[Hilde’s log]
Yes, that’s right, David had a birthday yesterday, May 6th! We celebrated by taking on water, so we could clean up for lunch at Mangoes. We’ve been being very careful with water for about 10 days, and extremely careful with water for the last three days. The charge here is $20 per 100 gallons or less, so we wanted to be as empty as possible before filling up (we carry 80 gallons in the tanks and another 18 gallons on deck). In addition to being cheap, we wanted to give David’s hand a chance to heal before exercising it too much. All went well at the marina dock, David didn’t strain his hand, we filled up, and then we celebrated with baths and shampoos. Once we were slicked up (I even wore make-up) we enjoyed lunch at Mangoes and then spent the afternoon in the cockpit listening to a CD of Calypso music and recovering from having eaten fried food. It is pathetic when your sundowner is Alka-Seltzer and you enjoy it.
The latest equipment crash is the Garmin chart plotter, which has suddenly developed wavy lines over half the screen. There is a friendly and efficient electronics store in Marsh Harbour called Merlin’s (yellow building, second story, north side of the harbor). David took the Garmin there and was told it often takes 10 days to three weeks for a repair to be effected. That’s pretty discouraging. While waiting for Merlin’s to contact Garmin and get back to us, David has been using the internet connection to look for less expensive alternatives. It’s no fun to shell out $100 for each unlock code on our 2006 Garmin CD. Not only are we paying a lot, we’re paying for two year old maps. He found a very interesting site at http://www.earthnc.com/ which has the latest in marine maps/technology powered by Google. If you click on the site, you can watch a YouTube promotional video. I think you will be amazed and delighted at the possibilities. For example, we spent about an hour zooming into the Houston ship channel where we not only saw all the real-time commercial boat traffic (powered by AIS), but also discovered that they have mapped the hundreds of oil wells out there.
While we sit here at anchor, we spend a lot of time talking about modifications to Raven that would reduce the degree to which life on board resembles camping. My major gripe is not lack of space for provisions. We can pack enough food for three to four months in the space we have. So far, we have never been away from land for more than 10 days, so other than the cost of re-stocking in a place where food is more expensive (like the Bahamas), food storage does not seem to be a problem.
Personal storage, on the other hand, has been a problem. We have two hanging lockers near the bow of the boat. One of them functions pretty well, holding jackets and foul weather gear and David’s trousers with no difficulty. The other one is far too shallow. Even though the front part of the locker is deep enough, the back part is the sloping shape of the hull, which means that the tails of my shirts, etc., get crammed up and wrinkled. Both of us have clothes in the open shelves that line each side of the v-berth, but that is an inconvenient and messy arrangement. Even if I didn’t have too many clothes (I over packed tops, like I over packed food), they are just sitting there on the open shelves. My side looks messy and disorganized (because it is messy and disorganized). David’s side is neat as a pin and all his clothes are folded in plastic boxes, but I don’t like looking at his side, either. It’s like living in a pantry. So for the re-fit, I want my locker converted to shelves and I want closed compartments on either side of the v-berth so I don’t have to look at the items stored there.
Then there is (drum roll) the bed. Gee. What can I say? It’s v-shaped. That means you better like snuggling feet at night. The cushions that came with the boat were inadequate in the extreme. One hip or the other always ended up resting on the wooden frame of the v-berth insert and the cushioned part got flatter and flatter. In New Bern we bought memory foam, made a cover for it with a sheet, lay that on top of the cushions, and covered the whole area with another sheet. It’s much more comfortable, but the foam tends to wad up in the middle and it’s really a pain to access the v-berth storage areas where we keep tools, etc. Our friends on Anastasia sprang for a custom mattress for their v-berth and they told us it was absolutely worth the hefty price tag. We still aren’t sure how to pamper our old bodies and still have access to the storage area. A hinged mattress? Wouldn’t I still end up in the seam?
I’d also like to put sliding doors on the port and starboard storage areas in the saloon. The port side (mine) carries spices, extra meds, Kleenex, books, magazines, etc. The starboard side (David’s) carries his books, the (really small) stereo speakers, maps, sailing books, and bits of wire for hooking up this and that. Again, the open storage makes it feel as though I am living in a pantry.
David came up with an ingenious solution to the counter space issue in the galley. Imagine having to prepare your meals on top of the ice chest that holds all your fresh food and you will understand why I need more counter space. He proposed a hinged door between the sink and the nav station that you could fold down and secure when not in use. Genius, no? So far, no workable ideas present themselves to solve the fact that the refrigerator is just an electric cooler. Viking Rose has a real fridge with shelves. Sigh.
And finally, we have got to replace the seat cushions. Poor old things, they are just flabby.
Great ideas for a refit. But first, we need to find a small oil well to pay for it. Talking about refits, etc. leads us to the conclusion that perhaps there is a big difference between a cruising boat and a live aboard boat. A cruising boat is designed for trips with a foreseeable end, somewhere between a weekend and a couple of years. A live aboard boat means you don't go home, you are home, permanently. We'll cogitate some more and get back to you.
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