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skippy · 18-11-2010, 03:50

my husband and i are trying to make the change from working in the rat race of this world to living and surviving on our boat. we have a small spaniel dog and a 44 ft power cat. would love any advice on how we can make the transition from land to water-as in provisioning, stocking, dog, bedding, storing-that could mean a car on land to bikes to water absorbing dry products, computer care, plants, artwork, tools etc. my husband has spent more time on the boat than the dog and me. i will be in charge of the "comforts" of the boat but would love any ideas of all aspects.
thanks - esp if i fail to respond to emails afterwards

**boatman61** · 18-11-2010, 03:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by skippy

my husband and i are trying to make the change from working in the rat race of this world to living and surviving on our boat. we have a small spaniel dog and a 44 ft power cat. would love any advice on how we can make the transition from land to water-as in provisioning, stocking, dog, bedding, storing-that could mean a car on land to bikes to water absorbing dry products, computer care, plants, artwork, tools etc. my husband has spent more time on the boat than the dog and me. i will be in charge of the "comforts" of the boat but would love any ideas of all aspects.
thanks - esp if i fail to respond to emails afterwards

Do as you do on land..... just not so much....

skippy · 18-11-2010, 04:03

been doing that! and a lot of it for over a year. i did learn about containers with rubber seal tops, i think they are called lock and lock containers. they are water/air tight. learned also "square" things fit better in cupboards and storage areas(no wasted spots)- wish that had been implemented in my cupboards at home. and other little things.
thanks

**Wotname** · 18-11-2010, 04:12

Don't sweat the small stuff, after a sort while aboard you will start accepting things that seemed impossible to accept in your "land life".

What you have to do is just start living aboard and you will soon work out the real comforts you need as opposed to the "land based imagined ones" you now have.

And asking these questions on CF is a great start - wishing you an exciting journey of discovery

**boatman61** · 18-11-2010, 04:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by skippy

been doing that! and a lot of it for over a year. i did learn about containers with rubber seal tops, i think they are called lock and lock containers. they are water/air tight. learned also "square" things fit better in cupboards and storage areas(no wasted spots)- wish that had been implemented in my cupboards at home. and other little things.
thanks

Try heavy duty ziplock bags for rice lentils and other dry goods... except flour, sugar, coffee, tea... anything powdery.
Also the cheapie multipack versions are great for marinading chcken/meat... leftovers... pre-cooks... take up less room/flexible...
Keep your laptops/portable printer in sealed bags when not in use... let them cool down a bit before tho'... helps prevent moisture build up.
Good heavy copper based pans with tight lids help reduce gaz/fuel consumption.

MarkJ · 18-11-2010, 04:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by skippy

surviving on our boat.

...thanks - esp if i fail to respond to emails afterwards

Goodness!

does that mean you will die if we don't? Or you will suck the info out of us and then drop us like a hot potato?

**Hudson Force** · 18-11-2010, 13:14

Skippy, Think back to that time, probably when you were in college, when all you owned would fit in your car and this was ample. My wife and I rented a small trailer and found we could easily live in half of it before we moved aboard. Of course, we were fresh out of college and all we owned would fit in our car. I can't speak with experience in downsizing, but I do believe there is a great freedom in non-ownership. Even the advice above about the shape of storage containers pales with the solution of having less to store. Is it possible for you to designate a limited space within your current home and see if you can adapt to life within that space? This strategy has been helpful for some. Good luck and keep us posted.

When rereading your post I felt I had missed the mark. It seems you may be more interested in making it home than fitting in the home. We keep our cabin rather dark as opposed to the big open bright sell that is promoted on the broker's yard. We spend a lot of time in the cockpit and sun when cruising and like to retreat to the "cave". We keep a great deal of colored glassware in the portlights and small art pieces backed with fids (strips of wood that brace the position of shelved items). We have artwork screwed to the bulkheads,- you can't "hang" items when the level is changing. My wife redecorates with each season and holiday. I don't know where she keeps this stuff,- maybe in those rectangular plastic boxes mentioned above.

skippy · 19-11-2010, 03:48

thanks, never thought of it that way. we do spend more time up on top than down below. i have been trying to make the boat our "home" but not so much with the "crap" from our old home(which we sold and I got rid of A LOT of junk. I believe in trying to be a minimalist but being a woman I have that awful "nesting" gene. I am loving the help and ideas here. Never thought about a big plastic bag for my computer. thought i needed something from the computer store. *i think that is the "old" way of thinking i am trying to lose* i have brought a few things(i believe 5 total) from the house. kinda of helps with the transition. but i have new hobbies - for yard work- I clean stainless and eisenglass(SP?), for reading trade magazines and newspapers- I am studying navigation, tying knots, for shopping- i am sorting thru stuff and deciding who is going to get it and shipping it to them. my friends are now starting to avoid me!
thanks for your input. any more ideas - please share!!

skippy · 19-11-2010, 03:49

not going to such too much info out of ya!!!

skippy · 19-11-2010, 03:55

Great! i thought i was going tohave to go to a computer store---NOT NOW! been looking through my pots and pans which are heavy stainless-no glass tops. they should work. but don't like their handles but will reassess them. I buy heavy zip lock bags and reuse them as much as i can and depending on what was in them. I hate waste and plastic is a great wonder but a horrible decomposer. thanks for the ideas --- please send any more you may think of. i am working on a "small" sewing kit also

wingNwing · 19-11-2010, 04:03

Electronics are your downsizing friend - scan your photo albums, put your music CD on an ipod, get your bills by email instead of paper, books on a Nook or Kindle, etc etc. If you must have kitchen gadgets, make them rechargeable by 12-V; or hand-held (we use an antique eggbeater instead of a blender, for example).

**boatman61** · 19-11-2010, 04:54

I can live happily without Satphones, SSB's, EPIRBS, Liferafts, Radar, Chartplotters, etc etc.....

But I cannot live without my little coffee/spice Grinder/Blender.... it and the inverter accompany me from boat to boat....
Along with my crew.... Algy the Tillerpilot..

wingNwing · 19-11-2010, 05:00

Boatman61 has provided an example of an important point for downsizing & moving aboard: figure out whatever it is that will make YOU feel like you're camping out instead of at home, and address that. For him, apparently, it's fresh coffee. For someone else, maybe, its a good stereo. Bright lighting? Fast internet? (For me, I require hot showers aboard, instead of walking back from a marina bathhouse with wet hair and wet towels). No right or wrong answer here, except know yourself. Whatever it is for you, identify it, solve it.

**boatman61** · 19-11-2010, 05:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingNwing

Boatman61 has provided an example of an important point for downsizing & moving aboard: figure out whatever it is that will make YOU feel like you're camping out instead of at home, and address that. For him, apparently, it's fresh coffee. For someone else, maybe, its a good stereo. Bright lighting? Fast internet? (For me, I require hot showers aboard, instead of walking back from a marina bathhouse with wet hair and wet towels). No right or wrong answer here, except know yourself. Whatever it is for you, identify it, solve it.

Good fresh ground Coffee and...... superb Curry's with fresh roasted & ground spices...