Thoughts and reflections form the past week or so from my own financial independence campaign.

Progress on my goals

Boat Plan

Stanchion post change

The stanchion posts (things that keep the safety rail wire around the outside of the boat in place) were letting water into the boat, so we spent last Sunday taking the post holders out and rebedding them into the deck with butyl tape.

They bolt through the deck of your boat and the nut on the inside is in the living area, so we basically have leaky ceilings.

Turns out that the sealant hasn’t been replaced for, I dunno, maybe twenty years. When I removed the post holders there was only a layer of dust.

Anyway, they all got put back in place on the starboard side. Took a couple of days for the sealant to set, but now we know it works I’ll do the port side.

Fighting the hatches

We have leaky hatches and the bow end (the front bit) hatch clearly hasn’t been bedded in right, so we decided to try and remove that one.

It’s above the cabin that we want as our main bedroom, so there’s a vested interest there!

After six hours of fighting yesterday, I’ve managed to prize one edge off the deck. That’s it. Mallets, wedges and screwdrivers only got so far.

Today I’m going to attack it with an oscillating multi-tool that set me back around £150 including blades. I was hoping not to need to spend money on tools, but alas.

So it’s a bit of a setback, but I have faith that I’ll get it done over the next couple of weekends. I reckon I’ll have to do some fibreglass repairs before I bed in the replacement hatch, so we’ll see how that all goes.

Distractions and detours

Changed spark plugs

Our car – the first in three years – is an Old Ford Focus Mk2 that we intend to drag along until it finally dies.

We barely use it and it’s old. Poor girl.

Anyway, I got to feel like Macho Man when I ordered replacement spark plugs and an air filter and changed them in the car park.

She (at least temporarily) runs like a dream!

Macho Man!

Writing class

I started a 6-week (well, 8 including two break weeks) fiction writing course that someone is running through my local library.

Why not?

I thought it might improve my skills! I haven’t written any fiction seriously since that shameless and sinful side hustle a few years ago…

Fallout series on Prime

My general rule is that I only pay for one streaming service at a time, plus Spotify (because it seems music isn’t a thing you can just buy forever, but music is important to me).

This week however we managed to get a free 30-day trial of Prime Video (again), so we’re now binge watching Fallout until the end of the trial.

It’s a scarily good adaptation of the games. Fans of Fallout 4 and its far superior predecessor Fallout: New Vegas will be pleased, and the acting by and large stands up on its own.

Not exactly a serious series, but it’s a fun adventure in a unique approach on post-apocalyptic recovery.

I have an affiliate link here that should currently offer you 30 days free on Prime Video if you’re not already paying for it. I get paid if you do this, but it doesn’t affect my earnings if you go big on Fallout and then cancel before the end of the trial.

Just saying…

Booked in for a tattoo…

I’m not inked at all. It’s something I’ve been curious about for years, I’ve just never done it.

When I was still a military officer, tattoos were something you had to declare. I suspect that they were generally frowned upon – we had lots of daft lifestyle rules like how to dress, what to do at social events etc. so that’s not particularly unusual. Anyway, the point is that I never explored it.

Then I career changed to law, and during the training contract I couldn’t guarantee getting an appointment in. More importantly, I didn’t have much time to think about what I’d get or maintain it, what with my side hustles at the time and my 3hrs of daily commute.

Well, now that I’m on a boat, I’m feeling pretty secure. My financial independence campaign is nowhere near done, but if I was to be sacked today I’m not going to be homeless and I can probably squeeze 4-5 years of living out of the resources I have accumulated already, assuming I can’t even get a service job in an island with a worker shortage.

So I’ve booked myself in for my first ever tattoo. It’s going to be on my leg, so that if I don’t think it’s for me it’s not generally visible and it can be a stand-alone piece of artwork.

The pain is less scary than the thought of permanent commitment to something on my skin, but I hear it’s pretty painful. Assuming I don’t bottle it: I’m in the chair in July.

Non-FIRE goals

My guitar rock god quest (AKA learning to play)

We’re doing Can I play with madness? over the next few weeks. What a song!

I’m not an amazing guitarist by any means but playing Iron Maiden is seriously cool.

Fitness

Got a few cycles to work in, but no real upper body workouts, just boat work.

Can’t complain but I am starting to look a little scrawny and might have to put more effort into upper body stuff.

Final thoughts

Lots of distractions and DIY this week.

There’s a bit going on behind the scenes with job interviews and having looked at my self-employment/remote work options, but that’s a bit of a jumble and I didn’t think it would make any sense to put those thoughts down in words. Maybe something will happen, maybe it won’t.

With the dog aboard now and living on the boat full-time I’m genuinely happy. Obviously happiness isn’t a permanent state and we’re always trying to move to new things, but my mind is so much more at ease with how I’m living.

You can probably tell from the amount of distractions and detours this week!

Anyway, I’m happy to be enjoying the ride, and the nice weather means that writing this on the deck has been a joyful experience. Highly recommended!

My financial independence campaign continues!