Don’t you need your own space?

We frequently are asked ‘how can the two of you live in such a small space?’ This question is usually followed by ‘We would probably kill each other if we lived there.’

So how do we manage? Are we just more compatible than other couples? Maybe.

Asunto feels huge. We don’t even think we are living in a small space. Trickster was small – only 37′ long and 9′ wide. She also only had one place to sit-the settee. So on Trickster we were always occupying the same space. The most space we could have is when one of use went into the V-berth… but that didn’t have a door. So living on Trickster was cozy and we were on her for 3 years. We also brought two cats aboard and then a puppy.

So two people, neither of whom are short (Kristine is 5’8″ and Kolby is on 6’6″), 2 cats and 1 puppy that grew into a 60 pound dog, all on one little boat.

Our friends and family referred to Trickster as ‘the zoo’.

The hardest part of living on Trickster was the aisle, it was only wide enough for one person at a time. So Kyber had to stay under the table or on the quarterberth and Kolby and I had to coordinate moving around. There were alot of excuse me’s and squeezing past each other. But that was okay because it resulted in alot of random hugs.

The pets also found it tricky to be so squishy. Tink would hiss at Kyber whenever he walked past her. There just  wasn’t enough space for the two of them; it was clear that Tink felt threatened by Kyber and was trying to defend her space. Kyber was just terrified of Tink. This continued onto Georgia Dawn, which was equally small.

The benefit of Georgia Dawn was an improved layout; she had a settee with a lounge across and a galley in the aft. We found her easier to live on – Kolby spent most of his time on the lounge ‘out of the way’ when we were home together in the evenings.

This lounge was was most comfortable place to site and therefore prime real state.

Kolby always had priority though, because he didn’t fit in the settee. Kristine is the cook and would be in the galley cooking or washing dishes. Kyber spent most of his time on the lounge with Kolby. However there is still no separate rooms and no doors (except to the head).

Living on small boats in the summer was just fine – the top deck and cockpit nearly doubled the usable space of the boat. Plus the light coming through the window made the space feel larger. Living on small boats in the winter is harder. First they are dark – Georgia Dawn was especially dark.  Although some may think this is cozy; humans need light.  We spent most of our weekends on the ski hill.  Except when we went sailing or when we were working on the boats, we didn’t spend a lot of days on the boat. Or we might have killed each other…

Asunto is not a small space. She is quite similar to an (oddly shaped) apartment. With the second stateroom, we have had friends and family stay with us, for weeks at a time.  That said, both Kolby and I grew up in the suburbs, were everyone had a 3-4 bedroom, two story home with a back and front yard. So compared to that, Asunto is a small space. However, not everyone lives in the suburbs and plenty of families live in apartments.

In the end it is all what you are used to. People have lived in small spaces for centuries. It’s not that hard.