Life on the Boat in the Cooler Weather... and a Short Run

It is a grey drizzly day here on the Pacific Coast of BC... not windy, thank goodness.

I woke up early this morning... I knew it was going to be a run day when I went to bed last night so perhaps that is why I was ready to bounce out of the aft cabin and get the day started while it was still barely light outside.

We have fallen into a morning routine on board in this cool weather.... I put on my slippers and a sweater/fleece and take care of a little morning hygiene, then turn on the battery charger, turn the refrigerator to a bit colder setting, get us each a glass of water, our morning supplements, turn on the computer power, close the locker doors I opened before we went to bed so the dehumidifier could dry them out, and then sit down at the table in the salon.  By then The Captain has donned his slipppers and sweater, made the bed, turned the dehumidifier off and and a space heater on, taken his supplements and poured us each a cup of coffee from the thermos that he filled up the night before.  Pretty much the same routine every morning, and to someone watching, it would surely look a bit like a dance as we just naturally move around our small space, not getting in each other's way and never colliding.

When the temperatures drop down to freezing overnight, we do not run the dehumifier during the night (we set it to come on and off as needed) but run 2 space heaters instead.  Then, when it warms up during the day, we may open locker doors and go out for a while while the dehumidifier runs and does its magic.   The dehumidifier does give off heat while it runs as well.

Moisture is the biggest issue during cool/cold weather.  A moist environment is very uncomfortable in the cooler temps.  When you feel moist and cool, you can just never feel warm enough, no matter how much clothing you wear.
In the warm weather it is never an issue as we can just throw open the hatches and let a little air flow through... and we do that even on dry, cool days as well.  But when it is rainy or very cool and humid outside, there is not much point, as the air flowing through the hatches is already pretty saturated and doesn't take the moisture with it.

We are pretty careful about cooking inside during these rainy cool days.  If I know rain is coming, I often precook things to get us through a few wet days.  I will make up grains, hard boil eggs, cook pasta, and micowave potatoes, to have on hand for easy meals.  It makes such a difference in the amount of moisture inside.

The Captain puts the drip coffee maker out in the cockpit and we make coffee and tea in it out there to avoid having the steam inside.  Works great.  When we have the 'glass' and canvas enclosure up, all around the cockpit, it is like having an extra room... a sunroom, really.

The first winter we spent a few weeks on the boat, we didn't know about portable dehumidifiers and I thought we were were going to have to buy shares in Scott Paper to cover the costs of all the paper towels we were using to wipe condensation off the windows and from the insides of cupboards.  And if you don't keep the insides of cupboards dry, mildew forms very quickly... no one wants that!
 
The one we have looks just about like this:



It will hold about 20 pints of water in its reservoir, and if it gets to capacity it is supposed to shut itself off.  We have never let it go that long without emptying it.  You can also attach a hose to it so it would drain into the bilge, but we don't leave it running when we leave the boat for the winter...  no need for it.  The moisture comes from cooking, opening and closing the outside doors and windows, and from our breathing. When we are not on board, there is no moisture.

So... my run today!

Yes, just around 11 a.m. the rain stopped and we got our gear together.  The Captain held my running shoes in front of the heater for a couple of minutes and got them toasty warm for me... was lovely putting my feet into warm running shoes.  And off we went!

Did our 4.85 km route, very slowly, and it was great!  The drizzle started again just as we were finishing up so we did our stretching inside the cockpit enclosure and ditched our wet clothes out there too, before coming in and enjoying the smoothies I made for us....  Peanut butter and banana for The Captain, spinach and banana for me.  Mmmm.

I loved my hot shower today, even more than usual, after the run in the rain!

4.85 km

W2 R39 W3

stretch 5 minutes

Do you ever precook things so you have the makings for quick meals?

Do you run in the rain?

Do you have a morning routine?