post boat school blog: The Shelf, the Crater, and the Precipice

The Ice Cream Monster returned to her lair in Baltimore (leaving me with 5 extra pounds) after a completely successful visit to the rainy Pacific Northwest. Attached are random photos of our exploits, though they have little to do with boat school. I did, however, do some hull shape research in the inner harbor of Victoria, BC, Canada. We walked around and looked at old wooden fish boats and i collected ideas for a Fabulous live aboard boat construction project that may or may not ever happen. As these exploits often unfold, i obsessively research a subject (dutch barge hulls, or "tjalken", for instance) for a year or two, build some models, do some drawings, find 14 for sale for 450,000 euros in the Netherlands, and then buy something completely dissimilar, affordably, locally. Or decide im interested in goatherding. Or forget all about it, having learned what i wanted to learn.
Our time together was very laid back, excepting the stress of the continued lofting exercises. We had thanksgiving on the hippie commune, and a small thanksgiving gathering with Kayla, my personal boatschool photographer. We also "house sat" for a an incredibly generous boatschool pal. More like a free place to crash, shower excessively, and watch ALL the Lord of the Rings movies.

The biggest decisions that we faced while the Ice Cream Monster visited generally regarded who would sleep on the Shelf, and who would tackle the Precipice. We knew without a doubt, the Crater would be our fate in the end.

Our cramped stay in the Hobbit Hole was a great test run for living on a boat. We ironed out many small living details, including but not limited to: who is in charge of smoking the dirty boat yuppies out of the Hobbit Hole, who pees in a 13 gallon trashcan in the middle of the night because they have no interest in a frigid trot across the yard, who sweeps up kindling crumbs obsessively, and who cooks the tastiest flapjacks in all the Yukon. (We also discovered who is still grouchy first thing in the morning, no matter how sweet, thoughtful, and generally awesome the Ice Cream Monster is.)

The most important discovery we made is that a twin bed is RIDICULOUS for two adults to sleep in.

One person had to sleep straddling the wooden ledge that runs the length of the back wall of the bed; the other had to sleep with either their knees, or their posterior hanging off the side of the bed, creating a wicked exposed ceiling updraft condition. By the end of the night, the glacial movement of our body weight would deposit us into a crater created in the center of the bed. It was impossible for both of us to lie on our backs simultaneously, and both of my arms were asleep more often than not. Between Sarah's hip ailment, and my sore lofting knees and ankles, hours of wiggling were not uncommon. I actually fell off of the precipice one night, though my catlike reflexes landed me on my feet, sort of.

I have been alone in the Hole for about 4 hours now, and already miss the Ice Cream Monster.
But, I just remembered the leftover ice cream sandwiches (rectilinear, compact, delicious) in the tiny, tiny freezer. Hmmm. I think i'll eat one, read a wooden boat magazine, stoke the fire, and then get a fabulous night's sleep.