The Basics of Living on a Boat

• Orientation
• New Boat Checklist
• Getting Help In An Emergency
• Anchoring & Mooring Balls
• Stopping Water Coming Into The Boat
• Using a Propane Stove
• The Daily Checklist
• Sleeping Well
• Boat Bedding
• Quieting Halyards
• Internet
• Trash and Recycling
• Getting Mail and Packages
• Office Services
• Cleaning Products on a Boat
• A Bug-Free Boat
• How To Check Into A Marina
• Etiquette Around the Marina Or Anchoring Out
• Dinghy Safety
• Provisioning Without A Car
• In The Laundry Room
• Doing US Taxes
• Living on a Boat and Cruising Over Age 75
• Dog Aboard
• Drones
• What the Cruising Community Is Like
• Socializing With Other Boaters
• Meeting People
• Boat Cards
• Living in Foreign Countries
• Final Thoughts

We don't skirt the trickier questions:

• How do you deal with constantly having to meet new people if you're shy?
• When should you offer a spare part that you thought to bring to a remote anchorage, and someone else didn't?
• What should you do if a boat is dragging anchor and no one is aboard?
• What's the best way to tell someone they've anchored too close to your boat? What should you do if they don't move?
• How do you gain respect in the cruising community?
• Should you take someone's clothes out of the washer in the laundry room?
• What if you don't drink alcohol? Have food allergies or other dietary restrictions?
• How do you socialize if you're on a really tight budget?

Private Facebook Group

You'll also get access to a private Facebook group where you can ask questions of Carolyn and other course participants, and where you can share your successes.

You'll also get a subscription to The Boat Galley Newsletter, a weekly email filled with tips and tricks to make living on a boat and cruising both easier and more enjoyable. Don't like it? You can unsubscribe at any time.

And no, we aren’t going to sell your email address or send you spam, because that’s not who we are.

You'll get login details onscreen immediately after purchase as well as by email a few minutes later.

Take this course whenever you want, as fast or slow as you want, in whatever order you want, and refer back to materials as often as you want. You'll have lifetime access to all, including all updates.

Everything is online; there is no shipping.

Carolyn Shearlock is the founder of The Boat Galley and an instructor at Cruisers University at the Annapolis Boat Shows. In addition to her articles and podcasts for The Boat Galley, she frequently writes for various boating and cruising magazines. 

Carolyn and her husband Dave have lived aboard two different boats for a total of 15 years. They've cruised over 14,000 miles in the Sea of Cortez, Pacific Mexico and Central America, and more recently Florida and the Bahamas.