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30 May 2016

It's Possible I Have A Problem Which May Affect Our Waterline

One of my dock neighbors called me a scavenger the other day. I'm sure he meant it in the nicest possible way. To be fair, he mentioned it when he saw me scurrying back to my boat carrying a printer in my arms, which was my latest score from the free table at our marina.

I've scavenged all sorts of useful things from the free table - like a dish drainer, egg containers, cans of tomatoes and jerry cans. But, some of my favorite finds are cruising guides and sailing books. Not only are they practical, but they're also books. I love books. I love to collect books. I love to look at books. Books are almost as good as chocolate. Almost, but not quite.

Here are just some of our cruising guides and sailing books.



I recently did an inventory to see what kind of cruising guides and sailing books we have on board. Turns out we have 84 of them. Many of them came with the boat, some of them we brought with us, a few were given to us and the rest were the fruit of my scavenging efforts.

It's possible that this might be a problem.

I know. I can hear you saying:

"Books are never a bad thing! Books are full of knowledge, ideas and stories. Collecting books is a virtue, not a problem. What's wrong with you?"

Well, true. Books by themselves aren't bad. But, when you have too many books and you live on a boat then they can affect your waterline.

Some of you might be wondering what a waterline is. Good thing I have so many books on board to answer that very question. Basically, it's the line where the hull of a ship meets the water. Below your waterline you have special anti-foul paint which keeps icky stuff (like barnacles) from attaching to your boat's bottom.

You can see the water line on our boat, Tickety Boo, below.



Still confused about the connection between books and the waterline? Think of it this way - it's kind of like when you eat too many chocolate brownies and your waistline changes shape and then the only way you can button your pants is if you wear them below your belly button. If you put too much weight in a boat (say with a lot of books or boxes of brownie mix) it pushes your hull down into the water past the boat's original belly button, or, in this case, its waterline.

I have a real problem getting rid of books, so I'm hanging on to all 84 of our cruising guides and sailing books for now. After all, they're just too much fun to look at. Like this one - Royce's Sailing Illustrated - the "Sailor's Bible since '56."



It's got cute illustrations. I'm not giving this one up.


At some point, I'll probably have to do a purge of our books and get rid of some, but, in the meantime, I've put them all in plastic bags (mold and mildew are not our friends) and stored them in the v-berth (the pointy cabin at the front of our boat). I've managed to get most of them tucked away in the cubbyholes on the starboard side.


But, not all of them.


The great thing about the v-berth is that you can close the door and pretend you don't have 84 books squirreled away in there. Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?

Do you find it hard to get rid of things? Do you have a big collection of anything, like books?


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17 comments:

  1. Books are our collection. I have no idea how many books we have, but it's a lot. Our boat on the other hand doesn't have clutter. We can clutter at home, but not on the boat. I can't stand it on the boat. Too small an area, so I can't imagine living on a boat as you do.

    Have a fabulous day Ellen. ☺

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    1. Your boat is beautiful, I don't think I'd want to clutter it up either :-)

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  2. How clever of me, I recognised v-berth from your A to Z. And I'm sure the brownie mix would be Beth's. No sure about 84 books on a boat though, much as I love books....
    The Glasgow Gallivanter

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    1. NOT sure. Though no sure makes me sound very Scottish.

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    2. I heard a Scottish accent when I read "no sure" in my head. It sounded very cute :-)

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  3. We download e-books from the library, and really try not to add too many printed books to our collection. But we still have a lot! We only have 4 cruising guides (at the moment). We don't have plastic on our books, the pages are just wrinkly and smell a little musty. It's part of the charm (that's what I tell myself, way too lazy to cover them in plastic!) -Lucy

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    1. Only four cruising guides? Your restraint is impressive :-)

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  4. I have gotten very good at getting rid of book. We have two bookshelves aboard and that is the limit. At home we have shelvesbof books in each room. But i also do not keep brownies or their ilk on board. Their magic is way too powerful for me. Also i like the word 'resourceful' rather than scavenger. I'd say that you're lucky to have such a great free table where you are!

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    1. Resourceful is a much nicer way of putting it. Scavenger always makes me think of vultures and hyenas. I'd much rather think of myself as a more adorable sort of animal, like a resourceful squirrel, collecting acorns.

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  5. Before you get rid of anybooks, I call dibs! I've been looking for "Sailmakers Apprentice" for ages!!

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  6. I think books should be printed on chocolate, then you could eat them as you read and the waterline would be safe.

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    1. You library people are so clever! Of course, my waistline wouldn't be safe though.

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  7. I do have too many books and need to give some away. Luckily, my church is having a book sale/fundraiser, so now is my opportunity!

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    1. That's a great idea to donate books to a good cause. Then, you feel better about letting them go.

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  8. Ellen, here is a great image for you (if it works, i couldn't post the image itself in the comment):
    https://www.facebook.com/154799721244325/photos/a.158123434245287.34590.154799721244325/1139963349394619/?type=3&theater

    We had that funny old Sailing Illustrated book on our boat as well. Not too heavy, right? Good you are a monohull, so you can handle a decent amount of ballast, I mean books! :-)

    Going through my parents' attic recently, I found my childhood collections of stickers, beer coasters, stamps and... stones collected all over the world. Now, that would not have worked on a boat either! Although, many of my cruising friends are addicted to picking up nice shells and rocks off beaches. Books might be a bit more useful?

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    1. That's brilliant!! Perfect description of my obsession with books.

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