We have not done truly long-term cruising but we have spent 5 weeks aboard our 22 with little difficulty and are routinely out for a couple of weeks at a time. Since we were going to a fairly remote area we added a 30 watt solar panel to keep our house batteries charged (we had previously added a second group 24 house battery to increase available amp/hours). We had full canvas and it made a huge difference as we had a lot of rain. Years ago I made a cooking/serving board that goes across the transom well. Almost all of our cooking and serving is done out there, even with the canvas up. We sold our Magma since we rarely used it and have bought a folding oven to use on the two burner Coleman "fold,n,go" propane stove, haven't tried it on the boat yet but it worked fine in the yard. (Thanks Pat and Patty Anderson for the stove idea). We try to avoid generating moist air in the cabin. We carry a number of hanging closet dehumidifiers (Calcium chloride I think) and they pick up quite a bit of moisture. We lined all the vertical surfaces in the vee berth with 1/4" closed cell foam adhered with 3M spray adhesive (The green label can) and that helped with moisture as well. We have a webasto forced air diesel heater that seems to put out pretty dry air so that helps too. We try to avoid carrying packaging, we put most things in ziploc or vacuum seal bags and try to carry almost no cans. We use powdered drink mix instead of lots of bottles and are very sparing with water, we can go more than 3 weeks on 20 gallons of water. We eat very well, lots of salads early in the trip, lots of fruit, we use canned chicken and beef (about the only cans aboard) We have added storage everywhere we can and minimize clothing. We carry laundry supplies and wash when we get to a marina. We have a porta potti and it will last about a week and a half, in Canada (and this goes against my grain), you just dump it over the side in many areas and we refill it with sea water and thetford chemicals. That brings up the most important factor in longer duration cruising, you and your partner have to be very good friends; there is little space, no privacy and you are together all the time so there is no room for many petty squalls. We are readers so can dive into books for escape. We both have Kindles and they are great for carrying a lot of reading with minimum space. Usually we check out several library books and where we find wi-fi can return and check out new books. We sometime carry books on tape and movies that we watch on a laptop. We have a small battery powered cd player and try to always have good music aboard. We have a great time dividing our cruising between marinas and on the hook about 50-50. We share the duties aboard, both boat duty, i.e. driving, and house duty, i.e. cleaning up. We each have our set of duties for example I am on the bow when we anchor, Patti handles the windlass, Patti gets everything ready to launch, electronics, engines, lines, and I usually do the docking/undocking but she has done that as well. For us it is a partnership.
Spending extended time aboard...
- Thread starter JamesTXSD
- Start date
I don't have anything to contribute (yet), but I just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying this thread. I like to see it come up in "View posts since last visit" 
"Extended time aboard" is obviously subjective, but I think for me the first mental dividing line I make is whether or not a trip is short enough where you can prepare ahead of time at home, and then "debrief" again at home afterward. For example, if a trip is short enough, you can freeze cooler ice in jugs and use that for the trip; once it gets longer you have to work with what you have - or can get along the way. Same with food. Are you able to go with pre-prepared meals? Or are you going to be shopping/cooking "from the boat." Can you pack all clean clothes at home and then wait to do the laundry when you get back home? Can you bring home wet stuff and deal with drying it out there where you have a yard or garage? Etc.
There are other "lines," but maybe they are a bit less geared for (most) C-Dory cruisers. (Example: are you going to be aboard through more than one change of seasons/clothes/equipment.)
Now I'll go back to enjoyably reading about your experiences and tips for longer times aboard :thup
Sunbeam :hot
"Extended time aboard" is obviously subjective, but I think for me the first mental dividing line I make is whether or not a trip is short enough where you can prepare ahead of time at home, and then "debrief" again at home afterward. For example, if a trip is short enough, you can freeze cooler ice in jugs and use that for the trip; once it gets longer you have to work with what you have - or can get along the way. Same with food. Are you able to go with pre-prepared meals? Or are you going to be shopping/cooking "from the boat." Can you pack all clean clothes at home and then wait to do the laundry when you get back home? Can you bring home wet stuff and deal with drying it out there where you have a yard or garage? Etc.
There are other "lines," but maybe they are a bit less geared for (most) C-Dory cruisers. (Example: are you going to be aboard through more than one change of seasons/clothes/equipment.)
Now I'll go back to enjoyably reading about your experiences and tips for longer times aboard :thup
Sunbeam :hot
BaseCampAnne
New member
Barry, thanks for sharing many examples of how to manage well in a small space. I have great respect for you both sharing all the responsibilities interchangeably.
Reading is a grand way to enter a different world, and a fine outlet in such small quarters. A delightful change of scenery and situation...
The food and cooking area has been challenging for me and using the cockpit area makes sense, particularly for keeping steam out of the cabin. Now I finally understand why so many cook in the cockpit.
The Webasto heater I now have does wonders so far on really damp days.
This forum has been a great way to learn from you experienced members on how to adapt and improve storage, manage wet clothing, moisture challenges, water usage and waste.
Thanks to all who have shared ideas!!
Anne
Reading is a grand way to enter a different world, and a fine outlet in such small quarters. A delightful change of scenery and situation...
The food and cooking area has been challenging for me and using the cockpit area makes sense, particularly for keeping steam out of the cabin. Now I finally understand why so many cook in the cockpit.
The Webasto heater I now have does wonders so far on really damp days.
This forum has been a great way to learn from you experienced members on how to adapt and improve storage, manage wet clothing, moisture challenges, water usage and waste.
Thanks to all who have shared ideas!!
Anne
Boont Boater
New member
Nice thread Jim.
One thing we've done to combat the moisture problem is put in a solar powered vent fan. I cut a hole in the hatch over the v-berth since that is the area with the most moisture, especially when we're sleeping on the boat. Since this is "sunny" California there is a reasonable chance that it will be running. Also we currently keep the boat at the Berkeley marina and when my neighbor unplugs my power, grrrrr, there is a chance we won't get mildew even without a heater/fan. I leave the window cracked and the door open in the head to let air in.
Jeff
One thing we've done to combat the moisture problem is put in a solar powered vent fan. I cut a hole in the hatch over the v-berth since that is the area with the most moisture, especially when we're sleeping on the boat. Since this is "sunny" California there is a reasonable chance that it will be running. Also we currently keep the boat at the Berkeley marina and when my neighbor unplugs my power, grrrrr, there is a chance we won't get mildew even without a heater/fan. I leave the window cracked and the door open in the head to let air in.
Jeff