It’s a bit like Mastermind: Your Boating Specialist Subject is…?
Mine would be along the nautical lines.
For those who’ve never seen it Mastermind is where four contestants answer questions on their chosen subject, competing against each other and the clock to earn the most points.
They are usually tricky questions.
We talked about our ‘specialist subjects’ and the best one I could pick was the International Collision Regulations for Boats! – exciting huh?
That was until yesterday – when I came up with the perfect subject matter that would undoubtedly earn me the highest score…. Â ‘where everything is stowed on our boat.’
This is on one of our boats (our Dutch Barge) the but same applies to all boats: Your boating specialist subject is…?
Many supplies, for crossing the Pacific are stowed in the aft cabin.
For those living on board, you get it – right? For those who don’t, I’ll explain.
You would think that living in a small space that is somewhat lacking in cupboards means finding ‘stuff’ is easy, well it isn’t.
Some galley items can be stored beside clothes
Part of stowing can mean pulling up carpet and floorboards
Those ‘things we’ll need one day’ are packed into containers only to be forgotten about. The container then wriggles its way down below everything else that has been packed in!
Removing and/or dismantling a large bed to reach a void that is ideal storage, is not unusual
Moving furniture is just what has to be done
​Plus, to maintain the boat’s trim (fore and aft) and to prevent a list (leaning to one side), stowing items is often dynamic. We eat a lot of food on a voyage, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, we use fuel (on occasions) and water, so to keep the boat balanced, items must be moved.
These tools had to be stowed somewhere. Many were stored in an air tight barrel that sat in the head! (Toilet). And your boating specialist subject is…?
My Boating Specialist Subject
I struggle to remember names, what I did yesterday (or even this morning), however I can clearly
remember where each item is, was, and will be, at any given time!
I would receive a perfect score for my chosen subject. Mind you, we both clean forgot we had a case of Panamanian beer under our v-berth until we reached Australia. It was a great find until we realised, compared to Aussie beer, it was rather…Â sub-standard (but perfect when cruising on a budget!)
