Comfort Onboard

Vero Beach, FL

No LL

Recently we were invited aboard several other boats here in Vero. Most of these boats are considerably bigger and more expensive than Tarwathie. Nevertheless, we felt crowded and claustrophobic onboard. Libby and I agreed that we would have a hard time living aboard some of those boats indefinitely. They wouldn’t be comfortable enough.

Recently, I wrote about Tarwathie’s cabin arrangement. No doubt, skillful yacht design enables feelings of comfort. Today, rather than yacht design, I’d like to talk about the human needs for comfort onboard a boat.

Volume light and air: If you are confined in too small a volume, it feels claustrophobic, and claustrophobia is a very unsettling feeling. Last week we had dinner onboard a boat similar in size to Tarwathie but with a main cabin only about 60% as big in volume. It felt very claustrophobic. Plentiful natural light and air circulation act to mitigate feelings of claustrophobia.

Places to stand, sit, lounge, and pace: Some of our earlier sailboats didn’t have full standing headroom. They would be intolerable for living aboard. The tallest person needs to be able to stand erect and stretch without bumping his or her head. There also needs to be places to sit, and to lounge. In my book, lounging means sitting as in a recliner chair with one’s feet elevated. On Tarwathie, Libby and I can both lounge simultaneously and in comfort. That’s critical. Neither one of us has ever felt particularly comfortable lounging in bed.

I’m also personally addicted to pacing. When I worry or when I’m thinking I really need to pace. I don’t need much room, I used to pace in an office cubicle. Tarwathie offers me more pacing space that my cubicle ever did.

Freedom from clutter: An all too common mistake onboard boats is to allow every horizontal surface to become covered with clutter (i.e. small objects). That robs those spaces of their multi-use capability, and it adds to the feeling of claustrophobia. Seeming to understand that instinctively, Libby and I always keep Tarwathie more clutter free than any of the houses or offices that we ever owned. It’s important.

Freedom to act independently: At various times of day, we lounge, or cook, or read, or use the computer, or work at crafts, and sometimes just stare out the windows. There is enough room in our cabin for each of us to choose what to do without coordinating the activity with the other. It's a matter of personal space, and lack of personal space would likely erode a couple's relationship rapidly.

Nice sleeping space: The sleeping arrangements must be comfortable for both parties. Surprisingly, we find that claustrophobia is not a factor when sleeping but that the thickness of cushions is. We sleep with the ceiling only inches above our heads leaving no room to sit up. That doesn’t seem to matter. Horizontally, there’s no room to lie without cuddling. We can’t sleep with each person on his/her own side. That suits us fine. On the other hand, on our first year we enhanced our cushions with a springy underlayment (more about that another day). That made it much more comfortable to sleep on. It’s important.

Something we lack is comfort in the cockpit. We almost never hang around in our cockpit except when under way. It would be a great enhancement to have a better cockpit, but the deficiency doesn’t seem to bother us greatly.

Ease of going ashore: Unless we are under way, we spend a significant part of every day ashore. If there was anything that made it difficult or inconvenient to get ashore, that would be a big deal.

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Obviously, comfort is a matter of personal choice. What works for us may not work for everyone. Nevertheless, I suspect that our needs are pretty ordinary if not unique.