“Nesting” Project

In addition to all the heavy boatyard work and projects that follow in order to get the boat ready to sail away and across the world, there is another important set of activities happening on board. Combining the lives of two people and fitting all of their possessions into 12 meters (40 feet) of boat space takes some planning, and the “Nesting” Project is what transforms the space from simply a boat into a happy and comfortable home. Wim has already been living on board for many years and has organized things for his convenience. Optimizing wasn’t a priority, because there was sufficient space to spread out, as long as things could be reliably found when he was looking for them.

Now with two of us and a new way of living ahead – indefinitely cruising, on the move, and living mostly on anchor – we need to plan and organize a bit more efficiently. I’m a super neat and tidy person, always putting things away, straightening up, and organizing things. I don’t like clutter or disorganization, especially on a boat. I don’t want things just sitting around that need to be stowed before sailing or could fall/fly around if we are in rough seas. Happily, Wim likes things neat and put away as well, especially if someone else is taking care of it, and he is wonderful, easy-going and supportive of my desires for efficient organizing.

The nesting process is mostly about making the boat a safe, comfortable, and happy home for the two of us. It’s about finding the right balance of stuff (how much and what to have on board) and the right location for that stuff (where to stow it so you can find it again). This will be a multi-phased project. There’s a process of elimination involved with stuff previously on board, the process of deciding what new stuff to add (and will my stuff all fit?), and then there’s the process of determining where all the stuff that comes with us will be stored.

Neither Wim nor I are “pack rats” (aka hamsters) and are both more than willing to get rid of items that we decide aren’t important, useful, or of great sentimental value. While we are still in the early phases of going through and eliminating items, I have already been thinking about how best to organize and optimize what remains. The nesting process for this relies on the principle of real-estate value for placement of things, while also factoring in weight distribution, and clever ideas for maximizing usable space in those places.

Storage locations on board fall into categories similar to real estate. They say the three most important things to determine the value of property is location, location, and location. Premium locations, or the high-rent districts, are the very handy and easy-to-access spaces. Low-rent districts are those areas that are hard to reach and awkward to access. So deciding what to place where requires some consideration and debate as to how often items are used and how handy and accessible they need to be.

Along with determining storage locations, some creative thinking and clever nesting ideas help to maximize the amount we can store in any place, and can additionally improve how we store it.

Creative Nesting Idea #1: The Closet. Our first good example of this is in optimizing the one single hanging closet we have on board. Wim had all his shirts, sweaters, and a winter jacket in there. The closet looked completely full. But on closer inspection, I realized that a lot of extra space was taken up with the large wooden hangers being used. My Mom had introduced me to ultra-thin non-slip hangers years ago and this was the perfect solution to maximize this space. Three slim hangers fit in the space that one of the traditional wooden hangers use. Before Wim even had to start thinking about reducing the number of items he had in order to make room for me (which he was very willing to do), I swapped out all the hangers and we had plenty of space for all of my hanging clothes.

Creative Nesting Idea #2: The Bathroom. Unlike living on land, where it’s fine to leave things sitting on the counter where they obediently remain where you put them, on board you either need to throw everything in the sink while underway, which isn’t neat and Sher’s not happy, or have it inside a cupboard, which isn’t handy and Wim’s not happy. But thanks to Amazon and a myriad of solutions one never knew existed, I found a few bath and shower items to hold toothbrushes and shampoos and fixes to the wall with a strong suction cup. Problem solved! Neat and tidy looking, handy, and stays in place even while the boat is rocking around. Yay!

Creative Nesting Idea #3: The Galley (Kitchen). Another win with Amazon… how to keep dishes, mugs, and glasses (yes, we have pottery and glass on board) from clattering and breaking while underway, and also be handy to access without having to pull multiple items out to get to a plate stashed on the bottom of the pile. Mugs and glasses stacked inside each other will rattle around while underway (and can chip or break) and be annoying if you are trying to sleep while on passage. The same goes for plates stacked up, which will slide around and get damaged. But multi-layer non-skid kitchen racks organize the dishes, cup/mug-stacking gadgets allow you to store one on top of the other without rattling, and flexible drawer/cabinet dividers keep everything in line so they won’t rattle against each other. Yippee!

The next phase of the galley nesting project involves sorting through and (hopefully) eliminating excess and/or old spices. Wim had more spice jars than I have ever seen in one place outside of a spice shop, some for specific recipes (yay, he likes to cook!) and some duplicates, but we’ll get them worked down and put some lesser-used ones into the low-rent storage area. Once everything has its place, I’ll make a map of the boat and where everything is stored, so we can find everything again… before best-by date!

Creative Nesting Idea #4: Things that keep the boat running. Tools and spare parts and all the little bits and pieces that hold things together, like nuts and screws and connectors and fuses, hoses and clamps, filters, etc. Wim has an impressive assortment of all of these things and more, which is excellent for full-time cruising. These are the really important things to have (and know where to find) when you need them. But where to put it all?

The final area to sort and organize is the working storage area in the aft starboard side of the boat. This is where (more) tools and paints, and scooters (yes!!!!… we have scooters!) and other big storage items go. We’ll tackle that together – organization and placement are key!

And then, just when you think everything is nicely and neatly stored, you realize you forgot about 15 things, or have better ideas, or need something you put waaaaay in the back, and decide to rearrange, then the process begins again!