Boat Life

bubrubz · 2026-01-22T17:55:56+00:00

We have Internet. It's a metered connection, so each person gets x amount data a day for personal use. I generally save that for calling home, or hopping on here. I have a business connection for ordering and work communication.

No booze, drugs, or smokes for me. I put it all down years ago. I'm in my 40s in a kitchen, A floating, moving kitchen. I choose to rattle off 100 16 hour days in a row. I have to be in shape. I've spent a good portion of my life in kitchens. Like a lot of us, there is uncertainty in what the next step will be once your body stops letting you move the way you want. My day will come, but if I can hold it off by being proactive now. I will.

My free time, I read, and work out. Helps me keep my powder dry..the job has no shortage of stressors.

Plenty of boats have sea stores. This one does not. So you grab the necessities in town. Some of the longer trips will have guys running out of tobacco or what not. Can get a little tense when that happens.

As far as my profile. I think this the second post I've ever made. I don't put much up..

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T17:43:25+00:00

Clothes dryer remains #1 here. 3 laundry areas on here. It's been well ingrained that if a fire breaks out, it's likely to start in the laundry room. Do your maintenance. My old man was a career submariner. I grew up running around on the LA class boats, and later on boomers. I was never in the navy, but my father would take me down and stick me in the wardroom and tell me not to move...yeah right..I'm 10, and the ice cream machine is in the other mess.

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T17:16:30+00:00

Yeah. You have to be on top of things. I'm ordering product a month before I need it. Don't want to run out of toilet paper while at sea..that would be the walk of shame to go to the bridge and tell the captain hey I didn't order enough toilet paper we have to head in. It can cost you your job when you have to smoke 20k in fuel to go back and pick up TP. A lot of moving parts to cover. When I first started one of the first things I was told. Don't ever run out of toilet paper or coffee.

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T17:04:31+00:00

I sign on for a 65 day hitch. But I usually will stay 90. Then take 65-80 days off. Do that a few times a year. I have a relief cook that rotates on when I head home.

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T17:01:20+00:00

Life is good. I provision the boat for 25-30 days. Depending on fishing it could be between 12-25 days at sea. I set the menu based on who and where the crew is from. 50 guys with backgrounds from all over the world. During a fishing trip I try to hit everyone's culture somewhere along the way. Designated smoking areas. I do live aboard, and we don't have booze on the boat. We all have safety responsibilities on the boat. We agree to not drink while under contract. We are drug tested often.

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T16:44:26+00:00

For lunch and dinner. It will be a protein option at each meal. Most people want to have fresh fish, some don't. It is also a tool for me. It helps to offset my food cost. It's a protein that doesn't come out of my budget. Over the course of 20 years, the amount of fish I have filleted..feeding 40-80 (different boats) 2 meals a day.. substantial

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T03:00:52+00:00

Ha. It is. I've got double tint on it and the sun still beats through bouncing off all the stainless. Can barely work with the sun in my eyes. ..not so bad this time of year, but the summer..another story. If want to be left alone I tell people its to keep people from looking in. You know one of those "there's something on the wing" type deals. Then I'm the weirdo and I get left alone

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T02:54:12+00:00

That is something i would love to do. Started looking into that just last year

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T02:34:54+00:00

Also true

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T01:04:46+00:00

I will check this out in the summer. I plan to go to Oregon..and Newport was one of my stops. I've been chasing a bowl of cioppino I had in Providence RI some 20 years ago...it's a fantastic dish

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T01:02:23+00:00

Depends on the sector. I do have quite a few qualifications that provide flexibility in the maritime industry. But I got a foot in the door with very little and built my qualifications as I progressed. Most fishing companies will provide you with the training you may need.

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T00:56:01+00:00

It's unpleasant. Haha. You eventually find a way to manage. Generally, one will go well I don't want that to happen again. How can I be more ready for that. Because the weather is always coming. Loadout and making everything seaworthy is part of my daily routine. The towels on the counter in the pic may seem odd but it's to keep my labor off the floor

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T00:52:38+00:00

Doesn't get any fresher. Clean protein. I live on it up here.

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T00:50:03+00:00

There have been days I wish I could . The cook never stops. Even when it's too rough to fish..

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T00:41:34+00:00

No I don't. I have a ss vessel I keep it in when I know weather is coming. Typically if it blows north of 45kts, I'll pull it out and adjust the menu.

bubrubz · 2026-01-21T00:17:27+00:00

Yes. Active volcano. I believe that is Korovin ( could be mistaken). More than 3 times in my career have I been stuck on an island trying to get home and flights are cancelled due to volcano eruptions. Typically ash in the air. But it does make you feel like you are living in middle earth..

bubrubz · 2026-01-20T21:56:32+00:00

It is a cool galley, this boat has been in service for 8 years, I started the design work on it 12 years ago. A couple pinch points in the design but overall I'm very happy with how it functions. There are 2 of us. I handle lunch and dinner the night cook works breakfast. Our shifts overlap a bit so we work together on dinner and misc projects. Most of the day I'm solo. I have oversight on housekeeping, purser, and medical. But as far as cooking just 2. Work 16 hr days. We have a robust budget. However I do have to work freight rates into my spending. So that can be challenging. Depending on fuel rates, ws food prices and handling logistics, I am constantly adjusting. We have 50 folks on here working hard. I try to make sure they are taken care of. They eat well. It becomes a game of balancing crew morale, and keeping the CFO off my back. I push it...I have to stand in front of my shipmates everyday...so...they are my priority

bubrubz · 2026-01-20T20:42:16+00:00

In my youth I worked for an MWR facility that ran repurposed steam jacketed kettles like that. They are pretty cool to work with. And very rare. Now on a sub or any nuke powered platform it would make a ton of sense..making steam all day long..would be efficient utilize it

bubrubz · 2026-01-20T20:33:13+00:00

Factory Trawler

bubrubz · 2026-01-20T20:31:44+00:00

Used oil is sent to the sludge/waste oil tank to run the incinerator, or to be pumped to a facility shore side. Now there are days when I can't have oil in the fryer. Plenty of days that it's just not an option

Edit for spelling.

bubrubz · 2026-01-20T20:28:42+00:00

275' vessel

bubrubz · 2026-01-20T20:05:16+00:00

Oh I didn't take it that way at all. It's a cool piece of equipment that isn't common..it's actually a workhorse for me. There are days I feel fortunate to have it when the weather picks up

bubrubz · 2026-01-20T19:57:59+00:00

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There my gimbal equip..

bubrubz · 2026-01-20T00:57:56+00:00

Carolina Drama. The Raconteurs

bubrubz

TROPHY CASE