Month: January 2014

January 14, 2014

Holiday Baking on a boat!

Before we get too far away from the holidays I wanted to post a few pics of how my holiday baking turned out. It’s tradition for us to have fresh-baked Christmas cookies and pie every year so this year was no exception. The only part that was a challenge was the lack of counter space. Having a tiny oven just meant I had to bake smaller batches and only one cookie sheet at a time. We didn’t mind having the oven going all day since it was so chilly during the holidays and the oven heat kept us toasty inside the boat.

Yummy vanilla buttercream frosting hit the spot for my wicked sweet tooth. I made some extras for neighbors and friends, and some for Santa of course!

I ran out of bowls for mixing the pie crust so I used the pie plate instead.

We brought pumpkin pie over to Carl and Cynthia’s boat for Christmas Dinner before our new friends set sail for the Keys and Bahamas. Since I don’t have a cooling rack anymore, an upsidedown cupcake pan worked perfect :)

After rolling out cookies the cloth can get pretty messy. I used the edge of one of the cookie cutters to scrape off the majority of the dough before retiring the cloth to the laundry.

There were a few more people that we wanted to bring cookies to so the next few batches were of sea turtles, starfish and palm trees as I was dreaming of what our New Year will bring!

January 9, 2014

How to hang pictures on a boat

When we packed up our little house to drive across the country, I made sure to bring a few decorations to make the boat feel a little more like home. On a boat, you can’t just set something down and expect it to stay there. Everything must be either secured or stowed so that when the boat is under way we don’t end up with surprise missiles flying through the cabin. In July the previous owner showed me how they used hang pictures along with a few other tips and tricks for stowage they used to use while living on this boat. She had several watercolor paintings she had done throughout their travels and hung the frames with velcro instead of hammering nails into the beautiful teak.

I had to remove the adhesive from where their pictures were hung and tried using velcro to put our decorations up in their place. It worked for about a week but the so-called heavy-duty indoor/outdoor velcro I bought was no match for the heat and humidity. Pretty soon I had frames and wood decorations crashing down off the walls. The inside of the velcro strips held up no problem but the adhesive side just peeled off.

I was already making a mess of our doors and walls by taking off varnish with each attempt to hang something up so there was no turning back. Those pictures were getting installed no matter what! We tried some 3M double-sided adhesive foam tape next but that warmed up too and peeled right off just like the velcro.

The next idea was to use DUCK brand adhesive foam tape. I tried it first on the slippery finish over the fiberglass to hang a wood sign. Unfortunately it took me a few times to realize how uneven the surface was, but eventually I found the areas that needed an extra layer of foam to make the contacts flush. It may not look pretty underneath but this stuff really did the trick. My sign isn’t going anywhere now!

My mom had given me this sign a few years back for my birthday and I always found a special place for it wherever I lived. When we first saw the boat I knew right where I was going to put it. The space above the fridge was perfect and it looked like it was just waiting to be decorated :) We’ve got special decorations and sentimental items all throughout the boat and its these things from our loved ones that remind us “Home Is Where The Heart Is.”

The sign reads:

“Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy”

It’s a song recorded and co-written by John Denver. This little sign represents exactly what I was talking about in our last post. Our priorities are changing and its the little things in life that we appreciate the most. Sunshine On My Shoulders really DOES make me happy!!

About to set sail on an adventure of a lifetime, we are forever in search of surf, sun, sand and serenity :)

January 8, 2014

Living on a boat is a lot of work!

For those of you that don’t follow our Facebook posts, I wanted to share our most recent quote of inspiration spoken from Peter himself.

“You don’t know your strength until you know your limits”

-Peter Pieschel

It took us awhile to get over the initial exhaustion of becoming liveaboards. It takes a LOT of work to live on a boat and for the first month we were just plain exhausted every day. It’s one thing to go boating for a weekend but when you live on a boat it takes some getting used to.

If its windy, we have to pull the boat closer to the dock for us and the dogs to get on and off safely. (When we are anchored we will have a whole new process for preparing the dinghy to take to shore)
Our muscles are constantly working to keep us balanced since the boat is always moving.
When stock up on groceries we put them all in a cart, pull it from the parking lot way down to our dock and begin passing them over the lifelines, into the cockpit and down the 5′ vertical ladder into the depths of the boat.
We have to lift a ladder up onto the bed to get the dogs in and out of the cockpit.
Every time we want to get something out of the fridge we have to stretch our gumby arms way down to the bottom, take everything out to get to what we want and then put all the other items back in.
When we want a pot or a pan, we have to get down on our hands and knees to get it from a locker underneath the stove which extends way down against the hull.
When we want to use the kitchen table we lift it down from its latched position against the bookshelf.
If we need more water, one of us goes topside with a hose and one of us opens the floorboards inside the boat to prepare the water tanks for refilling.
When we need to empty our holding tanks one of us has to be on deck to attach the hose and one of us stands by in the heads to flush fresh water through after the first round of pumping.
Taking a shower requires us to simultaneously keep the two shower curtains in front of the toilet from attacking us as we shower off and then flip a switch several times for the sump so the water will drain out.
Power is needed for LOTS of things we take for granted: lights, fans, radio, cell phone chargers, computers, hot water heater, dehumidifier, navigation instruments, coffee makers, microwave and air conditioning. If we’re not plugged into shore power, we have to generate our own with solar panels, a wind generator, or by running the engine or diesel generator.
When something goes wrong, we have to be very innovative and creative to figure out how to fix it with the tools that we have at hand.
When we’re done using something, it has to be put away because there’s no room to leave clutter out.
When we use dishes, we have to wash them by hand every time we eat.
We have to be plumbers, electricians, mechanics, navigators, chefs, fishermen, sailors, excellent communicators and fun-havers.
This is just the beginning…

Living on a boat is much different than living on land. There is a lot to get used to, but it has slowly started to feel normal :) We absolutely LOVE our little home and we say it out loud to each other every day!! Its hard work but SO worth it in the end. We are preparing our home to travel across oceans to visit far off lands, beautiful tropical beaches and crystal clear waters. We’re going to go Where The Coconuts Grow and the wind in our sails will take us there!

Its going to be a hell of an education too. As the months go by we will be forced to learn so many new skills and we’ll learn how to live with ‘less’ all around. We need the basics, safety equipment, a few personal effects from home and all the rest is just stuff. Our priorities have already begun to change as we work on the boat every day and prepare to set sail. We appreciate the little things we didn’t even notice before. We take a lot less for granted and our happiness increases by the minute.

We do get frustrated sometimes but I think we’re getting better about understanding that we’re both doing our best. Our patience with ourselves and with each other is growing too. Everything we do, we do it as a team and it seems much easier that way. We’re helping each other figure out how to do things we haven’t done before and it’s actually really fun! It’s hard at first to step outside of your comfort zone, but when you do, that’s where the magic happens :)

After the initial exhaustion wore off a little, Peter and I committed to running again to get ourselves and the dogs the exercise we all need. The last couple of days have been a chilly 38 degrees at night here in Southwest Florida, and this is not exactly what I signed up for, but Peter laid the inspiration down pretty thick. His quote about strength and limits really did get me thinking and even though it’s almost freezing outside I perked up a little and tried to see things in a positive light instead. We should be able to handle a little cold weather and still keep exercise a priority. We’ve done 3 miles each night through the cold winds and by the time we’re done we both smile and feel glad we went :) We really are stronger than we think we are, and as a good friend said to me yesterday, we have to BELIEVE in ourselves!!

Peter and I are about to set sail on an adventure of a lifetime with our two dogs and we both feel so lucky that everything has just fallen into place. It’s one of those moments where we know we’re in the right place at the right time, and now is the time to go for it. We’re young, we are finding strength we didn’t know we had, and we’re throwing our fears and doubts aside in exchange for this amazing opportunity. What better time in our lives than now to travel and see the world? There’s so much beauty and joy out there just waiting to be shared.

We hope our adventures will inspire others to take a leap of faith, step outside your comfort zone and find out where the magic happens. Dreams really do come true, if you believe!!

January 5, 2014

A Christmas Visit

We’re a little behind on the posts as we get ready to leave Florida and head for the Bahamas but we still want to share a few pictures from our first Christmas aboard S/V Mary Christine. This year we got a very special Christmas treat. Peter’s Dad, Wiley, came to visit and spend Christmas with us on the boat!!!

We watched the weather and tides and waited for the perfect day to take him out on the water. We went for a day sail in the harbor and showed Wiley how we’re going to be living for the next few years :)

It’s still hard for me to believe we live on a boat and when we go sailing we are taking our WHOLE home with us!! It’s such an amazing feeling.

As we were heading out through the channel into the harbor we passed our friends David and Jan aboard S/V Winterlude. They were coming back in from a few days out at anchor.

Betsy just LOVED going for a cruise with her daddy and her grandpa :)

That little licker just never quits!! :)

Captain Pete at the helm…

Gunner was such a good boy this time he didn’t even need to be tethered up. He absolutely loves to relax in a sunny spot with a cool breeze… just like his mommy ;)

The weather was perfect. Not too calm, not too windy. Wiley got to see what it’s like on the boat and we got a little more practice in. Every time we take the boat out it gets a little easier and we gain a little more confidence. We played with the sails and made adjustments for the wind as we tacked across the harbor. We timed it just right to head back in at that perfectly golden hour before sunset where everything looks just magical.

We neared our slip and prepared for docking, this time with no trouble at all. Just a few quick engine thrusts in reverse, forward and reverse, then she walked right in :) One of these days Peter’s going to make me dock this boat myself. Maybe I’ll practice with the dinghy first? :)

We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to have family here for Christmas. Now that he knows what to expect when staying aboard S/V Mary Christine, we hope that Wiley will come visit again when we get further south into the islands :)

Stay tuned for a few more fun pictures of the holidays liveaboard style!

January 3, 2014

Buddy Bowl – How to keep water available for pets on a boat

One of the small details that went overlooked when we first moved onto our sailboat was keeping water available for the dogs. It’s never been an issue before. We just put a bowl out and check it a few times a day to make sure the kids have plenty of water. We know they like to drink mostly after eating and after a run, with a little bit throughout the day. No big deal.

When we first moved aboard the food and water routine was no different than it was on land. Fill the bowls and the dogs empty them. It wasn’t until our first sail with the dogs aboard that we realized our original plan wasn’t going to work. I had read a few suggestions online that some people just use an oversized bowl and only fill it up half way or less so that the water doesn’t slosh out all over the place when you’re under way. Guess what spilled the water out when we tried this method? Me! I spilled more water out of that bowl while moving around in the cockpit than the amount of water that was spilled from the boat heeling over.

In researching more helpful tips and tricks for liveaboard dogs I came across the “Buddy Bowl.” That was it! It was perfect!!

I contacted Great American Spillproof Products and they gladly sponsored our adventures by providing us with two (2) 64 oz TOTALLY SPILLPROOF Buddy Bowls for Gunner and Betsy!! These will be totally essential for every day use while anchored up and especially while we are underway.

We keep one tucked behind the ladder at our forward companionway next to where we feed the dogs inside the boat. Gunner and Betsy know right where it is and they have no trouble at all helping themselves when they feel a little thirsty. Gunner ALWAYS lets Betsy drink first if they are both thirsty after a run :) He’s such a gentleman, just like his daddy.

We keep the second Buddy Bowl on the floor of the cockpit so the dogs will always have water while topside. When we are underway, they frequently like to lap up a little water every hour or so. We’re in southern Florida now and heading to only warmer climates so its super important for us to have water available at all times for our pooches. It’s also important to keep water available for them if they are feeling seasick. Last time we took the boat out we put them down below and Betsy didn’t feel that good. She was happy to know where the water was though.

The staff at Great American Spillproof Products recommended sending us the 64 oz models instead of their standard 44 oz size based on our weather conditions and the size of our dogs. They hold more water (a HALF GALLON!) so you don’t have to refill them as often! It doesn’t look like the 64oz bowls are available in their online store but I’m sure they can help out if you’re interested in getting one for your furry friend.

It looks like it might be hard for the dogs to actually get to the water but it’s really no trouble at all. Gunner has a long nose but it’s just his tongue that needs to get inside to where the water is. Gunner is also a VERY messy drinker and his food, water and slobber usually get flung at least a foot from his bowl. The Buddy Bowl is even more awesome because it catches all that excess water inside instead of spraying out away from the surface of the water where his tongue hits. Score!!

We tested them out and sure enough, they are totally spill proof. The Buddy Bowl will even hold the water if you tip it upside down! The bowls are made in the U.S. with non-toxic/BPA-free food grade plastic, and they keep the water cleaner with less surface area for bugs, dust and other dirt to collect in. There are fastening points on the bottom for tying the bowl up for storage or keeping it in one spot. We don’t have to worry about tying it down though since there’s not too many places it could slide to :) They actually stay put very well on their own.

The Buddy Bowl is easy to clean and even dishwasher safe. Even though we don’t have a dishwasher anymore its still a cool feature :)

This really is an awesome product and could be used in the car, on a boat, outside, inside, at the beach, camping, in a crate, anywhere! It’s also especially handy if you have little ones around that like to spill the water bowl and splash around :)

We are proud to promote the products we love by sharing our experiences with others in hopes that it may bring the same joy to you!

If you’re interested in ordering one of these, the online store on the BuddyBowl website is down at the moment. Simply send an email to cree@greatamericanspillproof.com to place an order!

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING… We are PROUD to share these awesome products and services with our readers. There are so many different solutions out there for everything we could possibly need, but these are the solutions that work for us.

This post may contain information about a product sponsorship. We gladly accept discounts or samples when a company feels generous enough to support our cause. In return we support the manufacturer or local service by sharing their links and writing about our experience with them. We only seek out sponsorship and affiliate programs from products and services we actually WANT to use and likewise only accept offers for products or services that we WILL use. We are not paid for any reviews we write or feedback we provide. We simply like to spread the word and share great experiences we have had that could also bring joy to others.