Moving back on board Ep. 69 #sailboatrefit
After months of rebuilding and living off the boat, we finally hit a turning point in our sailboat refit… we’re moving back aboard—even though the boat is far from finished.
In this episode, we begin the process of putting the boat back together—reinstalling drawers, doors, and interior panels that have been out for what feels like forever. It’s a huge mental shift from teardown to rebuild, and seeing the spaces come back to life is incredibly motivating.
At the same time, we made a big (and slightly crazy) decision:
👉 leave our apartment and move back onto the boat full-time.
Right now, the boat is still very much a work in progress:
No running water
No permanent power (just extension cords to shore power)
Minimal cooking setup
And a 3-minute walk across the yard for the bathroom, showers, dishes… everything
We focused on making just two spaces barely livable—our stateroom and the galley. And by “finished,” we mean the essentials: drawers back in, a mattress on the bed, and a place to put our clothes.
It’s not comfortable. It’s not convenient. But it feels right.
Eliminating the daily commute to the boatyard gives us back time and energy, and being onboard again is already pushing us to work longer, stay focused, and make faster progress toward launch.
This is the reality of a liveaboard sailboat refit—messy, inconvenient, and sometimes uncomfortable—but also incredibly rewarding as we get closer to getting back in the water.
If you’re into sailboat refits, DIY boat restoration, liveaboard life, and the behind-the-scenes reality of rebuilding a cruising catamaran, this episode shows what it really takes to push through the final stretch.
We’re not done yet—but we’re closer than ever, and being back onboard is a huge step forward.
⛵ One step closer to sailing.
00:00 We’re putting it back together!
00:27 Channel intro
00:44 Drawers
02:45 We made a decision
04:31 Make one room habitable
06:56 MVP - minimum viable product
08:38 Need the galley
10:44 Tour of yard facilities
12:16 We’ve been here for 3 weeks
14:20 Like, Subscribe, Thanks for watching!
14:50 End card
In Every Description:
☝More about us, our adventures, and how we do all this on our website.More about Roam here
⛵️https://sailingroam.com/our-sailboat/
📲 Keep up with us on social
FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/sgsailingroam
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/sailing_roam
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WE'RE GERI AND SHAWN. A couple travelers out chasing the horizon, meeting the people, and capturing it to share with you.
We’ve chosen to Roam the world by boat because, let’s face it, the most interesting path is rarely a straight line.
As we learn to let go of our American drive to finish, and embrace the meandering routes across islands, oceans, continents, and people, we hope to gain a better sense of our world and our place in it.
The path won’t always be comfortable or easy to find but, it will always #roam
#SailboatRefit #LiveaboardLife #BoatRenovation #DIYBoat #SailingLife #CatamaranRefit #BoatProjects #OffGridLiving
Sailing Roam
👋 Hi, we’re Geri 👩🏻⚕️(a retired nurse) and Shawn 🤓 (a not retired technologist). We’ve gone on the greatest adventure of our lives instead of living the comfortable and predictable suburban world we left behind. Living aboard Roam, our cruising catamaran, we explore and immerse ourselves in new cultures, do boat repairs in exotic places, and get up to all kinds of shenanigans. Roam isn’t just the name of our boat, it’s kind of a philosophy. We’re not taking the shortest routes or using a formula to sail around the world. We’re not in a hurry either. We’re meeting the people, seeing the places and getting distracted by things we find interesting along the way. We’re unconventional and we’re living the best life we can imagine! Join us as we turn our 11-year old catamaran into our perfect adventure platform and see what’s over the next horizon. We can’t wait to meet you wherever you are! Clamptite Tools link: https://clamptitetools.com/?sld=syroam 10% discount: gerischaffer10
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