Home Sweet Boat

Here are a few shots of our floating nest, together with some interesting storage solutions.

The most useful idea so far (and not one of mine) is to buy pillow covers and stuff them with your off season clothes! We have four so far, and two more on the way. They are working really well and saving us all sorts of storage trouble.

The yellow pillow holds two winter jackets, a vest, and two mufflers. The blue cushion holds two sets of winter sheets, 2 pairs of leggings, a long sweater and a winter headband.

The orange pillow holds two of David's winter jackets (his are bigger, of course) and the blue one has two winter blankets, a shawl and one of my sweaters. Two more cushions are on the way...

One big storage problem is fresh food that doesn't need refrigeration. Last time we went out, we had one of those net hammocks that hung from one side of my settee to the other and which took every opportunity to whap me in the head. It ended up holding everything from onions to dishcloths and looked horrible. This time, I am trying individual net bags that I got from HEB. So far, so good. (Update: the tomatoes leaked. Ick.)

The net bag solution. One for onions, garlic, and ginger and one for tomatoes, so far.

Last time, I had all sorts of hooks put into the galley to hold my utensils. They were always in the way when you tried to access the cupboards and swung wildly with the boat's motion. This time, we are trying a slanted utensil holder. Works great at the dock, but I am sure I will have to stow it underway.

In easy reach at the dock or at anchor. Underway...probably a guided missile system.

On a boat, we end up sharing space for convenience, which is a detriment to decor. This is my settee with all my books, and Wilda's beautiful pillow on the bottom shelf, and our ridiculous collection of teas on the top. Just couldn't wedge the teas into the galley and we HAVE to have the teas.

The essentials...tea and books.

Most of my clothes are stored in the v-berth in these small plastic boxes. I do have lots of storage in my new shelves!! Knitting yarn, purse, long pants, shoes...it's great!! So much better than the old hanging locker.

V-berth boxes containing my wardrobe and other odds and ends.

Three deep shelves are making my life easier.

And finally, the head. The paint is dodgy, as I suspected, but I'll live with it. The door is back in place with a hook to hang the towel. The back brush has migrated to my shelf in the v-berth.

It all fits...somehow.

Now that we are more or less organized below, the focus is on emptying the "garage" storage. Like everything else, it's taking a lot longer than we hoped, but we are making progress.

I am enjoying being at the marina for the most part. Things are more physical here. When I go shopping, the groceries have to be lugged down the dock. The laundry and the toilet and bath house are about 300 feet from the boat. Big deal, you say, but we try to use the toilet up there to keep from having to empty our on board black water tanks very often, so there is a lot of going to and fro. Mostly the weather has been kind, but I got drenched twice yesterday from little unexpected shower bursts. We have A/C on board, so that really helps morale when it is hot, as it is so many days when thunderstorms come in off the coast. Portofino is located right on the Kemah channel, just a hop, skip and a jump from the Bay. Hopefully we will be going out soon for some small and then large shakedown cruises (Offat's Bayou and then Corpus Christi). What works on the dock often does not work on the water, and it's good to find that out before you are committed to a voyage.

In the meantime, I am working out some pain in my shoulder from a fall I had in January and working to build up general fitness levels. I fear I will need the summer to come up to par. Too many years sitting at a desk and in an RV. Voyaging is very physical.

We had originally planned to go down the coast to Port Aransas for the summer, just to get out of here, but with all the doctor, dentist, massage therapist, and lab appointments to deal with (almost done) and then the hassle with getting a new postal address, and the time needed to upgrade my physical strength, and the things David still needs to do (helm chair, solar panels), AND the trips we need to take (still haven’t seen our grandson), two of which require flights out of Houston, and our very elderly cars, we decided just to stay put. David is going to England in September to visit his 93 year old mom, so we will probably head out across the Gulf toward Florida in early October. After that, who knows? Maybe Florida for the winter, or we might cross to the Bahamas.

Floating around yesterday in the bright sun (in between showers), watching a flight of pelicans soar overhead, and looking at the sunlight on the palm trees and the water all around, I felt very much divorced from our land life and very much on the road again.