Stopped Reading Since Moving Aboard

[jaxfishgyd]

We moved onboard in 2000 after selling the house and buying the Hatteras.

Before then, I got 7 magazines a month, read two newspapers a day and read books nonstop ....
Since moving onboard...have read ONE book, only get 2 magazines and read the newspaper online from time to time.

I'm having way too much fun just sitting on the aft deck or on the bow at night to read.... Plus fishing off the dock, dock partys....

Most people I know who move onboard are just the opposite, They can't read enough.....
Maybe that's the powerboater in me....

[rigormortis]

JAX:
I'm with you 100%.
Was a big reader, books and mags and occasional writings. Now, forget it.
I can sit and stare at the big blue for hours without care.
My mind must be dumbing down but no matter. When I do read something it's a manual because something has broken. That's at sea.
When in port I'm just fixing something and reading manuals.
Don't feel bad.
Sensory input is different, not less.
Pete

[sailorboy1]

Are you 2 sure you haven't just gone from mags and newspapers to ......... the internet?

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by jaxfishgyd

We moved onboard in 2000 after selling the house and buying the Hatteras.

Before then, I got 7 magazines a month, read two newspapers a day and read books nonstop ....
Since moving onboard...have read ONE book, only get 2 magazines and read the newspaper online from time to time.

I'm having way too much fun just sitting on the aft deck or on the bow at night to read.... Plus fishing off the dock, dock partys....

Most people I know who move onboard are just the opposite, They can't read enough.....
Maybe that's the powerboater in me....

What being on a boat does is open you to the world around you. You've got a big sky picture to view and stare at not just the four walls inside a house or an office anymore. You notice the wind and the tides not the guys bumper in the car in front of you on the road. I do a lot of staring on board but, also a lot of thinking and sometimes I come up with some really good ideas sitting in the cockpit. I'm busy all day doing something or nothing and tend to only read at night in my bunk. But, with a good book it is always something to look forward to at the end of the day.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Are you 2 sure you haven't just gone from mags and newspapers to ......... the internet?

Don:

There could be worse places to spend your time than the Internet on board. Like watching TV.

[jaxfishgyd]

Guilty of the internet.. But a lot easier to look stuff up than driving around now days. But only on it several times a day for a few minutes (normally).

[rtbates]

I've had the same experience, WHEN I'm at the dock. When out sailing, especially at sea waiting for wind, I'll tend to read more. Since you don't wait for wind, that's not an experience you'll know. I also never read when the diesel is thumping along, only when it's a nice mellow day of gliding along with the sails pulling and the autopilot steering. I also know you don't ever have that experience, what the diesel always needing to run to get anywhere. See you just get there too darn fast to have time to read!haha

[mrohr]

I'm a huge reader,and have on board 20 volumes that will sustain me if ever shipwrecked,however i never get to make a dent in them since am usually too busy keeping the boat in repair,fishing, partying, minding the weather,getting provisions, watching sunsets, preparing meals, cleaning up ,etc.,etc.etc. that many tomes go unread season after season.
Anchored off some tropical island for a few weeks ( months?) does wonders, and the reading goes up again when the only thing that I work on is my tan........O.K. maybe I fish some. God it has been a long dreary winter here in the Northeast U.S.

[bobconnie]

I admit I get most of my reading on here or Manuals on my shipboard equipment!! But Connie has her Kindal and her online free books from our local library ! works for us !

[scallywag]

jaxfishgyd,
Not living aboard but spending more time trying catch up with the learning curve. Every time I think I am ready to go something else needs fixing. I had water in the bilge(the first time). From where is the drip drip drip sound coming. Finally found the source. The rudder shaft. Then I had to locate a 22" screwdriver to tighten the hose clamps. From crawling around the bilge, I think I broke a ground because my engine panel display isn't lite and the tach jumps from zero to 1,000 RPMs. I am now reading about wiring and alternators. With 30 degree temperatures, I am not inclined to crawl around a dry bilge to find a broken ground or disconnected wire. I did see sparks when I touched some wires on the invertor/battery charger. Wednesday it is to be in the 70's, so back to the bilge for me.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Are you 2 sure you haven't just gone from mags and newspapers to ......... the internet?

Uh Don? Check out their number of posts per month.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Don:

There could be worse places to spend your time than the Internet on board. Like watching TV.

TV? What's that? Isn't that a monitor for DVD's?

[BlueSun]

For me, reading was a way to escape from the "real world". Now that I'm doing what I really want to do I feel less need to escape, Im more relaxed, and find more joy in just soaking up the world around me. The real world is a very different place for me than it was before I left.

I still read a lot, but not in the same OCD way I used to.