Personalising the boat… for me options explode in my head, bounce around like a pinball machine and for the main give me hours of entertainment. Everything is a choice…
Queue music; Baz Luhrmann everyone is free
“Wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it
A long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
Whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
Than my own meandering experience…“
This is one of my all-time favourite songs. It is all about choices… I wonder if Martin will get sick of hearing it on the boat… This and many other questions are taking up more of my head space.
As we approach moving aboard our attention is shifting from the essential, to the practical and the nice to have. Or what I call the critical non-essentials…
Here’s my logic…
The essentials are a must have.
For example, a fully functioning motor is essential. As is fuel. And the right type of fuel for that matter.
The practical covers a few things, they could make life easier, such as the trolley we recently purchased. It needed to be fit for purpose. So in this case; sturdy, collapsible and compact. Or which cutlery set do we take. Martin’s set from home is lovely however, they are not well balanced and as we are going to slightly smaller dinner plates the cutlery will easily fall off the plates. It already does now.
The Critical non-essentials… Personalising the boat, linen, cushions etc… More on that shortly.
A practical decision first…
I would love to take my surf ski with me. It is a 4.2-meters fibreglass OzFlyte ski. I purchased it directly from the manufacturer located on the Sunny Coast and requested a purple and pink paint job. I added hibiscus flower decals to the sides later. Weight was a consideration. I had to be able to lift it on and off the car by myself. At 17Kgs it was just about perfect.
However, when we are at sea the ski will be strapped to the side railings of the boat. It will be smashed with waves. However of greater concern, is a whip from a stray sheet (sail rope). That will be a battle that the fibreglass is likely to lose. Hence, a more practical solution is required.
I have been trawling on-line for a couple of months for a second-hand plastic kayak. Length is a consideration. I don’t want to compromise too much on manoeuvrability and I also want the kayak to glide. I’m armed with a list of criteria and I think I have found what I want… stay tuned…
On to the critical non-essentials…
Saboteur is going to be our home. We want her to be beautiful… She already is beautifully designed. Her fibre glass hull has a beautiful hand-built teak interior fit-out. The quality of the interior is spectacular. My grandfather (a carpenter), if he was alive would have loved it.
To gain a sense of style, imagine (for those of you who have been to Singapore) the beautiful old style colonial buildings with the old style plantation shutter doors, only in our case all our cupboards have louvred doors. Imagine, while you are at it, a Singapore Sling in your hand, but instead of sipping it in Raffles (The Long Bar or the Court Yard), you are lounging in our saloon or chilling in our cockpit… Equally as glorious.
This post has inspired me to enjoy a Singapore Sling this evening. Martin went to make breakfast this morning and found the required spirits bottles already on the bench in anticipation 😉
Are you getting the laid-back lazy Sunday afternoon feeling? I am…
Back to personalising our interior. We have limited options in terms of artwork. This is limited by the fact that almost every space that is a wall is actually a cupboard. The result is we only have space for two smaller art pieces. More on that in a separate post.
We want to install weather covers at the aft end of the boat. Traditionally, they are in basic block colours and made from a heavy-duty canvas. We are considering an alternate to the standard block colour, just to personalise it a little. The pattern we are considering is the sample in the photo. It is still the nautical blue and white however, the pattern will complement the side safety netting and I love the fact that the pattern (kind of watercolour-ish) is not perfect. This may match our safety-netting installation skills. Time will tell. Today, is critical non-essential research day, followed by a Singapore Sling at sunset. A perfect Tess and Martin day.
And finally, on a more serious note…
Wear sunscreen.
Both Martin and I have fair skin. My grandmother had more then we can count skin cancers removed. They were located on her calves, the back of her right forearm and the underside of her left forearm. These locations are from sun exposure while picking strawberries on the family farm. I can see her bent over holding the basket in her left hand and picking strawberries in her right hand, just like she has bent over in her own garden for many years. Based on family history, I go in for skin test every 6 months and regularl have suspect spots removed prior to them turning nasty.
This week saw Martin get a call to come in immediately to have a skin cancer removed from the back of his hand. We find out on Tuesday if they have it all.
So my friends… how long has it been since you had your skin checked? As Baz Luhrmann says, “wear sunscreen”.
