What it looks like inside my sailboat

Living on a cruising yacht is truly living tiny, especially when the boat is just 41 feet. I think it’s beautiful inside, with its bright teak, comfortable settees and cute little kitchen. I especially love laying in the main stateroom with the hatch open, the breeze wafting in over my face. Living on a sailboat makes me feel so connected to nature. The pitter-patter of rain on the roof. The soft orange of the sunset on the horizon. The rise and fall of the boat with swell. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

When we first started out, we cooked on a Jetboil camp stove where I’d balance a pan. Now, there’s a beautiful Force 10 stove, a small sink and a little itty bitty square of counter space. It’s enough, for now, and I think our cruising yacht is beautiful.

Across from our galley, which I love cooking at because its so near the breezes of the companionway, is a table and a couple of bench seats.

Below that is our tiny living room on the cruising yacht or two settees across from each other. When we were first on the boat, Tom and I would each curl up on a separate settee and read.

Then, there’s our bathroom, now with a beautiful toilet. It took months for our toilet to get installed with the myriad of other projects Tom worked on, and I’m very thankful for it now. Sometimes, it’s the smallest things in life that make the biggest difference. I never thought I’d appreciate a toilet so much!

I also love our main stateroom on the CT41 cruising yacht. The bed is small but stretches out a bit to accommodate two people. Across from the bed is a little furnace that runs on kerosene. I love being anchored out in winter, heating up the boat with the flickering light of the stove. It’s like a tiny cabin moving gently in the wakes of passing cargo ships.

Related stories:

• 13 things I can’t live without on the sailboat 
• How to ditch your 9-5 and make money while sailing the world
• Sailing couple goes on 11 years cruising full-time with kids
• The pink and blue jobs of sailboat life 

Forward of the stateroom is a small v-berth with the anchor locker, a bench, and a huge hatch. Someday, I’d love to sit up there, shut myself in, and write.

Overall, living on a sailboat is a very pleasant adventure, and there are many reasons I love it, which you can read about here. 

And to be honest, there are also some difficulties, which you can read in my post: The Top 5 Worst Things about Living on a Boat.

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Kristin Hanes

Kristin Hanes is a journalist who founded The Wayward Home as a place to learn about alternative living. She currently lives on a sailboat and in a Chevy Astro van, and has written articles about alternative living published in Good Housekeeping, Business Insider, Marie Claire and SF Gate. Read more about Kristin here.