Boatkeeping duties diminish

Sigh!  Our 47-foot fiberglass houseboat "Tybee Island" will be leaving our dock for the last time in a couple of weeks. She is going on to a better use as a working vessel for the Savannah Riverkeeper organization.

We had the boat surveyed earlier this month and the inspector scored it in excellent condition. It looks and runs like new. We will miss it.

But a part we won't miss is the continual upkeep required to maintain a vessel in top condition. There was a time when repairs, cleaning and improvements were mostly fun and satisfying activities. But in the last few years, all that became just plain work. Our interests turned away from luxury camping on the water.  We were using the boat very little.

For a 25-year-old boat, it is but a short step from disuse to decay.



I expect to be involved for a time in helping the new owners understand the boat's various systems, mechanical needs and maintenance routines. I have also volunteered to teach the Riverkeeper's boatkeeping crew how to safely operate the big boat in the somewhat restricted waters of the Upper Savannah River.


 We feel pretty good about finding an excellent new mission for the Tybee Island. But, it's still kind of sad to see her go.