I spent the last five days aboard my sailboat. Sometimes alone, sometimes with family and sometimes with friends. It was an amazing experience, and one I’d like to repeat soon.
You learn a lot about a boat when you live on it for a while. I learned there’s some reorganization required in terms of storage to keep the rather small confines of the boat clear of blankets and empty beer bottles.
I learned that the boat needs two more batteries, so that starting the inboard one-lung diesel is possible after using the freshly installed tiller pilot all day. On that note, I also learned that the water pump which supplies water pressure to the faucet in the galley sink needs to be mounted in a far different place than it is, both to make more space where it currently exists, and to make its operation quieter.
I learned that my 26 foot sailboat, with its minimal freeboard handles heavy water better than my fathers boat, which is both longer, wider and taller. Another valuable lesson: having a small boat is beneficial when it comes to replacing sails – the aforementioned larger boat having shredded its headsail on Friday. Probably more than a thousand dollars worth of beneficial, having a small boat. Of course, I retain possession of two completely unshredded headsails at this time.
Mostly the last five days reaffirmed my love of sailing, and let me piece my fractured thoughts back together. I’m in a very zen mood today, and I plan on keeping this way for a long time. Sailing is like yoga, or meditation, or a martial art. You become very serene, and with my life as full as it is right now, serene is important.
:)