We moved aboard!
It started two years ago after coming back from our first two-week shake down cruise to the Abacos We pulled into the driveway of our house, looked at each other, and said SELL IT. We went inside, called a realtor, and listed it the very next day. It was sold in thirty days-with everything in it. The shed full of garden equipment, furniture, the pictures on the walls, even clean sheets on the bed.
We were not ready to move aboard so quickly as we still had a car garage full of boat junk, Keith’s ton of tools, my commercial sewing machine, and list of messy boat projects to finish up. So, we rented a cheap one-bedroom apartment near the boat. It came complete with a blue toilet, linoleum floors, and cigarette smoke from the neighbors. Yum. But has worked perfectly while we worked on the boat.
Still, after getting rid of what felt like most of our belongings, we can’t figure out why we still had so much junk to get rid of the last few months. We gave a bunch away, carted a ton to the garbage, clogged up the local Craigslist postings, and still brought in $1500.00 last week’s garage sale. We chose not to put anything in storage, but our vehicles are pretty full of items for projects in progress. Bolts of fabric, teak lumber, and more tools. Stuff that will hopefully be consumed or used before leaving.
Having lived aboard before, the stowing and organizing wasn’t too overwhelming and I have everything pretty much tucked away. I am sure some rearranging is inevitable, but I am quite happy with it so far. The countertops are clear and the waterline is still visible, though barely.
Last night was our first night aboard but to be very honest, it didn’t feel like home yet. Maybe it is just that no place feels like home right now without Kayla. Maybe once we move the boat to the new marina this weekend we will start getting a new routine going and be able to better embrace this transition and be happy that we are just that much closer.
A photo of our house from when we moved out…and a picture of our tiny apartment when we moved out. Photos of the boat all loaded up to come.
Wright Away Sails Away 
Congrats!
and Good Luck to you.