By Dave Gibson of Trawler Drift Away
It was April of 2010 when we moved from our small apartment in Stamford, Connecticut to Drift Away, our 46 foot Cheoy Lee Trawler. By we, I mean Pam and I, Charlie the three legged Snowshoe Siamese cat, Smudge the old lady cat, and Ruby the young pit bull mix puppy. Yes, we considered naming our boat “the Ark”.
The critters all seemed to adjust to life on the dock quite nicely. They were fascinated by all the interesting things to see. There were deer and birds on shore, and all kinds of boats and people on the water, plus all kinds of interesting waterfowl. The Nature Channel is on 24/7 for them.
In the fall of 2010 we moved Drift Away from its private dock to its winter home in a marina in Stamford. It was the first time we moved the boat with pets aboard. Smudge, the 20 year old cat, couldn’t care less. She’d seen it all before and is totally unfazed by, well, anything. Ruby and Charlie were worried, though. They’d never been in a house that moved.
By the time we got to Stamford, Charlie was hiding under the steps down in the lower level and Ruby looked very, very worried.
In the fall of 2010 we rescued another pit mix, Chevy. He’s one of the happiest dogs I’ve ever seen. He adapted to the boat from the minute he stepped aboard.
Living in a house with this many pets can be a challenge, but on a boat it goes to a whole new level. Walking from one end of our salon involves stepping over cats, dogs, and scattered toys.
Just as one steps over a dog, it decides to stand up just as the boat decides to rock, making for some interesting balancing spins and gyrations, sort of like a drunk ballerina.
So far, out of the four animals, three have fallen into the drink. The first time was Ruby, and quite honestly, we don’t know how she did it. The second time was Charlie, the three legged cat. He had gotten off the boat, up the dock, and into the woods. When he was called, he came scampering down a hill and plumb forgot about the retaining wall along the river’s edge and in he went. The third time was Chevy. I don’t believe he fell, but rather stepped onto ice not knowing it was very thin.
The fourth was the funniest.
Pam took both dogs off the boat to do their business. Getting back on the boat, I heard Pam laughing hysterically. Finally catching her breath, she told me the story. Coming down the ramp, Chevy high-tailed it to the boat, but Ruby decided it was time to do her “happy dance”. Ruby’s happy dance consists of bouncing up and down, prancing and wagging not only her tail but her whole butt. Well, she started the happy dance, and got happier and happier. She bounced backwards and forwards, backwards and backwards, and forward, and backwards and backwards and backwards until she was out of dock. SPLASH!
So, what is it like living on a boat with pets? Well, like living in a small space with humans, you had darn well better like them. You have to accept fur on everything because you can’t vacuum often enough. Having a good sense of humor helps. So does having patience, especially during the 6 AM dog walks, when it’s snowing and blowing and low tide and the dock and ramp is all ice. In addition, having the balance of a ballerina is definitely an asset.
About Dave Gibson
Dave Gibson and his fiancée, Pam, blog about their experiences living aboard their trawler Drift Away, in Stamford, Connecticut. Originally from upstate New York, Dave and Pam moved to Connecticut in 2008. The high cost of housing here induced them to buy a trawler to live aboard, with the idea of soon leaving to travel the ICW and possibly the Great Loop, eventually ending up someplace warm. Join them as they experience living aboard in Connecticut with their two dogs and one and three quarter cats and as they tackle many, many projects on aboard Drift Away.
Find more postings from trawler Drift Away or visit the Drift Away Blog.
Comments are closed.