We figured it was time to give everyone a glimpse into how our boat is treating us.

Often, when we would tell people our plan to move aboard a very narrow, 50 year old, 28’ foot sailboat with our golden retriever, a common response was a look of horror. There were times, we must admit, that we questioned our own sanity when faced with the prospect of such a small space for such a long time.

Selkie has turned out to be an exceptional fit. Of course, there’s no denying that she’s small, and we are often a bit cramped, but we’ve learned to move about her with ease. We’ve learned where every little crevice lies that we might be able to cram one more can of tuna fish into. She holds the things we need, and she gets us to the places we want to go.

 

We’ve put her to the test in heavy seas and she’s done great, a solid hull with an easy motion, she doesn’t get thrown around. Her hard dodger keeps us dry and out of the wind, and has really been a blessing, aesthetics be damned.

Beulah, our diesel, has excelled as well. We’ve used her more than we anticipated, like we were told by many down here. It’s a function of the short winter days, a dog on board, the calm mornings and the fact that we don’t like to come into anchorages after dark. We usually have about 4-6 hours where the wind and the daylight overlap, and with our short waterline and 4 knot average, that just doesn’t add up to many miles made good. Luckily Beulah is very efficient.

 

All in all, we couldn’t be happier with our boat. For the Sea of Cortez, and a couple on a small budget like ours, she has done everything and more that we’ve asked of her.

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