Living on a boat means moisture. Water is above and below. The boat is literally suspended in water and floating on a river. And of course, to be suspended in a river, rain is necessary to keep the river a river. And when it rains there are fittings, screws, bolts, instruments, portlights, windows, hatches, and other hardware protruding through the boat where the water can find its way inside.

Furbabies. Four-legged children. Companions. Fluffies. Jerks. Assholes. We all have special names and terms of endearment for our leggy loved ones. One such term for our pets that fits our lifestyle is Barnacle Baby because they never grow up, they are completely dependent on us, they latch onto us (and we onto them) and never want to let go, and to a certain extent, they are parasites. But we couldn’t be happier to have them onboard our floating home. We love them.

We purchased Yara from the original owner. Being built in 1984 she has encountered many years of differing levels of attention, maintenance, and service across her various systems. This is not to belittle the previous owner. We understand that boat maintenance can be challenging. People have different abilities to fix/replace/service different systems. People have differences in opinions on which system is a priority and where to focus their attention (or not). And certainly, with the over 90,000 sea miles under this boat's keel across to various remote locations, not all supplies were available in all places for proper repair.