Between our YouTube Channel and our blog, we share a lot of our life on the water. However, there are always things that go undocumented. Over the years, we have met plenty of new liveaboards who feel like they were “duped” into this lifestyle by its romanticized portrayal on social media. In our experience, living full-time on a boat is expensive, it is hard work, and it is time-consuming. Is it worth it? For us, yes. Is it worth it for you? I’m not sure!

So, in an effort to paint a more realistic picture of boat life, here is a bullet-point list of things we dealt with in December 2023:

• Unfortunately, the Teflon washers we placed last month (at the gooseneck) did not last. We found a piece of one during a rough passage, and the squeaking/grinding noise resumed.

• During a breezy sail, one of our lazy jacks detached from the mast while we were reefing, allowing the sail to billow out to our port side. We were able to get it under control, drop the sail, and strap it down before any further damage was done. After going up the mast, Ray was able to identify the problem: a missing pin in the shackle. We did not have a small enough spare on board but were able to re-secure it using a small piece of Dyneema.
• In preparation for our Pacific crossing and future remote cruising, we purchased a Portable 115V- High Output (cased) Rainman Watermaker from Halden Marine Service for $5,080.00. We were able to have it shipped via UPS for $585.00 and picked it up at the UPS store on the Dutch side of the island. The shipping process took 12 days.

• After a night of high winds on anchor, we had to patch a portion of our helm enclosure back together. We stitched what we could, then covered it with black tape. Luckily, it was an edge piece (close to the black trim fabric) near the base of our helm seat. So, although it isn’t the prettiest fix, it’s functional and primarily out of sight. 
• We hauled out before Christmas but are waiting to receive the final invoices for the haul/storage/splash and work completed. We will compile and post those details in next month’s Behind the Scenes post!