For me this is what boat life is: Work, Eat, Sleep. Maybe once a week I’d get off the boat to buy snacks and other essentials.
If the work is enriching, having little else to distract me is ok. At most, I might read some, pray a lot, watch a binge worthy show every night, and do a bit of scrolling. It’s all part of a smallish existence I’ve grown accustomed to. I find it easy living kinda small in that way.
But, when off the boat, I travel a lot. Mostly by road, in my truck. Both working on boats and traveling encourages one to carry less. I’m still working on that.
I like to be prepared. In fact I hate not having what I need, especially on the boat or in a crisis. In my truck, I tend to carry what I consider to be the basics: water, food, shelter, basic tools, first aide, warm clothing. The idea is if I go off the road or I’m stranded for a few days, I can survive.
I bought a shell for my truck this year, which allows a cozy space for a bed and other comforts. I also have a traveling kitchen, and a battery power pack, so now I can reasonably boondock for a week or more if I need to.
On the boat the list of basics is decidedly longer. I keep trying to pare it down, but somehow keep increasing the amount of stuff I bring. It’s a problem that has moved to the truck. Now I also carry necessities for my traveling hooch.
I call them basics, but I realize maybe it’s gotten a bit out of hand. I bring a shiatsu massage pad on board the boat now, and I spent more than my build-out cost to have an artificial turf lawn on my tailgate when it’s open.
All the things aside, there’s a certain comfort in not having so many competing interests in my day to day life. And in that way, my life is pretty basic. At least that’s what I tell myself.
Beyond Clarity 