Living aboard a small boat is much like it must be living in a tiny house, maybe 150 square feet of living space. Watching the tiny house programs on TV showed how one could squeeze so much into a very small living area by using very creative furnishing and storage concepts. A boat embodies those elements plus some -- like being able to get underway and banter aimlessly about the oceans of world. I am exaggerating a little. As I learned again today a boat also embodies the challenging elements of a tiny house.

Today's task was to check a gas line that runs from the galley stove to the stern locker, passing through the dish locker, a storage locker in the pilothouse, a cockpit locker and then finally into the stern locker. As with a tiny house to access each of those lockers required removing all the contents -- every thing! Trying to get away with only taking a few items out of the locker was totally futile -- a 2-minute job turns into a 2-hour job. The five action items I planned to complete today dropped to two and then I found another -- netting me only one action item to cross off my do-list! Only 56 items to go. The November 19 departure is fast approaching!

LP Gas line checked out OK. The new LPG pressure regulator is installed. Everything appears to be in working order. I will try to cook pizza again tonight to see if the low temperature oven problem was due to our old LPG pressure regulator. Fingers crossed!

Monday, tomorrow, I will motor over to the marina boatyard to haul North Star out of the water, clean the hull, and let loose a marine surveyor to inspect and to evaluate North Star. The survey is needed to verify for the insurance company that North Star is a good insurance investment, meaning that she won't sink on leaving the confines of the yacht basin. I don't know if the insurance company realizes that being aboard a boat for the five months preceding, I would know if there was anything wrong and I am not about to let anything slip by that could later pose a survival issue for North Star and her crew. Underwriters are a pedantic lot and I will comply with their "guidelines" with the oft chance that something will be found! Oh, Gosh! I never asked the boatyard if the surveyor speaks English.

I am off down the pontoon to find some tonic for a G&T. Hopefully the quickie mart will be open and save me from a sad fate.