Our goal is to be as self sufficient as possible. The boat is completely self-contained, we have a propane stove and oven, 2- twenty pound propane tanks, refrigeration (we hope), 2- seventy gallon fresh water tanks, hot & cold pressure water, a shower (that is actually useable), and a fairly large holding tank. The biggest challenge we face is provisioning.
Since our boat is blessed with a large amount of storage space (although there's never enough), we plan to provision for the entire two month cruise. For this chore we are borrowing a page from the Mid-Life Cruising Sabbatical (article # 8 - The Cruising Galley - Part I). We have tried to plan typical menus and then provision accordingly. Robin has also been studying the "Two Burner Gourmet" and plans to incorporate many of Terry Searfoss's ideas.
Our shopping list is completed, the items are purchased, we've made several trips to the boat, and our boot stripe is now below the water . . . .
All this stuff has to be stored!
And even worse, we have to remember where we put that can of beans!
For this task we are also borrowing an idea from the Barrentines. We have listed all our lockers, storage spaces, and cubby holes, and numbered each one. We then created a small data-base which will cross-reference the items with the appropriate storage area. As the items are put away we will list where the item is stored. Eventually this information will be entered into the data-base and a storage/inventory list will be printed. Hopefully this will eliminate the following exchange:
Robin: "Russ . . . Where is the lamp oil?"
Russ: "I don't know . . . IT'S IN THERE SOMEWHERE!"
Since we're not going to a warm (clothing optional) climate, our other big challenge is clothes. Although our boat has actual drawers there just aren't enough of them. Typically we store our clothes in duffel bags, these can easily be stuffed into nooks and crannies. We have also purchased several large "Rubber-maid" containers to store extra little worn (we hope) clothing such as sweaters, stocking caps, and winter coats. These containers fit nicely under the Vee-berth.
Typically we tend to overpack for our cruises. Every fall I find myself unloading a pile of clothes that has been on the boat and never worn for the entire season. This year we will bring only our favorite clothes. This is the stuff we'll actually wear. When we get into a port we'll head for the laundry! By the way we always bring along laundry supplies.
This is the plan, in the fall we'll post our cruise log and updates on what worked and what didn't!