Yarr. We be salty.

For those of you who haven't yet heard the news, Cody and I have purchased a little floating home!  She's an Ericson Sailboat, 27 feet long, and currently in slip D19 in the Winslow Wharf Marina, in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island.  Right here. 

Come on aboard!  

The outside.  Cute little thing!  

Galley is sea speak for kitchen.  It's pretty basic, but comfortable!  We've got a real ice-box, and I'm not trying to sound quaint!  We keep our milk and cheese and such in a box, along with a big ol' block of ice.  A block usually lasts us about 5 days.   We've got a 2 burner hot plate for a stove, which plugs into the shore power here at the marina.  The sink is a foot pumper and only has cold water.  A little rustic, I suppose, but it suits us just fine!  

Now, we're looking forward, on the port side of the boat.  (Left side, for all you landlocked folks.)  The v berth is where we sleep, and it's shaped like a v!  Our feet go toward the bow, in the little narrow point of the v.  It's quite cozy!  We've also got a CD player, a space heater, and some cute hand-made curtains.  And at the top of the photo, you can just see the corner of the forward hatch, which lets in a lot of light, and fresh air when it's nice out.  The head (bathroom) is on the other side of that doorknob.  

We're still looking forward, but on the starboard side now.  The table folds out to a nice big size, but we usually just leave it folded.  I don't mind brushing elbows over eggs in the mornin'.  The kerosene lamp is functional, but it doesn't smell very good.  We usually just use the electric lights.  How modern!  

Yep.  That's about all there is to say about that.  

Looking aft, opposite the galley.  The quarter berth, which is actually about the size of a twin bed, is stuffed full of sails.  The boat came with eight different sails, which is a ton for a 27 foot boat.  We've got 2 mainsails, a spinnaker, a drifter, a 95% jib, a 130% jib, a 155% jib, and some others that I don't know the names of.  It seems like overkill, but it's actually great for us.  We've got sails for every possible weather condition, and can play around with different jibs while we learn to sail. 

And no, we're not experienced sailors or anything.  We're learning as we go!  The guy who sold us the boat, Dave,  is a great guy and an accomplished sailor.  He took us out last weekend in some heavy conditions that would have been too much for us to handle by ourselves.  We both learned a ton. I think he'll prove to be a great teacher and endless source of sailing information.  And Cody works for him- working on another boat and other carpentry projects...  

Cody has been tirelessly working on the boat.  He's so excited to be on the water, and just wants our little lady to shine.  I helped him sand the teak handrails that had gone grey.  We've also rebedded the traveller, the pulpit, and forward stanchions.  Cody's been up to his elbows in wires, trying to get some of the instruments working...  Not a lot of success yet, but we're still working on it.  

Ooh, shiny.  Freshly oiled handrails.   

Our neighbors.  They're mostly a quiet bunch.  

(Don't the maroon ones look like Animal from the muppets?)

We've seen otters hunting in the marina,  and blue herons stand on the ends of the docks like lookouts.  It's a beautiful place to live, the Marina.  

The best part of owning a sailboat!  We've been trying to get out every chance we get!   

The spectacular Mt. Ranier.

(which is actually taller than any peak in Wyoming.  It's 14,411 feet begin at sea level.  just sayin'.)  

Ta ta for now!  

I'm off to live the dream!