Healthy Living Tips for the Upcoming Season
By John Morris
The boating lifestyle offers a wealth of wholesome ways to keep your family vigorous and well-nourished. Alas, in our exuberance to get the summer underway, some of us may overlook attending to our well-being. The CTL research team has gathered some simple ideas to ensure that you and your family can enjoy a fit and fruitful season.
Eat Healthy Food
When it comes to onboard meals, many boaters are choosing healthy alternatives like the all-granola diet that has become very popular recently. With its balance of natural ingredients and fibre, sticking with granola will ensure the crew is energized and also totally familiar with the workings of the head systems.
Special note: since granola is deliquescent, keeping a large supply onboard can affect the stability of the boat. The rescue team recently salvaging a Jeanneau from the bottom of Lake Erie required the Jaws-of-Life to remove 20 boxes of Harvest Crunch that had absorbed 20 litres per package and swollen to take up the entire V-berth.
Replace 10,000 steps
Obviously getting that level of walking in on a boat isn’t practical so we recommend integrating your pedometer with your fish finder or onboard nav system to count each fish you pass over. The extra benefit is that as you count them, each fish gets a little electronic tickle that they quite enjoy.
Bilge-to-Table
Every TV chef and crank nutritionist recommends growing and preparing what you eat immediately near where it will be consumed. This is easily accomplished by using a resource within your boat that is otherwise essentially useless. Simply fill your boat’s bilge with a 50-50 mix of topsoil and manure to accommodate a small market garden.
Zucchini and tomatoes are a good start and both can flourish in the natural light coming through your main saloon hatch. Leaving that hatch open may initially appear to be a problem in a rainstorm but this is natural watering of the crop, plus your old bilge pump will definitely keep up with drainage, right?
What could be healthier for you and the kids than fresh carrots dug from right under the floorboards?
Plyometric Anchor Lifting
You probably have a perfect tool for weight training right on your bow, and 99% of the time it just sits there taking up space and stubbing toes. Simply construct a platform (two metres height is suitable) over the bow. The exercise consists of an explosive leap off the platform to achieve eccentric contraction followed by a power lift on the anchor for isometric conditioning.
This set of exercises can then continue as you carry the anchor to the bar, maximizing aerobic circuit training. Experts suggest not carrying the anchor back in the same session to prevent accidentally over-imbibing and anchoring yourself in the bay beside the pump out dock.
Skin Tone
We are rarely informed of the ingredients in the high-end face creams that so many of us use to keep our face firm and youthful looking. While these creams can cost upward of $50 for a small tube, researchers at a prominent engine manufacturer recently determined that virtually the same chemical components can be found in prop shaft lubricant and are available at a fraction of the cost. Dip a finger into the stuffing box, then massage in a dime-sized dab after your morning shower to keep you looking radiant all day long.
Not sure about these hot tips? Just do it, and experience unprecedented health and vitality for you and your crew in 2025!
