Boterhoming

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the needed electric adapters to power supply. Marine electric 20 Amp connections are circular with the three prongs of different sizes and a configuration so it will only go in one way. The marine extension cord is heavy - heavy, so mine stays home. I use a 16 gauge x 50 foot extension cord, which may be too light if you run an air conditioner. In marinas you will need both male and female adapters to go from the 20 amp outlet to the 12/15 amp extension cord. You need those in marinas. In RV parks you need a different set of adapters which are triangle in shape, but larger than normal household fittings. Of course, you can't get both marine and RV adapters/ fittings in one store.

Chuck
 
Chuck
Our experience is that 20 amp marine round 3 spade connectors are very rare--We found a couple in Canada. Much more corrom are the 30 amp Round, 3 spade. We do carry a 20 to 12 amp connector, but mostly use a 15 amp (two spades and a round pin--standard household) to 30 amp marine connector. Also rarely we need a 30 Amp RV to 15 amps , or conversely--these are available at WalMart for very little green...

The 16 gauge and 50 feet long, has a large voltage drop--and I would strongly suggest 12 gauge x 25 feet, or if you need 50 feet, then go with 10 gauge wire. There are plenty of contractor cords which are 10 gauge and 50 feet. at hardware store. On the current boat we never use more than 15 amps, so have a 15 amp recessed male plug under the gunnel for our 110 v circuit.

Most of the C Dory with factory wiring use the standard 3 spade marine twist lock. When we had those boats we made up a 10 gauge cord with the 15 amp plunge on one end and the 30 amp marine female plug on the other end This cord was just long enough to reach from the EU 2000 generator to to the marine plug on the side of the boat. If we needed a longer cord, we plugged an extension core into that. For the marinas, we used the standard 30 amp cord.
 
You guys have made my point. There are a lot of electrical connections out there, and this summer I found a bunch of them. One RV place had outlet boxes with the old screw in fuzes, which I haven't seen in a home in since the 1960s. In any case, you will need both male and female adapters of different kinds if you have the common household extension cord as your reach out cord.

I get by with the light cord by just running the trickle charger & once in a while chargers for the phone, cameras, & other misc 12 volt stuff.

If you run air conditioning & other "stuff" you enter a new league.

Chuck
 
We have spent a lot of time in Walmart lots with and with out the boat. We never ask if it is OK. If other rigs are there we assume it is OK. If you stay away from the entrance roads the noise is not usually a problem. Lot sweepers are always good for a wake up, I think they do sweep more times than nessary near motor homes.

We have used Cracker Barrel Restaurants several times. They have parking for bus and RVs. They close by 11 PM or so, noise has not been a problem. Their breakfast is good too.

I agree that highway rest areas are not too safe and the trucks go and come at all hours. We did stay at the first rest area in Florida on IS 95 one night. We were awakend at 6 AM
by someone that wanted to know all about the boat.

Our cat Mr. Grey(now in kitty heaven) loved Walmarts he loved to watch the cars come and go all night long.
 
"HI, My name is Harvey, and I have slept in a WalMart parking lot more than 10 times. I have also slept in Safeway and have used real RV parks at times too."

I have spent many years on the road, and have several favorite places. You don't have to raise your hand, but how many have pulled into and stayed in a hospital parking lot? Or a church parking lot? (I learned that one form a hitchhiker when I was in college, working as a Security Officer.) I have been in a hospital parking lot in an RV, a van, my car, and one night in the boat. No hassles. Check with security if available, if not, just be out of the way. (By the way, hospitals have nice clean restrooms.)

As to Hiway rest stops, I have been there too. Maybe they are different when it is -10 and blowing 20 - 30 and the snow is going sideways. I got woke up once because some truck driver was concerned because I had a candle furnace burning in my car and he thought I was going to either blow myself up or die of CO intoxication.

Back to the rest stops -- don't usually go there to sleep. Safest place on the freeway is to take an off ramp, go to the top and cross the road and start down the entrance ramp. STOP there, just below the top. Invisible to traffic coming in the same direction as you from before they get to the exit, and safe from getting rear ended from someone half asleep and just looking to follow tail lights. Not likely to even draw LE attention at this spot. I have spent many sleep periods there.

Good night :thup :moon

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

Friends_Cal_09_10_Oct.thumb.jpg
 
Harvey,

Ok, I'll bite ... what is a "candle furnace?" I've used a candle on various occasions to take a bit of the chill-off, but they seem to be pretty marginal as a heat source. At the same time I've thought about putting a candle in a small terra cotta pot to help capture (and reradiate) the heat, but don't know if it would provide any additional benefit. So, again, what's a "candle furnace?"

Second question: As a "Polysomnographic Technologist," what are your suggestions for getting a good night's sleep while afloat? I can sleep pretty-much Anywhere (sometimes better, sometimes worse...), but Mary is constantly challenged to get a good night's sleep. Her hearing is so acute she can hear things going-on in the next county, so distractions are a constant nuisance. She's tried various types of earplugs, but often with little or no help. Any suggestions (custom ear plugs, white noise generators)?

Best,
Casey&Mary
 
Good morning, Casey. As one who used to live in the frozen northland, we carried a winter survival kit in our vehicles... included in that kit was a coffee can and a good size candle. If necessary, the can would radiate enough heat to keep you from freezing to death... or, at least, provide a little ambiance on your way out. :roll:

Warm wishes,
Jim
 
And for Harvey: we used to do some "stealth camping" long before I had ever seen a Wal-Mart. I built a van interior back in the day (in the 70s) that gave us a bed, storage, and a 5 gallon water system. It was quite a step up from the motorcycle camping or tent camping we had been doing. The first time we stayed in a commercial campground with that set-up, I overheard the couple next to us in a travel trailer say, "Did you see those kids next door? They're staying in that van!" We laughed - we were living large! I had run an extension cord in to the van... Joan could run a hair dryer and I had a radio with a TV band so we could listen to TV shows. We could (and did) stay anywhere in that.

I don't consider those days as "RVing" any more than making a raft and floating on the river was "boating." The concern I have with Wal-Mart camping is the fact that many people think it is "their right" to stay in the lot. They "set up camp"... get out the grill, put out the awning, and to the non-RVing public, look like "squatters." Not good for Wal-Mart, not good for any local campgrounds, and puts RVers in a bad light. Get a few people complaining (especially if any liquid goes on the ground - many people immediately think: "SEWER!!"), and there will be a city ordinance prohibiting that. We saw exactly that in Rapid City and Spearfish, South Dakota, because some people abused the convenience that Wal-Mart provided.

It got stupid at one point, with city hearings about camping at Wal-Mart. Citizens testified that it was an eye-sore, and they concerned about "the unsavory people" this attracted. Accusations of sewage being dumped in the parking lot (no facts supporting that, but all some people need is to hear that). RV associations encouraged RVers to boycott Rapid City (the main population base in the Black Hills), and the City Council refused to give Wal-Mart the building permits necessary to build a new, larger store until they agreed to NOT allow RV parking.

It was about that time that Good Sam, Family Motorcoach Association, and other RV groups got together to form a "Code of Conduct" for staying at Wal-Mart and other non-paid parking areas. Here's one of the many links about this...

http://rvbasics.com/techtips/overnighti ... -mart.html

It would be a shame for overnighting in Wal-Mart or other areas to completely go away (ever notice the "height bar" at some lots to prevent oversize vehicles from coming in at any entrance other than the direct path to the loading docks?) because some people treated it as their right to stay.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
After all the posts about WalMart and other boaterhome 'camp' sites, we just want to reiterate our favorite spots to boaterhome over our many years of liveaboard experience -- STATE PARKS. Usually beautiful natural sites (unlike a parking lot in a store), often with great boating accessible from the park (with good boat ramps), clean restrooms, and nice neighbors.

Design your route between cruising sites with a nice stay at a state park in your boaterhome -- usually easy to do and makes the land travel between long-distance cruising trips a delight!
 
Jim,

Yea, I kept similar winter supplies in the car when I lived in King Salmon (AK) year's ago. There was only thirteen miles of road, but the prospect of sliding off the road in mid-winter was attention getting. Nice to have a few items handy....

I "googled" candle heater and a few variations. Here's one that looked interesting:

http://www.heatstick.com/_KanHeet01.htm

Capturing or redirecting the minimal heat from a single candle wouldn't do much if it's really cold, but it's still an interesting idea, and might have some application on a small boat in chilly weather.

Best,
Casey&Mary
 
I'm not a sleep professional, but I can totally relate to Mary's situation. I'm a light sleeper at the best of times, and I swear that something just getting ready to maybe make a noise wakes me up, or prevents me from falling asleep :cry And I, too, find the inconsistent noises to be the worst. I can't sleep with earplugs in just because of the feeling of something in my ears, especially when I'm on my side (I do wear them sometimes underway or when using power tools, but after about an hour I have to get them OUT). Maybe that could be alleviated with custom-molded plus though (?).

At home I have used a white-noise machine to great effect, starting in college when I had an apartment wherein the fourth wall of a maniacally barking dog's pen was my apartment/bedroom wall :shock:. Mine didn't make "surf" or "rain," or anything specific, but just simply white noise, which could be adjusted for noise or timbre*. It blocked sounds wonderfully without being a "thing" to listen to in and of itself. Really helpful.

That said, I don't use it when I'm traveling/boating, because I usually feel that I should hear outside noises, in case they are something I need to respond to (weather, anchor rode, "visitors," etc.). Although I'm grateful for good hearing, I can sure see where your ability to "tune it all out" could come in handy. Even truck stops would be like cotton cradles.

Sunbeam :hot

* Holy smokes, I just looked and that specific sleep machine can still be purchased (from the same catalog no less!). There really wasn't even an Internet when I bought mine - it was just one of those "unique" catalogs that used to show up in the mailbox. I guess now that's relegated to Sky Mall :wink It's here:

http://www.hammacher.com/product/60586
 
Casey":2129whvs said:
Harvey,

Ok, I'll bite ... what is a "candle furnace?" I've used a candle on various occasions to take a bit of the chill-off, but they seem to be pretty marginal as a heat source. At the same time I've thought about putting a candle in a small terra cotta pot to help capture (and reradiate) the heat, but don't know if it would provide any additional benefit. So, again, what's a "candle furnace?"

Second question: As a "Polysomnographic Technologist," what are your suggestions for getting a good night's sleep while afloat? I can sleep pretty-much Anywhere (sometimes better, sometimes worse...), but Mary is constantly challenged to get a good night's sleep. Her hearing is so acute she can hear things going-on in the next county, so distractions are a constant nuisance. She's tried various types of earplugs, but often with little or no help. Any suggestions (custom ear plugs, white noise generators)?

Best,
Casey&Mary
Click to expand...

Casey,

The candle lantern was similar to the one on the following post but made out of a series of tin cans, that were sized to fit into each other, with holes punched to allow air flow for the flame and yet capture and radiate the heat. Made an amazing amount of heat for a single candle.

Mary,

This sounds like a version of a sleep disorder that in not uncommon, mostly to women, but occasionally found in men. It is most common in young women with a new baby. In some it fades after a while. In others, not so much. In some it has nothing to do with having a young one to attend to. It is called hyper vigilance syndrome. There are several ways to treat it, (but primarily there is a need to discover why the awakenings), ranging from behavioral conditioning, (environmental awareness training), to sound generators (white noise). These can be as easy as a fan on up to any of a range of expensive white noise generators with many sound varieties, (beach, wind, crickets, running creeks etc.) Some folks might use prescription pharmacological therapy but that is generally only considered for short term use.

In a personal case, I have seen where the treatment was to acquire a small dog, and turn the night watch duties over to the dog, allowing the person to relax and get restful sleep needed.

As for me, I sleep better on the boat than anywhere. Even better since I learned to turn the Automatic bilge switch to on before turning in :wink: :lol:

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
Jim,

I agree that WalMart is not usually the ideal place to overnight, but for some and at some times, it may be the best option of a list of less than perfect places. I guess my thoughts are on safety first and that is why if I'm pushed, I find a hospital parking lot first.

For short naps to several hours the freeway on-ramp is my choice over a rest stop.

Those are choices for short stops to get from A to X in ASAP mode.

For taking a few days off the road, resting and relaxing, my choices would be National Forest camps or State Parks. Commercial RV sites are next on the list.

Happy trails, Merry Christmas and by all means Safe camping over teh New Year.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
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