Looking at them side by side

New Position N59deg 28' E10deg 39'

We moved back out to the buoy today, after three nights of shore power, unlimited fresh water and all the other luxuries that land has to offer. Lisette freely admits that she prefers being able to step right off the boat onto the hard, but I find a sense of peace and quiet out here that only the most isolated spots on land can match. I don't think a short boat ride is a lot to ask for such privacy.

The helm on Oscilia must have been designed by a very short person, and even at that it is an ergonomic disaster. The steering wheel, with its 25 lumpy turns lock-to-lock, is so close to the bench seat that I have to stand beside the helm to operate it. Also note the positioning of the radar monitor. I've hit my head on that thing so many times, I'm concerned I'll end up breaking it. The VHF is equally obtrusively placed, and to gain some access to the forward companionway I've had to temporarily remove it. The seat itself is designed so that only a small child could make itself somewhat comfortable, and then only while sitting ramrod straight. To my surprise, Lisette managed to find something of a comfortable driving position, by putting her feet up on the dash and wrapping her toes around the four-way switch that controls the propeller pitch and power steering.

When the boats are moored up together, it's easy to spot the difference in size. Looking at the pictures, it is kind of hard to imagine how we managed to take all of the stuff out of the big one and cram it into the small one. It was hard, and to be honest, we didn't quite manage. I've long since lost count of the garbage bags I've taken to the dumpster, each of them containing things that weren't quite useful and valuable enough to be granted some of the precious stowage on board Oscilia.

Welcome

As I start this blog, we are moving from one boat to the other. We have spent just over two years living aboard a 54' wooden patrol boat from the war, resplendent in both style and fungi. In the picture she is doing about 8 kts with Lisette at the wheel and myself organizing mooring lines on deck.

As this necessarily has put the relations to my better half under a certain amount of strain, I have gone to the outrageous step of acquiring a new boat before the old one is sold. Thus I find myself as the owner of two relatively large motorboats, both in much need of repair and one in dire need of removal. Despite this stress, however, it has been a tremendous lift for us peronally. The best eating space on board is no longer the bunk. No longer are our cothes prone to rot and mildew because water has penetrated our defenses. My friends no longer tell me that I smell of decay. Above all, I will never again have to watch Lisette cry because one of her favorite tool sets has fallen victim to water ingress. Hell, I've even got a decent shower. And a galley.

In short, life on a Steel Lady 43 seems pretty good. There's plenty of stuff wrong with her, so much so that an attempt to list all the problems in this first post would be hopeless. However, there's nothing there I don't think I can fix, even the slightly tricky running trim issues. More importantly, she is reasonably waterproof, reasonably functional, and she handles like a dream at slow speeds.