Looks good to me, where do I sign up? :)
2009/11/11 Flying Pig <[email protected]>: > Comments, please? > > How is life aboard Flying Pig different from my life ashore? > > 1: Flying Pig is a boat. Aside from times in the boatyard, where it's up > on stilts on shore, it's in constant motion. This takes some getting used > to, but most accommodate it very well. > > 2: "Local" transportation is by dinghy, a small inflatable boat. Depending > on weather conditions, sometimes we get wet going from the boat to any other > location. It's also nowhere near as fast as your car, so it takes longer. > Despite its small size and related small motor, the mileage on the dinghy is > far worse than the worst clunker you'll have ever driven, so frequent > fillups of the 6-gallon tank are needed during high activity periods. And, > lest you be worried, we've frequently carried 5 or six adults aboard the > dinghy, so it's not THAT small! > > 3: Electricity and water are not delivered through a pipe and wire, in as > much volume as you care to pay for; we have to make our own electricity, and > carry our water. In many locations, water is either unavailable, or we have > to carry it in via jugs, and, while in some areas it's free, most of the > time we have to pay for it. Electricity is stored in massive batteries, and > has to be generated to replace what's used. Accordingly, in both cases, > we're extremely conservative in what we use. See What Might I Not Like > About Life Aboard Flying Pig? below. > > 4: Accomodations, for a boat, are generous, but very small by home > standards. The best place on the boat for sleeping in "normal" (not rough > seas) weather is in what's called the VEE berth, so called because of its > shape. It's a 7-foot equilateral triangle, and accomodates most "normal" > sized couples handily, though, of necessity, the feet tend to be touching > sometimes. Ventilation up front, being faced into the wind most of the time > at anchor, is the best in that cabin. Better yet, it's got an 8" > Tempur-Pedic mattress, described by many of our guests as the best sleeping > they've ever encountered, including having back pain disappear. Secondary > accommodations, for times when it might be too rough for comfort (the front > of the boat moves the most, in all motion-sensitive conditions) are in the > saloon, what boat people call their family room/dining room/living room, in > a pull-out double (48"x79" and tapering to less at the foot). This is the > best place for sleeping in rough conditions, as it's nearly in the center of > the boat, and has the least motion of any space aboard. > > 5: Bathroom and shower space is combined. Nearly everything on a boat > which is expected to get water in it is waterproof, so the marine toilet and > sink occupy the shower space as well. As it's "imported"/stored water, see > #3 above for reference, fresh water showers are rare, so getting the "rest" > of the space wet usually isn't of any issue, and when it IS used for > showering, a squeegie and washcloth make all dry again. Being a marine head, > it's got a smaller than household seat, and there are some issues about its > use which are different from at home, which will be discussed in "What Might > I Not Like About Life Aboard Flying Pig?" below. > > 6: Refrigerator and freezer space is limited, and uses the power we so > jealously conserve. Accordingly, the amount of food which can be stored is > less than at home. Likewise, as it's not a household refrigerator/freezer, > with its unlimited power supply and auto-defrost mechanisms, openings are > limited to as few as possible. That said, cold stuff stays very cold, and > frozen stuff stays hard frozen. > > 7: "Closet" space is a misnomer. Every boat has challenges with storage, > of every sort, and, aside from the VEE, every otherwise-hanging space has > been converted into shelves-type storage aboard. While there IS a closet in > the VEE, storing typical checked hard luggage is nearly impossible, unless > you want to sleep with it. So, soft luggage which can be rolled, stuffed, > compressed, or otherwise compacted into flexible spaces is the order of the > day. > > 8: For many reasons, we don't have a washer and dryer aboard, though some > do. Therefore, you can't just dump in a load and retrieve your clean > laundry in a while. Pretty much, what you bring goes back dirty with you. > > 9: Space aboard, while generous for most sailboats, is very much less than > landside living spaces. "Excuse me" because you need to get by someone > while going from "here" to "there" aboard is common. Nevertheless, our home > was designed originally as a charter boat, and in its original > configuration, could manage 11 people for sleeping (5 of those spaces have > been converted to other uses, now) and meals. Still, spaces are sometimes > close for those accustomed to multi-digit feet distances between them and > other objects or people. > > 10: Because of #s 1, 4 and 9, not only will it make your life easier, but, > under way, safer, if everything not in active use is stored and secured. If > you trip over it, or, worse, it flies off where ever it was put and hits > you, it's a safety hazard to have stuff lying out in the open. That means > we'll be "neat nazis" about stuff left out when it's not being used. > > 11: We have neither TV nor broadband internet connectivity aboard, though > we frequently will have an excellent connection to the internet. Therefore, > there's none of the shoreside mind-numbers available. > > So, that's about it for the major differences from shore to our home. > > What Might I Not Like About Life Aboard Flying Pig? > > 1: Everything's more expensive than it is at home. That's because > everything must be flown in, boated in, or hand-carried, many times all > three, to get it from - for example, the US or Europe or elsewhere - source > to destination. In addition, most countries have no tax on purchases of any > sort, so duties are added to everything which comes in. That makes it > difficult - usually impossible - for merchants of all descriptions to > provide the variety, freshness, and affordability that most Americans take > for granted. Generally speaking, you can expect, WHEN IT'S AVAILABLE, that > food, gasoline, clothing, marine supplies, repair parts, souvenirs, yada, > yada, will cost a minimum of half again to as much as triple what you'd find > stateside. > > 2: Food, in general: Because of #1, as much as possible, we bring what we > can. As we don't expect to be in the US again with our home (though we may > visit from time to time via air transport, provisioning by carrying-back > stuff is either impractical or impossible), eventually even what we have > brought will be used up. However, things that do well with long-term > storage and take up a minimum of space are basic staples to life aboard. > Thus, fresh vegetables (see above about availability and cost), most meats > (ditto), and some other foodstuffs taken for granted at home are many times > unavailable, frequently unstorable, and, always, much more expensive. So, > we do lots of pasta, legumes, rice and the like, along with PBJs. In the > proper conditions (cooler weather, calm seas), we bake fresh bread. Milk is > made from freeze-dried; we enjoy it, but you may not. Soft drinks, OJ, beer > and other commercial beverages, when available, are cold, but we can't carry > very much stock; we drink mostly water or lemonade/Gatorade made from lemon > juice/Gatorade powder and water. When we succeed at it (not nearly as often > as we'd like) we very much enjoy fresh (like, swimming an hour ago) fish, > conch or other shellfish when we can find it, and the Caribbean equivalent > of lobster (no claws). In any event, likely our diet will not be what > you're accustomed to at home. While we don't ask our guests to contribute > to our costs of having them here, we also don't change our lifestyles to > accommodate their preferences. Some of our guests prefer to provision > (stock up on food for the voyage) to their taste on arrival, and we'll then > eat what it is they've provided, or to take us out to meals ashore, but it's > not required other than to suit your preferences. We can eat what we > normally do, or you can change that to suit your preferences. See #1 for > impact :) > > 3: Because fresh water is at such a premium both in amount we can carry, > availability/difficulty of transport and/or cost, we normally bathe in the > sea. We have salt-water friendly soap which lathers and rinses well in salt > water, and we've found that if you dry immediately after getting out from > your rinse, you don't get the salt stickies/residue from the salt water. We > reserve those towels for salt water use. > > 4: Similarly, we wash and rinse our dishes/cooking utensils in salt water > (we have a salt water tap in the kitchen sink), then rinse with fresh. They > get clean, and are rinsed, but it takes an additional step. Ditto for > handwashing (cleaning your hands, that is!). In addition, generally > speaking, if there's not something under the water stream being either > filled or rinsed, we'll want you to close the faucet. However, re: #s 3&4, > we do carry a substantial amount of fresh water, and in areas where there is > a ready and easy (at a cost, usually) supply, where, when we run out (it > always does, eventually) it can be simply refilled, if our guests want to > provide it, we alter our salt-water bathing/fresh-water use to as-you-like. > > 5: Electricity has to be made, and the storage (huge battery bank) we have > available, while ample under careful management, is finite. If the sun's > not brilliant (we have solar panels) and the wind piping (wind generator), > we sometimes have to run a small portable generator to replenish our > electricity. In addition to the cost and noise of that generation, if the > batteries run down too much before recharging, they're damaged. To limit > the amount of electricity needed, nearly all the lighting aboard is either > high-efficiency fluorescent or LED spot-lighting. You may not enjoy those > lighting levels. In addition, we limit electricity use to only as-needed. > If you're not sitting under it, we'll want you to turn off the light, for > example. Sort of like your parents' "Turn the light off when you leave the > room" on steroids. > > 6: Limited space makes for strange bedfellows, so to speak. In addtion, > the foregoing may be a bit like camping for some folks - similar, perhaps to > RV'ing, other than the limitation that you can't just walk out the door and > go someplace else - and if you're not accustomed to it, it can be > challenging. Physical, mental and noise space is limited. You may find > that uncomfortable. That said, you have your own cabin, and, in settled > weather, lots of space on deck or on the platform at the stern of the boat, > so you CAN "get away" from others. > > 7: While there's not the always-on TV noise and distractions of the typical > shore life home, there are other noises present aboard. While we do what we > can to minimize it, "halyard slap" (a line hitting the mast, making a > noise), wind, sometimes, the aforementioned generator and other boat-related > and unfamiliar noises are pretty much a fact of life. None of these, other > than to active cruisers, are likely to be something you're accustomed to. > > 8: Most of the time, whether you have and bring a cell phone, you'll not be > able to pick up the phone and call someone at your whim (or get the calls > you're accustomed to receiving, of course). That's because of international > differences and the fact that we may be (usually) nowhere near a cell > connection point. We have a state-of-the-art WiFi system aboard Flying Pig > and are not usually without internet connectivity, even, many times, while > we're under way. However, sometimes the quality, consistency and continuity > (always there) is of the third world, which is basically where we are when > we're cruising. When we have an excellent internet connection AND there > aren't a pile of people already using it AND that connection has a good > supply of bandwidth, our Vonage internet telephone service does allow > calling anywhere in the US, Canada, UK and 4 other European countries (and > anywhere to call us) at no additional charge to our basic service. However, > the foregoing conditions make it such that those opportunities are limited. > If you're accustomed to being constantly connected via voice, you'll find > that a distinct limitation. > > 9: We have a very small hand washer, capable of several T-shirts, to give > you an idea of size, but, at that, rarely use it due to water storage and > availability considerations. Because laundry isn't avaliable on board, and, > when available (only sometimes!) ashore, is not only inconvenient but > expensive, we ask our guests to bring their own linens - sheets, towels, > pillowcases and, sometimes, their own pillows, in addition to their own > clothing, of course. That allows us not to have to find a way to clean them > when they leave. However, see # 3 above; eventually, bedding will have some > salt residue accumulation, sometimes just from the salt air, let alone your > own bodies, and therefore it won't be the same as freshly laundered. If > that's a problem for you, you'll have to bring a change of linens to meet > your comfort standards, most likely. > > 10: Related to #9, and just generally, as it's our preference, as we're > predominantly in very warm (not uncomfortably so) climates, we tend to wear > very little clothing, not only for comfort but for laundry considerations. > Worse, Skip's and Lydia's preferred bathing suits are bikini-style. Skip's > gotten a new wardrobe of less-revealing bikinis, but, they're still > bikinis - just as you'll find the dominant swimwear for men in European > countries (you could google Euro beach sites for reference, if you're not > familiar with the type). Lydia's aren't thong/string style, either, but > they are bikini bottoms and tops. If you're uncomfortable with exposed > skin, and/or form-fitting swimwear for either or both of us, you're likely > to be uncomfortable aboard. > > 11: Being a boat, motion is a fact of life. Sometimes that motion can be > uncomfortable if you're not accustomed to it. Seasickness, in its severe > forms, is a condition in which most folks first are afraid they might die, > and then afraid they might NOT die :) We have very effective seasickness > prevention medication aboard, and taken early, usually mitigates any > effects. However, in REALLY severe weather, even the most seasoned sailors > sometimes suffer the mal-de-mer. It will pass. However, if you're prone to > seasickness, you may find life aboard uncomfortable at times. > > 12: If you're not an active cruiser, marine toilets ("heads") can be both a > mystery and a nuisance. Not only is the seat smaller (altogether round, > too), unlike at home, where you just push the lever, it goes away, and the > municipal supply refills it, here, you have to work at sanitation. Sea > water has to be pumped into the bowl which was previously pumped dry (see > below), using a lever. Anything in the toilet is moved out via the same > pump. However, unlike ashore, it's not only a measly 1.5" instead of 4" > like home sanitation , it has to go through some interesting bends and > devices designed to keep the waste from returning to the toilet. More > pumping :) and whatever it was which goes down there has to come from > something you ate and toilet paper. Anything else won't fit and will jam up > the works - and if it was you who jammed it up, we'll show you how to > rebuild the toilet (take the pump mechanism apart to free whatever is > caught - with it and any other substances unavoidably coming out into the > shower/toilet area - you probably get the picture on why you'll want to > avoid that!) so it will work again. Worse, because an innate feature of > combined salt water and urine is to create scale if it sits anywhere for any > length of time, a major rinse is done to keep the pipes from scale > accumulation, reducing the likelihood of diminishing from their > already-small size (more pumping). And, finally, to empty the pipe of all > that rinse water, where it goes above the waterline (the rest goes down from > there, but you wouldn't want the sea to make back pressure on the line), > more pumps of just air (not letting back in the seawater which does the > flushing). You'll develop muscles you didn't know you had in this process > (it's not difficult, but very repetitive). > > 13: Our time ashore is nearly all afoot and looky-loo. That is, we don't > do tours, rent cars, pay for museums, and the like. There's lots to see and > do without cash expenditures, so we don't, in light of our budget. If your > idea of cruising is marinas, tours, maybe hotels, dinners out/pub-bar > entertainment and the like, we're happy to join you as your guests :) - but > we don't need it. > > That's about it for what's not to like. For a humorous, but not very > inaccurate, view of living aboard, go to > http://www.rogerlongboats.com/Liveaboard.htm This was written by a good > friend of ours, Larry Butler, our HAM radio and component-level electronics > repair guru, and hosted by Roger Long, another good friend of ours who's a > marine architect. It's oriented toward marina living while not in transit, > something extremely rare for us due to the costs associated with it, so add > going to shore in the dinghy rather than just stepping onto the dock to all > you see in the simulator :) > > If all that doesn't put you off, I'm sure you'll enjoy your time with us. > > What will I do aboard? > > Life aboard Flying Pig is greatly determined by the weather, so: > > 1: Weather permitting and location-appropriate, we love to dive/snorkel > and, where available, forage underwater for food (gather shellfish/spear > fish/lobster). Bring your flippers and mask/snorkel if that appeals to you > also. You might also like having an underwater camera, if you have one; we > do, and will share, if you don't. Many places have stunning photo-ops. > Swimming, usually in gin-clear water, too, if that's your thing. > > 2: Getting from one place to another is usually by sailing (we are, after > all, a SAILboat). However, sometimes, we'll either motorsail, or just motor > our way from one point to the next. We much prefer not to have our > propulsion motor going, not only for the noise, but for the cost, and, > mostly, because sailing's a lot more fun. If you like, you'll help with all > that's associated with that, or you can just watch. If you want, we'll > teach you about the many different "ropes" (all named something else aboard) > and what they do - along with how they control stuff, and how to recognize > when things are set correctly or for best performance, navigation, > anchoring, reading the water, weather, the various instruments aboard, radio > communications and the like. Generally speaking, we won't be under way if > conditions are "difficult" to your comfort level, unless you've joined us > specifically for a passage, in which case, we take what's delivered; > unavoidably that sometimes includes nasty weather or water or both. > > 3: Once "there" we usually like to explore ashore. Whether that's just > beachcombing, sightseeing (local attractions - artists, sculptors, > lighthouses, wildlife), walking (beaches, wilderness, little towns along the > way, and their architecture and shops), or anything else unusual. > > 4: Read. Bring paperback books. There's lots of down time, particularly > if you're not interested in helping or learning about the transit-related > stuff. If the weather stinks, we're largely cooped up aboard. If it's just > blowing like stink, as they say on the water, if the dinghy ride isn't too > daunting (distance, water conditions), we can go ashore, but otherwise, we > can read in such conditions. You may want to bring something waterproof, > like a windbreaker, for wet transits or times when we might be in rain > conditions. > > 5: Cook, if you like. We have a propane grill, propane stove and oven, all > of which are reasonably close in behavior to those ashore. We also have a > reasonable assortment of the usual hardware associated with those > activities. If you like to cook or bake, we're happy to have you do so. If > not, we're happy, of course, to do that. However, sharing in the cleanup > chores is appreciated (see above about seawater washing/rinsing, and > modifications to that plan based on water realities). > > 6: Go rowing, if you like. We have a PortaBote, in addition to our > inflatable, which has dinghy oars as well as actual sculling sweeps (10' > oars I used to use in my rowing shell on Lake Lanier) which go in the > modification I did to that boat. > > 7: Go exploring on your own. Same PortaBote, we have a second outboard > engine suited to that dinghy, and it will readily plane 2 for quick transit. > > Back to weather considerations, we usually recommend more than a week with > us, as you could be totally shut out of recreational (other than, perhaps, > sailing) activties if the weather was wrong. We've learned that 10-12 days > is ideal, and best if done when we're already somewhere that we have scouted > for the best "entertainment" activities, so that time doesn't interfere with > your enjoyment. > > What should I bring? > > 1: As above, linens. We suggest about three changes of clothing (unless > you want to be bathing-suited most of the time, as we are) plus, perhaps, > extra underwear, and at least two bathing suits (one on the line, drying, > the other to wear). Something to keep you dry if things get messy > weatherwise, as in #2 in "What will I do aboard?". Mostly, other than > coming from a very cold climate, and you need something for your return, you > won't need much in the way of "warm" clothing, because we're mostly in warm > areas. Sometimes it might get to 50 degrees F, but that's rare. Life aboard > isn't very different from camping in regard to clothing, otherwise. > > 2: Snorkeling gear to suit, if you want to do that. We have several spare > pairs of flippers and a few masks and snorkels available aboard, but can't > guarantee that they'd fit you. If you're experienced, already, likely you > have something you'd prefer, in any event. Those items will generally live > in the dinghy until you leave, so it's not a space issue once you're aboard. > > 3: Books to suit you. We have a fairly extensive library aboard, but it > may not all appeal to you. Our books are mystery, marine (about boating) > and classical ("great literature") in nature. For both this and #1, we have > bins to store stuff, as well as the closet, in your cabin. However, you > should bring any "stuff" in soft luggage which can be compressed or > otherwise made to fit in unusually shaped space so as to reserve as much as > possible for your stuff you want out of the soft luggage. Generally > speaking, something which would travel as carry-on luggage on the airline, > for each of you, will easily fit in the space you have available to you. > And, just to relieve your mind somewhat, while duffels are certainly the > preference, the closet is substantial and will easily handle a wheeled > pull-behind. > > 3: Money to suit your lifestyle as relates to stuff to buy, of any sort. > Your time aboard is "on us" as above, but you may wish to buy stuff to take > home, do any ashore-adventure stuff other than our walkabouts mentioned, and > the like. > > 4: Camera(s) - surface and underwater, if you have them. We can download > any digital images you have for backup, if you like. > > 5: Laptop(s) if you simply can't be without them. When we have internet > connectivity, we have a router aboard which will give you access. We turn > off the AC power (like at-home plugs - we're not ENTIRELY backwoods) when we > aren't using the computers, but you can keep your batteries up. Likewise, if > you use rechargeable batteries in your phone/camera/whatever, we have the > power available when we're running the computer, as Skip's screen requires > AC. > > 6: Various items we might have to ask you to buy for us, which we'll of > course pay you for, because they're either not available where we are, or > exhorbitantly costly, or are emergency parts. > > For detailed looks at our home, go to the gallery link below. Click on the > Flying Pig Interiors gallery front page for a look around, and, if you'd > like, browse through the various other galleries' front pages. In all > cases, if clicking the picture doesn't open more galleries (the picture in > this case would be the "front page"), clicking any image will allow you to > look at larger views. > > That's about it. If you're still motivated, we look forward to having you > aboard! > > L8R > > Skip and Lydia > > Morgan 461 #2 > SV Flying Pig KI4MPC > See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! > Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog > and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog > > "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to > make it come true. You may have to work for it however." > (and) > "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in > its hand > (Richard Bach) > > _______________________________________________ > Liveaboard mailing list > [email protected] > To adjust your membership settings over the web > http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard > To subscribe send an email to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ > > To search the archives > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > The Mailman Users Guide can be found here > http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html > _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
