A financial choice
Living on board during the refit of the boat was a choice dictated in large part by our finances. Indeed, living on the boat allowed us to leave our house and thus to save the cost of a terrestrial accommodation and the electricity, water, gas and insurance bills that go with it. When the work schedule is spread out over several months, it makes significant savings!
Secondly, this solution had the advantage of avoiding the trips between our home and the port, as well as the resulting loss of time.
A question of planning
In addition to the financial aspects, we also chose to coincide our move with the end of the school year. The next school year, we did not enroll the children in school, but instead began home schooling.
Moreover, we had largely underestimated the volume of work to prepare our sailboat to leave for the north. This period of cohabitation of work and life on board was supposed to last only one or two months instead of the six that were necessary.
A complicated cohabitation
Some of the work on the boat proved to be very complicated to reconcile with life on board. In particular, the plumbing operations which required opening part of the floors and the engine block which is in the center of the boat. Others generated a lot of dust or noise which was very disturbing for the school on the boat.
The tools and raw materials (insulation, boards, electric wires, hose, pump) were taking up most of the space. In addition, we brought along some very cumbersome tools: table saw, drill press, mitre saw and vacuum cleaner, for example, which we later disposed of.
Except for everyone's bunks (and still), the square table (at meal time) and the gas stove, there was not a square inch available for the children. Fortunately, the weather was very nice for a long time so they could play outside.
Conflicting interests
On the one hand, life with children requires availability, fairly regular schedules, balanced meals, varied activities and a secure environment.
On the other hand, the work on the boat generated stress, long working hours sometimes late at night, difficulties to stop at meal times and a great lack of availability for the children, the couple, the friends, the family.
We can say that the preparation of the sailboat monopolized our time, our means, our energy to the detriment of the rest. What were the consequences on our family?
Assessment of this period for our family
Concretely, this period was a series of ups and downs: some moments of true happiness to be together, watching the children explore the harbor, the shores, rowing and paddling between the sailboats, seeing our project move forward and the boat transform little by little.
Other times nothing worked. The plumbing leaked, the lights flickered, the bunks were cluttered, there was broken equipment, bad ideas, cold meals, sleepless nights, tension rose and everyone argued.
If we had known at the beginning that the work would last 6 months, we probably would not have chosen to live on board during this period. We would consider the refit as a project in itself and not as the beginning of our long journey. Ideally, we would have a large shed near our house to house the boat and do all the work!
This period is finally over! We survived it. We are surely a little stronger because of this experience and better prepared to face other challenges together.
