Have there been problems? You bet!

Mike and his first mate.

First, about the dogs!  Marley is a true salty dog.  She's loving the boat and everything boat related.  We tried out our new dinghy the other day and she launched herself into it then proceeded to roam all over its tiny 9 foot expanse in order to make it her own.  There won't be any problem with her and the dinghy!  Senna is a different dog too.  Although far from being termed salty, she has turned a corner and is her old self again...sigh of relief!   Mike and I were truly worried that her time had come and we weren't ready to say goodbye.  Life is pretty sweet when both dogs are happy!

And problems...we've had a few!

The poop tank...let's just say it was getting full way too fast.  We were hardly using the heads, preferring to go up to land to use the very nice facilities at the marina, yet the tank was showing 3/4 then full after just a couple days of midnight use.  Unfortunately, we had a tank sensor malfunction that needed to be fixed.  This fix involves opening the tank...imagine that!  I'm glad I was at work when that problem was tackled!  But fixed it is, and we continue to use it only at night without it filling too quickly.  

and the heads...the forward head needed to be rebuilt.  Not a fun job, but way better than fixing the sensor rods on the poop tank!  Mike made short work out of that and we now have a fully functioning forward head.  Stateroom head - leaking water!  This one was fixed by adjusting/tightening some hoses and is now dry, except the damage was done to the linoleum flooring.  No worries though, we wanted to replace that flooring, in fact all the flooring in the boat, so the stateroom head will just come first!  

But let's talk about the good things!

Waking up just as the sun rises and having coffee in the helm, which is just like an atrium.  I start my day with caffeine and sunshine all around and couldn't think of a better way to wake up!  

The sea life is amazing.  I'm enjoying watching seals, herons, gulls, tiny fish and all manner of dock-hanger-ons that live by gluing themselves to our walkways.  

Falling asleep to the creaking and rocking of this old boat, indescribable!  After a long hard day, I can't think of a better resting place.

And finally, figuring stuff out.  This one's harder to categorize...it's more like a feel that the learning curve is getting less steep!  Nice!  

Pros and Cons of the first week

What have I found I like and don't like in this first week?
CONS
1.  Bilge rats...Just joking!
2.  The poop tank gets filled really fast!  We have it pumped out 1x/week and it's not enough.  I really think there's something wrong with it because we hardly ever use it.  We find we go on land to use the marina facilities...gotta check that out!
3.  Someone dumped their poop tank in the shower!  Can you believe it?  The security/maintenance guy said it must have been someone with a sailboat because they're removable.  What a terrible person to leave such a huge mess!
4.  We have a very modest boat, but we're surrounded by mega (dollar) yachts.  There's a culture here at the marina that subscribes to the "hire someone to do all the work and I'll be there when it's ready" frame of mind.  In a way this is good because it supports an industry, but Mikey does it all (and enjoys it) and it just seems strange to have someone roam all over your boat for two days to get it "ready" for you...but I suppose if you have the money...I don't!!  :-)
5.  The marina security lights are really bright at night.  We'll have to fix that with some better blinds - add that to the ever growing list.
PROS
1.  The dogs are finally settled.  Sen has decided that it's better to just get onto the boat instead of fuss and life is so much sweeter when she's ok with the boat.  Marley totally digs it!  She's a real Salty Dog.
2.  The sounds.  Can't even describe the unique sounds that have entered my life since we moved aboard.  Everything from the hum of equipment (because there's always someone working on their boat) to the creak of the lines and the cry of the seagulls.  I love all the new noises.  The other night I heard something scary.  Can't describe it, but it sounded like an animal being molested.  Kinda gave me a shiver.  There's a huge old blood (?) spot on the finger pier next to us and I'm wondering if the molester has anything to do with that carnage?
3.  My husband is (and will be even more so when we're done with all the fooling around of moving) so happy...enough said!
4.  The animals (except for the one mentioned in #2).  This morning I was up very early and saw an otter swimming around "A" dock.  He was just cruising and at one point found something of interest so he pulled a third of his body out of the water to take a better look - just so cool!  I feel like I need to carry the camera always.  There's also a fresh batch of baby fish hanging around every slip.  They make little ripples on the water and I can't help but stop and watch them - so cute.
5.  NO TV!!  Wow!  This has been a life changer!  I've wanted it for so long and it's better than I thought it would be.  We've been watching Netflix and have seen some things we normally wouldn't be interested in.  We've really gotten into a Netflix series with Kevin Spacey called House of Cards.  Really good series about Washington (the other Washington) politics.  Robin Wright is in it too and I just love her.