Living on a boat is a little different than living in a house…and there’s a drastic difference when you stay on your boat when it’s on the hard. We have limited electrical power (at this marina) and we are using the hose for water. I rank this situation as one step up from tent camping. All our grey water drains out of the boat straight over board. Under normal circumstances it drains into the water…we never see it, but while we’re on the hard it all drains into the work yard. Not a good thing since we’re working on the bottom, so we’re using a large bowl in the sink to wash dishes, our hands and brush teeth. Then we throw it off the back of the boat into the ditch.
Need water...we have plenty!
Welcome aboard...we climbed this later 20-30 times a day...maybe more. It's hard to keep track.
With our limited electrical power we can’t run the refrigerator or use any of our 12-volt lights or outlets. That’s the opposite of how it works when we anchor out. Whereas Texas Pearl is a dock princess, almost everything runs from 120-volts, The Pearl is equipped to be more self sufficient, almost everything onboard is 12-volt. That leaves us with a lot of things we can’t use at the moment. Sundown comes early this time of year, leaving us in the dark…almost. Cooking dinner is almost done by candlelight, because we only have one small lamp in the salon. Stan rigged up a flashlight over the stove that helps a little. Remember we have no refrigerator so I have to buy meat each day or use canned meat…the crock-pot has come in handy and the marina has provided us with free food and drink for the past four nights. The good news is the ice maker works…so I guess I really can’t complain.
The marina also provides private showers, which come in handy since we can’t use our shower (remember grey water overboard...not good), but we can use our toilets since that water goes into our holding tank (but to flush I have to bring water in from the hose). Can you imagine going up and down a 10’ ladder in the middle of the night to use the bathroom…I guess things can always be worse! The marina also has a nice boater’s lounge with a full kitchen, equipped with just about anything you need, grills and a wonderful picnic area. Some people use the refrigerator in the lounge, but I’ve heard things disappear frequently so we’ve decided not to use it. Plus it’s a pretty good hike over there and back every time you need something. We’ve stayed extremely busy each day and are worn out by the time we have dinner, after a few hours of Netflix we’re ready for bed.
Indiantown Marina - Office and boater's lounge
As I’m writing this blog, the weather has improved…much cooler and a lot less humid, until those crazy little down pours start. Here in south central Florida, rain seems to be a daily thing…it just starts up…completely sunny and then it rains. By the time we run to close all the windows…it stops. Our first week on the hard was VERY hot, VERY uncomfortable without our AC, something else we can’t use while we’re on the hard. It uses water that is circulated from outside the boat…no water, no AC. Sleep was somewhat of a problem…hot and sticky, but we were so tired it didn’t take long to fall asleep even though we were sweating.
Need water...we have plenty!
The marina also provides private showers, which come in handy since we can’t use our shower (remember grey water overboard...not good), but we can use our toilets since that water goes into our holding tank (but to flush I have to bring water in from the hose). Can you imagine going up and down a 10’ ladder in the middle of the night to use the bathroom…I guess things can always be worse! The marina also has a nice boater’s lounge with a full kitchen, equipped with just about anything you need, grills and a wonderful picnic area. Some people use the refrigerator in the lounge, but I’ve heard things disappear frequently so we’ve decided not to use it. Plus it’s a pretty good hike over there and back every time you need something. We’ve stayed extremely busy each day and are worn out by the time we have dinner, after a few hours of Netflix we’re ready for bed.
Indiantown Marina - Office and boater's lounge
The marina
The bathroom and laundry
Our little corner of the work yard
Now that the hard work is behind us and we’ve had time to visit with old friends and make a few new ones and enjoy a little down time, the memory of the hard work and inconveniences are beginning to fade. We’re ready to splash and move back to the coast. Our Pearl is back to her beautiful self…time to enjoy the holidays with family and then start our cruising season at the end of December.
Lots of activities all week
We were on the hard in Port Canaveral for a month in the summer. They have great ac power for us and we bought a portable ac unit. Were able to have our fridge, lights and cool sleeping. Still regarded as time spent in prison.
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