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March 26, 2005

Oh My….

Headroom is a serious issue when thinking about living on a sailboat. Some people will tell you that it doesn’t really matter. They say things like how much time are you really going to spend standing up down there anyway? I have come to the conclusion that people like that are usually shorter than me and have never smacked their head on corners and overhangs. If I only had a dollar for every time I smacked my noggin on some sharp corner! OUCH.

In the quest for the boat, one of the things that has been paramount is berth length and head room in the main cabin. Assuming that I was the standard six foot, three inches I have been measured at over and over and over, and having expressed interest in smaller sailboats, headroom starts to come a serious premium. Many boats under 32 feet have head room in the six foot to six foot, three inch range. One particular vessel of interest has headroom of six foot, two inches.

Out of curiosity I measured the storage shelf that sits above the workbench in the garage, which I built to maximize storage and to be able to accommodate my needed head room. When I build the storage all measurement started at the ceiling and ran towards the floor. Thus never considering my actual height.

Knowing that I fit quite comfortably under the garage storage, I measured the height of the bottom of the storage platform to the floor. Imagine my surprise to discover that the bottom of the storage is six feet, two and five eighths inches above the garage floor.

This at first seemed a puzzle. How could I, at six foot three, fit under the storage platform when it is 3/8 lower than I am tall? Re-measure. Same results, the storage is definitely less than six foot, three inches off the floor. Next logical step, measure me.

How odd it is to discover that I am not six foot three. Sure if I put my boots on I am sure that I would be six-three. Flat footed and standing strait I am only six-one and a half. So what does that mean for the sailboat hunt? That six foot, two inch headroom might be just enough. Besides, how much standing am I really going to do below decks?

OUCH!

Posted by Michael at 8:42 PM | Comments (1)

March 16, 2005

Persistance

It has been months since I have written here. The house in Colorado is almost done. The remodel in the final stages. The last 5% seem to be a full 100% of their own, though even the final few projects are almost finished.

That leads my mind back to the adventure that has been consuming more and more of my thoughts. Sailing. Toads About sold for a reported $15,000. My reaction to the news was mixed. Happy that it is no longer a possibility, sad that it is no longer a possibility. Strange how things embed themselves in our consciousness. Of all the material things to become attached to, an aging steel boat that is not even mine. I can only hope that the new owners know that they have purchased a piece of art, that they will be able to commit the resources to her maintenance that I was unwilling to commit.

Toads is history. I will forever wonder about that little boat and I will always have a weather eye out for her and wonder about her journey.

The inevitability of the house being done in the next few weeks has me thinking about the next step. The boat hunt. I ponder left coast versus right coast…Such possibility on both.

The left coast offers the inside passage to Alaska, the Aleutians, Hawaii, Japan and beyond. The right coast offers all the eastern seaboard has to offer this summer and fall, then the Bahamas and Northern Europe and Points North next summer and then the Mediterranean next winter. Returning to Croatia and Greece would be amazing. But then so would spending a winter in Alaska exploring the Prince William sound in late winter and early spring.

At times when I am sanding some random piece of wood or painting a run of trim, I find myself thinking about how much we didn’t know a year ago when we started the remodel of the house. I think about how much more we know now. Then I take that knowledge and think about moving our lives to a little boat and setting sail for ports unknown. What will we learn, what will we see and do? I can only imagine. The possibilities scare and exhilarate me all at the same time.

Posted by Michael at 1:10 PM | Comments (0)