For the uninitiated, boat bites are those injuries that result from living aboard a constantly moving domicile. Even at anchor, the boat moves and undesired contact lurks at every protrusion. I’d like to say that all boat bites are attributable to that movement but let it suffice to say that it is certainly a contributing factor.
Shackles on the deck are notorious toe biters. The steps from the cockpit to the cabin a prime consumer of shins. Bilges and dry lockers are munchers of fingers and forearms.
Last night I got the mother of all boat bites. As I was closing the lid to the freezer, it slipped and I was not quick enough to remove all my digits from the jaws of the beast. The result was a subcutaneous blood blister at the base of my thumbnail in a beautiful obergine hue and a corresponding bruising on the pad of my thumb that no amount of icing hand over heart would quell.