Our recently remodeled kitchen, all done ourselves with mostly local or recycled building materials.
KITCHEN:
A kitchen is something else entirely on a sailboat. It’s called a ‘galley’ and is quite unlike any kitchen the typical landlubber has seen before. Doing anything in this space is strictly a one man/woman job. Forget the elaborate dinner parties and barbeques. Gone are the days of a group cooking experience. How about cooking in a moving, tilted kitchen? Now is the time to get creative! We’re looking forward to the challenge!
This is the typical small, compact galley (kitchen) on a 30 foot sailboat.
Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but we do have a plethora of backyard critters, in addition to the dog and cat!
PETS:
Our great friend, Blase, coined the term “Farm TV” for our backyard. This phrase was often used in the context, “Man, I’ve had a rough day. Can I come over, drink a beer in your backyard and watch Farm TV?”. What a perfect phrase for our mix of 4 chickens, 3 always quacking ducks, 1 absurdly annoying cat and an absolutely perfect dog. Guess which one will make it on the boat! (The rest found great homes with friends…although we’re still searching high and low for someone wanting to borrow Sampson, the cat. Anyone?)
Only Wylie, our 3 yr old golden retriever/lab/beagle, will be joining us on the 30' sailboat!
Our current 1/4 acre mini-farm of a backyard.
BACKYARD:
Our 1/4 acre backyard, steps away from the river, is an amazing asset of our home in Montana. During the 3 years we’ve owned our house, we’ve added a monster garden, 7 fruit trees, a chicken coop, a small pond for the ducks, a barbeque and an outdoor living space. It has truly been an extension of our home…at least in the summer. As much as we’ll miss our homestead, we’re looking forward to a backyard of turquoise waters, an aquaculture garden and no lawn to water or mow!
Swimming in our future backyard.
Everyday luxuries we will be giving up: hot water, baths, sewer systems and space!
BATHROOM:
Although our bathroom is very modest and small by modern standards, it has some luxuries we will certainly not have in our marine bathroom (referred to as a head).
Size: downsizing from ~60 sq feet to ~8 sq ft
Hot Water: Dependent on the boat, likely the only source of hot water will be on deck from a solar shower.
Water Quantity: We are soon to see the ‘real’ cost of water on a sailboat, as every drop must be hauled aboard and paid for….unlike our non-metered use in Montana.
Your typical sailboat head (bathroom), complete with sink, vanity, toilet and shower - all in this 9 square foot space!
Mmmm.... A typical meal at our house: venison steak, sauteed local wild mushrooms from the forest, fresh veggies from the garden and roasted onions and garlic.
TYPICAL MEAL:
If there’s one thing our friends can agree on about Mark and I, it’s that we like food. A lot. We love cooking new, elaborate tasty dishes…often with a houseful. It doesn’t always go as planned, but we’re usually ready to try something new. We’re looking forward to the new food and ways of cooking that we’re sure to encounter. We’re especially excited to try out some new fish taco recipes and try our hand at cooking beans and grains with a pressure cooker. Hopefully we’ll have it all figured out by the time we get folks out visiting!
Fish Tacos (on a good day!) and rice and beans. Not too shabby either!
Our current vehicle of choice, a Toyota Tacoma, has faithfully carried us on many adventures across the West including the San Juans, Death Valley and Big Bend National Park.
MODE OF TRANSPORTATION:
Our modes of transportation in Montana are varied, but generally consist of our 4 wheeled vehicles, motorcycles, canoes or our pedal bikes. Although Katie dreams of someday strapping a little Honda motorcycle to the sailboat, we’ll likely need to be content to slow things down a bit and oar around in our dinghy when away from the big sailboat.
Besides the sailboat, of course, this is likely to be our only other mode of transportation. Row, row, row your boat...
