The Quest for Consort

1986 Endeavour 42

Marathon Sunset
Florida Keys Sunset

When looking for our floating home, we had a few requirements beyond priority one, which was, of course, sailing capability! For example: Alan could not bear the thought of having to duck under doorways or in passages, so full headroom throughout was mandatory. I could not imagine one of us having to climb over the other to get in and out of bed, so a centerline berth was required. Alan wanted larger, I wanted small enough for us to handle alone. 42′ was a compromise, and the Endeavour 42 is particularly well laid out, having the feeling of being a larger space than it is. We also wanted a center cockpit design. And we plan to spend long periods off the grid, so solar and wind power were important.

After searching the Texas Gulf Coast (we first got on an E42 there.) We searched the internet. We went to Windsor, Canada to look at one. We went to California. We made a road trip of the entire coast of Florida. After getting on and off dozens and dozens of boats, we had decided the E42 was most likely β€œit”, and we made an offer on one. To our chagrin, that offer wasn’t accepted. But, as always, there was a reason for that, because Consort came up for sale on our way home. There was just one catch: she lay in Guatemala. Read more

What about the Stuff???

“A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.” ~ George Carlin

Moving Day

Living aboard a boat or in a tiny house. That thought crosses lots of peoples’ minds, apparently. It’s a beautiful, romantic thought. But then comes another thought – not as romantic. That second thought is about your stuff. It is paralyzing to think about dealing with all the accumulated stuff that life has piled on you throught the years. At least, that’s how it seemed for me. We had lived in the same house for 22 years. When I say the amount of stuff we had accumulated was overwhelming, that is a huge understatement. Every closet, it seemed, was full of things kept “just in case” or for sentimental reasons. And so many duplicates! Did I really need four pairs of red heels? Three slightly different 1.5 quart saucepans? Why did I have four bottles of soft scrub? Who knows? But that kind of excess wasn’t going to cut it on the boat; I knew that.

So, how to begin the process? For me, it ended up having two phases: One, a leisurely, one-small-bite-at-a-time, year-long effort, approached with the ambition of someone under no time constraints whatsoever (read: no ambition, really…) and the other, a three week mad dash like my hair was on fire, ending with hauling a trailer containing all the things that remained to the boat to move aboard. I recommend a more balanced approach. Your blood pressure would thank you, I am sure! Read more