Sept 7 , 2004--LONG-TERM CRUISING

MAGIC DRAGON just turned forty. She's been our home for 39 years and has shared countless adventures with us--along with the occasional misadventure. When we built her we wanted a bigger boat than our 24-foot Cutlass Class MORC sloop for the many weekends and other holidays that we spent afloat. We had no inkling that she would become our home for so many years. However, after cruising with more comforts for a few months, we realized that our house had become redundant. We felt more at home aboard than in the house. It dawned on us that we were both working to finance all the things that we needed because we were working--house, car, pickup truck, yacht club berth, etc. We gave up our jobs, sold the house and went cruising. From that time on, we've worked a few months or weeks at a go, kept busy with maintenance when necessary, and lived in semi-holiday mode for the rest of the time.

I am not going to say that it was a smart move. Financially it was not clever. The house that we sold before the real estate boom sold some years later for ten times what we had sold it for, and for twice that again a year ago. But we have enjoyed a freedom that would not have been the same if we'd had ties. Wherever we have been has been home, and we have had but small worries to contend with. Our little Honda 90 trail bike gives us mobility ashore too. When we discovered New Zealand in the center of our favourite cruising grounds, we felt free to accept her hospitality and make it our home base. We have had the luxury of using our time, days and seasons as we please. No nine-to-five, no boss, no obligations. We are glad we did it.

For us, living aboard has been an economical way of life. MAGIC DRAGON is a small home when it comes to replacing such things as upholstery, curtains or carpeting, a cost-cutting asset. Repainting a yacht is fussy work, but the quantity of paint needed is not what it takes in a house. We do not hire professionals to do our boat maintenance. Boat repairs and modifications have kept us occupied--challenged and interested too. One game has been to design and devise new systems. Everything aboard is fair game, from home-brew roller reefing and furling to one-off trim tab steering, and even an improved diesel heater vaporiser. But since we do it ourselves, we can do it wherever we happen to be. We seldom venture into a marina or pick up a mooring, preferring to hang onto our 85-pound modified CQR, though we do have a set of pilings in the Kerikeri River (Bay of Islands, NZ) with a mailbox and a car nearby.

Flexibility and improvisation make life interesting. We sew up flags, patch gumboots, substitute ingredients in recipes. We repair most anything, from engine, outboard, water pumps and wind vane to toilet, radios and laptops, with whatever we have on hand--or at least we cobble together a temporary fix, sometimes redesigning or modifying. A good collection of tools and spares helps. Simplest is often best, like putting a laptop out in the sun for a sunbath on a low humidity day if the keyboard craps out or the screen goes blind--even if drying and cleaning the harnesses' contacts is eventually necessary.

Because we are relatively self-sufficient we have been able to enjoy remote anchorages and we have not felt the need to chase big centers or seek shore entertainment. A morning swim, delicious meals, good books, a little diving or sailing, a dinghy explore or a row, a walk or a ride ashore, music, peaceful evenings and generally keeping busy living are the mainstay of our existence. We meet people everywhere, make friends and enjoy their company.

Staying long-term on a cruising boat is not always easy. Those with bulletproof stomachs naturally last longer than the queazy. Those who expect too much of this way of life, whose dreams are unrealistic, may become disillusioned. Then there's the difficulty of getting used to being in close quarters for up to 24 hours a day for days on end. But we learned to give with the punches, laugh at each other's idiosyncrasies. We find solitude when we need it in books, music, yoga or Tai Chi, in writing articles or just keeping journals, in sketching or painting water colors, and of course in sending and receiving snail mail and email. We have collected shells and been bird watchers. To be able to entertain ourselves and to enjoy being alone is essential.

This year we are launching MAGIC DRAGON into her middle age by staying put this season--more or less--and lavishing her with TLC. This week we're completing stern chain plate renewals and a backstay replacement with its associated antennas. Today we've been rewiring and rehanging the solar panel between the backstays. Dealing with all that such jobs entail takes a great deal of time, especially now that we are no longer in the first flush of youth. But slowly, sloooowly various chores get ticked off the list. She deserves all this pampering, we reckon, after so many years of faithful service.

The most important thing of al,l to survive long term on a small boat, is a sense of humor and a companion to laugh with. We often say that we are like little kids, still playing house. We refuse to grow up. The other day when we were offered a new luxurious house to spend six weeks in, we thanked the owners warmly for the offer, but assured them we are cozy and happy on board. Can't let go of our freedom.