The Incredible Shrinking Boat
By Mike Jastrzebski
Sometimes I feel as if I’m living in an old B sci-fi movie. The movie that comes to mind is a 1957 movie titled The Incredible Shrinking Man, only in my case the movie would be called The Incredible Shrinking Boat.
Rough Draft is a 36-foot Islander sailboat that my wife, Mary, and I bought twenty years ago and that we’ve been living and cruising on for 10 years. When we first started looking for a boat we were checking out 30-32 foot boats and Mary quickly decided that none of the boats we looked at had enough storage, so we moved up to the 36-38 foot range. When we found our Islander she seemed huge and we figured she had plenty of storage room.
Of course that was then and this is now. Since we bought the boat the storage area has slowly been dwindling and the boat itself seems to be shrinking. It started when we replaced the hot water heater.
The old heater was an odd size and was mounted above the engine so when the heater died and we replaced it, we had to find a new location. We decided on the back corner of the aft quarter berth and over the years have use the remainder of that berth for storage. But that space has continued to shrink.
Over the years we’ve added an inverter/charger, our Ham radio and a solar panel regulator to that space, and throughout the boat we have added other items that contribute to the feeling that the boat is closing in on us. I’m talking about things like six golf cart batteries, an extra water tank, a larger holding tank, solar panels, and just this past week our new water maker.
The water maker makes 20 gallons per hour, but the components are big. The high pressure pump weighs over 50 pounds and takes up nearly as much space as two golf cart batteries. Add in the 3-foot long 22 pound RO membrane and casing, a boost pump, pre-filters, carbon filter, instrument panel, hoses and valves, and it makes me wonder just how much smaller this boat can get.
Of course all of these add-ons allow us to spend longer periods of time at anchor rather than at a marina, and that’s the way we like to cruise.
So tell me. Am I the only one living on a boat who feels their boat is shrinking or are there others out there living in the same B movie that I live in.
Free Audio winners
The following blog readers will receive a free audio copy of Key Lime Blues: Dennis Adamson, Richard Norman, Ed Stoner, Cynthia Hudson, Judy Long and Stephen Sellinger.
If your name is listed I will be sending out e-mails in the next few days with instructions on how to download your free audio book along with a download code. If you do not receive an email by Friday please contact me at mike@mikejastrzebski.com.
I still have a few audio books left to give away and I will be giving them away on a first come first serve basis until they are gone. If you are interested in one of these audio copies of Key Lime Blues please contact me at the above email address.
