It’s simple, really, and we never knew
Issue 63 : Nov/Dec 2008
One day last August our 30-foot boat doubled in size. Because we’ve never before experienced this phenomenon, we were completely taken by surprise. But it’s easy. Really. You can probably do it with your boat. Here’s how.
We had company coming to spend a week cruising in our favorite wilderness, the north shore of Lake Superior. Preparations included taking as much off the boat as we could reasonably and safely live without. Since it was July, we reasoned that we could manage without the winter parkas that come in so handy in May and October.
In addition, the two big bulky immersion suits had to go. We’d try not to sink with company aboard. Since there would be four of us aboard anyway, how would we decide who would get a suit and who would go down with the ship? I’m particularly partial to the captain. Surely he wouldn’t have to forfeit, would he?
A huge camera bag with two camera bodies and an assortment of lenses stayed behind. I lived without the 200- to 400-mm zoom lens just fine for a week, but it was a trial.
In addition to taking things off, however, we brought more aboard: larger pots and pans for the larger meals necessary to accommodate our larger crew, cooking utensils to go with the Teflon coating on the additional skillet, more food, more dishes, more towels. And then there was our guests’ gear: a couple of duffel bags, a couple more sleeping bags, two more pillows, a couple of life jackets, another guitar, more wine . . . all the essentials.
While we could double the size of our provisions, we essentially halved the size of our tanks: suddenly we needed water for four instead of two. Ditto for the size of the holding tank; it could cruise for only half as many days as we were used to.
We had a great time though. Every night the V-berth was unloaded of the duffel bags and gear it held, and we turned it into a bunk once again. Every morning the cabin was cleared of the extra gear that was once more stuffed into the V-berth. Off we went in search of moose and other wildlife. Some of the best “wild life,” however, was found in the cockpit during evenings with the guitars.
Then the week was over. Our friends packed up and headed south. We removed the extra skillets and utensils, hauled off a few trash bags, and looked around. Our boat had never looked so large to us. In fact, it had practically doubled in size!
Keep this trick quiet, please. If anyone catches on, we may have to pay for a larger slip.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
