The pros and cons of living on a boat…and our Sunday litter pick

Ravensdale basking in the sunshine at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK, this week

Next month, it will be three years since we took the life-changing decision to sell our house in the Scottish Highlands to buy a boat and move on board.

We’re still very glad we were brave enough to follow our dream, but I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few things we miss about having a house.

As this week has been fairly quiet and uneventful it seemed like a good opportunity to put together a new list of the pros and cons of living on our 42ft Neptunus 133 motor cruiser.

Although some of these are personal to us and other people’s experiences will be different, I hope they will be of interest and helpful to anyone considering a similar move.

Meanwhile, we got so fed up with the litter that had accumulated on one of our regular dog walks that we decided to clear it up ourselves at the weekend.



The "pros" of boat life

One of my favourite photos of Ravensdale returning to Maryport taken by Jan Fialkowski

You may be surprised to notice that some things appear to be both pros and cons.

These points have both good and bad aspects and I couldn’t decide whether the pro outweighed the con or vice versa 😊

Ravensdale out on the Solway Firth. Photo by Carl Weaver

1.    We have a boat 😊

There was no way we could have afforded a house and a boat so selling our house enabled us to realise our dream of owning and living on a boat.

2.    I no longer have to work so every day’s a holiday 😊

I realise this wouldn’t necessarily be true for others but selling our house and getting rid of our mortgage enabled me to take early retirement and I love it.

3.    We can take our home on holiday with us

There’s no need to pack to go away.

When we throw off our mooring ropes, everything we need is already on board.

Ravensdale during our holiday in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, in May of this year

4.    Meeting lots of people at the marina

We see and speak to many more people here than would’ve been the case if we’d stayed in any of the houses we’d owned over the years.

Marinas are very sociable places to be and there’s always someone willing to stop for a chat.

5.    You can choose your location and neighbours

If we decide we no longer want to be in Maryport, we don’t have to sell our home to move, we can move our home instead.

The same is true if you end up moored next to someone you don’t get on with or who is a noisy or otherwise bad neighbour.

In the first instance, you can ask your marina if you can move to another mooring.

If this isn’t possible or you really want to get right away from them, you can always move your home to another location.

6.    There’s always something to do on the boat (or should that be listed under cons? 😊)  

There’s no way anyone could ever get bored living on a boat as there’s always something that needs doing.

Our “to do” list seems to get longer and longer despite our best efforts to beat it.

7.    Being rocked to sleep

The rocking motion that becomes the norm when you live on water is very relaxing – except when it becomes violent during a storm, but even then, it’s interesting.

A compass jellyfish at Maryport Marina

8.    Feeling closer to nature

The weather and tides become an integral part of everyday life and we’re able to observe a wide range of birds and marine creatures without leaving the marina and often from our own boat. And we get to witness some amazing sunsets.

A beautiful sunset that we watched from our boat while out on the Solway Firth last month

9.    Having very little stuff is a great feeling - We sold or gave away most of our belongings before we moved on board and it’s very liberating.

It’s surprising how little you really need for day to day life.

Although I have to admit we still have too much stuff, both on the boat and in the small land-based storage unit that we’d intended to do away with in our first year as liveaboards.

In fact, we’ve probably paid more to store it than it’s worth now ☹



The "cons" of boat life

Phil stressed out during one of our many attempts at sorting out storage on Ravensdale

1.    Less choice of marinas than we’d expected

We never intended to stay in one place for so long.

The plan was to get Ravensdale seaworthy and do the various courses we wanted to do in Maryport, Cumbria, UK, then maybe spend a short while here before moving on.

However, when we started looking into possible places to go, we discovered that a lot of marinas won’t have liveaboards.

2.    Lack of storage space

Although under “pros” I mentioned that “having very little stuff is a great feeling”, there are still things we want or need to store on the boat for which we can’t find room.

We have a small amount of stuff in the marina’s storage container and a 50 square foot storage unit about eight miles away from us and finding what we want can be a real pain despite my best attempts at keeping lists of what’s where.

One of the two hard-working dehumidifiers on Ravensdale

3.    The constant battle against the high humidity

Thankfully we do win this battle, but you can never let up on it.

We have two dehumidifiers – one in the aft cabin and the other lives in the fore cabin but is moved into the saloon if it starts to steam up.

The dehumidifier in the aft cabin (AKA our bedroom) is put on for an hour after we get up in the morning and a similar length of time before we go to bed.

The one in the fore cabin is run in there or the saloon as and when needed.

And, during the winter, an electric blanket also helps to warm and air our bed.

4.    No garage/garden shed

Other than the storage aspect, it can also be a pain not having anywhere to do certain jobs that one would normally do in their shed or garage.

5.    Difficulty in drying washing/wet gear in bad weather

Our weekly washing is dried in the tumble drier in the marina’s launderette, but any items of clothing that can’t be tumbled, hand washing and wet jackets and waterproof trousers can be a real pain to get dry if bad weather means they can’t be hung out on the washing line.

Trying to get them dry in the boat usually involves running dehumidifiers for prolonged periods, which uses a lot of electricity.

Watering our tiny cactus garden is as close as we get to gardening now

6.    Not having a garden (although there are times when I would list this as a “pro” rather than a “con”)

We both enjoyed gardening and miss being able to grow trees, bushes, flowers and vegetables.

However, we don’t miss having to mow the lawns, weed the flower beds and water the garden during long dry spells.

7.    Not having constant hot water

I’m sure there are plenty of liveaboards with a constant supply of hot water but leaving our water heater on all the time is very heavy on the electricity.

We tend to put it on for an hour first thing in the morning and an hour before our evening meal, only putting it on at other times of the day if we need hot water for a specific reason.

The switch for the domestic water heater

8.    Lack of space to dress and undress in comfort – Although we have an island bed (we insisted on this when looking for our liveaboard home), the space on each side of the bed is still fairly narrow. Whenever we stay anywhere away from the boat, the extra space in which to dress and undress is always a welcome treat.

9.    No full-length mirror (or maybe this is a blessing 😊)

It’s a pain not being able to see what an outfit looks like before leaving home, especially when you’ve bought something new or you’re trying on something that you haven’t worn for a while.

That said, we tend to live in the same type of casual clothes most of the time, so it doesn’t really matter too much.



I've just realised that my lists of pros and cons have totally coincidentally ended up exactly the same length but I don't think that means they cancel each other out as the pros definitely outweight the cons 😊

And I purposely haven’t looked back at the last blog post I wrote on this subject more than 18 months ago to see if my views had changed as I wanted to record my current views on the subject.

I’m not even going to do it now just in case I get tempted to change or add something to this list.

I’ll go back and read it after I’ve published this week’s blog post and may compare the two next week if there’s enough of a difference to make it worthwhile.


The past week

Sunday litter pick

Me collecting litter on Sunday

We were so fed up with the amount of litter we see on one of Ruby’s regular walks that we decided to do something about it.

Over recent weeks, an increasing number of empty drink cans, crisp packets and empty bottles have been accumulating along the paths on the grassy area on the marina side of the sea wall on our walk to the lighthouse and back.

For days, we’d been saying it wouldn’t take long to clear and meaning to take a black bin bag to gather it up but kept forgetting until we got there the next time.

But, on Sunday morning, we asked the member of marina staff on duty whether the marina had a litter picker we could borrow, and I took that and the bin bag along while Phil walked Ruby.

I collected a good bag full of rubbish, including quite a lot of broken glass.

There was also an empty plastic sunscreen container, so somebody was obviously looking after themselves but had considerably less concern for the environment ☹

We’re just wondering how long it will be before it gets in the same state again.

There was also a lot of dog mess that people hadn’t bothered to pick up.

We always pick up after Ruby, but I just couldn’t face picking up after other people’s dogs and, to be honest, it would’ve taken hours to clear it all so we’re just going to have to be careful where we step.

However, we know this isn’t going to easy as Phil had to shampoo the carpets on Ravensdale again last weekend – just a week after they were last cleaned - because he managed to step in some dog mess and walk it indoors ☹



Marina gate

Maryport Marina sea gate closed and holding water in the marina at low tide

The marina gate has been operating normally since the new cable was fitted last Friday.

When I wrote last week’s blog post, the broken cable had been replaced but the tide was still up, which meant we hadn’t seen it in action.

So, it was great to see it closed and keeping the water in the next time the tide went out.

It really is good to have Ravensdale floating around the clock again rather than settling down into the mud every time twice a day as happened for a month before the cable was fixed.


Deck furniture

Our table and chairs on Ravensdale's aft deck on a sunny day

We painted teak oil on the garden table and chairs that we bought for Ravensdale’s aft deck last year.

They are looking much better for their beauty treatment, which will hopefully also mean they last longer.

The trouble is that we’re now wondering whether they really are the best furniture for our aft deck.

We hardly used them last year and have only got them out once this week despite some lovely warm, sunny weather.

So, we’re considering getting rid of the table and chairs and buying a couple of recliners instead.


Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby wearing her new collar

It seems impossible to believe that Ruby will be nine months old this weekend.

In some ways, it only feels like yesterday that we brought home our cute little puppy, but in others, it feels as though she's always been a part of our lives.

We bought her a new collar this week because the old one was looking rather narrow for her now chunkier frame.

And I always find it difficult to visit a pet shop without buying her a treat of some kind.

This time, she got a new stag antler to chew as her old ones are getting smaller as she manages to chew them away.

She seemed pleased with it and it's already looking well-chewed at one end 😊

Ruby fast asleep after one of her walks

While we were out walking Ruby on Saturday morning, we met a woman with three small dogs all running around off their leads.

As they approached Ruby, who was on a lead, we asked if they were friendly. She said two were but the other one could be “a bit iffy” with other dogs. Meanwhile, they were all sniffing around Ruby.

Phil told her that if one couldn’t be trusted then perhaps she should keep that one on a lead.

The woman replied: “Oh no! He likes to run free.”

We both walked away disgusted that anyone would think it was OK to let a dog that could get nasty with other dogs run around off a lead so that it could approach other people’s dogs unchecked.

Thankfully, it didn’t hurt Ruby, but the outcome could’ve been very different ☹

On a happier note, we met a friend with his dog Sandy soon afterwards and Ruby had great fun playing with Sandy while we had a chat with his owner.

Ruby playing with Sandy

Phil drying Ruby after her walk on Sunday evening

Less good was Ruby finding another dead dogfish during her walk on Sunday morning.

I was very glad Phil was with us this time, so I didn’t have to chase her around on my own.

As happened last week, she totally refused to come to us and ran away as we approached because she knew it was going to be taken away from her.

Eventually, Phil managed to catch her and took away what was left of the dogfish. Needless to say, she didn’t get to come off the lead again on that walk.

It tipped down with rain Sunday afternoon and evening so Phil kindly volunteered to take Ruby for a walk as he said there was no point in us both getting soaked and I was very grateful as they were both drenched by the time they got home.

Ruby had a lucky escape on Wednesday when she found short lengths of fishing line - one with three baited hooks attached - on the paving by Maryport lighthouse.

The fishing hooks that Ruby found by the lighthouse

Fortunately, we managed to get it away from her before she swallowed a hook, but the outcome could’ve been very different.

I just wish all fishermen would take their old tackle home with them and dispose of it safely.


Sad anniversary

Aquila memorial and floral tributes in Maryport

Saturday was the 10^th anniversary of a tragic accident in which three local men lost their lives.

Scallop dredger Aquila capsized when one of her trawl warps snagged on Bo Faskadale reef off Ardnamurchan Point on the west coast of Scotland on July 20, 2009.

Tim Rowley (33) was the only one of the four men on board to survive.

We weren’t in Maryport at the time, but I can only imagine how devastating this incident must have been for the whole community and particularly for the families and friends of skipper Tony Hayton (45) and crew members Martin Sanderson (52) and Peter (Bubbles) Hilton (52).

Flowers were laid at their memorial close to the slipway in Maryport Basin at the weekend.


Wildlife

The cygnet waiting for food by Ravensdale

The cygnet that returned last week has been swimming around the marina for most of this week.

I think it might stay around now as it has a ready source of food here and looks to be thriving compared to its slightly bedraggled appearance when it arrived back in the marina after a long break.

And the warm weather this week seems to have made the grey mullet in the marina more active.

Part of the large shoal of grey mullet at Maryport Marina

There was a large shoal of around 40 of them swimming around Ravensdale yesterday (Thursday) morning. There were so many on them that I couldn’t get them all in a single photo.

Two grey mullet

Polar Bound

Polar Bound leaving Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday)

Polar Bound - a 48-ft aluminium boat built for Arctic exploration -  that has been undergoing work at the boatyard next to the marina left Maryport in preparation for her next adventure yesterday (Thursday).

David Scott Cowper at the helm of Polar Bound

British solo round-the-world yachtsman David Scott Cowper is heading off to tackle the only Nortwest Passage route that he has not yet done before the ice closes in again.

Polar Bound heading for the marina gate and the Solway Firth

And I later discovered that our photographer friend Jan Fialkowski, who was also photographing Polar Bound leaving the marina, had taken a photo of me taking photos of the action from Ravensdale's foredeck. It seems Ruby managed to sneak into the photograph too 😊

Me taking photos of Polar Bound from Ravensdale's foredeck. Photo by Jan Fialkowski

Photography

I haven’t been out for many walks with my camera this week because of the pain in my right arm, which makes carrying my camera for any length of time very uncomfortable.

However, I took it for a walk around the harbour on Tuesday

Reflections in Maryport Harbour

Another view of Maryport Harbour

Colourful fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

More fishing boats in the harbour

A fisherman at work on his boat

And I’ve taken a few photos around the marina and while out walking Ruby during the week.

Maryport Marina on a beautiful sunny day

Maryport Marina building

Ravensdale at Maryport Marina

The Scottish hills across the Solway Firth from Maryport

Maryport from across the basin

Heavy clouds over a footpath to Maryport Lighthouse

And I was lucky that I had my camera with me when we saw local fishing boat Alauna returning to Maryport while we were out walking Ruby on Wednesday.

Alauna approaching Maryport

Alauna in Maryport Basin

Alauna about to enter Maryport Harbour from the basin

My arm became worse at the start of this week, so I made an appointment to see the nurse practitioner at our GP surgery.

She’s put me on painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication that seems to be helping while I wait for an appointment to see the physiotherapist.

I’m told there’s currently a wait of 10 weeks and, as I filled in the self-referral form about three weeks ago, I’ve got another seven weeks to go ☹



Weather watch

We’ve had some lovely warm, sunny summer weather this week, along with a dramatic thunderstorm in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Clouds at Maryport Marina on Saturday morning

We had rain overnight Friday into Saturday followed by showers during the morning. It was dry during the afternoon and felt warm when the sun came out despite being breezy for most of the day.

Dry and sunny on the shore at Maryport on Saturday afternoon

The temperature reached 17.1C (63F) with a top average wind speed of 23mph, gusting 30mph.

Sunday was dry, bright and fairly windy.

A severe weather warning for heavy rain was issued for this area from lunchtime on Sunday until 23:59 on Monday.

We had a few light spots of rain just after lunch then the rain arrived with a vengeance later in the afternoon.

The top temperature was 16.3C (61F) and the average wind speed was 31mph.

It was very wet and windy overnight Sunday into Monday with a top overnight wind speed of 28mph, gusting 44mph.

We had rain first thing on Monday morning. It then became dry, bright and breezy with a top temperature of 17C (63F) and a top average wind speed of 22mph, gusting 30mph.

Monday afternoon at Maryport Marina

Tuesday was dry, warm and sunny with a good breeze in the morning that dropped off during the afternoon. The daytime temperature peaked at 22C (72F) and the top average wind speed was 18mph.

Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday was very warm and muggy with the temperature going up to 25C (77F).

This was followed by thunder, lightning and heavy rain in the early hours of the morning.

It was a grey start to the day on Wednesday with the cloud thinning and the sun coming out late morning. The top temperature was 23C (73F) and the top average wind speed was 16mph.

Blue sky and white clouds at Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday)

Yesterday (Thursday) was dry, very warm and sunny from first thing but it was still fairly breezy for much of the day with heavy showers from mid-afternoon.

The top temperature was 26C (79F) and the top average wind speed was 22mph, gusting 33mph.

Cloudy weather at Maryport Marina today (Friday)

And, so far today (Friday) the weather has been overcast but dry and fairly warm with a top temperature of 20C (68F) and a top average wind speed of  16mph. The sun came out mid-afternoon.