Thoughts
Hi - Dodgers - my thought is they're more trouble than benefit on 25's because of the amount of room they take up for any appreiable benefit. The exception would be a small dodger over just the hatch. That way you could open and stand under the hatch in the rain. The OMC - if it runs well I'd service it and use it. If you are truly worried about it, I would bring your tools on the trip and if necessary hitch a ride to go buy engine and mount en route. Same cost either way except you only spend the money if you have to. Living aboard - I lived on my boat for months two years ago. Also 25'. It worked fine but I was alone. In your case I would focus on keeping the boat absolutely neat. When I cruise my boat with my girlfriend, we find that our stress level with each other is directly proportional to how clean the boat is. We have a tradition that at the start and end of each day and any other time chores need doing - fueling, watering, etc., - one of us asks the other if they want to do the chore or clean the boat. Generally, I ask and generally Jessica cleans and I run the errand, but that certainly doesn't always happen that way and when Jessica is tired of cleaning she can opt to do the chore instead. We also have a hydration and nutrition policy that resulted from two sucessive weekends in which first Jessica got extremely dehydrated and suffered heat exhaustion and then a week later I got extremely hypoglycemic - to the point I couldn't speak let alone run a boat. We now have a policy that if one of us tells the other to drink (we carry pedialite for the electrolytes) or to eat the other can't argue. In addition we follow a regimine of eating and hydrating during the course of the day - again, attidue on a small boat we find to be directly related to hydration and blood sugar levels. Getting off the boat - we have a policy that we both get off the boat together everyday (except, of course on passages but we stay coastal), and that we each get off the boat without the other at some point in the day. At a minimum, we get off together but go our separate ways for part of the time ashore. This is typical of suggestions for cruising, but essential on small boats. To go with the going ashore policy, we also have a basic leave each other alone shtick. We tend to spend a bit of each evening reading - usually together in the cockpit - but if someone goes to the bows the other will let them be unelss there is a reason for distrubing them. Most of its basic personal space awareness but the rules about hydration and the distribution of chores go a long way. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
