"So, Who The Hell Is Pedro?
& Why Is A Hamster On A Boat, Anyway?"
"Esmeralda … oh, she of limpid lips, crusty eyeballs and ropey reasoning … of insane tendency, tremors agog and gin-sodden grins ... pouts explanation which could be true but isn’t. Her unconvincing diatribe goes like this ..."
According to Esmeralda (whose relationship with causality has always been strained), every "proper" vessel must carry a small creature of limited competence to absorb bad luck, questionable decisions and the consequences of optimism. Historically this role was filled by a ship’s cat, a parrot, or a sailor known only by nickname and regret. In our case, budgetary, ethical and possibly legal constraints, instead, produced a Hamster.
Pedro did not ask to go to sea. He was not consulted. He was simply present when the idea formed, and thus became involved — which, it must be said, is how most maritime projects begin.
In practical terms, Pedro is my granddaughter’s pet. He has no navigational training, no interest in diesel engines, and a firm belief that lettuce appears by magic. Nevertheless, he has become the unofficial mascot of a venture that is only slightly more rational than his presence aboard it.
That venture — this venture — is the conversion of a 48-foot steel trawler, built for work, weather and low expectations, into a 60-foot liveaboard cruiser intended for comfort, endurance and a degree of personal pride that will almost certainly prove misplaced.
There will be steelwork. There will be systems installed twice. There will be confident plans quietly abandoned at 2am. There will be moments when progress is measured not in metres or months, but in whether anything caught fire.
"Along the way, I’ll also be talking to people who actually know what they’re doing ..."
Pedro will not assist with any of this. His contribution is moral support, accidental perspective, and the occasional reminder that if a hamster can remain calm in a rolling anchorage, then so probably should I.
Along the way, I’ll be talking to people who actually know what they’re doing — builders, designers, engineers and others who’ve already made their mistakes at scale and survived. Their insights will appear here as they happen, folded into the project rather than set apart from it because, as "Tug" Wilson continually told us:
"Good advice only matters when you’re about to need it!"
So, if you’re here for polished expertise, you may wish to keep your expectations modest. If you’re here to see how a serious boat slowly becomes a habitable one — with a hamster looking on — then you’re in the right place.
The sensible starting point is the boat as she was when I first saw her, and why I thought this was a good idea at the time.
That mad, bad story of a bum, a rusty boat, a hamster, three psychotic chicks and a ghosty geezer begins right here →
What To Do Next?
- Discover what we did - Go Directly to HamstersAHOY! Project Journal →
- View some transformations - Go Directly to Our Insights Section →
- Peruse our picture gallery - Go Directly to Our Photography Section →
- Learn the lessons we learned - Go Directly to Our Reference Log Section →
- Want to be a part of it? Fancy a chat? - Come Aboard & Meet The Crew →
Discover The Realities of Life On The Water
Want to know what life aboard is really like?
- life under sail
- life at sea
- life on the canals and rivers of the UK
Dive head first into our Knowledge Base here and learn everything you could dream of knowing.
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