3. what life is like on a boat: the honest truth
by TINA, LIAM & SKY
October 14, 2022
If you've ever wondered what life is like living on a boat, well, here's the honest truth straight from us and our kids. It's definitely been an adventure so far and there have been ups and downs (literally), but in the end we absolutely love it! If you're considering taking the plunge into boat living or you’re just curious, this post will give you a little taste of what it’s like.
Privacy vs Togetherness
Privacy and personal space can be hard to come by when living on a boat with a family of four, especially with the boys getting older. The confined quarters can make it difficult to find a place to be alone, and the constant activity can be overwhelming at times. On the other hand, boat life provides us with a sense of togetherness and unity as a family, and the constant activity sure keeps everyone entertained. Overall, living on a catamaran with a family of four has its challenges, but it can also be an enriching experience.
Liam & Sky:
We each have a bedroom and we love having our own space. But when you're living on a boat, there's nowhere to really get away from your parents or brother when he’s being annoying. It can be frustrating when you're constantly together and someone is in a bad mood, it affects everyone. On the other hand we all love each other very much so we enjoy spending all this time together instead of only being able to do fun stuff together in the evenings, weekends and holidays.
Social Contacts
There's something both magical and bittersweet about living on a boat. Because we travel all the time, we've had the opportunity to meet some truly amazing people from all over the world. We've made great friends in every place we've visited, but it's always hard to say goodbye when it's time to move on. Fortunately, we often keep in touch through social media and email, so even though we might not see each other in person very often, we still feel close. Of course, there's nothing quite like being able to give someone a hug in person, so we always look forward to seeing our friends and family again whenever we have a chance.
Liam & Sky:
We are not only brothers, but best friends. Nevertheless we look forward to every chance we get to socialize, we love meeting new people, children as well as grownups. But because we move around a lot and seldom stay in one place for very long we always have to say goodbye again.
The hardest is having to miss our family so we really look forward to family visits and our sailing breaks during which we go to Europe.
It’s a lot easier since we got a Starlink antenna that provides us with a better internet connection to stay in touch with our family and play online games with friends.
Homeschool
Obviously, living on a boat and traveling all the time means that the kids can't go to school, but homeschooling provides them with unique opportunities that they wouldn't otherwise have.
As anyone who has ever tried to homeschool their children can attest, it is not an easy task. It requires a lot of patience, creativity, and organization. However, it also comes with a number of benefits. For example, they have the opportunity to learn at their own pace and to explore their interests more deeply.
While it is certainly a challenge sometimes, it is also a blessing for us, we get to guide them and watch them learn and grow.
Liam & Sky:
School time is not our favorite time of the day but we really appreciate being able to homeschool while living on a boat. By adapting our schedule we have the time to visit awesome places, even during the week, or go out to play whenever we feel like it.
We don’t have to be in school all day but we do have to work very concentrated for a few hours each day. Some days our work is finished quick but when a topic is a bit harder it takes us longer. We definitely prefer homeschooling over going to a standard school. It gives us a lot more freedom and we learn a a lot throughout this journey, by visiting all these different places and meeting so many interesting people.
Food
Grocery shopping and cooking can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. You definitely have to think differently about your food supply when living on a boat. In some places there's no way to just pop out to the store if we run out of something, so we have to plan ahead. That means being aware of what food we have on board, what we can prepare with it and how long it will last. Fresh fruits and vegetables, and heavy items require the most planning. Provisioning a boat is hard work, especially because we don’t have a car, but it's essential for keeping our boat stocked and our belly full. With a little planning and forethought, we can make sure that we always have enough to eat - no matter where we end up going. And trust me, as soon as you start running out of ingredients you learn to be creative with recipes.
Liam & Sky:
We eat different things depending on where we are. It’s not fun that we can not always eat what we want because we have to save it for later or because the things we like are not available. We get to try lots of new things, which can be interesting but also sometimes disgusting. We love that when we run out of bread and cereal mom prepares amazing pancakes, she even found a recipe to make them without eggs!
Water and Electricity
Even though we have plenty of solar power on board and our water maker supplies us with a huge amount of water, we do have to be aware of our usage. Simply waking up and jumping under the shower is not done on a boat. Before we use water or electricity we have to check the supply. You don’t want to end up all soaped up under the shower when the water tank is empty. Even using the toilet requires some thought. Because the toilet waste goes into black water tanks, we have to keep in mind that they have to be emptied in time.
Liam & Sky:
Rainy days mean low power and then we have to be more thoughtful about the power usage and not just turn on the tv without checking the power supply. To save power we never use our dishwasher so we often have to help with the dishes. The water maker is located in Liam’s room so when its running it makes too much noise for Liam to hang out in his room. Also the water pump is under Liam’s bed so early in the morning or late in the evening he wakes up whenever someone uses water.
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. - Neale Donald Walsch
Motion Of The Waves
Another thing we have to live with is the constant motion of the waves, which took some getting used to at first. And even after living on the boat for two years we still find it hard to focus on work when we’re in a rolly anchorage. And I still get seasick when we’re sailing on choppy seas. The only thing I actually like about the waves is that they rock you asleep like a baby. Can you imagine how much I appreciate waking up to a calm morning when there is barely any wind and the water surface looks like glass.
Liam & Sky:
Especially Liam tends to get seasick when the seas are rough. Sailing on rough seas makes even the simplest things hard, like having a meal when your things are sliding off the table. And doing schoolwork or even gaming is no fun when we’re in a rolly anchorage. What Sky dislikes the most is going through breaking waves with the dinghy.
Visiting Amazing Places
The most amazing thing about our lifestyle is that we get to discover new and amazing places and the people who live there, or are traveling just like us. Every place we visit has its own culture and history, which is really fascinating to learn about. We also get to see some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world. It's really an amazing experience to be able to travel together and see all these different places. And besides the places we have visited we have experienced some truly unique and unforgettable moments.
Liam & Sky:
We have probably visited more places than most children our age. Whenever I’m feeling a bit blue I think about my friends from Spain who are sitting in school while I am in one of the most amazing places in the world. We have spent most of the time sailing in the Caribbean where it’s warm and tropical, so we can swim whenever we want. And also visiting the US and especially New York is amazing. We love learning about the different cultures and the local traditions and we find it fascinating to see historical buildings and monuments.
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COMING SOON
So there you have it, our summarized experience of what life is like on a boat. It’s not all doom and gloom though – yes, there are some challenges but also lots of rewards. Our children get to experience things that most other kids their age can only dream about and for us, well… we get to live our dream! Have you ever thought about giving up the rat race and taking to the ocean waves? Let us know in the comments if this is something you would see yourself doing with your family.