2011 - How We Live Aboard

Land lubbers must wonder what it's like to live on a boat. Well, if the boat is as well equipped as BLUE MAX is, it's almost like being in your own home.

BLUE MAX has 2 cabins & 2 heads (bathrooms)-one fore & one aft. The 'captain's cabin' is aft with a center-line queen-size bed (means you can walk around it on 3 sides) & lots of drawers, hanging locker & flat screen TV. The head has a tub/shower, linen

storage, medicine cabinet & deep, wide storage behind the head for large jugs etc.
.

The forward cabin had 2 bunks on the port side (left) ~ we removed the top bunk to make way for storage bins. (files, copy paper & ink, food etc.) The starboard side is deep & has drawers, 2

hanging lockers, closet for the laptop & printer. (my office) Three steps from the salon go down into each cabin.

On the starboard-side of the salon is the helm station forward, a set of deep drawers, (originally used to stow big  charts) we still keep our charts &

                                Actual GPS location of the boat; Red line is record of our path

navigation books in there, but mostly we use digital charts now. Wayne reconstructed 2 of the drawers to house a flat screen TV, dish receiver & regular

receiver with CD player.

The TV folds down into the drawer when not in use. (my design-gotta take credit when I can) This system also provides us with surround sound in the saloon & on the fly-bridge. There is a separate AM/FM/CD radio & IPod plays thru that.  

Aft of that & mid-ships is a U-shaped galley, tons of storage, very functional & fully equiped. There's a separate refrigerator & freezer accessed with an insulated lid from the top of the work area. They're very deep & can hold many things but on a long trip when you need to stock up or if I'm catching fish, it's not quite enough space. This year we bought a portable fridge/freezer located on the fly bridge. Wayne hard-wired it for AC & DC - we keep it on freezer status. Stove & Oven runs off of 3 propane tanks located on the aft main deck.

 Spoon is holding the cover up; this folds back behind the oven when in use; when down, work top

Microwave, convection oven, food processor & coffee machine run off AC electric.

On the port-side mid-ship is a combination washer/dryer & more storage - forward of that is a dinette. The down side to this arrangement is we don't have a real salon with chairs & sofa.

The interior is Teak wood ~ I use lots of oil.

There are 2 AC units which we use mostly when we're plugged into shore power but they can also be run using the generator. Thanks to Wayne, he re-programed the invertors so now we can run them when we're underway without using the generator. Same thing with the water-maker.

We have almost 2-feet of walk around space on the main deck which makes it easy when docking or fishing. The teak decks are old & weathered. The hull & house is made of Fiberglass.

The boat-deck (over the aft cabin) is where the dinghy is stored & a propane gas grill…then another 3 steps up to the fly bridge which is, by far, our favorite place to hang out. The canvas bimini was replaced in 2007 with a solid, insulated hard top. There’s always a breeze & sometimes, it’s downright chilly under there.

On top of the hard top there are 6 solar panels, an enclosed satellite TV dish & a wind generator.


Canvas awnings unroll & tie to the handrail in an effort to keep the inside of the boat cooler & to prevent harmful sun damage to the teak. They’re especially handy when it rains as we can keep windows & doors open.
There is access on the boat deck (fore & aft) to salt water & fresh water wash downs …we use the salt water to clean off the anchor, decks & fish if & when I can catch the buggers. There’s a hot & cold shower on the swim platform-delightful to shower outside & we bathe the girls back there too.

 2005 when Wayne put the aft extension on & Bulbous Bow; before the hard top, before bottom paint & old dinghy.  (good view of the awnings & window canvas)

In 2005, BLUE MAX was on the hard for a year when Wayne extended the transom 32". This area holds 8 batteries port & starboard. In the middle, stowage & a live bait well (just for me). He built a new, teak swim platform with a ladder into the water.

He also designed & built a bulbous bow which helps make the boat more sea-worthy & cuts down on the "hobby-horse" effect.

The beefy mast holds the radar, spreader lights, a high-powered Wifi antennae & lightening deflector. In this picture, you also see the paravanes which, when deployed, help stabilize from rolling side to side.

We use the mast & boom to deploy & recover the dinghy by using a series of pulley’s, ropes, & winches.
We have a water maker that converts sea water to drinking water - reverse osmosis. I think it’s better than bottled water & no plastic left behind. Wayne also devised a water collection system that takes rain water from the hard top & puts into our 250 gal water tanks.

It's all about power, Amps & Volts. Electric is supplied in various ways: by our diesel generator, solar panels & the wind generator. We have 2 large inverters in which electricity from the batteries, which is DC, (direct current) converts into electricity like is on the grid, or AC (alternating current). AC is the kind of electricity in your house, therefore, the inverters enable us to run house-hold appliances.

Wayne is very watchful & monitors the guages several times a day especially when we are anchored out.

 
              Pondering the installation of the 2 new Invertors (2010)
Our ‘vehicle’ is an 11’ dinghy with a 30hp, Honda 4 stroke outboard motor...gets us places-fast! 
Conservation is the key. People would understand true conservation if they lived on a boat for a month  ~ no other explanation would be necessary ~ 

We really don't want for anything & the living area is about as big as our cottage in the Keys !! But would be a bit different for those of you living in a real house.

Feel free to ask any questions..thanks for reading