From here on out we've got to haul the 1,000+ foot hose down to the docks to fill our water tanks, an unenviable task in the frigid cold & Ice...
This = icy, snowy walkways
Sails and summer fun are being being stowed...
Taking down the mizzen sail
Even Toby's sad the day the sails come off...Big Guys like sailing...and laying on the sail bag!
All the fun of summer - bug spray, sunscreen & fishing lures being stowed - sad day!
We've had our first snowfall...
All around the docks the "forts" are being erected...
The wooden frame that will will hold up the shrinkwrap - this year we're adding "windows"!
This week or next "The Bubble" will be brought into creation yet again. The weather lately has been down right miserable and we never thought we'd say this, but we're sort of excited to get the protection The Bubble provides. Of course we'll also start the countdown until we hatch from the bubble in Spring. The winds have been relentless and the recent snap of bitter cold weather has us wishing for the greenhouse effect the shrinkwrap provides.
BRRRR - an extra cold night aboard!
This year we're a bit wiser and we'd like to think better prepared for the onslaught of the Maine winter. With advice from our boat neighbors we've turned the boat around so she's stern-to the dock and this has helped tremendously with the rocking and rolling we get on the river. She's taking the waves on her bow and therefore cutting through them rather than having them slapping her hull - i.e. quieter in the aft cabin. We've also made our bedroom into a spaceship by insulating all the walls with the silver Reflectix wrapping. We're hoping this will avoid another "hair freezing to the wall" incident like we had last year!
One lesson learned already...Don't store ALL of your wool sweaters in a musty, moldy trunk!
The COLD salty air did the trick - all of my sweaters are as good as new!
As for our heat, this year we've also put "Mr. Buddy" to good use. As an alternate source of heat to our electric heaters he's providing a VERY warm addition when we're home aboard. We won't use him when we're not there or sleeping just to be safe. We're hoping he can help us cut down on our electric bill this season.
We had dreamed of adding a wood stove or more permanent heater this year but then we said, that's not getting us closer to our dream of the Bahamas! We made a pact that we're only adding things that we KNOW we'll need/use when we're in the tropics or sailing, because let's face it living aboard in New England winters is NOT the end game here! :)
Another smart addition we made this year is a dehumidifier. It's been a game-changer in the battle with condensation. We got the 30-pint and it seems to keep up pretty good with the moisture. The amount of water we get from it every day and a half is quite amazing - no wonder our skin feels so moist!
Probably the best success so far has been for Mr. Toby. He's so much braver and more relaxed now than he was last year this time when we moved to Badger's Island Marina. The marina is not the calmest port in the world and the boat gets rocked and rolled A LOT more than at the Wentworth. Last year Toby had to wear his Thunder Shirt every day and now he never needs it! He used to climb up on our faces and our laps every time the boat would move and now he just sleeps through it, snoozing away. I think all the sailing we did as a crew of 3 this summer helped him get his "sea legs" We're so proud of our little Boat Dog!
Snooze City
So we're decking our halls for Christmas, finishing up the last of the winter preparation projects and hunkering down for our 2nd winter aboard in Maine. This year promises to be so much better not only because of our new knowledge but because there are A LOT more boat neighbors on the docks this year! Other cool folks "living the dream" like us - kindred spirits! More life on the docks will definitely help the dark, cold months go by faster! Plus the awesomely gorgeous new Memorial Bridge is built so we can walk into downtown Portsmouth in about 6 minutes. The walk across the river is gorgeous and we're really loving living "downtown", not to mention living without relentless construction noise above our boat is quite lovely! So here's to winter - and to dreaming of moving to the Bahamas...some day!
Our little Christmas tree & sailcloth stockings - love adding a little spirit to our boat's salon!
Despite having had the 3rd snowiest winter on record and what feels like the windiest EVER, our heads are drifting off towards spring. Perhaps it's just a form of escapism (delusion?) or perhaps it's because we're on the other side of winter. As Tim says, "it's not like it's November & we're staring down the barrel of a gun with winter approaching."
This was our neighborhood during "Nemo"
But, what a winter it's been! Having never been a fan of winter since living down south for 5 of them, I'm 'sensitive' (Tim would say I'm miserable). But, I have to say I'm proud of myself for not leaving Tim, packing my things & bailing to a trailer in Miami! It's crossed my mind every now and then, especially when I'm walking up to the showers at the marina club house at 7am in sleety, snowy, awfulness. But it seems I can ALWAYS find something gorgeous about my surroundings, whether it's how the sun is coming up over the Navy Yard or a loon off our stern or a fresh, salty breeze filling my lungs.
Toby, a native of Maine absolutely LOVE the snow
As we've written about before we live & breathe the elements in our lifestyle and you just have to persevere through them. I recently read that life aboard in New England year-round is like a Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Thing is, we only got a small taste of what it's like in the best of times since we moved aboard in September. So when we're persevering though 30 mph winds and 6" of snow we aren't really able to think, "well, remember July? This is worth it to get to July." So needless to say here we are at the end of February and we're starting to daydream about life outside 'The Bubble'. This past weekend we attended the Boston Boat Show. It's perfectly timed for all boaters who are starting to dream about summer, who are sick to sh*t of winter and for us young boaters it also coincides with our tax refunds! Perfect! We wandered around, attended some seminars, chatted with some riggers, sailors and 'boat people'. We scoped out some new toys and tried to avert our eyes to the sleek, new, million + dollar Beneteau sailboats that we can only dream of affording. The booth that caught my eye was the EZ Hang Chair booth - imagine flocks of people lounging in hanging hammock and canvas chairs, complete with leg rests & cup holders. The photos of the chair mounted on the deck of a sailboat was all I needed to sell me.
The sales guy knew he had a ripe one when I asked - "does the cup holder fit a large sized Tervis cup of Rum & Coke?" Signed, Sealed, Delivered - we left the Show with a new boat hook and a promise of awesome Summer afternoons. The other big Spring Fever project currently underway - a new stereo system for the boat. A stereo is something we'd wanted since the day we moved aboard but there were other more important (think: utilitarian) things we needed to install to make life aboard livable (i.e. water filter for drinking water). But when my brother Pete gave us a very generous gift card to Amazon we thought - let's splurge and get a sick stereo system complete with cockpit and main cabin speakers - I mean who are Jill & Tim without our music??? We got the top of the line in marine stereos a Fusion MS-RA200. This baby can link up to our VHF radio, it connects to NOAA Weather forecasts, it's got dual zones so we can rock out in the cockpit when someone else (Toby?) is sleeping below deck. Tim is like a kid in a candy store with a new electronic gadget to not just play with but also install (i.e. run wires around the boat, tie into electric panel, cut holes in the boat for the speakers, etc.). Tim plans on posting a blog post about how the install goes...good thing I'm away this weekend so it can be man-town electronic install time. So though we have A LOT more to do to get ready for sailing season, A LOT more. These couple things are helping us get over this last hump of the doldrums of winter. Thinking about hanging above the foredeck, cocktail in hand, stereo cranked, the sweet sounds of music floating around us might just get us through the inevitable next snowfall and wind storm. "One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain So hit me with music, hit me with music Hit me with music, hit me with music now" - Bob Marley "Trenchtown Rock"
By far one of the most common questions Jill and I get about life aboard is, "What's the deal with the heat?" This question comes from worried moms and dads, friends, boat neighbors, and even others who can not seem to mind their own business. It's okay though because we love telling just about anybody about our rag-tag-jury-rig of a heating system.
Good news first because good news is better than bad news. We have air conditioning! This is very useful in this frozen wind swept river where waves crashed six feet high over the docks last week. I honestly wonder if we'll ever use it. It came with the boat and is part of a non-existent heat system that was supposedly part of the boat as well. The previous owner did mention he never used it. It is basically a heat pump manufactured by a now out of business, Eastern Marine Manufacturing. The heat is extracted out of the ocean water...I think. It's been a few months since I tried to fire that bad boy up and investigated any potential solutions. The bottom line is there no heat coil in the heat pump nor is it wired to the controls for heat. So bum deal there...but there is AC and we're able to run the fan on the system for air circulation.
With this great news...Jill and I started looking for alternate heat solutions throughout the fall. Apparently an Espar heater is like the Rolls Royce of heaters. Does anybody else have a Rolls Royce in their basement? Seriously? We got quotes starting at 8k and it just seemed liked a huge investment given our cruising plans (i.e. places where the bathing suits never come off and they put an umbrella in your drink) They are nice and they are the best...but just not in our budget...not this year!
We had an old Lasko electric heater from our old house. This got us through the fall pretty good on those cool nights, but knew it could not handle the deep freeze like we find ourselves here in January. Enter the world of balancing electric loads on the boat's 125v/30 amp shore power service. I could bore you all talking volts and amps...but here's the the quick version...volts is potential energy and amps is the energy being used.
I bought 3 West Marine electric furnaces all 1500 watts. I still do not know what a watt is, but I was able to convert it to 12.5 amps.
Okay folks...quick math...3 heaters x 12.5 amps = 37.5 amps
And we have 30 amps available to us...again good stuff here Jill and I are learning our first winter. After blowing a few breakers and talking to anyone who would talk to us, we got this all figured out. We can only run two heaters. We still needed to have power to run a the fridge, cell phone chargers, TV, computer, etc. Note, we actually have to unplug one heater to run the coffee pot in the morning...once cruising the coffee pot will most likely be deep sixed(sent overboard) in favor of something more efficient.
The heaters work well and surprisingly keep up with the demands of this harsh environment. We have one in the main salon/galley and one in the aft cabin. They switch between a heat and fan setting and have a heat selection dial for low-high settings. Do not let their size fool you, they crank some serious heat.
Finally, we picked up a propane "Mr. Heater Big Buddy". Besides the heat, the surly looking camper on the box is the best part. We use this to help the electric heaters catch up and for heat during my nightmare scenario of the power going out. This is pretty new, so I will keep you posted on how it works out.
We miss our fireplace at the old Dupe, but our boat is warm and cozy even as we head through our first deep freeze aboard.
Does anybody know what the #1 most common question about living board is?
Probably the best success so far has been for Mr. Toby. He's so much braver and more relaxed now than he was last year this time when we moved to Badger's Island Marina. The marina is not the calmest port in the world and the boat gets rocked and rolled A LOT more than at the Wentworth. Last year Toby had to wear his Thunder Shirt every day and now he never needs it! He used to climb up on our faces and our laps every time the boat would move and now he just sleeps through it, snoozing away. I think all the sailing we did as a crew of 3 this summer helped him get his "sea legs" We're so proud of our little Boat Dog! 
