This past weekend we turned our houseboat into a sailboat.
For the last 15 months we have lived on our boat and not sailed anywhere.
Except for taking the headsail off for repairs or when we put the mast back on
the boat, we haven’t even had the sails open. So, basically, our boat has only
been a houseboat for the last year and a half, not a sailboat at all. That’s
the longest we have gone without sailing in the last 15 years, which is odd
since we now live on a sailboat.
This past weekend we started preparing our boat to actually
sail. To do that we needed to put away everything that could fall on the floor
once the boat starts tilting. Previously, our boat was like a house; tables
were cluttered, shelves were packed, counters had things sitting on them. That
doesn’t work for sailing. For sailing a monohull, everything sitting out ends
up on the floor. Look around where ever you are sitting; imagine if the room
tilted 30 – 40 degrees and shook. Where would your computer end up, where would
your papers, lamps, vases, books, pens and pencils all end up? If your TV isn’t
bolted to the wall, it would be on the floor. In the kitchen, where would your
appliances, your toaster, your dishes and glasses end up? If your cabinets and
drawer don’t have latches, everything in them would be on the floor. On a
sailboat, everything needs to be put away, cabinets and drawers need to be
latched, tables cleared and counters tops emptied. Everything you don’t want on
the floor needs to be put somewhere secure.
This is the latest step in preparing our boat to begin
cruising. This weekend we’ll take our boat out and actually sail. We’ll sail up
and down the intercoastal waterway, we’ll anchor out overnight, we’ll test the
batteries, the solar system, the engine and its alternator. We’ll test the
sails, the standing rigging, running rigging and our new anchor. We’ll practice
our anchoring signals and technique. Most of all, we’ll sail. We’ll raise the
sails, find the wind, harness its power, shut off our engine and enjoy the
quiet satisfaction of being propelled by the force of the breeze.
