One of our longstanding family mottos has been “comfort is overrated”. To demonstrate our commitment to the concept, here is a picture of us cooking dinner in our house in 2018 in the middle of a winter remodel in which our roof was a cold and star-filled sky. Uncomfortable? Yes. Learning to cook in the freezing cold? Yes! Happy? Definitely yes!
Often when we are most uncomfortable we are learning some really valuable things in life. Also, in our experience, there is a lot of fun to be had if we are willing to give up a little comfort to try something new.
And then there is the idea that if we get too comfortable, we may get complacent. We are trying to ward off our “fat dumb and happy” inclinations.
That’s not to say that we shun all comfort. On board the boat we have good food and drink, wifi and television, a soft bed with good pillows and comforter, nice kitchen, the right tools, and lots of other things that make doing the Loop more enjoyable. We are not totally crazy.
But we did apply this motto to some of the decisions we made when purchasing the boat. Our thinking at the time was along these lines….
Air conditioning? Who needs it? Sure it will be hot some days, but we have fans. And how hot can it really get? Besides… air conditioning can be a trap, keeping you inside your boat when you could be outdoors exploring.
Screened cockpit enclosure? Bah humbug. Enclosures can make the boat look cluttered and obscure the view from the back deck. How irritating can a few bugs really be?
Bimini shade for the upper helm? Oh come on. It will ruin the “big sky” views, and again, it makes to boat look less sleek. Uggh. And besides, vitamin D is good for you, right?
After being on the loop for four months now, we have a little bit of perspective on these decisions.
Air conditioning…. We are definitely in the minority here. When we tell people the boat doesn’t have AC they are, in general, horrified.
And yes, it has been hot at times. We had several days in the 90’s in Baltimore and for almost a week now on the Trent Severn it has been in the high 80’s and pretty humid. But, almost always the nights cool off and breezes have made the high temps tolerable. And swimming really helps!
Boats that have AC tend to spend the night at places that have shore power OR they run their generator. Without the lure of AC, we are happy to stay at a wider variety of less expensive (and often more beautiful) places.
We stand by our decision. AC is not needed FOR US on the Great Loop.
Screened cockpit enclosure…. There are definitely bugs out here. I hope we have seen the worst of them, but I fear we have not.
After a particularly gruesome attack of no-see-ums in Georgia, Gary had so many bites that his arms and legs looked like he had a bad case of poison oak. We immediately placed a large order on Amazon for every possible spray, lotion, candle and incense coil to deter mosquitos and no-see-ums.
We also ordered bug screens for the helm and the cockpit doors. Those work incredibly well. For mosquitos. No-see-ums are so small, the screens just slow them down. Still, it helps.
But the worse kind of bug we’ve run into (so far) are the biting deer flies. They like to “hitch a ride” on the boat, and attack when you least expect it. The bites hurt. And swell up. And itch. These ladies (yes, the females do the biting) are pure evil.
When we took a side trip to the very beautiful village of Vergennes, at least 200 of these demons traveled with us on our way there (and back). Here is some of the arsenal we used to defend ourselves.
It made a dent in the upper helm bug population, but only a small dent!
Still, all this being said…. without the screened enclosure the boat looks cleaner and uncluttered, we have better airflow, and we feel closer to nature. And bonus… We are saving some money!
Patty is glad to have an open cockpit. Gary is not so sure…. So, there are no screens. At least for now.
Bimini…. After several months of joyously helming from the top of the boat, enjoying the breeze in our hair and the occasional rain on our cheeks, we had some really great tans.
We started wondering whether we should be concerned about excessive sun exposure. And it was more than a little hot on a few sunny windless days when we cruised slowly in no wake zones. We opened “the maw” on the upper helm to increase the airflow on our lower extremities.
It helped. But not enough.
Gary started an Amazon search for an aftermarket bimini. He found an inexpensive one that could be delivered to our next marina. The installation was straightforward and only required a few new (small) holes in the fiberglass for the mounting brackets. Voila! We had shade. What a difference! Maybe the best $105 we’ve ever spent.
To B, or not to B? That is the question. For us the answer is a hearty yes!
To see our current voyage path with Gary’s photos, click on this: G&P Voyage Map
Great story, great travel adventure!!
Oregon is getting A/C installed everywhere now!!!!