Downtime aboard, what do you do?

Bad Obsession

Bad Obsession

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May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
I was sitting here thinking about my last two trip. One of them was cut short due to weather and the other one, this past May, I was holed up in Solomons Island for a few days. Most of the time I am single handed so I am my own entertaiment.

This made me think about down time when you are stuck somewhere because of weather or you are in port early. I tried to remember what I did during my downtime so that, in the future, I can bring entertainment aboard more efficiently.

Here are a few things that I did:
1. Read: This is a good one for killing time. The problem is that I am extremely picky on what I read and, being a very active person, I have a hard time settling down and reading for a whole day.

2. Internet: It is nice to get away from the internet for a few days, but it is entertainment. I use to carry an air card in my laptop and had internet in most places. I have gone away from this and carry a small data plan on my cell phone. This means that I am stuck using wifi, usually public wifi. This is okay if you are in a place that has it but if you are in a place that doesn't have it then internet is ruled out.

3. Fishing: I take my fly rods with me and sometimes I troll when underway with my trolling rod. The problem is that fishing during high wind is very tough and not productive. I finally put an anchor in my boat for the dingy but I still haven't fished much.

4. Music: I can sit and listen to music for hours. This gets old after while too.

5. Touring the Town: After you have been in a place for a day or two there really isn't much more to see there. It gets old!

So what do you do? What are some different things that you do to entertain yourself during hold overs, bad weather, or early arrivals?
 
woodster

woodster

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Sep 15, 2009
6,244
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
get a hot spot for your cell phone so you can do internet...watch you tube......back splice lines .......down load music...cook something new .....oil your teak......red lots of short stories...so it's not an all day event...play solitaire...up date log book...all this if you are on the boat...if you go ashore...the possibilities are endless.......
 
JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
8,020
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
All of the above (no guitar)...
Downtime with the Admiral, iPad, Apple TV, local news and food channel.

Apple TV allows any of your DVD's or iTunes to be saved to a external drive. Our movie collection is over 500 and it took me bout 6 months to load them all.

We took Tom Hank's "Castaway", George Cloney's "Perfect Storm" and the movie "Titanic" off the list.:yikes:

I like the original "King Kong" and shhhhhhhh "Key Largo" ( has hurricane ).:biggrin:

We also contemplate how good life is.:kick:
Jim....
 
Boomer54

Boomer54

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Feb 3, 2015
299
Marlow Hunter 37 Reefpoint Marina Racine, WI
Read, nap, play guitar, nap, chase the admiral, nap, clean/fix stuff, stream videos, nap, if in port wander and look at other boats/visit with other sailors(get some good ideas on stuff this way), drink, and finally nap. That takes care of day one. After that, I'm bored.
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
10,212
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Phone hot spot for internet.. watch movies on laptop either dvd or stream.. Read a lot. Fix stuff a lot.. Enjoy the view and the solitude..Fix a few more things.. cook something interesting.
 
bshock

bshock

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Jan 18, 2013
126
Beneteau 361 Sandusky Harbor Marina
You could LEARN an instrument. I play the guitar and learned a good bit of it on the boat. I just recently picked up an english concertina to learn. Keeps me busy when not sailing, and I find it enjoyable. :) I also play the mountain dulcimer. Having smaller instruments on a boat is an advantage.
 
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capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
5,072
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
If we aren't interested in doing maintenance, which is not the same as having none to do, we often go ashore to meet the locals. So many find our lifestyle totally alien and incomprehensible and they have innumerable questions.
One of our favorite things to do ashore we call bus roulette. We cover our eyes at the bus station, spin ourselves around and point to a bus. Off we go to wherever that bus goes. We can't get lost because they always end up back at the bus station, sooner or later. We can even get off a few times and explore then get back on another bus of the same number. The other passengers often act as tour guides, pointing out this mountain, that river or that building to us, heightening the experience.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,344
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
I have a "boat guitar" that lives on the boat. Even when down on the boat for some maintenance work, I pick it up and play. I started "playing" when I was a kid, never got any good. Recently got into the AGF guitar forum and learned some new stuff from the internet, a whole new-to-me fingerstyle playing technique. There's always something to clean or apply teak oil to. I read, a LOT. Sometimes I'll take the computer and a DVD. One time my son taught me how to download a movie, so i kept the computer on and watched it that night. I spent almost two weeks last year on a cruise, with various weather and wind. I'd just installed a new water heater and new plumbing hoses. Some of the hoses came loose! And it was 102F at the time! Tucked into a marina, fixed the hoses and refilled the water tanks and pushed on. Fixing things all the time, but had a ball. Unexpectedly ran into an old friend at an anchorage and had a blast. I anchor out most always, but sometimes go into marinas to visit friends. Motored seven hours home from The Delta into the teeth of 25 knot winds (which got worse the entire next week!). Got caught out at anchor in an unusual 40+ knot wind event just last week, managed to struggle into an empty slip, still dragging the anchor around. It's always something.

But the beauty is, no matter how many times I go to even the same places: It's ALWAYS a different trip.
 
Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

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Jul 27, 2011
5,180
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
In order: Greyhounds-Breakfast; Beer-Lunch; T&T's-Appetizers; Wine-Dinner; Pussers-After dinner! In between: nap, read sea stories of various ilk, fix little things, socialize w/ wife & friends (if aboard), & scrounge for ICE!
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,344
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Hey, KG, aren't you also learning how to anchor fore & aft? :clap::clap::lastweek::laugh::laugh:

Kings Gambit said:
In order: Greyhounds-Breakfast; Beer-Lunch; T&T's-Appetizers; Wine-Dinner; Pussers-After dinner! In between: nap, read sea stories of various ilk, fix little things, socialize w/ wife & friends (if aboard), & scrounge for ICE!
Click to expand
 
WayneH

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,121
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
I have back spliced a few lines during some down time. Mostly, I break out my old kindle and read. Currently, I only have 147 books on it so I have something to re-read if necessary. If all that leaves me flat, I can always chase the Admiral around the salon. ;)
 
Kermit

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,722
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
bshock said:
You could LEARN an instrument. I play the guitar and learned a good bit of it on the boat. I just recently picked up an english concertina to learn. Keeps me busy when not sailing, and I find it enjoyable. :) I also play the mountain dulcimer. Having smaller instruments on a boat is an advantage.
Click to expand
I haven't played a dulcimer in years. Great instrument. I need to get mine out and tune it up. D-D-G
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
5,072
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Stu Jackson said:
Got caught out at anchor in an unusual 40+ knot wind event just last week, managed to struggle into an empty slip, still dragging the anchor around. .
Click to expand
Perhaps your 'down' time would be better spent practicing anchoring? We had that several times this morning. Rain, too. You might want to consider a Rocna.
 
51RD55

51RD55

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Jul 13, 2015
99
Hunter 31 Toronto
New to sailing, just purchased a boat this summer and getting her ready for next year...but I already know what we will be doing for downtime. I'll be sketching, organizing my iphotos, some reading, resting, cooking interesting things and when the skipper is not busy reading or fixing things, I'll chase the Skipper around the salon! So happy to have found this site...
 
Kermit

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,722
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
51RD55 said:
New to sailing, just purchased a boat this summer and getting her ready for next year...but I already know what we will be doing for downtime. I'll be sketching, organizing my iphotos, some reading, resting, cooking interesting things and when the skipper is not busy reading or fixing things, I'll chase the Skipper around the salon! So happy to have found this site...
Click to expand
I can't imagine you'll have to chase him for long...
 
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dhays

dhays

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Aug 2, 2010
93
Catalina C400 Gig Harbor, WA
What is this "down time" of which you speak?

There is always something to do on the boat. At any given time I have things to fix, splices to make, stuff to fiddle with, and when that is all done, I get out the one step wax and a pad or miracle cloth and polish.

We have games on board, but by the time evening rolls around, I am usually too tired to play. I sleep soundly though.
 
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