle safety factor in small boat ocean voyaging. And then there’s an island nearly on the rhumbline that makes visitors feel more welcome than any other I know. It’s always a challenge for me to leave Bermuda without an immigrations extension. So all told, there’s a healthy chunk of a given year’s cruise dedicated to the priority of getting to the other season. Since exposure to Caribbean strength hurricanes is as unthinkable as forfeiting a New England cruising summer, there’s no mid solution for me while I own one boat.

The question is, what one would be doing otherwise during those months? Before reliable central heat and breathable foul weather gear, probably not much. Before boomtown real estate prices and shifting waterfront property control banned summer access to many peaceful spots, why would one challenge the volatile weather of the cusp seasons? But things have changed in sixteen years and now the nicest sailing of all seems to work around the peak crowds. This sort of sailing is a big plus on the ‘stay’ list.

Family is a double edged sword in all of this decision making. It’s priceless to share dolphins and sea turtles with nephews a thousand miles away while they are swimming around your home. Realizing you have to carry the experience through to completion by finding and bringing home both in stuffed animal form is the downside. Complete abandon of consumerism is far more elusive than one thinks. Being present at the ever dwindling number of Holidays when Santa Claus is real and playing with the toys is as much fun as giving them are the corresponding plus in the cold winter column.

The issue of anxiety inflicted upon loved ones seems almost a wash. On the one hand there’s intense worry from land folk about the voyage on each end. Rightfully so I suppose – we all fear most what we understand least. Over time this has improved with my ability to explain my decisions more fully in terms of weather and other factors. Communication has allowed me to be in almost daily contact, though I sometimes think those ashore never quite believe it’s really me sending the e-mails. But then there’s the long period where I’m assumed to be lounging at a Club Med and therefore obviously quite safe in between. How could there be another side to such intense periods of anxiety you ask? It’s related to the assumption that anyone who would winter on a boat in a place where the ocean freezes solid must be a lunatic. This sort of realization about a loved one has to be hard to take. I’ve devoted unusual energy to this lifestyle, even to the point of earning a relatively rare degree in naval architecture and marine engineering before trying it. Yet somehow the assurance that “it’s OK, I’m a professional,” offers no relief. After all, what blue blooded American boy didn’t try to make his bike fly after Fonzi jumped his motorcycle over the barrels on “Happy Days,” in spite of the “don’t try this at home warning?”

Making friends underway is not much different than dockside for the winter. Mostly what changes is the topic of conversation. Away, talk centers inexplicably often around what commodity is available and where. In a dockside New England winter community it invariably involves heating schemes and gadgets. Either way, there is a tendency to form the elastic bonds that bring you back in contact repeatedly with the same few people.

I suppose I’d be run out on rails if I didn’t mention cost. Frankly it’s so individual as to make my observations seem almost pointless. I’ve seen many happy cruisers with little more than an iron will and a sound boat. I’ve even one or two without the latter. What you “need” is no more absolute afloat than ashore. What it takes to complete your personal level of preparation is, thankfully, one of a few remaining personal freedoms. So the purists will scoff and the belt- and-suspenders crowd will dismiss me as foolhardy, but my preparations are the best I can manage and consequently personally costly. There is a life raft repack which can be painful every few years. There are offshore flares, EPIRB batteries and ditch bag bits to assemble and renew. The satellite phone must be activated for at least a year. Provisioning is never trivial if you do it as well as know how to. Weather guidance is worth the cost to me and has been both educational and probably lifesaving over the years. Insurance for extended travel is difficult to obtain and expensive. Lest we should forget, for those planning to stop along the way, there are expenses associated with entertaining ourselves. At least we’ve brought along our own efficiency motel.

Clearly the ‘stay’ column is less costly. On the short list are items like winter dockage (I rarely use marinas when cruising,) auto insurance, heating energy, and a gym membership. This last is my alternative to installing an anchor windlass in the spring, aside from its other benefits. Time and world events seem to conspire to make the subtotal of the short list rise to meet that of the longer ‘go’ list. I had a hard time answering someone recently who asked me to compare my winter heating costs to my overall cruising budget.

Anyone who has been out and back will agree that there is a genuine hard work aspect to cruising, particularly in preparation. Even underway there will be opportunities to wonder if farming might not have been a wiser choice. The real reward of many years of living aboard has not been the few of voyaging. It has been all of the experiences along the way. I love to be warm and swim in clear tropical water. But I love to be free to live as I choose even more. The time spent wherever you are is special if you are in it for the lifestyle and not for some one time travel experience or perceived escape. The perspective that you are seeing the world but sleeping in your own bed when you do cruise won’t happen if you don’t make your boat your home. Wherever it is......

Finding the ‘Right’ Boat

Your mission, should you choose to accept it...
In the business of molding thoughts into the reality known as a boat, the foundation of the process is what is called a ‘mission statement.’ Detaching this element from a rather martial sounding name, the idea of use definition should also be central to the selection of a boat, new or used. We arrange our daily lives from shopping to vacations, meetings to job interviews, yet frequently buy boats with far less preparation. Organization of thought and concise definition of purpose is the key to reaching the goal the first time. As expensive as boats have a reputation to be, none costs more than the wrong one for the intended objective.

One size doesn’t fit all.
Ours is a society of ‘one size fits all’ equipment. We want our SUV’s to corner like sport cars and our sport cars to climb mountains like goats. Trawlers, once synonymous with heavy displacement, low power and reasonable fuel consumption are now expected to plane. Every cruising sailboat is a ‘performance cruiser,’ while few racing sailboats are without amenities previously unimagined. In part, technology may be thanked for this new order. The balance results from the expectations of a culture that wants and feels entitled to ‘get it all.’ Here it must be recognized that some features will conflict directly. Design and construction trade offs are fairly permanent. Prioritization will help to match expectations and candidate boat properties.

Choose your theme.
Since a cruising or live aboard boat is a microcosm, compromise in the selection process will remain near at hand. The more clearly the use of the boat is defined, the less regrettable those compromises will prove. Start by expressing the true focus of the dream. Spell it out clearly and consider having it and framed and hung in a conspicuous location. How often the central theme is revisited will be in proportion to how close you come to achieving it.

Where, when and how?
By definition, your boat is intended to take you places. Outline what those places might be and how you will reach them. A world cruise and a coastal sojourn are very different goals and should lead you toward different candidate vessels. While it is more dangerous to overestimate the strengths of an inshore cruiser, it is far more common to overstate the application of the boat you are seeking. If you do not know from experience that ocean wandering is to the tastes of the crew, then pursuing this capability can make for a very expensive and inefficient coastal cruiser. Volunteer as crew to temper your ambitions with insight. This phase begins the process of narrowing the field from which you will eventually choose. The boats you cross off the list are as important as the ones you leave on.

Sleek or Voluptuous?
Fashion changes, but the laws of physics do not. I like to say that some boats are meant to go fast and some are meant to go far. Nowadays the lines of distinction are blurred. Research the performance properties of your candidate boats by talking about and sailing on them. If voyaging is your intent, remember that your concept of speed will change from knots to miles per day. Momentary speed is secondary to the range of conditions under which reasonable speed can be maintained. Many of the design principles that enhance performance also increase acceleration responses and stress concentrations on the structure. Not least of which will be your own stress when the bottom rises to find the keel. ‘Sea kindly’ is an antiquated description of a boat of gentle response. Older, ‘slower’ boats whose designs incorporating large radii in place of sharp angles and flat surfaces are better suited to harmless distribution of unexpected loads. Speaking of loads, nothing adds weight to your boat like moving aboard. Performance types suffer most because the added weight is likely a larger proportional increase, and because light displacement is critical to their speed in the first place. If performance is your inclination, pay special attention to weight in your other considerations.

Power to Choose:
Whether power or auxiliary sail, limited options exist for alteration of engine power and fuel capacity. Consider where you plan to go and research tidal current strength and fuel availability. Brokerage listings often have most or all of the information you would need to evaluate a boat against these criteria. A seemingly undersized engine will usually compensate with lower fuel consumption and therefore extended range versus capacity. Conversely, reserve engine power is a strong comfort when you decide you’re not having fun anymore. Under sail, the question of power is really a question of rig size, type and handling systems. Golden-agers are handling large sails later in life than ever thanks to all manner of reefing and furling systems. Provided they can spare the gold to buy and maintain them, that is. Otherwise, physical limitation must be a consideration in your sail plan decision.

How much?
Too much boat ends the dream more often than too little a boat harms the crew. Because individual expenses related to boat ownership are often indexed by length, newcomers may be deceived into concluding a linear proportionality. Nothing could be more dangerously incorrect. The relationship between length and cost is more likely exponential. Outfit quantity, size and complexity comprise the main difference. It is simple truth that more of the long term cruisers and liveaboard folks I’ve encountered have phrased this evaluation not as “How much boat can I afford?” but rather as “How small a boat can I accomplish my purpose in?” Finance and crew needs generally top the concern list of disillusioned new cruisers. An initial theme of simplicity trending gradually toward intricacy is less shocking to the system than immersion in vast complexity without austere beginnings. Within the limits of prudent seamanship, consider that the cost of the porthole doesn’t alter the view it frames. As one cruiser taught me, “Big boat, big problems. Little boat, little problems.”

Arrangement priorities:
Being often integral to structure, furnishing and arrangement are two very expensive features of a boat to change. I occasionally lament having only one sleeping cabin on my Alberg 35. Guest space would be a great convenience but I have managed without it. More than most features, I can see how this choice impacted my boat size choice and therefore my cruising options over the past sixteen years. Overall I know the decision I made was best. Galley size and orientation will be important considerations to those with culinary inclination. Head and bathing arrangements deserve advanced consideration. Even details such as a permanent or fold away salon table merit thought. Wardrobe stowage space may warrant a ballot line. The good news is that expectations conform to a compromise arrangement better than most other trade off decisions. Provided, that is, the compromise was not an afterthought.

Turn key or ‘handyman special?
The first simple qualifier in this decision is whether or not you are of the ‘handyman’ sort. Self evaluation in this area is discouraged. Ask a trusted friend if they would go to sea in a boat you have altered. If they would not, you shouldn’t either. It can be difficult, especially for men, to acknowledge their potential limitations in this arena, but it is important for both safety and budget to do so. Here again the volunteer apprentice principle will yield the best results. Few boat owners will refuse help with a project and there’s no better way to figure out either how to do your own work, or that you don’t want to. While this will be seen as a decision to impact your initial investment, it is really much more. In this decision you set the stage for your relationship with your boat throughout your ownership. Like the journey, doing your own repair work will only grow easier once you have begun. The frequently overlooked return on the investment of learning to do your own work is the confidence that you will be better prepared when doing so is your only option. Hubris aside, not everyone has the time or inclination to take on a project boat. What really matters is that this decision is made deliberately and with understanding of the real cost of each choice.

Choose your candy.
In a world of gadget junkies, the thought of leaving behind lifestyle toys can be frightening. The good news is that unlike our cars, our electronic trappings have become more compact and power efficient in the last 15 years. Inverters to run household appliances from battery banks have decreased in cost. If your boat target range is such that large generators are not likely, and your use is going to take you away from shore power connections, consider leaving heating element appliances behind. Life without a microwave oven was difficult to imagine when I first moved aboard, but as I shifted into cruising mode, I found the counter space more valuable than the convenience. Computers, nerve centers for information, communication, and entertainment in our world, now travel exceptionally well. Several good books on the subject of marine electrics are available to help you relate your list of intended toys to battery bank size and charging needs.

Expert witness:
Most boat buyers will rely heavily on their surveyor to investigate the condition of a candidate boat. The information you get from the survey generally will be limited to the condition of the boat and not its suitability for a purpose. Remember that surveyors tend to have specialties like other professionals. Ask around and find one with experience in the type of vessel you are considering.

But what about.....?
If by now you are thinking about the countless considerations I have not mentioned here, you get the idea. Just as there are no two identical ‘mission statements,’ there is no standard list of considerations. The process of thinking about your priorities in an organized manner and recording your decisions for later reference is the common thread. Call it ‘doing your homework’ if you like. Making the list is more important that what specifically it starts out including. If you are moving in the right direction, the list will be a living, growing entity anyway.

Help!!!
If this all seems just a bit overwhelming, you don’t have to face it alone. Most people wouldn’t consider filing taxes or making investments without some advice from a professional. As in those cases, free advice is often worth what it cost. Objectivity gives up its place to ego at the yacht club bar. The numbers involved in choosing a boat are potentially large, so consider the possible wisdom of investing in assistance from an independent naval architect or yacht designer. Understanding of the initial design process could prove helpful in the creation of your specific list and evaluating compromises. Directing your choices toward candidate boat types is no different from the early stages of a new design.

‘Move confidently in the Direction of Your Dream....’
‘And find success unimagined in common hours,’ to paraphrase Thoreau. But since we’re discussing boats, not Walden Pond, you will find a few negatives as well. Since adapting to changing surroundings instead of wearing away at the ‘old grind’ is inherent to this lifestyle, taking the glitches in stride will be good practice. Diligence in advance of your decision will reduce the number and significance of regrets. Reference to your own process will often remind you of the reasons for your choices. All that then remains is to enjoy the result.

Mr. Peebuddy

Author's note: This article was written in 2005, prior to installation of a separation composting marine sanitation device. Mr. Peebuddy continues to live aboard in harmony with the Airhead expanding capacity and posture options....

Evolution:

Legend has it that most drowned males are found with their fly down. Ulyses call of the Sirens may have in fact been more truthfully related as the call of nature. True or not, the sensible precaution seems to be to bring the activity of peeing over the side safely inboard until completion of the more ‘hands on’ portion of the performance. (Of course it goes without saying that this is in reference to traversing waters where it is legal to relieve one’s self directly into the ocean.)

Enter the ancestor of Mr. Peebuddy. Nothing more complex than a bleach bottle cut into the classic shape of a dinghy bailer then spliced to a length of line and attached to the boat. After the curtain falls on the final performance, the whole works gets the heave ho and the plastic parts are retrieved in compliance with the MARPOL treaty. Rinsed and ready to go next time you are.

For at least 30 years boats with accommodations have been required to have approved marine sanitation devices (MSD’s) installed. This has typically been a case of law without means of compliance as until recently there’s been no place to empty them. Federal grants have helped solve this issue in some places with grants for pump out boats. The resulting convenience has helped take the MSD from ‘compliance only’ status to that of a real functioning ship’s system. It is, however a fairly maintenance intensive system.

Head Troubles:

It’s no news to the ‘hands on’ sailor that problems with the MSD are some of the least welcome on board. They rate just astern of fire and marital problems for expense and potential impact on longevity of the lifestyle. The problems a typical marine head and holding tank are subject to are as numerous as the people who are interested in fixing them are few.

Odor from leaky connections, vents and the general combination of waste and salt flush water is the most common complaint since holding tanks began to ‘hold.’ A well installed system, frequent pump out and flushing will help but never fully resolve this. Leaving fresh instead of salt water in the bowl over periods of disuse helps a lot too.

In the long term, the build up of a sort of cement like plaque inside the walls of hoses, valves and fittings is the biggest maintenance problem. The already small passages shrink in inner diameter and flow suffers accordingly. ‘Y’ valves stop rotating. Check valves become obstructed and allow flow in the wrong direction. The only solution is to remove the system entirely and break up the deposits in each component before reassembly. Partial disassembly will only leave pieces lurking just around the corner to stop the works when you least expect it. This is roughly equivalent in labor to installing an entire new system. The interval of this service depends on many factors. In full time cruising it can be as little as every 2 years.

Therapy:

One solution becoming more common is the composting head. The units practical for marine installation are of the diverting, or liquid / solid separating type. This allows the process of composting to take place without the need for evaporation and its energy demand. A small air fan is all that is required and this is well within most available energy budgets on board. The additional benefits of simplicity and elimination of large through hull fittings enhance this option. But somewhat large size, along with required physical modification to the head space have delayed my pursuit of this solution until at least my next drydock.

Meanwhile I decided to dip my toes in the waters of this new idea by doing some of my own waste separation. It’s not always polite or allowable to apply the outdoor expedient, so I decided to create an indoor companion product. Enter Mr. Peebuddy.

The standard bleach bottle dinghy bailer became the ‘receiver.’ The criteria for selection here is a matter of balancing space available against your aim. A brass cup hook at the right height and bungee chord loop around the base of the bleach bottle holds the assembly up. Down in the neck of the bottle I installed a plastic round flap with perforations to guard against gurgle splash back as the vent and drain are one. The tank at the other end is a clear spring water bottle. The principle qualifier here is how well the cap threads on and seals to prevent transport mishaps. In between is the appropriate length of PVC hose to suit your particular height requirements, with a plastic shut off valve installed just below the urinal bleach bottle. The specifics of the connections are best described as a combination of materials at hand. I found 1/2” hose barb by ½” pipe thread adapters worked well when inserted through the bottle caps and backed with ½” female pipe threaded fittings. Bushings work well here, but the only way to “do it yourself” is to walk around the plumbing section with your caps and or bottles and see what will fit. In the bottom of the bleach bottle urinal I decided to fill the space around the fitting and cap with epoxy to eliminate a collection pocket. My shut off valve is a plastic stop cock from US Plastics, but any type will serve. The idea is simply to contain the odor within the tank bottle and hoses between uses. A second spring water jug and cap is the reserve tank so one is always in place while the other is in transport. An old canvas bag disguises the transport tank for the socially conscious who prefer to do less explaining on the way ashore. Total cost is around $2 if you get a cheap valve and recycle the rest from other uses.

It will be obvious to all by now that this was a solution conceived in a male microcosm. But before dismissing it as only such, I would suggest that the flexible hose connection and some reconsideration to the shape of the bleach bottle might possibly lend toward a Mrs. Peebuddy, or at least some gender ambiguity in the installation. If you’ve got the room, a plastic hose barb “Y”, another bleach bottle and a bit more hose could even result in a “his and hers” installation.


Benefits:

The most noticeable advantage to the system has been vastly extended time range for the existing holding tank. Without flushing urine and seawater several times a day, it provides capacity for weeks in stead of days. In places where pump out is not available, this means longer stays between visits to pump stations or discharge legal waters.

I expected a reduction in deposit build up through lower use of the main MSD, but I did not expect it to have ceased almost entirely. It seems that the compounds most related to this problem are those in liquid waste. Time will tell, but one year later the system connected with the installed marine head are showing no signs of build up.

I suppose the most important benefit, though, has been the reshaping of an old and deeply ingrained mindset. It’s not easy to get away from the concept of making the undesirable disappear with minimum effort. The cigarette butt out the car window, plastic instead of paper, and the general removal of the evils of a convenience based society to a place “not in my back yard” can’t be reconciled on the water. It’s all my back yard there. Getting used to a solution that does not depend on municipalities and specific location has provided a satisfaction level far more compatible with the limitless nature of sailing in general.