Being on a boat, like any home, requires some “household rules” to make things run smoothly. I am not talking about curfews or anything of the sorts. Although sometimes those are needed too! But I am referring more to the way things work and need to be handled.
Being in small quarters for extended amounts of time with others means that these rules need to be followed for the boat to stay in tip top shape and harmony to be had for all.
Things we have had to show guests when they come aboard our boat
Toilet Procedures
Although many would expect that the toilet does not need explanation, guess again. This is the one we usually have to show everyone multiple times.
First of all, the toilet itself is not like back home. We have two manual pump toilets, meaning you do your business then you flip the switch to the water flush side, pump for a while, and then flip the switch to the dry flush side and pump until the bowl is empty. If the hand pump seems resistant, a little vegetable oil in the bowl will solve that problem real quick. But it doesn’t end there.
To keep our toilets as long as possible before needing to be replaced we decided that on our boat we do not flush toilet paper down the toilet. Instead there is a lovely airtight tin next to the toilet for your paper, and there are also small brown bags that you can use to place your paper in before placing that in the tin if you don’t want others seeing your toilet paper.
Cardboard
It may seem harmless but after any shopping trip cardboard should always be removed prior to arriving at the boat. If that’s not possible, dispose of it as soon as the product can be repackaged.
The reason for this being cockroaches. Those pesky indestructible bugs that love to hide in your bilges and eat your food while you peacefully sleep. Those critters sometimes lay eggs in cardboard and you may unknowingly be bringing them home to hatch on your boat. So throw that cardboard out. Repackage everything that is in cardboard into something a little less harmful for your boat and a bug free sanity. Ziplocks and tupperware were our best friends.
Water Conservation
It’s usually not until you have to work for your water that you start realizing how important water conservation is. Being that our boat does not have a water maker, when we run out we must make trips into town with our 5 gallon water jugs to do the fill.
This means loading them all into the dinghy. Driving to town. Filling them up (which can sometimes take forever depending on the lineup and the water pressure). Driving back to the boat. Hoisting them on deck, and then carefully lifting and holding them at just the right spot while the water drains into the boat tanks.
This is an intense workout. It makes you think twice about how much water you are using when doing the dishes or washing your hair. Unless you are looking for some weight lifting to be added to your regular routine, a good way to make your guests slow down on wasteful water consumption is to take them on a water run or two.
Airtight food
The humidity on a boat is pretty ridiculous. Unless you’re like my infant daughter and prefer your food on the softer side, everything must be kept air tight. If something is left open for even one night that humidity will take its toll on it. It’ll change the texture of food from delightfully crisp to a soggy mess.
Once anything has been opened from its original airtight packaging it must either be clipped, zip locked, or placed in a proper container.
Our pack mules often laugh when we request ziplock bags to be brought down to us, but it is exactly because of this humidity issue.
If you do not want to lose your food make sure you have a good supply of baggies, clips, and containers.
Landlubbers may find some of these “rules” strange. The learning curve to adjust to them may be hard. But once you get used to them they become the most logical way to live on a boat.
Some of these remind me of things we have to do with house guests here on the island too 🙂 It is different here than in the land of air conditioning and convenience (which is how we refer to North America). Although we may not have the same 'rules', it definitely takes some…training to have a smooth visit with visitors! 🙂
I love the post! SOOOOO TRUE! I'm so glad to see you guys still at it!
Another good rule is no cardboard near your bilge pump. If it gets wet it can clog the pump.
That would be such a nightmare!
I also rip the paper off of the tins and write on it in sharpie. Haven't yet started being overly strict on air tight containers but getting there slowly. Only moved aboard in April. Mad to see how far we have both come. The toilet fiasco is a nightmare. No-one ever understands so I ended up making idiot proof instructions. 🙂
We have friends that wrote instructions as specific as if you do number one do this many toilet pumps, etc etc!
My Admiral insists that the only way to use the heads is to sit down no matter what you plan to do, no exceptions. Probably explains why our boat does not smell like a male urinal.
It’s a great rule to have. We have it too
Love this! I’ll bookmark it for when we buy our boat. Nobody needs a blocked toilet! :o)
What do you do with the contents of the airtight tin next to the toilet when its full?
Then they go in the garbage, which gets brought to the closest island dump when we go to land
We are buying our first houseboat and dingy and I love these rules. It makes so much sense and I am one who is NOT afraid to enforce rules! Thanks for the great post.
Totally welcome. They are things that we found made our lives easier while living on the boat.
We add rice to the salt shakers to keep it dry. A friend dumped my salt out in disgust because she thought the rice was maggot eggs. Sigh; learning curves…
oh no! that’s hilarious
Regarding tinned foods, I also put expiry date on top (e.g., 06/18).
Regarding toilet, before leaving the boat I use the last of the dish water to flush through. This is ideal for clearing any lingering odours.
My golden rule: wear a life-jacket when on deck.
My silver rule: point out all safety features to new crew/visitors. (Alarms, escape hatches, fire extinguishers, flares and use of, gas and fuel valves, all inlet valves.)
My bronze rule: have a watch system on longer passages (>4 hours) to ensure alert crew at helm.
My platinum rule: at end of long passage when safely moored, a sip of Irish whiskey!
I like your rules as well. We had a lot of those too, but never named them rules, they just happened. And our long passage drink was usually some sort of rum, but we were in the Caribbean.
Thank you for writing about these necessities. We are planning to move onto a boat and these rules make sense.
Tara
You are very welcome Tara. Best of luck with the move.
Rule #1). Breathe air, not water.
Rule #2). At sea, stay on the boat.
Rule #3). Keep an inventory of spare everything.
Rule #4). Fix it. Don’t call for help.
Rule #5). Keep smiling. If you are not happy, get off the ocean.