Lots of great stuff here. Here are my +1’s on many, and a couple contributions:
-- +1 on frozen water jugs as ice blocks - we use 1/2-gallon apple juice jugs - they’re a little sturdier than milk jugs, and fit nicely in our coolers. Especially nice for our main cooler, as they don’t get everything wet (bagged ice is OK in the drink cooler, since we don’t care about getting cans and bottles wet).
-- Speaking of coolers, buy high-quality ones - We have a couple Coleman Xtreme coolers, and the extra insulation really seems to help - our main one is rated for 5 days, and we probably come pretty close to that.
-- Habitent (
https://www.habitent.com/). We don’t use it often, but on a rainy day, it rocks to have another dry room.
-- Jetboil - Seems like the fastest and most fuel-efficient way to make hot water for drinks, oatmeal, or that Ramen
@Jackdaw recommended
-- +1 on baby wipes - They clean everything from faces to feet (hopefully in that order, but not always if one is 7…). Tables, dishes, even the cabin sole (somewhere I have pictures of what happens when the parents are sailing and let the kids loose in the cabin with vegetables and goat cheese. Add a few degrees of heel…)
-- Shelf-stable milk - even with good a good cooler, milk seems to sour faster than I like. The little cartons of shelf-stable milk store anywhere in the boat, and they’re small enough that once opened, we go through them before they sour.
-- Kayaks - these $89 Wal-mart specials were the kids’ Christmas presents a couple years ago. They’re a huge hit. It seems hackish to tow them in the dinghy, and I’m sure we lose some more speed, but it’s worth it for the hours of entertainment they provide.
One more:
-- Pillows - We all sleep better with our own pillows, so we drag them from home every time. We leave a couple of the boat's regular backrest cushions out; they just seem to get in the way, and if you need a backrest, there are always all those pillows stashed in the V-berth.