Why Is Boat Work So Satisfying?
Post written by Marissa,Last week, I had the pleasure of spending the entire week doing manual labor on the boat.
Now, I realize that is a bit of a privileged thing to say. Manual labor isn’t supposed to be pleasurable, and working on a boat is no picnic. However, every bit of work gave me a very distinct sense of accomplishment. Not only am I doing something different, something physically active for a change, but every ounce of energy I spend directly benefits Shane and I. I’m not doing this work because someone asked me to, I’m doing it for me, and I think that’s the key difference.
I started the week by mapping out the fresh water plumbing system on the boat, which included crawling into every nook and cranny of the boat, photographing all of the tubes and systems, to ensure I had a proper understanding of how it works.
Once I had the plumbing system mapped out, I spent the better part of a day cleaning and flushing the fresh water system. Because we have aluminum tanks, I didn’t want to use bleach like I’ve seen suggested elsewhere on the internet. Instead, I used an off-the-shelf marine water tank “quaternary” cleaner, and it worked great.
With the fresh water system cleaned, I decided to clean the bilge next. I ended up using a solution of Borax and lemon juice to try to clean off the grime in an eco-friendly way. I’m not sure I would recommend it; the Borax did not dissolve in water the way I expected, so I ended up having to clean it out of the bilge after I was done scrubbing. Despite that, I was able to get the sludge out of the bilge, which was good enough for now.
Arriving at the marina every morning felt like a special treat. In my day job, I am stuck in my basement 8hrs each day, only seeing the sun briefly during lunchtime. Working on the boat, every morning started like this.
Over the weekend, Shane and I performed some engine maintenance and updated the port-of-call vinyl name on the transom.
Today is now Tuesday, and I’ve been back at my day job for two days. All I can think about is how much I long for full-time boat life. I’ve been mapping out possible destinations for our next voyage, and I’ve started taking some online classes to learn how to produce compelling video content. Maybe one day we’ll be able to follow in the wake of the great sailing YouTubers. Until then, I will keep dreaming, planning, and sailing. ⛵