So you want to live on a boat? Because it is like living in a postcard? Sure, sometimes it is.
But along with the breathtaking bays and beaches, come a few struggles.
Here is what might give you a hard time, while cruising and living aboard. We did not enjoy these much. I especially struggled with a few.
For all our liveaboard life tips – Boat Life – no texting & tacking
1. Lack of long showers.
It was not the hot water that we missed aboard. Who needs to be hot in the tropics!
Fresh water is a precious commodity aboard. We need solar to make water and it can take days to fill the large tanks – for drinking, washing, bathing and laundry.
Sure, you can soap up and jump in the water to rinse off, but it’s still salty water. Nothing beats a nice fresh-water shower.
Do not even get me started on how a girl handles periods aboard (send me an e-mail, we can chat).
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2. Questionably clean marina facilities.
When you absolutely crave a nice, long, warm shower, thank goodness for marinas.
However, not all marinas are equally clean and well-maintained. I was mostly worried about the kids using the facilities.
Will they forget to wear flip-flops end up with athlete’s foot?
Is there a clean place to hang my toiletry bag – buy one, which hangs. Sometimes the only surface you can use to place it, is the lid of the toilet – gross.
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3. Unhappy kids.
We felt that we owed it to our kids to offer an adventure of a lifetime.
Because we pulled them away from a life they loved, friends they loved, schools they loved, gadgets the loved…
We went out of our way to find friends, make homeschooling not a chore, take them to cool places.
Yet, our kids struggled with boat-life at times. And I am not talking about whining.
The “goodbye’s” are a given when you cruise full time.
Unreliable internet and gorgeous remote islands would often clash.
With growing teens, living on a boat meant no organized activities, no time away from the parents and few opportunities for dating and drama.
4. Humidity at night.
Going to bed in damp sheets is a weird feeling. Noone liked it.
The breeze was always welcome and much appreciated aboard, but it would not blow away the humidity.
Guess what happened when it rained? All the breeze hatches are located above the beds…
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5. Sicknesses in remote places.
As a mom, that was my number one fear and struggle.
When two of the kids ended up vomiting and having diarrhea in the beautiful DR, I lost sleep for a bit – shall we wait it out? What if it gets worse? How many days to the closest hospital?
When we marked those creeping lines after a benign cut on the beach, I was praying the redness would not go passed the sharpie borders…
Land life scares me even more, especially with teen drivers, so the health fears never really go away.
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6. Composting toilet cleaning.
Guess who was in charge of emptying pee buckets daily!
Nothing composts when you use the toilet daily. Nothing.
Composting toilets are OK, but next time we live aboard, we are getting flushing ones. We will save the plant in other ways.
7. Wet salt and spices.
I love cooking. To do it well, I need good knives and good spices.
Spices are a bit hard to keep dry. You can use a few grains of salt in the saltshaker, but it does not work.
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8. Hot cooking space.
We used the oven quite a lot aboard.
Cooking stews and baking breads aboard is hard. For the chef that is.
There are only so many cold sandwiches I can handle or allow the crew to live on. Cooking from scratch also saved us tons of money, even in cheaper destinations.
But there is no way to escape the heat in the galley.
9. Sunburn.
Try telling teens to wear long sleeves outside.
Or the captain, for that matter, “I’m fine, this job will only take like 15min…”
With family history of problematic skin formations, I was extra careful to nag about covering up. Sunscreen is fine, but too much of it comes with its own risks.
We all ended up a few shades darker. Some burned more than others.
There was nothing I could do to prevent that, so prophylactic visits to the dermatologist were our only plan.51 Classic Gifts for Boaters. 2024 Guide. no texting & tacking (notextingandtacking.com)There was nothing I could do to prevent that, so prophylactic visits to the dermatologist were our only plan.
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10. Storms
I am not just talking about storms, while cruising. Storms at anchor were not the best either.
It was not so much safety that worried me, but the chance of lightning killing our navigation instruments.
It has happened quite a few times. Especially on catamarans.
And we did not carry insurance once we left the US.
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Final Words
Boat life is not an easy life. It lacks almost everything, which makes life comfortable on land.
If you want an adventure – it will be more than you ever wished for.
If you cherish conveniences – stay grounded.
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