It’s been six months – what are our boating must haves now?
When Scott and I started shopping for our boat, we were still trying to figure out what type of boat to buy. At that time, we didn’t really think too much about what we “had to have” on the boat, other than a few basics (head, bed, etc). Since we took possession of our Bayliner Ciera 3055, Kokomo in May 2017 we have slept on the boat 27 nights or almost a full month. This has certainly given us some perspective on life living aboard a boat.
Currently our plan is to sell this boat next Spring and upgrade to a larger boat. What size you ask? We haven’t decided that yet. Scott and I have talked about finally selling our home and moving onto a live aboard, but that’s a big jump. That boat would have to be at least 48′ for us to live on it.
Boat Must Haves
What we do know now that we have spent time on our current boat, are the things we wish we had. When you are home, you take for granted simple things such as using the toilet, washing dishes, getting a glass of water, etc. Think about the things you do the most at home and see if those are also important to you if you spent any time on a boat.
This Bayliner Ciera 3055 is perfect for a long weekend or short vacations, but it’s not designed to be lived on. I consider it an upgraded camping experience.
Toilet
First off, let’s address the topic of the toilet. Our boat has a brand new Thetford toilet, but it’s a manual hand pump and the first weekend we were on it, someone clogged it. After that, a rule was created, which was that no toilet paper can go in the toilet. This obviously is not a rule we like. Scott and I want the comforts of home, so a dependable toilet will be on the list.
At each boat show, we have talked to numerous sanitation suppliers. For toilets, your choices are a manual, electric or vacuum flush. Right now we are leaning towards an efficient vacuum flush toilet (one that doesn’t use too much water). Top brands on our list right now are VacuFlush and Lavac. Our toilet is a salt water toilet. This means that the water comes in from outside when you flush, so you don’t have to worry about using up your fresh water. However, a salt water toilet has more maintenance issues as salt water can calcify inside the plumbing and holding tank. Below is a head on a boat we saw at the boat show – comforts of home.
Water
The fresh water tank on Kokomo holds 30 gallons and the hot water heater holds 6 gallons. This is potable water, but ideally I would like a filter for the water too. Remember, our toilet is using seawater, so that is not a factor in our water usage. But you would be amazed as to how much water you go through when washing hands (often), doing dishes and filling up dog bowls. Kokomo has three fresh water faucets and we use them frequently. If we spend three days on the boat, we need to fill up our tank by the third day.
What’s the solution to this? Install a water maker. These systems use reverse osmosis to convert seawater to fresh water. They are a bit expensive, but definitely worth the price. When we fill up our fresh water tanks with water, we use a special anti-bacterial ZERO-G Hose
Having a water maker on board, gives us a number of benefits that also make life easier.
Shower
Our boat has a shower and the curtain does separate it from the toilet area, but honestly everything still would get wet. In addition, with only a 6 gallon hot water tank and a 30 gallon fresh water tank, we would run out of water pretty fast. Having a water maker on board with a larger hot water tank, would alleviate that issue. Looking at larger boats at shows, we also want a separate shower stall.
Ice Maker
At Elliott Bay Marina, we have a fully stocked store at the fuel dock. In fact, they have a great selection of wine and beer. However, the store is six docks away and it’s a long walk. Every time we stay on boat, we have to go get ice as our freezer is very small. Friends of ours converted their outdoor faucet in the cockpit to an ice maker. Who needs three sinks anyways. Great idea!
Comfortable Bed
Like I said earlier, our boat is perfect for a long weekend as it’s an upgraded camping trip. But it’s not meant to be lived on. At home we have an expensive mattress which is very comfortable. Moving on board we would definitely invest in a high quality comfortable mattress. There are many custom mattress companies out there. Then there is also a company called Froli Sleep Systems. They make a unique spring type of foundation that goes under your mattress for support and circulation. You would use this system in addition to a high quality mattress.
Oven
Lastly, we would have to have some type of oven on board. Many boats come with a microwave / convection oven combo. Ideally, since I love to cook, I would love to have a stand alone oven. Here are some dream ovens we have seen on boats.
I could live on this boat! This is bigger than my kitchen at home!
Of course, we will not be able to have any of these galleys or ovens in our price range, but a girl can dream! What will the galley most likely look like? Probably like these below.
If you have any “must haves” not on this list, please share with us. Just like a home, we can always add items, but it would be great to find one with everything we want.
Stay tuned for our next blog about philanthropic boating organizations. Cheers, Scott and Ally #BoatingJourney