"Flying Pig" wrote:

Comments, please...

How is life aboard Flying Pig different from my life ashore?

1: Flying Pig is a boat. Aside from times in the boatyard, where it's up
on stilts on shore, it's in constant motion. This takes some getting used
to, but most accommodate it very well.

If you know you get seasick and have a remedy that works for you, be
sure to bring it. We (that is Bob and I) have ginger aboard which
works for some folks, but I will not supply prescription medication to
guests (or anyone). Bob's preferred remedy is to have the seasick
person take the wheel and to eat saltines. I personally prefer to
have hot tea and sleep through it

4: Accomodations, for a boat, are generous, but very small by home
standards. The best place on the boat for sleeping in "normal" (not rough
seas) weather is in what's called the VEE berth, so called because of its
shape. It's a 7-foot equilateral triangle, and accomodates most "normal"
sized couples handily, though, of necessity, the feet tend to be touching

We always slept the other way - with our heads close together at the
pointy end. Of course that means that the reading light is at our
feet.

On our boat, the hatch is over our heads and so if it is open and
starts to rain, it rains on our faces and we close it. Also I like to
stick my head up out of the hatch in the morning to see what is going
on.
Secondary
accommodations, for times when it might be too rough for comfort (the front
of the boat moves the most, in all motion-sensitive conditions) are in the
saloon, what boat people call their family room/dining room/living room, in
a pull-out double (48"x79" and tapering to less at the foot). This is the
best place for sleeping in rough conditions, as it's nearly in the center of
the boat, and has the least motion of any space aboard.

Bob has a lee cloth for the single bunk in the main cabin so he can
sleep there if it is rough and I'm at the helm. I personally lie down
on the floor next to the mast (assuming a keel stepped mast). If it
is just ordinary rolling, and he's at the helm, I just sleep
crossways in the aft cabin.

5: Bathroom and shower space is combined.

We have a separate shower on our boat, but a lot of times we use it
for a closet.

9: Space aboard, while generous for most sailboats, is very much less than
landside living spaces. "Excuse me" because you need to get by someone
while going from "here" to "there" aboard is common. Nevertheless, our home
was designed originally as a charter boat, and in its original
configuration, could manage 11 people for sleeping (5 of those spaces have
been converted to other uses, now) and meals. Still, spaces are sometimes
close for those accustomed to multi-digit feet distances between them and
other objects or people.
Our boat could originally sleep 8 (or really 7.5), and we've taken out
the double in the main cabin and made a single of it, and the single
across from it is so short now that it would only fit a child, so we
are down to 6.25 unless someone sleeps in the cockpit or on deck..

10: Because of #s 1, 4 and 9, not only will it make your life easier, but,
under way, safer, if everything not in active use is stored and secured. If
you trip over it, or, worse, it flies off where ever it was put and hits
you, it's a safety hazard to have stuff lying out in the open. That means
we'll be "neat nazis" about stuff left out when it's not being used.

Absolutely. Someone who has a trawler complained because the boat hit
a wake and the computer fell off the table and I said (without any
compassion), you must not have had it secured. We always secure all
the hatches when underway too.

11: We have neither TV nor broadband internet connectivity aboard, though
we frequently will have an excellent connection to the internet. Therefore,
there's none of the shoreside mind-numbers available.

We do have TV aboard with a follow-me antenna. The good thing about
this is that we didn't have a satellite dish at home, and after we got
it on the boat, Bob decided to install a dish on the house for when we
weren't on the boat. Up to that point, we were just getting our
signal off-air with a big antenna on the roof. This is good because
now that everything has gone digital, we are too far away from the
D.C. TV stations to get a signal. The only way we could get TV at the
house now is either cable or sat dish

So, that's about it for the major differences from shore to our home.

What Might I Not Like About Life Aboard Flying Pig?

1: Everything's more expensive than it is at home.
2: Food, in general:
Not a problem for visitors on our boat. We aren't a charter. They
eat what we give them or get their own.

Soft drinks, OJ, beer and other commercial beverages, when available, are cold,
We don't carry soft drinks or beer or OJ
we drink mostly water or lemonade/Gatorade

We drink water, sunshine tea and cranberry juice. we don't have ice
for drinks.

3: Because fresh water is at such a premium both in amount we can carry,
availability/difficulty of transport and/or cost, we normally bathe in the
sea.

We carry so much water (400 gallons) that with the two of us it is
hard to use enough to keep it fresh, so we don't generally conserve
that much. We CAN, but generally don't.

8: Most of the time, whether you have and bring a cell phone, you'll not be
able to pick up the phone and call someone

I used to be able to use my bag phone all over the Chesapeake. Now
that the phone companies have gone digital, there are large spaces
where I don't get any signal. Progress!!!

9: We have a very small hand washer, capable of several T-shirts, to give
you an idea of size, but, at that, rarely use it due to water storage and
availability considerations.

We just use washers in marinas when required.

10: Related to #9, and just generally, as it's our preference, as we're
predominantly in very warm (not uncomfortably so) climates, we tend to wear
very little clothing,

I was told when we first chartered a boat in the Virgin Islands, that
I should not sit around in a wet bathing suit as I would have skin
problems. I found that is true.

Also since I've had two melanomas and Bob has had one second stage, we
do NOT sit around - even under the bimini - in bathing suits. I wear
long trousers and a shirt with at least some sleeves in the boat, plus
I have automatic darkening glasses. Bob wears sunglasses - he does
wear Bermuda type shorts. We both wear hats when outside and
sunscreen.

Bob insists that we wear shoes at all times when on deck for safety
reasons. Proper shoes really are more non-skid than feet. (I have
tested this myself.) If I didn't know that shoes were more slip
resistant, I wouldn't wear them. Bob does have more tender feet than
I do and he can't stand to walk on the non-skid on the deck, plus he's
broken toes in the past so he wears shoes in places that I go
barefoot, but I do as he wishes in to wearing shoes on deck.

Also we wear SOSpender type life jackets at all times when underway
and insist that all guests do the same.

12: If you're not an active cruiser, marine toilets ("heads") can be both a
mystery and a nuisance. Not only is the seat smaller (altogether round,
too),

We have a larger seat for our head. We also flush with fresh water
using the shower head.

You might also mention that male guests might do better with getting
urine in the toilet if they sit on the toilet seat rather than try to
hold on to keep their balance while trying to aim.

13: Our time ashore is nearly all afoot and looky-loo. That is, we don't
do tours, rent cars, pay for museums, and the like. There's lots to see and
do without cash expenditures, so we don't, in light of our budget. If your
idea of cruising is marinas, tours, maybe hotels, dinners out/pub-bar
entertainment and the like, we're happy to join you as your guests - but
we don't need it.

One of the things you may miss is walking, so time ashore can be used
for hiking and exercise. Or

6: Go rowing, if you like. We have a PortaBote, in addition to our
inflatable, which has dinghy oars as well as actual sculling sweeps (10'
oars I used to use in my rowing shell on Lake Lanier) which go in the
modification I did to that boat.