Making A Sailboat Home: Top Must-Have Items To Bring Aboard
If you are considering purchasing a boat to live a full-time life at sea, it’s important to make sure its bones are strong. Meaning a reliable engine, a sturdy rigging system and stellar sails are all the basis of making life at sea a breeze.
But, aside from basic infrastructure of your new livable boat, there are also some essential items that will make living full-time on your sailboat comfortable. One way to make your life on board easier is to start researching how other liveaboards do it. For example, if you are anything like me, you would never step foot on a sailboat for an extended amount of time (let alone live on it) without a compact espresso machine. But that’s because I am a Captain that enjoys my ocean with a whole lot of coffee. Perhaps coffee isn’t important to you. Therefore your “must-have” list will look different from mine and other liveaboards.
Either way, there are a few essential items to bring aboard that many sailor’s can agree with. One being a compact washing machine which we will get to in just a second. While it sounds like a luxury item, I think many liveaboard sailors come to terms real fast with the harsh reality of not only the work that goes into washing by hand, but what happens when you wash clothes with salt water.
So, it seems that most sailor’s can agree that investing in a washing machine retrofitted for a sailboat is definitely the way to go. Aside from washing machines, other favorites are water makers and solar panels (think hot showers).
If you are planning on making a sailboat your home sweet home, you can start with my Captain’s packing list below.
Later you can add (or takeaway) any items that would tailor to the lifestyle you want to live at sea.
Interior Boat Design
While this boat interior design isn’t technically an item, it’s certainly one way to make the inside of your boat look like a place you’d like to spend time in. This may mean covering cabin berths with tasteful upholstery fabrics. Not only will it help add style to your boat, but it will also lengthen the life of the real upholstery underneath. Moreover, you can sew them so they are similar to fitted sheet covers and are easily removable. This will save you a lot of time when it comes to washing as wasting time on spot cleaning.
Aside from reupholstering all seating and/or bedding cushions, accent pillows can also make a dramatic difference.
Other great add-ons to give the interior design of your boat a “face-lift” are throw rugs, new flooring and window treatments. Top it all off with some Marine LED marker lights. LED marker lights are a fantastic way to add extra light in darker areas such as stairways and access ways. Plus, let’s be honest. They look cool too.
Solar Panels
I don’t know about you, but I like hot showers. Unless it’s a million degrees outside (and even then) I pine for at least a Luke-warm shower. So for me, ensuring that I have a hot-shower on board is a no-brainer. If you like hot showers too or, just like having hot water to wash your dishes, you may want to consider installing a solar energy system on your boat. Aside from delivering hot water, a solar system may also serve to power electronics. In theory, the concept of solar hot water is pretty simple. You essentially start with a tank of water, run it through a few dark tubes that are exposed to constant sunlight, and eventually the water heats up. Easy right? Well, not exactly. Finding a system that works and is suitable for a boat is a whole other ballgame. Furthermore, installing a dynamic solar panel system is an investment. Expect to pay up to $10,000 for the job. This may include the actual panels, rack, controller and all the labor involved.
Keep in mind that on many cruisers, the only way the battery bank can be charged to maximum capacity is to run the engine.
So, since most cruising boats have a generator, or a wind and/or solar power combo, it’s important to understand where the heck you will get your power from. And while installing a solar system seems like a big investment, as long as the sun is out, your boat will be charged. Which in the end, means less reliance on the generator. Even more, a good solar installation can help you go weeks on end with electricity without turning to a backup charging system for power. If you are all about taking into account your carbon footprint (or lack thereof) while living on a sailboat, then installing a solar system on your vessel may be the right choice for you.
A Mini Washing Machine
Sometimes you just have to praise modern sailing times. For the sheer fact that today, washers and dryers are designed specifically for sailboats to save space and resources. More importantly, they actually work and use less water and energy than traditional washers found on land. As mentioned above, a liveaboard can only wash clothes by hand in a bucket of water so many times before realizing that this nightmare chore can be solved very easily. If you already quiver at doing your laundry by hand, then I suggest investing in a mini marine washing machine. A dryer can wait, but at least do yourself a favor and invest in a washier. For example, the “Do mini” is one of the smallest and most compact washing machines on the market. And yes, while it is small, it rates well among sailors for its ease of use and cleaning talent. This particular machine runs about $300 dollars. You can find machines for less, but they may not do their job. All things considered, $300 dollars seems like a small fee to pay for life at sea not worrying about doing your laundry all the time.
An Espresso Machine
Having an espresso machine on board is all in the eyes of the beholder. If you are not a coffee drinker, then perhaps an espresso machine is a non-essential item that will just take up more space in your galley kitchen. Without shame I have to admit, I am a complete coffee snob. So having good quality coffee on board at all times is an absolute must. While fellow coffee addicts may opt for a stove-top espresso maker, I like portable espresso stand-alone machines. All said and done though, I totally endorse stove top percolators as they don’t need electricity to work. Which may just save the day when your on or off anchor in the middle of the ocean. As for price? Well that varies. Espresso makers can be fairly simple and inexpensive (less than $40) to complex and dynamic with price tags pushing towards thousands. At the end of day, it’s really up to you and your wallet what type of espresso machine you go for.
