Projects, Projects and More Projects

7-12-12 – Alameda, CA Day – Day 10

Long ago when we decided upon this plan to live on our boat and go cruising for a year, we knew there would be many, many projects to be completed.  So many projects in fact that I had a list of things to be completed prior to us arriving on the boat and a time frame to go with them.  Things like install second reef lines on 3^rd weekend in March; install new macerator on 2^nd weekend in January; generally things that would be nice to have out of the way before we arrived to live permanently on the boat.  Needless to say, if you own a boat you know how those plans worked out.  So we found ourselves getting back to the boat a week later than anticipated due to some silly wedding thingy, and having accomplished almost none of our planned pre-projects.

Before

That’s not to say many of the materials hadn’t already been purchased.  In fact they had so much so that moving around the boat and actually living on it was a bit of a challenge for a few days.  Project 1 was organize the boat so we can sit somewhere and maybe even cook some food somewhere.  That was a highly unexciting project but it took us almost 2 days to even make a dent in the mess, and in reality it will probably not be completed anytime in the next year.  Disorganization is difficult for me to deal with.  It probably has something to do with being an engineer. It appears this is something I will need to learn to accept.

After

Who says sewing isn't cool?

I would like none other than to detail out each and every project that we have worked on, relaying humorous and witty anecdotes about lessons learned; but I don’t know if that makes for very good reading.  I can tell you that at one point I found myself sewing.  Somehow sewing on a boat, using waxed whipping twine, wearing mechanics gloves and working with canvas seems not quite so un-manly.  The end product of my sewing was some pockets to mount by our heads on the bulkhead to keep our personal stuff organized.  This very well may be the only personal space we each have on the boat.  But since a Danforth, Bruce or Manson Supreme; along with rodes, chains and shackles mean little to most people I will carry on. 

Oh yea, I had to go up the mast also, all in a days work.

Elizabeth has been designated the research and procurement position on our boat.  She seems to enjoy going on missions to pick up little pieces of gear we are missing or to take a bike ride to Trader Joe's to pick up wine; I mean groceries.  I think she just like to ride her bike around Alameda to be honest.  We learned quickly that one basket of food at the grocery is all you can fit into our backpacks for the ride home.  Unfortunately, this has seriously reduced my procurement and consumption of good beer (one of my loves) and increased my consumption of cheap wine (think 2 buck chuck).  One of the sacrifices I guess I’ll have to make to not have a car and live on the boat.  I think I can manage somehow.

We had a bit of boat Karma the other day.  It all starts on the 4^th of July.  We went to watch the Alameda parade (one of the largest and longest in the country if you didn’t know)  We saw a float for a bar named the Frog and the fFddle and made note that it would be a cool place to go.  The other day we were at WM (that's our initials for overpriced boat stuff) buying a battery charger; it was stressful so we packed up our new charger into the backpack and rode over to the Frog and the Fiddle.  After talking to the bartender we learned that she lives on a boat also, and it happens to be at our marina!  Her boyfriend owns a company that sells boxes of organic fruits and veggies and delivers them to people whenever they want.  She just happened to have an extra box of fruit and veggies with her and offered to give them to us.  We took her up on the offer and somehow managed to carry a battery charger and a box of veggies down the road on our bikes.  Note that this situation did not stop us from stopping at the next bar she recommended.  We probably looked like terrorists walking into the bar with a large cardboard box, a backpack with a battery charger and spools of wire.  They still served us.

Tasty Fruits and Veggies!

While the non-stop projects have been challenging, rewarding and frustrating all in one day; they have helped to give us a sense of accomplishment and purpose as we transition onto the boat and our life of doing less.  Riding our bikes everywhere has helped to slow us down.  Once you ditch your possessions, cars and house you  start to realize how few bills come in and how little it really takes to live. I haven’t watched a TV in weeks and don’t know what’s going on with House , Modern Family or Survivor – South Central Madagascar, but I can tell you how to install a radar pole or how many amp hours a group 31 battery has.   A nice glass of wine in the cockpit at sundown (2 buck Chuck), something good on the grill, the motivation that you’ve got more to do tomorrow (for the 10^th day in a row an counting) I think I could get used to this life.

This is what it's all about