Underway: things that worked for us

Watches for 2 adults

4/4 watches in cold wet weather

We started our trip doing four hour watches around the clock. This has the advantage in cold wet rough weather, as it was in the North Pacific off Washington and Oregon, of brevity. As we had to be in full foul weather gear most of the first week of this portion of the voyage, we were glad to have short watches. As we became more experienced and more confident of the self-steering wind vane the short watches were less of an advantage. We began to feel more comfortable leaving the cockpit and spending more time below. The major disadvantage of the four hour watch is that we were only getting a couple of hours of sleep. The experienced cruisers all say that you get better at falling asleep instantly as you become more accustomed to the life. Still, longer sleeps are better!

5/7 to minimize dark time

Next we switched to six hour watches. This gave us more time to sleep, but both of us were having trouble staying awake on the dark watches. Finally we compromised with five hour watches at night and seven hour watches during the day. Jon took 7 pm to midnight - getting a sunset to start his watch. I took midnight to 5 am, getting the beginning of a sunrise to look forward to. Then he took 5 am to noon and I took noon to 7 pm. This gave us plenty of time to sleep in two parts and some time to overlap in the cockpit and spell each other during the day watches.

Willow loves the security of a lee cloth
lee cloth for pets too

Lee Cloths

These are essential of course! Every bunk used for sleeping must have them. Your pets will appreciate them, too. Some people recommend tight-woven mesh for hot climates. The cloth should extend from your chest to below the hips along the bunk. We just tuck them under the mattress when we get inshore.

Food Storage

Use Lexan / plastic water bottles for dry food storage such as dried beans, flour, pasta, sugar coffee or dry milk. They really keep the moisture out and now that we know they're bad to drink liquids out of you probably have a stash available at home. I label them on top or on the shoulders of the bottle for my bin storage.

Vacuum pack spares. At home vacuum pack all the spares in sizes approximately equal to the size of the storage container you have for that item. Particularly dog food, dry milk, flour, coffee, sugar, etc. Then when you run out just refill from the vacuum-packed backup. I don't bring the vacuum packer with me, although many cruisers do for re-provisioning. (See left for the one I use - runs about $100.)

*Don't vacuum pack crackers or fragile items. They look fine in the bag, but disintegrate to dust when opened... very sad for the person wanting that treat.

Pack canned food in plastic bins if there's any question they could get wet. Label the tops with a sharpie in case the label comes off.

Label all your storage areas and then used the same numbering system in the Provisioning List. I named mine by the boatside / section / type / number such as Port Galley Bin 5 (PGB5) or Starboard Settee Shelf 4 (SSS4). You may lump all the types of storage together, but I found it easier to keep track of things when I had a visual picture of how I accessed them (from top, side etc). Types of storage include:

  • Bins (reach down into from top)
  • Shelves (reach into from side)
  • Drawers (pull out and access from top)

Use a provisioning list. Here's my provisioning list (excel) if you want it although of course you'll need to adjust it for your own list of ingredients. Note the tabs at the bottom of the sheet for food, supplies, medical, etc.

Provisioning / Storage Rules
  • buy perishables from farmer's market at last moment
  • buy non-refrigerated eggs as fresh as possible, then turn each day to keep shells sealed from inside (lasts more than a month)
  • store potatoes with apples
  • DON'T store potatoes with onions
  • store potatoes in dark, covered with / towel
  • store onions and garlic in light, away from damp
  • store cheese in cheesecloth / vinegar and paraffin if no refrigeration
  • DON'T store citrus and apples together
  • store cabbage wrapped in newspaper
  • use dry ice wrapped in plastic covered with bag ice or ice packs for longer lasting ice

Saving Water

We don't have a water-maker. Since your water-maker is the piece of equipment most likely to fail, you may not either. We had 120 gallons for our month-long trip for two of us and it was just barely enough. Here are some things we did that worked, and some that didn't!

Good things to do

  1. Use foot pumps (not pressure-water systems) so you don't waste what you have.
  2. Add a raw-water foot pump to your galley if you don't already have one.
  3. Use saltwater to wash dishes. Joy or our favorite - Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day - suds up very nicely in salt water. You may want to rinse your flatware in fresh every few days to avoid salt-pitting.
  4. Use saltwater to cook in. So as not to overdo the salt use:
    • 1/2 sea water, 1/2 fresh water for steaming vegetables etc
    • 1/4 sea water or less to 3/4 fresh for adding directly to soups, etc
  5. Use saltwater to scrub up the stove, sink etc, but rinse with a cloth dampened with fresh water.
  6. Use a flexible bucket to wash your hair or clothes or dishes. It allows you to use the minimum amount of water because you can stick your head in and mold the bucket around your head to rinse - the water doesn't get stuck in the corners.
  7. Don't bring cotton clothes or sheets or towels... Microfiber towels, fleece outwear and pants, fleece or poly blankets, nylon shorts, microfiber or poly tops can all be washed and readily dried. Cotton shows dirt and sweat faster, takes a lot of water to wash, and will NEVER dry in the salt air. I will never allow a pair of jeans on my boat again during a passage.
  8. Bring an extra set of sheets folded into a zip-lock bag with a nice-smelling dryer sheet (I use lavender). Then when you just can't stand your sticky salty sheets any more put new ones on. Wash the old ones when you get to shore to save water while underway.
  9. Use vinegar for cleaning surfaces - cuts the mold, salt, grease and won't hurt you if it's not all wiped off (like soap or cleansers will)

Water-saving that didn't work

Don't wash your hair in salt water! I tried this thinking salt water would be better than oily gross hair - but I was so wrong. Salt-water washing leads to a stiff head of itchy hair that DOESN'T EVER DRY! Salt holds water, which I knew, but I didn't realize what that would be like on my head. Totally awful. I washed it out with fresh the next morning as soon as it was warm enough to bathe.