Some Joys of Boating...Sleep

[spartonboat1]

This Spring, 2012, we moved our '72 43'DCFB about 4 hours closer, so that it is 45 miles away, vs. the prior 240 miles. Well, early on, the primary activity on the boat seems to be blessed rest, first on the aft deck with the 'curtains' up to let in some breeze, buy a paper, and put up your feet and close your eyes...greatly peaceful. Also, turn on the AC in this hot summer, and then maybe to the V-berth for some really blessed deep sleep there; we seem to reserve the Aft Cabin for guests, so use the V-berth a lot!

Just boarding her is a great relief and one of the reasons I guess that we own these boats...to mentally get away from it all. We are also beginning to do some various maintenace items that were neglected, when she was so far away. If nothing else, a chance to give her a good cleaning.

Finally, the drive home is 40 minutes, vs. 4.5 hrs. (9 hr round trip).

End of idle comments on some joys of boating.

 

[Artzco]

Great thoughts that says it all. We're 45 minutes away and there is excitement in getting there and the sleep is better. Then we know we only have a short drive home. The boat is therapy and why we named her Jenn's Tonic.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

And we do this so we can anchor out and relax while grilling some burgers.

Pic is 4th of July at South Manitou Island, Lake Michigan

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

And now you know why we live onboard full time...And have for over 12 yrs now

 

[Boatnut]

And we do this so we can anchor out and relax while grilling some burgers.

Pic is 4th of July at South Manitou Island, Lake Michigan

Sky, it looks kind of like your warming up your feet by the grill, after a cool dip. LOL

 

[Avenger]

That is one thing to be said for The Lakes... fresh water and no sharks.





Okay, two things.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Is this better?

 

[Artzco]

Sometimes I miss the fresh water, but then I enjoy the open ocean and destinations that await.

 

[Avenger]

Is this better?

I thought you Motoryacht guys all wore green pants.

Sometimes I miss the fresh water, but then I enjoy the open ocean and destinations that await.

I wasn't going to move anytime soon. There ain't no tuna or Marlins in The Lakes either.

 

[magnawake]

Since I've been living aboard, I cant seem to sleep anywhere else. The gentle rocking motion, the drown of the cruise air's, it just dont get any better.

 

[jim rosenthal]

I agree. Best place to sleep is on the boat. No question about it.

 

[hyperfishing]

Yep. Wife even sleeps through storms at anchor. Of course in those cases, I don't, constantly checking to see if we are drifting. I sleep the next day, preferably on the beach. <gg>

 

[MarioG]

Here's a short you tube vid of what makes our boat special to us. it was filmed sometime last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URC4Kn1WsW8&feature=youtu.be

 

[Avenger]

Cool video! I wonder what the hull speed of a dolphin is?

 

[MikeP]

Wish I could say the same re boating/sleeping; I sleep very poorly on the boat when we are out anchored. I worry about everything - any strange noise, odd movement, wind coming up, anchor dragging (which our Fortress FX55 never has), etc. You name it, I worry about it!

I do find that I can take a nice nap in the afternoon but sleeping overnight doesn't generally work all that well for me. Frankly I'd have to admit that I don't really "enjoy" boating in the sense that most people seem to - wish I did. I enjoy maintaining/working on the boat/adding some updated or improved item or system system. I could count on one hand the number of times we've been out on the boat (any boat we've owned but including our 53 over the past 8 years) and I've thought, "Wow, isn't this great?"

Yeah, I know.. the obvious question is "why do you have a boat?" The answer is, because I love boating! (No, I can't figure it out either.

 

[JackieChamp]

Nothing like sleeping out on the hook, in a quite anchorage, listening to the world fall asleep.....Ok, very jeoulous that I'm still at work in Worcester...

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

Depends on WHERE I'm anchored on how well I sleep at night...

If there's a strong current/lots of boats/bad weather...."forget about it"
If a nice easy location with no one around...."sleep good"

But I ALWAYS have my anchor alarm on, complete with the "12v baby monitor" I use,,, put the transmitter by the alarm and the receiver by the bunk...No way I'll sleep if the alarm goes off that way.

The biggest mistake I see when people use the anchor alarm is, they wait till the line comes tight before they activate it... I activate mine as I drop the anchor, that way it marks the anchor, not the end of the rode

 

[magnawake]

yep, thats me.....setting the alarm when the chain is tight. I thought I set it when I dropped it, but it didnt take. Happens every time. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb....The alarm was waking me up every couple hours. Well, at least I know it works. I did expand the radius out some and sleep very good. On the other hand, the waves hitting the bow hull kept me up as well. I like sleeping in the V-berth so I can tell if a storm is a brewing. Overall we had a great time anchored up at Cape look Out. I would hihgly recommend anchoring out in the Bight of Cape Look Out. Just a Beautiful area. When on the hook,to leave, you just start the engines, pull in the chain and go. No muss no fuss. Love anchoring out and sleeping on the hook, provided its cool weather (not July/August).

 

[hyperfishing]

Fantastic idea about setting the anchor alarm on the anchor. Never thought of that. THANKS!

MikeP "I could count on one hand the number of times we've been out on the boat (any boat we've owned but including our 53 over the past 8 years) and I've thought, "Wow, isn't this great?"

MikeP is the ideal Captain...for someone else's boat! Geez, what a shame.

The one time I invited him out, he WAS cruising on his boat.

 

[Avenger]

I think I understand where Mike's going here;

Being the guy who's responsible on a bigger boat does take some of the "fun" out of it. You can't kick back and relax as if you were on a cruise.

I definitely have more fun blasting around the bay in the runabout than I do running the Hatteras. Naturally there's a lot of satisfaction to be had from the things you can do with a bigger boat and dealing with the challenges thereof. But I could see where sometimes there can be a lot less of a WooHoo!!! factor while you're doing it.