Why We Never Missed Space, While Living on a Sailboat
“This is your box. It is all you are bringing aboard.”
We were about to trade our 4000 sq.ft. house and a large yard, for a small sailboat. The kids were confused and upset. My husband and I were excited and a bit nervous.
Whenever we shared that we lived on a sailboat, people would look at our family of five, with a 6’4″ captain and wonder, “How do you fit everyone there?”
After four years of boat life, the one complaint I never remembered hearing was lack of space.
Here is why:
All of our posts on: Boat Life @ No Texting & Tacking.
Excellent Space Management
Space is managed extremely efficiently on a boat. There is nothing wasted. Almost every single piece of furniture serves a double purpose.
Both monohulls and catamarans come with the best furniture and storage layout possible.
Unlike a house.
When you are faced with furnishing and decorating a house, you are given an empty square space. A few of them. It is up to you to figure out how to fit everything in.
Be inspired:
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85 Beloved Sailing Songs (and Karaoke). The Only Playlist you Need.
Humans have a natural tendency to fill an empty space. There are many reasons why – a nesting instinct, a common association between abundance and happiness, anxiety over other people’s opinion.
Everyone has heard the phrase “house poor“, it has a very negative connotation, often suggesting lack of understanding of one’s personal finances.
So, we like to fill spaces with stuff.
A boat already comes with everything in its perfect spot and there is nothing to do to change that (or it costs a lot of time and/or money to do so).
Aboard, the need to “make the nest” is gone, along with the anxiety over the perfect design and flow (the entire home is floating, after all).
The Adventure Tradeoff
Another reason why we never rebelled against the lack of space aboard, was the much better trade off.
Humans are creatures in motion. We move a lot. We sing songs about traveling and sailing. We tell tales about people seeking adventure. Nations were formed by tribes traveling.
Living on a boat satisfies the desire to move, and to be curious.
While living on land, we use the space to arrange the couch in just a right spot, so we can sit down and watch movies about travelers and adventures.
On the boat, we are those who travel and seek adventures.
I cannot remember watching movies aboard about arranging furniture, but we did watch quite a few about outer space – there is always the next level of travel to dream of.
The Largest Backyard in the World.
We never felt claustrophobic aboard.
If anyone wanted more space – it was a few steps away.
The endless ocean and the distant horizon create so much air to breathe and open space to take in, that it can be overwhelming at times.
Not a single person aboard ever mentioned being bored of the sunsets, or the starriest of skies at night.
The only drawback of such a large backyard, is the ordeal of retrieving utensils accidentally dropped in, while rinsing the dishes.
I’ll take it.
For a visual of our life aboard, see our YouTube Channel – it’s funny.
The Safest Place on Earth
Far from trying to run away from the small space, we sought it for shelter and protection.
Rainstorms and windy passages would take all the romance out of our huge backyard.
While sailing away, without a sight of the shore, fear and even panic can sneak in fairly quickly.
Do not wing it:
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When at odds with nature outside, our small space aboard would become the safest place on Earth.
Experiences Over Things.
We did not need to leave the boat to find great experiences. It traveled everywhere we went.
On land, we often satisfy our desire for experiences with things and stuff. We buy gadgets and toys, which we then leave at home and go out for more.
Because things tend to have a very short shelf life.
There is no need to seek adventures away from the boat, it becomes a vessel of experiences – countless, memorable and long-lasting.
Want to turn a catamaran into that vessel? Check out my post – Buying a Catamaran in 10 Steps – Complete Guide.
More Time in Return.
Few people can have it all – lots of space and lots of time.
For most of us, it might be a choice – a house, or a boat. Which space do you want to call home?
For boaters, it sounds more like – catamaran vs monohull?
Living on a boat means leaving life and careers as we know them and often baking your own crackers, if you want to have a snack. And no ice-cream (that one was hard).
In return for losing the traditional spaces and jobs, you gain time when living aboard.
No matter how fancy and large the land spaces may be, time still remains our most valuable, non-renewable resource.
So, naturally, you fill time with what really matters – fixing the washer; starting your third attempt at baking bread in the solar oven; chasing the kids out of the water for math.
Everyone Else is Doing it.
Every person you meet on the water, is on a boat, and is making it work.
Handling small space did not make us unique, it made us one of many others who did the exact same thing.
When visiting other liveaboards, we would often steal cool ideas of utilizing the small spaces we had. Galley storage solutions were my favorite.
Someone should start a business of designing multi-purpose household items – boaters will be the best customers.
When you are in the neighborhood of small spaces, you feel perfectly content with yours. It is not different, everyone else is doing it.
No one Else is Doing it.
Traveling with teens has been the best parenting decision we have made so far.
It is not easy, however. Teens need lots of friends and a different kind of attention, compared to younger children.
Living on a boat grants teens the wish of being unique and different.
When we visited friends and family on land, most people were very curious about our life aboard. And they would go to the teens first, “So, how do you like living on a boat? Aren’t you afraid of sharks?”
“It’s fun. I am not afraid of sharks, we see them around.”
For what it’s worth, the small boat drags along bragging rights.
A Small Thought About Small Spaces
The small space aboard is gone and I miss it.
After four years of living aboard, complicated acrobatics to enter the forward cabin from the salon, constantly bumping into each other, and wall-to-wall beds, we are back on land.
So, I have taken all of our great experiences and turned them into this blog. To help and inspire you to take the leap.
Because,
What we do, you can do too.
References:
- The New York Times (More Than 1 in 4 American Homeowners Is ‘House Poor’)
- goodreads, Value Of Time Quotes (33 quotes)
More About Living on a Sailboat:
Pros and Cons of Living on a Boat. By Experienced Boaters.
This Sustainable Lifestyle is the Fairest of Them All. 10 Reasons Why Living on a Sailboat Matters.
Catamaran vs Monohull: Let’s Solve This Thing!
Buying a Catamaran in 10 Steps – Complete Guide.
The cost of living on a boat for a family
Can you Live on a Boat? Yes, and Now is the Right Time
