I Love Sailing

Today was about housekeeping for the start of the season. I did some neatening up of our locker a good sized space where I have support systems in place for our boats, places to store food, refrigeration and shelves to hold critical spares and some extra tools. In our locker I have a full kitchen set up so meals can be prepared there and brought on board - which keeps our galley tidier on board. Then it was time to go on board and I made up our bunk in the forward cabin, it is thankfully quite low and unusually large as it is set further aft than is conventional on more modern boats - it is in fact so large that I must use king sized sheets to make it across at the aft or widest point. On our boat we use full linens in royal blue and a lovely oiled wool blanket in beige and set off against the warm varnished Cedar and Teak the result is a very cozy and inviting place. A few years ago I augmented the lighting with LED strips hidden by valances and controlled on each side by a dimmer plus LED reading lamps so we can adjust the ambient light level to what ever intensity we desire. Natural light is admitted when we want it through the forward hatch. In our boat we have two built in heating systems - one a reverse cycle heat and AC unit that is water cooled and the second being a hot water radiant system that has a blower unit and both are thermostatically controlled. When it is hot out we have AC and when it is cool like it is now with the water still frigid and the season being early we have real effective heating. Women have no sense of humour about being cold on board a boat and I want our nest to be a warm, inviting and romantic place to be when we are on board. When I make the bunk up as I did today there is not a wrinkle in the bedding, it is taught and tidy. The bunk is ready for my Wife and I to sleep on board now - except that the next stage is to stock the boat with provisions. Earlier I fit a new custom cut and finished carpet runner on the floors and the boat just pops in terms of decor and warmth. She is a pretty and wild child while sailing and a comfortable accommodating lady at the dock - a perfect sailing yacht if there ever was one.