Floating Field Offi ce

Floating Field Office

Working remotely is easier and more acceptable than ever, so now’s the chance to commute to your boat. by chuck warren

If there is one positive thing to come from COVID-19, it’s the sudden rise in the acceptance and popularity of working from anyplace other than a cramped, stuffy office.

Many businesses once believed the only way we could be productive is by showing up to the same building every morning, sitting at the same desk, and going through the same motions day in and day out.

However, many tech companies recognized years ago the benefits that came with letting its employees work from home, or while they traveled, or wherever they could find an internet connection.

For one thing, the employees were happier. And, surprisingly, most people were also more productive.

A moveable office

As someone who has spent a great deal of time working from the road, I already know what it’s like to work not from a dedicated office space.

For the longest time, my office time was split three ways: Spent in my client’s offices, from the front seat of my car, or from a small office space in my home.

When some personal changes left me looking for a new place to rent, I decided it was time to try one of my life-long dreams and move onto my boat instead. But, I had to be able to work from there too or it wouldn’t suffice.

A floating home

Docked in Holland, Michigan, my 1986 40-foot Sea Ray Sedan Bridge had a huge salon with plenty of room to spread out. It also had a full-sized berth and a separate shower instead of a wet head.

It was the perfect live-aboard for a single guy and, in April of 2018, I moved onboard full-time.

As a captain, writer and IT professional, my day-to-day responsibilities were varied. But, no matter what I was doing during the day, I still had general office stuff to take care of in the evening.

Some of my days were focused on writing, so I had to create a workspace in the boat with room for a computer.

My first choice was the forward berth. There was counter space on the starboard side with enough real estate for a 24-inch monitor, a wireless keyboard and a mouse connected to my laptop.

I made a great office setup here, but it was a terrible idea. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make that space work. It was too dark and the chair never sat flat enough to be comfortable. However, the biggest problem was the movement of the boat.

The whole boat would rock and roll with the water, but the bow moved quite a bit more, and as it bobbed lazily up and down, it made me sleepy.

I’d sit down to work and wake up when my forehead bounced off the monitor. No amount of caffeine could save the day — that dark, quiet, extra buoyant spot in the boat would knock me right out.

I put the office chair and monitor in my storage unit and moved myself out to the brighter, more stable salon.

However, there was no surface in the bigger, brighter room that would make a good desk. After some trial and error, I discovered that sitting on the couch with an extra pillow behind my back using an adjustable, floor-standing TV tray I found at Walmart as my desk did the trick.

That made all the difference. I was able to work on the computer without

suddenly finding two hours had gone by and all I had to show for it was some drool on my shirt.

Connected life

The other big thing I had to work out was internet access. I couldn’t take the chance on flaky internet when I had deadlines or work orders due. The marina had fairly good Wi-Fi, but enough people had complained about it that I decided to buy a mobile hotspot for backup. That way, if the internet did go down, I would be able to switch over to the hotspot for a day or two. As long as I had some kind of backup for connectivity, I’d be covered. The hotspot added very little to my phone bill and I never ran out of data as long as I wasn’t using it to watch TV.

I was able to tether my phone to my computer and get 15 GB of data, and use the hotspot for another 15 GB. That gave me a total of 30 GB of data per month if I needed it.

I worked without an office for years, but working from the boat taught me to make a lot of difficult choices. Living onboard a boat does the same thing. What you thought you needed at home and what you really need when you don’t have much space can be pretty different.

Big time downsizing

I worked for years with three big 27- inch monitors, two computers and a multifunction printer/scanner/copier on my home office’s desk.

These days, I work from a 15-inch laptop with no external monitor, keyboard or mouse. Every so often I miss having two monitors, but the truth is, I don’t need them. I would rather have the open space in my boat than one more big electronic device onboard.

I also don’t need an extra keyboard or mouse when there is a perfectly good keyboard and touchpad built into the device I already use.

Several companies make compact laser printers which take up very little space and have toner that lasts forever. They are the perfect size for a boat. It turns out, I can scan stuff with my phone and save those documents to a resource like Dropbox. I can even open the scanned document on my phone to sign it with a stylus, then save it back to Dropbox where I can print or email it if necessary; there’s no need for a big multifunction printer now.

I don’t require a lot of file storage space now either. Much of what I use comes in through email and goes out through email, so I don’t need to store 6 TB of music, pictures and other info on some big external drive or spare computer in my office.

With tools like Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive I can leave all of that data in "the Cloud" and access it anytime and from anywhere.

Floating field office

With a good laptop, a strong cell signal and reliable internet, it’s now possible to do almost any job from anywhere. There are a lot less reasons to commute to an office these days.

Besides, who wouldn’t prefer to commute to their boat instead? People can now grab a laptop and go sit on the lawn, or work from a lounge chair next to the pool. Or, in a perfect world, grab whatever papers you need, stock up on snack food (red Jolly Ranchers, if you’re me), and head to the marina where your floating office awaits.

I’ve spent the last two summers living aboard my boat and I love it. Having the ability to work onboard as well makes life even better.

Even if you don’t live on your boat full-time, a couple of simple adjustments is all it takes to turn your boat into your very own floating field office. H