We Made Our Boat Nicer To Live On

After almost two years sailing and anchoring in the Caribbean, Sava and her crew needed some TLC. Sava moved to Curaçao Marine for bottom paint and more while we moved into an apartment in town. We only took two weeks away from the boat, but it made a world of difference! During that time, we made our boat nicer to live on, which is good for all of us.

Improving S/V Sava

We’ve done a lot of work on Sava over the years, but we didn’t focus on cosmetics. Fixing the engine, batteries, watermaker and everything else was more important, but since we know how that stuff works now, we can make life on Sava better! While in the yard at the marina, we prettied her up inside and out! Since we made our boat nicer to live on, she’s like a new boat to us and we love her all over again.

Getting a new coat of bottom paint on our sailboat — But the new bottom paint on S/V Sava is an improvement!

Cleaning Sava

We rented a one-bedroom apartment while Sava was in the yard, which meant a thorough boat clean. First on our list was emptying the boat: we took out all the food, defrosted the fridge and freezer, and scrubbed all the cupboards and storage lockers. We vacuumed the boat multiple times since we had shore power and did such a good job cleaning Sava I was almost sad to restock her!

Staying in An Airbnb

While Domino took a few days to get used to living on land, she eventually made herself comfortable.

Domino our cat on the pillows in the airbnb — Domino liked the bed in our Airbnb

Brian and I liked the apartment, but we never got as comfortable as Domino. It could have been the timing with my ear infection, but neither of us slept great in the apartment. We sleep better on board so it’s a good thing we made our boat nicer to live on.

It was good to shake things up and get a break from life on board. We walked a lot, sightseeing and wandering, and spent time barbecuing and lounging by the pool at the Airbnb. The wifi was excellent too. We got spoilt with two weeks of unlimited wifi. You don’t know what you’ve got in your houses and apartments that we miss!

The pool at the airbnb — The apartment pool lit up at night

Domino, again, had no problem relaxing at the apartment, especially in the bed.

Domino, cat, in bed in the airbnb — Domino back in bed

We’ve decided that a break from the boat is a necessity and probably would have done it sooner if not for covid lockdowns. From now on, we will give ourselves, and Domino, a boat getaway more often. Once we returned to the boat we felt as happy to be onboard as when we first moved on her! Absence – and cosmetic improvements – make the heart grow fonder!

Improvements On Sava

Sava now looks great inside and out. On top of the cleaning we gave her insides, we had her bottom painted and polished, and we scrubbed and washed the deck, the cockpit, and the cockpit shades.

Cockpit shades — After scrubbing, drying the cockpit shades

We even took out the anchor chain from the locker and scrubbed all the sea crud (not a technical term) accumulated in Antigua.

Anchor chain needs cleaning — Many feet of anchor chain got scrubbed

Sava looks brighter and cheerier downstairs. Brian revarnished a lot of the wood interior, making it look almost new. We bought fresh rugs and kitchen components and got new cushion covers made for the salon.

we made our boat nicer to live on painted cabinets — Shiny cabinets

Domino our cat lying on the new rug in our boat — Domino likes our new galley rug

The old salon cushions were pretty worn!