The left hand forward bunk was described in an article about the boat as being a double bunk. It is about 2/3 the width of a single bed! We are both pretty skinny so we fit ok and as we get things organized life is getting more comfortable.
With all our remaining possessions either stowed or donated it was time to depart Bahia Honda and head over to The Marathon City Marina. The weather wasn't the best but a stiff westerly wind was in our favor and we set off. We had to motor out of the marina against strong wind and really choppy sea initially and immediately started having engine trouble. We'll save the rest of that tale for the next blog but we got back to our dock at Bahia Honda and the engine fired up and ran ok again. I think the problem was related to an EPA required valve attached to the new fuel tank. We had a long discussion on the engine and decided to ditch the old 2 stroke in favor of a new 4 stroke as having engine trouble in this area with the strong tidal currents and many hazards could be disastrous.
West Marine ordered the engine and we had to wait a week for that. Once installed and working we were once again ready to depart. The weather turned nasty and another 10 days went by before the small craft advisory was lifted and we finally escaped the Bahia Honda State Park. The trip was choppy and wet but the warm water, 77F, was actually quite pleasant. We arrived 3 hours later at The City Marina thus completing the "marathon to Marathon".
Sunrise at Boot Key Harbor mooring field
A pelican flying by our boat
The Marathon City Marina is well organized and the facilities and amenities are really good and clean. The moorings are in excellent condition and we feel safe leaving our boat and going away for the day. They have a rule that all boats must be lived aboard and no wet storage is allowed. This makes a pleasant change from all the places that don't allow liveaboards. Our little boat is of course dwarfed by all the large and expensive boats around here.
Us going out for a sail
Most people can't believe that we actually live on the boat. It does look really small and narrow but there is more space inside than it seems from the outside.
This has got to be the worst boat name ever!
A young pelican took a break on our boat
Next, life in a small boat begins to take shape...........
Love the blog. I tried posting a comment before but it didn't seem to come out.
ReplyDeleteI've recently bought a sw24, but its my first boat so not as experienced doing things up.
Could you perhaps show some pics of how you've set things up inside the hulls... Particularly electricals, cooking, shelving, berths etc. I'm very interested in setting mine up to cruise and extended camp on but not sure what's possible.
I'll post some pics of the interior in the next post. We are doing it as basic as possible because as you know there isn't much space to spare.
DeleteThe electrical is all solar powered and I am writing up a short pdf with photos to which I will place a link in the next post. The cooking is also a solar oven except for a small Coleman camping stove which we use to heat water for coffee or tea in the morning. For shelving and stowage we are making net "hammoks" to try keep the weight down. We have only kept one bunk to sleep in, the rest are used for storage as we still have a bit too much junk.
We have been living on the boat for 3 months now and all is still well. It would be an excellent boat for cruising or extended camping, although you DO need to be in a camping frame of mind. For example; we pull the stove out when we need it and I use a laptop for my business and only set it up when I need to.
Alan