Janice aboard Seaweed,
living the good life afloat...

 

• Making a Garland. The day after Thanksgiving is the day Christmas appears on Seaweed. No, not in its glorious entirety however the beginning stages are underway. Over the following month new items are added. Of course my fellows Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong (Zat You Santa Claus?) and more are serenading me. Life is indeed good.
  Categories: Characters, DVDs, Entertainment, Memory Lane,
   

• Matt's Loss (sad news) Though I did not personally know Nathan, his dad Matt is a great friend of my daughter. Boating was a big part of his son Nathan's life. Indeed, Nathan was living aboard a sailboat when the worst happened: Nathan disappeared.
  Categories: Characters, Locations, Security, Vignettes,
   

• Turtle Time. Turtles are special to me. I have loved them for practically forever. At one time friends called me "Turtle" as a nickname. The sands of time have erased why though... In any event, turtles are cool. I like them a lot and recently added two new ones to my boat.
  Categories: Boat Talk, Boats, Characters, Galley, Locations, Pets, Wild Things,
   

• Apple Options. Of late the apples found at local grocery stores have been delicious. Like many I enjoy snacking on apples, however there are ways to notch up the plain old apple. Today I will share my three favorites. Two are healthy, while the other is not.
  Categories: Boats, Characters, Galley, Locations, Memory Lane, Money, Recipes,
   

• Holiday Cards. To me Halloween is the beginning of the holiday season. One thing I love about this time of the year is exchanging cards with friends and family. Christmas cards are such a delight. It is a shame that the tradition seems to be waning. I suppose with the increased cost of postage that is understandable. Therefore I am grateful for those cards that arrive in my mailbox.
  Categories: Characters, Memory Lane,
   

• Power from None to Now (the complete series) This became a multi-part series on power for an off-grid life afloat. It details the order in which I added power to Seaweed. In the series I cover both the mistakes made, and the choices that were spot on. Feel free to learn from my mistakes. This is the Complete Series, aka Power from None to Now.
  Categories:  Anchorages, Boat Talk, Boats, Books, Characters, Comfort, Gear, Locations, Money, Memory Lane, Pets,  Recommendations, Wild Things,
   

• And in Conclusion (#6 in series) As written about in the previous articles of this series, I purchased a beautiful boat which happened to be totally inadequate for life off-grid. Seaweed when in production was marketed as a weekender. See the Seaweed article for details about her origins. That said, I always knew life at anchor would suit me. Some of my favorite memories when young occurred while anchored off deserted islands.
  Categories:  Boats, Gear, Locations, Money,
   

• Solar on Cloudy Days (#5 in series) Of course any off-grid power set-up tends to be tweaked, improved, and upgraded over time. There are always more projects on a boat. We reach one plateau and promptly extend the goalposts a bit further with the next Great Idea. I started with two 100aH batteries, which doubled to four due to the gift from Mary and Christian. Over the years I have increased that to seven batteries in the bilge. That is a lot!
  Categories:  Boat Talk, Boats, Books, Characters, Gear, Locations,
   

• Adding Renogy and Upgrading Solar Regulator (#4 in series) After living aboard Seaweed for approximately six years I had accumulated a 75 watt solar panel and an Air-Breeze wind generator. An 800 watt generator was in my charging system for quite some time too. This combination allowed me a minimal level of comfort. True decadence was beyond reach however.
  Categories:  Books, Characters, Comfort, Gear, Locations, Recommendations, Wild Things,
   

• Gasoline Generator Added (starting the wrong way) (#3 in series) Shortly after installing the wind genny described in the Adding an Air-Breeze Wind Generator article I moved Seaweed to the west coast of Florida. Those winds I was so used to experiencing became virtually nonexistent where I was anchored. Though I could power my necessities, decadence was rather sparse.
  Categories:  Boat Talk, Characters, Gear, Locations, Wild Things,
   

• Adding an Air-Breeze Wind Generator (#2 in series) As described in part one of this series Power, Initial Purchases, I first added a single 75 watt solar panel to Seaweed back in 2010. Later friends passed along two batteries which I added to my system. Though better than where I started by a wide margin, I knew that more would be better. In that regard there were other options to explore.
  Categories:  Anchorages, Boats, Characters, Gear, Locations, Memory Lane, Pets, Wild Things,
   

• Power, Initial Purchases (#1 in series) As described in the Power to Obtain Freedom (penguin request) article, adding power production to Seaweed has been a priority as the budget cooperated. Although I have now reached a point where power is readily available for needs while off-grid, I've made some mistakes along the way. Here is the litany of steps forward, and backward, involved in making Seaweed self-sufficient off-grid as far as power is concerned.
  Categories:  Boats, Characters, Gear, Locations,
   

• Power to Obtain Freedom (penguin request) When I first bought Seaweed she had potential. That means she was bare-bones with many improvements necessary to support my long term life aboard, especially when at anchor. For me being able to observe wildlife in remote spots is important to my happiness. The desire to live away from the dock means I need a way to power the accoutrements of my now decadent lifestyle.
  Categories:  Boats, Books, Gear,
   

• Screen Solution (newest version) Screens are a necessity in areas with mosquitoes, biting flies and even bats. They work to keep out bugs which is important. I've previously written pieces about screens aboard Seaweed. Two of those are Screening My Hatch (eBay advice) and Screen Update. However, like all things boat, changes needed to occur. Here is the latest improvement in the battle of screening  my boat on a budget.
  Categories: Boat Talk, Characters, Gear, Memory Lane, Money, Unmentionables, Wild Things,
   

• Mother's Day Manatees (netbook news) Yes, I know that Mother's Day was way back in May. I'm a bit behind with posting as the Acer Cap'n Karl passed along a several years back finally quit working. I am now using netbook number four, and life is again good. What is especially great is the critters who visit my home. You have no idea how much joy I get out of observing wildlife. 
  Categories: Boat Talk, Characters, Wild Things,
   

• Mildew and Rust Solutions. Living aboard a boat means that the atmosphere inside can often be damp. Life at sea level is great, however combating mildew is a given. There are tricks, and today I'll share a few of mine with you. Removing mildew, preventing rust stains and cleaning are a constant battle. Most days I wipe, swipe, or rub down something.
  Categories: Characters, Entertainment, Galley, Organizing, Unmentionables,
   

• Computer Mistake (off-grid error) Recently I was asked what I did wrong when I first bought Seaweed. What items were mistakes? These are errors I feel most of us have made in one form or another. It is the "quiet anchorages and life of ease" fantasy world versus the reality of life afloat. For those of us who prefer life off the grid, here are some of the changes made during those initial months afloat.
  Categories:  Boats, Characters, Entertainment, Gear, Locations,
   

• Barracudas and Ciguatera Toxin. The mangroves near Seaweed are brimming with wildlife. One of my favorite things to do is observe nature. Over the years I have had the opportunity to view a lot of fish. I told you about some of my finned friends in the Snook Surface (cold weather consequence) article. Today I will share information about barracudas. They are among my most favorite fish.
  Categories:  Books, Fishing, Locations, Memory Lane, Recommendations, Wild Things,
   

• Seaweed's New Address. After being based here on the west coast of Florida for so long I decided to upgrade to an official address. In that regard I rented a post office box. Best of all I have received two items already. One was a love note (is there romance in the air?!?) and the other a letter from my Grand. Life is certainly very good afloat!
  Categories:  Anchorages, Characters, Locations, Memory Lane, Pets,
   

• Alex Moody's Carafe. Recently I decided to begin a new category called the Channel Markers of Life. In it I will bring to friends and readers the "little things" that make a difference in life. This might be a product that has stood the test of time or another may be a way of doing something that is slightly askew from the norm. In any event, welcome to the first in the series, Alex Moody's Carafe.
  Categories: Channel Markers of Life, Characters, Comfort, Locations, Memory Lane, Pets,
   

• Inexpensive Fan Option. Hella fans from Defender were one of the first comfort purchases I made for my Seaweed. Back then the least expensive single speed 12-volt model available was priced at $22. Recently mine began displaying death spirals. Replacements made by Hella are now three-speed, and cost nearly $90 each. That is too costly so I went looking for an alternative. For $8.88 I found perfection at the local Walmart.
  Categories:  Boats, Characters, Comfort, Money,
   

• Lightning Strike series Summary (parts 1 and 2) This page contains parts one and two of the Lightning Strike series. It details the range of damage caused when lightning hit a nearby boat.
  Categories:  Boat Talk, Characters, Gear, In the Bilges, Locations, Pets, Security,
   

• Lightning Strike series Conclusion (part 2) The lightning that struck a neighboring Prairie did not just take out one 12-volt battery. Details on that can be found in the Lightning Strike and Errors Made (part 1) article. Further problems were identified and solved in this, the conclusion of the lightning series.
  Categories:  Boat Talk, Characters, Gear, In the Bilges, Locations, Security,
   

• Lightning Strike and Errors Made (part 1) It all started 28 December 2020, though at that time none of us were not aware of how far the problems went. This is part one of the lightning series. Today I detail how fortunate I am to have a great neighbor, and the far reaching events that began late last year. Mistakes were made by me. Here is what I learned.
  Categories:  Boat Talk, Characters, In the Bilges, Pets,
   

• Feeding the birds (February 2021) It all started with my Buddy. A young grey night heron began visiting Seaweed. I bought hot dogs and began to cut them into wafers for Buddy. The neighbors were fishermen and when cleaning their catches would feed fish scraps to the herons. I thought that was cool, so opened Seaweed's night heron restaurant.
  Categories: Books, Entertainment, Wild Things,
   

• Tomato Rocket (Dollar Tree item) I continue to grow salads as described in the Microgreens Aboard Seaweed (series) series. Recently I began branching out. Although my previous experiences with tomato plants have ended in abject failure, I have not given up. My newest attempt was purchased from Dollar Tree. I bought a Tomato Rocket.
  Category: Galley,
   

• Cheesecake (easy no milk/no bake method) We did not have refrigeration aboard our 40'er until I was a teenager. I didn't drink milk as that was not something we had available. Over a half century later, I have never drunk a glass of milk. That said, I do like cheesecake, and the instant No Bake box mix varieties are a real blessing.
  Categories:  Boats, Characters, Comfort, Galley, Locations, Memory Lane, Money,
   

• Bird of Prey ID Sought. The dock behind Seaweed had a new bird arrive this past week. It was small. My hotdog eating birds were wary. I am hoping one of my readers will know exactly what visited. Reading about the wildlife that surrounds my world is one of the things I like best about living aboard.
  Categories:  Books, Characters, Recommendations, Wild Things,
   

• Hanger Storage. For at least ten years I've been putting my excess hangers under the step into my forward cabin. The problem is that the hangers would fall off. This "temporary" storage system was implemented over a decade ago. There needed to be a better solution. I finally found a five-minute fix to permanently remove this annoyance.
  Categories: Boat Talk, Memory Lane, Organizing, Unmentionables,