Hello fellow liveaboards, longtime lurker here but first-time poster.
I'm a journalist writing a piece for a Seattle-based
boating magazine about the wisdom liveaboards can pass on to recreational boaters - basically lessons learned the hard way - and I'd love to get your input. I've been posing the question to my marina neighbors but wanted to cast the net a little wider, hence this post.
I'm after tips and tricks regarding making your
boat a more comfortable, safer or easier to maintain vessel - the sorts of things you learn from being on your
boat full-time that can be of benefit to someone who perhaps only uses their boat on weekends, or during nice
weather, or in a short sailing season.
I'd love to get your ideas on comfort,
security, marina etiquette and neighborliness, making best use of limited space, relationships with marina managers, environmental factors, boat systems (plumbing,
electrical etc),
weather and anything else you've figured out through living full-time on your boat that you'd like to pass on others.
As an example, some of the suggestions so far include choosing the right mattress, locker ventilation and
cabin moisture control. What other issues have you
solved?
Please
email me your thoughts at ozcesq (at) gmail (dot) com, let me know if it's OK to quote you in the story and include a wee bit of info about yourself (your name, where you live, the type of boat you have and how long you've been living aboard).
With thanks and regards,
Charlotte Franklin
Freelance Journalist