Gem!

Papillon is a beautiful boat.  If you wander over to the Images page, you can see a few photos I managed to take before things became too exciting.  Papillon felt like a good home the moment we stepped on board.  It was the same feeling I had when we first toured our current house: this is a place I can live.

In short, the girls had a wonderful time.  Stylish examined every inch of the boat, and even climbed into the engine room with Erik.  No one went overboard, although Indy came close.  (As an aside, Indy has also fallen in love with her lifejacket, and has taken to wearing it around the house.  Strange, but useful.)  An ear infection provided an eventful (read: loud and sleepless) night, but as of mid-day today, everyone was once again well and happy.  Erik made a list of jobs to do, so he is happy, too.

It was hot in Fort Lauderdale.  Very, very hot and humid.  The boat lacks A/C, so it was a little muggy until we could get all of the hatches and portlights opened.  It took some time to get all systems running on the boat, and so we were without water for a while, but we made do with bottled.

Living on the boat this weekend was much like camping.  Once we have everything in place (food in the galley, sheets on the berths, books in the shelves), no doubt we can upgrade to a cottage-like state.  Eventually, with the heads scrubbed and re-hosed and a host of little jobs behind us, we will no longer feel like we are making do and instead will feel fully at home.  And, someday, the day will come when we have improved Papillon from bow to stern, mast to keel, and have attained True Comfort. 

If the past is any indication, we will sell the boat two days later.

It begins

Once upon a time, Erik and Amy lived in a  comfortable house in a nice town with their two lovely daughters.  One day, Erik turned to Amy and said, "Let's give all of this up to go live on a small boat in the searing heat, with no money and no escape from each other on the high seas."  Amy nodded sagely, as this was clearly an excellent idea.  So our heroes bought a boat, sold their house, car and other possessions, and took to the water.

Perhaps I am getting a little ahead of myself.  The boat is bought and the house is sold, but the rest is forthcoming.  Right now, we are in the preparation stages of our adventure.

Now.  I am a practical soul.  I know this adventure could go one of two ways.  We're all hoping it looks like this:

...but let's face it.  Sometimes it will look like this:

Is this the greatest thing we've ever done, or a disaster waiting to happen?  You, dear reader, can join us here to find out.  Burn with envy as we drink daiquiris and play on the beach!  Lounge smugly on your couch as we battle the elements and repair the diesel engine with bent wire and glue!  Oh, the fun we are going to have!

Tomorrow, the adventure begins in earnest: we are going to visit Papillon.  Erik knows the boat, but the girls and I are new to her.  Let's see if we can keep anyone from going overboard on our first visit, shall we?