How to anchor for a week?

[Vandeusen]

So this is a topic that has been on my mind for quite some time and browsing around and talking to other Mariners I just simply can't get the type of answers I'm looking for. I'm not quite sure if I'm just being absent minded or if I simply just don't get what I'm looking for so here go


I'm a disabled veteran that has done the loop once already swapped out my 34 ft trawler for a 41 ft trawler and now trying to make a full-time life out of it. My issue is regarding anchoring, I see sail boaters anchoring down all the time and when asked they say the anchor for a week or two how the hell do you stay cool? How do you stay entertained? My VA check allows me to sail my 41 ft trawler about 3 to 5 hours a day if I choose to at that point I anchor down but the next morning I'm ready to go because I'm not quite sure what to do with myself, I have on board diesel generator, I have a predator 3500 portable and I have solar capable of giving me 3,000 Watts from sunup to sundown and then I have to dial it back to about 1,000 Watts through the night. I don't like running the generators but with my issues is I have to be somewhat temperature control as i dont sweat and can easily overheat after 31 years of marriage my wife is more relaxed than I am and can handle no heat better than me LOL

How about starting a discussion of what people do with their time, how do they deal with the heat, yeah yeah I can sit back and watch TV all day but who wants to do that after all you're on a boat! I'm not much of a reader since I'm more of a visual learner and my comprehension skills are a little off these days. I'm on oxygen, cpap, take about 30 prescriptions a day and I refuse to let that get in my way of enjoying the Boating life.

I hold 400 gallons of diesel and my burn is 3.25 gallons an hour on my two 200 horsepower Volvo pentas. Share with me some of the things you guys do to enjoy your boating life better as you liverboard.

Let this thread be about anything you want to share on how and what makes your life easy. My budget is 400 gallons a month for fuel I hold 250 gallons of water I would even love to learn how to inexpensively build a water maker so any advice on that too would be great

 

[heysteve]

Hey, good on ya for getting out there and making it happen! All too often people get a victim mentality and use it as an excuse to complain about the world. I can think of no better way to live than aboard a boat and we will do it as long as we can

So... staying cool in a hot climate is challenging if you don't want to run the generator/air conditioning. One thing to consider is trying to shade your decks. You don't need expensive Sunbrella, you can use the greenhouse shade cloth often sold at Home Depot, etc. Also get some decent sized home fans to keep the air flowing. They tend to be cheap and can easily run off your inverter.

As for keeping entertained, the only advice I can offer is to just try to mix it up a bit. Do a little bird watching, watch a little YouTube, do a bit of reading, take a nap (we're big believers is the siesta!), take a dinghy ride... you get the idea. It can be challenging if you have an active mind but that's true anywhere you live.

 

[Vandeusen]

Thank you for being the first to respond currently I run the generator for 2 hours in the a.m. and during dinner hours from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. so that I make it through the heat of the day my wife doesn't add any additional heat with the cooking and we get the cool off the boat waiting for Nightfall to let the cool Summer Breeze come through I do have a nice dingy that we use a couple times a week even it's just to get to the other side of the river LOL but let's keep more of the opinions coming of what people do the more I can learn what people do the better my life living aboard can be. My daughter is coming aboard and she is pregnant so I think when my grandson at least that's what I say it is LOL gets bored he would take my attention as well

 

[denverd0n]

There are lots of ways to keep a boat relatively cool. Shading as much of the deck as you can helps tremendously. Then you can use fans and wind scoops to move air through the boat. At some point, though (especially here in Florida), you just need to crank up the air conditioner. If you're anchored, that means running a generator. That's just one of the costs of operating a boat in a hot climate in the summer time.


As for what to do to keep yourself busy, that's an entirely personal matter. For me, I am happy to sit and read for hours at a time, sometimes. Other times I keep busy with the thousands of little chores that life always seems to line up for me. If you feel like you have to be always moving, then you have to be always moving.


Seems to me like there is always some sort of cleaning, or maintenance, or other work that the boat needs. But if that's not enough for you, that's a personal matter that you will have to deal with. Perhaps it's just a matter that life on board a boat, anchored out, is not for you. It most certainly is not for everyone. A decision that only you can make, though.


Good luck.

 

[rslifkin]

To some extent, being comfortable without having to pay for docks with power or spend a bunch of money on fuel for a generator is a matter of where you go. Unless you're tied to a specific area, go where the weather is tolerable and where there are things for you to do.

For comfort while sleeping, there are systems that are intended to cool your bed, rather than the room. That should be much easier to fit into your power budget with solar, so that may give you an option for tolerating warm nights.

 

[O C Diver]

My simple rule for staying climate comfortable is:

Travel North in the Spring until you don't need air conditioning during the Summer. Travel South in the Fall until you don't need heat during the Winter.

Ted

 

[psneeld]

Agree with go where at least the water is cooler. There is almost always a breeze when it gets hot around cooler waters. Shade as previously mentioned is important.

Look at climatology reports... one should note that in some southern areas on/near the water like Florida's SE coast and the Keys can be cooler (tolerably so) than the whole rest of the SE US.

A bit of solar and newish fans can keep you cool during those hours of calm are easy to setup.

But you keyed in on the most important factor of staying at anchor. Isolation (if you allow it).

Some love the isolation for much longer than others. For me the biggest issue was activity. Not a gym rat so exercising on the boat was out. I needed to be a dingy ride away from decent walking or even a good row for a couple of days. That boils downto what else one needs/wants in an anchorage.

Other than that...a couple weeks at any given spot with the minimum would suit me just fine. Maybe longer if it had most of what I wanted and plenty of great fishing.

 

[PM]

Go fishing. Read a book. Clean the boat. Take a nap. Visit with other boaters. Get a computer or smart phone. Read a chart. Learn celestial navigation. Take an on line course. Improve your cooking/baking skills.Collect stamps. Buy a WHOLE bunch of pennys,dimes or quarters and look for valuable ones.Take a bike ride.

Contact me when you need more ideas.

pete

 

[Vandeusen]

Keep It Coming Keep It Coming you guys are doing great with great ideas. It's not so much as I feel like I have to move as much as I don't know what to do with myself other than to move LOL I'm sure when my daughter comes aboard and my grandchild is born that would entertain me a lot more as well. I do have a ceiling fan that only uses 40 Watts with LED lighting built in and I have a fan on stand for the MSR I haven't really been uncomfortably hot but then we're not in full for summer yet either I did want to stay in the zone of the loop so that I'm in a pocket where you don't need air or heat but by the time I picked up this vessel and got to Florida I realized with the bridge being closed on the river until the 22nd there is no way I can make it North in time to make it across the Great Lakes.

I have no intention on staying Southern Florida and I will be going north as time, weather permits. When I sell the cross the Gulf from Louisiana to where I am at now in Florida I winded up running about 60 miles a day which was more than I wanted to do but you have no choice when you have to get across the Gulf. Now sitting in Fort Myers I know I don't want to be here too much longer but sure in the hell didn't want to drop down to Miami to get around since Lake Okeechobee Bridges were closed I think I'll try to make it toward Belhaven NC last year it was a nice place to be. You can troll this form all day and still not get the type of personalized the answers as I'm getting in this thread so thank you for everyone that has responded so far.

I will be trying to make a trip toward Home Depot and see if I can get me some shade that was a great idea as well

 

[ranger58sb]

I'm a disabled veteran that has done the loop once already swapped out my 34 ft trawler for a 41 ft trawler and now trying to make a full-time life out of it.

how the hell do you stay cool?

How do you stay entertained?

Thanks for your service!

In addition to shade ideas and household fans... you might consider adding some window tinting. Not the privacy kind; instead the kind used for IR/UV filtering. Not horribly expensive, one time shot, could be DIY... and it might make a useful difference in interior temps.

Another idea, if you don't have decent natural airflow from bow hatch to stern exit... might be to change some fixed windows into opening windows. Might well be more costly; dunno... and it'd have to be waterproof when closed... but improving air flow through the boat might help.

Entertainment: Fix stuff. Improve stuff. Watch the water go by.



I usually don't last much more than a week or so... but that's also because by then I'll probably need to go ashore to get parts to fix something.

-Chris

 

[Art]

Howdy Vandeusen

Good on ya... never lose the spirit!

When you're overheated: Personal-on-body evaporative cooling is quick/simple to do over and over, virtually cost free and 100% environmentally clean.

Wear light weight material shirt/pants [or, your birthday suit can work too - LOL] and have some sort of water-spray item at hand. Spray [i.e., mist] your face, head top, shirt, pants... etc. to point of well dampened. Be careful of being too damp and directly in hot-sunlight... the cooling rate accomplished can quickly become overwhelming to a body's temperature controlled metabolisms. Adjust items mentioned as desired. You'll experience the realms of accurate body temp control!

To stay busy - Get a way to have your computer active on the net while aboard. You can always locate items on the web that are enjoyable and interesting to delve into.

Best Luck!! Boat Buddy...

 

[O C Diver]

Keep It Coming Keep It Coming you guys are doing great with great ideas. It's not so much as I feel like I have to move as much as I don't know what to do with myself other than to move LOL I'm sure when my daughter comes aboard and my grandchild is born that would entertain me a lot more as well. I do have a ceiling fan that only uses 40 Watts with LED lighting built in and I have a fan on stand for the MSR I haven't really been uncomfortably hot but then we're not in full for summer yet either I did want to stay in the zone of the loop so that I'm in a pocket where you don't need air or heat but by the time I picked up this vessel and got to Florida I realized with the bridge being closed on the river until the 22nd there is no way I can make it North in time to make it across the Great Lakes.

If you're ok with migrating, when the Stuart, FL railroad bridge resumes operation, leave and you could be on Lake Champlain by the middle of July (it's about 1,500 miles from Fort Myers). After Labor day, starting heading South and cross the Florida line in November. A modest reduction of speed would probably half your fuel consumption and cruising 30 to 40 miles per day might give you a more meaningful daily schedule. Then there's the benefit of changing the neighborhood every day or so.

Ted

 

[FWT]

What to do: focus on accomplishing something.

You are not a reader, but if you were, something like reading the 100 best books you have not read.

Instead, focus on learning something or becoming an expert on something that excites you. It can be simple. Cooking perfect biscuits. It doesn't matter what. Accomplish something. Pick a boat project that involves more labor than cash, and pick away at it.

 

[Vandeusen]

Great ideas some of them have already been implemented. When I purchased the trawler the windows were already tinted I do have 24 hour unlimited internet access no matter where I'm at as long as I'm within 30 miles of land I haven't really considered the bow and Stern hatches even though I keep the MSR hatch open and I leave both of my doors cracked open at night to keep airflow while I keep the 9mm by the side of the bed LOL anyway I do like migrating but my VA check budget basically keeps me at a Max a 15 to 20 miles a day unless I anchored for 24 hours in which case I get more miles from the savings of not moving and staying put anchored I do like the Great Loop I am a aglca member I just started in the wrong area too late to be in my pocket of nice weather doing the loop and I can't really play makeup because finances take apart in that as well so I can't make up what I'm already behind in the loop

I do watch a lot of YouTube videos well maybe a few hours a week and I focus mainly on boat disasters and watch what they have done in their emergency so I can better equip my knowledge should such a problem arise I also look at how to fix something and even though I get the concept and I can follow the step by step tutorial they're giving for some reason call it psychological I guess I fear implementing that like if I am going to cause more damage than good LOL otherwise there's a lot of things on the trawler that could keep me busy maintenance and cosmetic wise

And as far as what the other person on here said consider me a nudist LOL the only time I put on shorts is when I see someone going to be passing me by soon LOL so I can stand up and wave. LOL again it's not that I'm not so much a reader I have a comprehension issue and I have a memory issue so when I get done reading the page I have no idea what I just read but that's part of my PTSD issues I guess which is one of the reasons why I'm 100% service connected disabled wartime veteran and thank you to the person who replied acknowledging the service.

 

[Vandeusen]

Oh and for the person that said something about the cooking I am a ex certified chef and at home or in our motorhome I do most of the cooking because I do everything from scratch most of my meals has anywhere from 5 to 20 different ingredients involved in the making and my family loves my food no offense to the wife but I can outcook her everyday of the year LOL however with that said, I hate my kitchen on my trawler my previous trailer had a nice kitchen but this trawler it's small and for the type of cooking that I do the kitchen is virtually unusable to me so my wife does the cooking when I can get motivated enough to cook a meal believe me the family gets excited so that's a dilemma LOL however I'm now looking at a 48 foot trawler because it has a lot better counter space for the kitchen but do I actually want to spend the money because of the kitchen LOL well it also holds 800 gallons of diesel so that's a big plus

 

[Portage_Bay]

To ease the restlessness and boredom try tapping into your creative side. It may help you build better comprehension and improve your memory. Some ideas, I'm sure there are more.

Photography, not just taking pictures. Wildlife. Scenery. People. Whatever catches your interest. Learn to use a 'real' camera that stores raw images and learn how to process the raw images. The upfront costs of the camera and lenses can be steep. The software doesn't have to be.

Drawing. Get a book to teach the basics. Goes hand in hand with creative photography. Other forms of creating images.

Music, listening, learning to play an instrument. You might want some lessons to get over the hump.

If you're a night owl and find yourself in areas without too much artificial light thing about astronomy.

For boaty ideas teach yourself old skool navigation. With the back up of modern electronics you don't have to worry about mistakes as you build skills. And it's the ultimate backup to the electronics. Learn everything you can about weather prediction models so you'll better understand what your chosen weather app is showing you.

If you're more hands on technical than creative maybe dive into ardruino or raspberry pi to try your hand at making special sensors and some simple automation for your boat. That stuff will keep your brain busy.

Consider a dog. Great companion. You'll need shore the dog regularly.

As for the recommendations for more computer time I'm going to go against that. I've been reading and learning how too much screen time affects attention span in a negative way. Don't add more screen time to your life, add more activities that exercise the brain. Use the screen time to learn what you need to learn for your chosen project.

 

[Vandeusen]

We do have a shih tzu on board I got him when he was 6 weeks and he's about 11 months old and he was potty on artificial grass I have on the deck I'm not really a night owl other than my shift to make sure we don't drift but our anchor alarm does a good job at that anyway I was a journalist at the end of my military career and took Photography in college so I do have some photography skills LOL old school navigation now there's something I'm going to look into that's a great idea since I can tell you how to get anywhere in the country by land I sure can't do that by water

We are still in the building courage stage of Life on the water which is why we stay close to land but we do have plans I'm going to Mexico Colombia Nicaragua Cuba Puerto Rico the Bahamas and the British Islands eventually LOL but we're nowhere near having that courage yet LOL I give props to people that make those Journeys because I'm hoping by next year we would have gotten more comfortable after spending 3 years on the water to make those type of Crossings and those old navigational skills I'm sure will come in handy.

I must say I'm enjoying this thread!

 

[Don L]

0.9 gal of gas with my Honda EU2200 will power my 16K BTU air conditioner for 6 hours

I now have a Star Link for internet, but before had a cell phone with unlimited data that could mirra cast to the TV and can watch video/movies etc

books of course, with a kindle and the internet you can read 1000s of boats for $.9.90/mo

games, cards and dominos

swim/fish, go ashore and explore/sightsee

waste time reading and posting on boat forums

 

[AlaskaProf]

again it's not that I'm not so much a reader I have a comprehension issue and I have a memory issue so when I get done reading the page I have no idea what I just read

Movies! I have downloaded to my onboard laptop (well...what was my onboard laptop) about 200 movies, mostly nautical, nature and travel. Relatively few of them paid for. If you don't have onboard internet, public libraries are great sources for "rip-capable" video discs. Used book stores and online sellers sell classics for a couple bucks.

The search and discovery are a time-consuming hobby in itself.

 

[mvweebles]

.....my VA check budget basically keeps me at a Max a 15 to 20 miles a day unless I anchored for 24 hours in which case I get more miles from the savings of not moving and staying put anchored....

Sounds like your budget can absorb around 150-200 gals of diesel per month; or roughly 500nms. Is there some sort of 'side-hustle' you can do? Would help with the budget and absorb your free time. Do you have any hobbies you can expand?

Peter

 

[ranger58sb]

I hold 400 gallons of diesel and my burn is 3.25 gallons an hour on my two 200 horsepower Volvo pentas.

I'm slightly surprised your diesel consumption is that high. I'd have guessed more like 2.5 GPH. What speeds to you try to run?

-Chris

 

[Simi 60]

Buy a big project boat.
You'll never be bored again.

Large overhangs, roll down shade cloth, opening windows work well keeping our vessel cool.

We have been cruising on anchor for near seven years on the same latitudes as Florida or warmer.
We have no Air Con and there would only be one day each year we want it.

 

[Airnet]

Our routine feels like Ground Hogs Day but we love it. Take the dog for a morning walk to get her zoomies out. Coffee, breakfast, shower, chill for a minute, lunch, read, go to shore to wear out the dog, dinner, dishes, bed. Not once have we turned on the TV. YouTube on the phone is nice during personal time if we have reception.

It's not exciting but we love it. I'm not sure how months of that routine would be. The walk/run, dog, and meals chew up most of our day.

 

[Don L]

We have been cruising on anchor for near seven years on the same latitudes as Florida or warmer.
We have no Air Con and there would only be one day each year we want it.

Must be a different Florida than the one I have lived in the last 6 years

 

[Simi 60]

Must be a different Florida than the one I have lived in the last 6 years

65f to 90f seems to be what most weather sites say for Florida
That's 18c to 33c
https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/fort-myers/florida/united-states/usfl0152

We've seen 38c/100f in summer onboard before - $10 desk fans worked fine for us.

It has got warmer at times

The city's highest recorded temperature was 43.2 °C (109.8 °F) on Australia Day 1940 at the Brisbane Regional Office, with the highest temperature at the current station being 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) on 22 February 2004; but temperatures above 38 °C (100 °F) are uncommon.

 

[mvweebles]

65f to 90f seems to be what most weather sites say for Florida
That's 18c to 33c
https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/fort-myers/florida/united-states/usfl0152

We've seen 38c/100f in summer onboard before - $10 desk fans worked fine for us.

It has got warmer at times

Humidity? Fever turns on sometime between early/mid May to early June. Stays fairly humid through end of September/early October when the fever breaks. Temperature rarely exceeds 92 degrees but heat index with humidity is 6-12 degrees (F) higher. Night time temps rarely dip below 80F. Far cry from US western states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, etc) where summer daytime temps easily exceed 95 but are dry and comfortable. Outside of major cities, night drops into the high 60s. Very comfortable with no humidity.

No idea about OZ

Peter

 

[Simi 60]

Humidity?

Peter

Google says humidity is the same at 70% + in summer

Tampa Florida

Brisbane Australia

 

[Don L]

everything is always a battle to win

 

[Simi 60]

everything is always a battle to win

Not at all
Just stating the facts
Supported by data.

 

[BruceK]

everything is always a battle to win

You`ve good insight into your own character.