Sea Base Life on a Sailboat: What's it like, with photos!

 

Everyone who is about to go on a Sea Base Sailing Adventure or any overnighting at sea, on islands, etc wonders what is it like on the boat?  What to the rooms below deck look like?  How do you cook in the gally/kitchen? What kind of stove is there?  What about the head/toilet? This page gives you that peak behind the scenes or below the deck to see!

Contents

First the terminology and names, which are different on a boat! Click on the links below for photos and more information.

Below deck:

1. Captain's quarters
2. Forward Cabin
3. The Head (toilet)
4. Galley (kitchen)
5. Galley - tables and sleeping area
6. Above deck:
   • Sleeping on deck
   • More photos of the ship

Ship Terminology

• Aft Deck / Stern - The rear deck area of the boat
• Anchor / Ground Tackle: compartment at the bow for the anchor rode and/or chain.
• Berth: a bunk, hammock or bed
• Boom: horizontal spar extending aft from the mast.
• Bow / Foredeck: forward end of the boat and the deck surrounding the forward hatch.
• Bow Pulpit: stainless-steel railing at the bow.
• Companionway: The ladder and hatch to go below deck
• Cabin: an enclosed room, (on this boat,  below deck)
• Cabin Top / Coachroof: raised structure over the cabin interior.
• Cockpit: the primary outdoor working/seating area.
• Helm: wheel and steering controls.
• Mast / Rigging: vertical spar supporting the sails.
• Navigation Station - Compass and electronics, like the GPS display, attached to the helm
• Side Decks / Side Deck Passageways: narrow walking areas along each side of the cabin. 
• Stern: rear end of the boat.

More Info

• A typical Itinerary for Islamorada Coral Reef Sailing
• Islamorada dorms - if you stay there your first or last night (unlikely, ask your trip  organizer / leader)
• Laundry at Islamorada (if you have time there on the morning you return to Sea Base)
• Sea Base info, pizza and more oddball stuff.

Below Deck

1. The Captain's Quarters  

   You'll like never see this area. This is the Captains personal and private living space, usually in the stern of the boat. Since the Captain lives on this boat for months on end, he/she need their privacy.

2. The Forward Cabin (the bow cabin)

   
   The Berths below decks - Often, the scouts choose to sleep below decks, either in the bow area on the 2 cushions there (room for 2 scouts) or in the galley area on cushions (also room for 2 there). Another scout could sleep on a sleeping pad on the floor, too (to the right of the wooden floor in the photo below)  The tables can be taken down and cushions then cover the entire wooden floor area (at the same height as the seat cushions).  That can accommodate 2 normal (say 5'6" to 6') 15 to 17 year old scouts or possibly 3 small ( < 5' 7") scouts.
    
   
   

3. The Head (toilet)

    

   There are no showers on the boats. Get used to smelling like a fish.  Or at least, the ocean.
   The toilets are marine "heads" (pump action small toilets) or composting toilets. The room is TINY.  If you are what is politely called a "large person", I don't know how you're going to manage it . I'm not huge and even I found it difficult to turn around and deal with cleaning up functions. BRING WET WIPES.
   NOTE:
   You ONLY put poop and pee in the toilet. Anything else (like toilet paper or wet wipes) must going in a doggie poop bag in the toilet paper waste receptacle. Then you pump a foot pump or hand pump handle 10 - 15 times to pump ocean water through the toilet to flush the contents... out of the boat. Instead, most people choose to pee in the ocean or off the back of the boat. Hey, you think 50 ton mammals, like whales, use a toilet? If you've ever wondered what the water suddenly got real warm... you probably swam into whale pee. (yeah, you're gonna Google that, aren't you! )
   

4. The Galley table area -

   And the galley is the room right below decks that has both the kitchen area and the dining table area. Most folks on our crew took their meals up on deck and ate there.  But for messy meals or inclement weather, more ate below deck here.
   
   At night, the tables can be removed and there is a structure that fills in that area to make it into one berth or bed. It's big enough for two scouts to fit.
   
   Often, they just sleep on the cushions shown in the photo, without removing the tables and putting the bridge cushions in place.
   Scouts usually don't mind compact spaces!
   

5. 

   The Galley kitchen area -

   Not every kitchen on every boat is identical. Just like your house, boat owners tend to customize and remodel their interiors especially the kitchen.
   
    Typically they do have some form of stove, sink and either an ice box or in this case an electric refrigerator and electric freezer which are connected to the boat's batteries and recharged either by running the motor during the day or by solar panels.
   
   The stove is gas stove which is fueled by the ship's propane tanks and it's located beneath the red number one in the circle in the picture by removing that Formica countertop. It's not as powerful as your gas stove at home, it's more like a Coleman camp stove, but it gets the job done.
   
   Some boats also have a gas grill up on deck, bolted to the structure, like this one.  Great for grilling steaks, fish and chicken - and keeping the heat outside!
   
   The oven wasn't used much, it heats the galley up too much and it's already hot enough in there.
   
   The freezer is located beneath the counter at number (3) in the photo. You just lift the counter section up and out to access the freezer. All are powered by the ship's batteries, which are recharged by the ship's motor (when it is running), plugging in at the dock and/or by solar panels, if the ship has them. Which reminds me, some captains will turn on the inverters when the motor is running or there is plenty of sun, and allow you to recharge devices from the ship's outlets.
   
   The fridge and freezers worked very well. We had no problems with them at all.
   
   It is a small kitchen, so you don't want any more than two people working in there at any one time.

 

 

Above deck

 

Sleeping on deck

      

OK, first thing to know is, to say that there is not a lot of space on the deck for sleeping is the understatement of the trip. The boats used are typically a Morgan 41 sailboat and this is a typical deck from that boat. As you can see from this photo, it's pretty much less than 24 inches wide most places, which means your air mattress is going to bend and fold between some crevice and you're going to be crammed in that. So, you also have to look for anything sharp and avoid putting it against that if it's inflatable .

More above deck photos

 

     

    

More Information

Pre-Event Screening Checklist: The Pre-Event Medical Screening Checklist is to be completed the morning your crew de parts for Sea Base. Fill out the participants’ names and, on the morning of arrival, check how they are feeling. . Please bring one copy per crew