Page 84 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

Mind you, as it had its own sea toilet and washing facilities in a little bathroom, we could
entertain and enjoy ourselves late into the evening and still allow Helen to sleep
uninterrupted in her little nook right at the stern!
Just beyond the spacious main “saloon” with its two long settee’s, one on each side and
the large central table, there was a further bathroom with hot and cold water to the sink
and another sea toilet.
I mention sea toilet as it used sea water to evacuate its system! It was designed and used
before there were so many pleasure boats about that the national river network would
have been filled with effluent had not sea toilets been banned and replaced with the
caravan type toilet in more recent years!
But as we still largely navigated places were the sea and salt water flowed, we still had the
sea toilet!!

Picture of Ruth, Vesta and Jenny
at the Stern.

HOW THEY WORKED
Leaving the sanitary arrangements
for the present it is to the main
saloon we return.
Those long settee's turned into
single bunks with the flick of a
“wrist”, or rather the twizzled of a
knob and it was the knob that let
me down.....or it could have been
sabotage!
I never did find out the answer as
the entire boat was so engulfed in
hilarity at my expense, any
sensible conversation was
impossible.
It was the morning after that second evening, a long evening enjoying several bottles of
wine etc. (In those days, one could not even consider the possibility of being found
“intoxicated and in charge of a motor boat”!)

I was tucked up nicely in my bunk, which was the seat back of the settee, tipped over and
folded down horizontal and secured by a sliding knob! “One” slept on the reverse of the
upholstered seat back and very comfy too.
There were straps to hold “ones” bedding in place when the “bunk” was tipped up, those
same straps also contained the “sleeper”, if he or she felt uneasy or unsteady and were
likely to turn over quickly and tip themselves sharply onto the deck some four feet below!

To explain fully, on retiring to my bunk the previous evening, or early morning, I had felt
the need of a little more security and duly fastened myself within the strap system. I slept
very soundly.

LOCKED IN

The next morning I was vaguely aware of some coming and going but continued to doze in
my warm sleeping bag with arms and legs duly secure.

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