(No photos with this post, as I forgot to take them before leaving the boat!)

Seems like a crazy topic for a 28’ sailboat. It’s not exactly like we’ve got a separate space where we can set up a computer and printer; it’s not exactly like we’re employed either. We both, though, have laptops that need to be pulled out on occasion. And there are 2 other pieces of gear that logically would fit in an office that we use frequently.

The first is one I thought we’d never use. A Sharpie does a fine job making labels, doesn’t it? I think we went back and forth a few times, Jeremy putting the label maker in the Amazon cart and I’d take it right back out again. Finally he pulled the trigger on the cart before I could sneak in to pull it out. We’ve never really looked back. 

What are some things we label with those neat, all-caps black font on white background labels? The plumbing pipes, with their various valves going to one tank or the other. Wires for the electrical system, neatly labeled with clear shrink wrap providing waterproofness. Spice jars. The containers that house different kinds of tools. The containers that hold electrical supplies, or rigging parts, or spare electronics. I could go on. 

The Brother P-touch label maker we chose offers a full keyboard with a good font selection. It’s easy to use and stows in one of those afore-mentioned containers. When I saw the current price I about lost my mind, and then I realized we’d bought it as an Amazon return - it cost us a whopping $9.99 in 2019.

(As an aside. Our favorite Amazon price hack is to look at returns when we’re shopping for something specific. On the right hand side, under the “add to cart” and any “protection plan” offers, you might see a “Save with Used- Like New” box. There sometimes are multiple options with a range of conditions and a corresponding range of prices. We just bought a bed frame for one of the kids that was new $100 but “as new with slightly damaged packaging” for $49. Not every item has a returned one available, but you can make out pretty well if it does!)

The other item we consider an office staple is a printer. For this one, it was Jeremy who balked. A printer? Why do we need a printer on board? I polled friends, who assured me a printer was a really good idea. You might need it to print things for customs, as an example, or maybe a passport application. A financial statement to help a kid apply for a first apartment. We found a small printer (Canon Pixma TR150) that fits in another one of those label-maker labeled containers, this one a waterproof one that is large enough to hold this printer with a ream of paper and some extra ink cartridges. It’s a little weird in that it’s got its own WiFi network, meaning we have to unhook the computer (or tablet, or phone) from the boat WiFi, then latch it to the printer WiFi. Maybe there’s a workaround that we just haven’t thought of yet.

Neither of these gadgets is in daily use on board, and arguably they’re single-use items that might fall into a luxury category. The times we’ve needed to pull them out are inevitably accompanied with huge sighs of relief and smiles. We’ve helped out fellow cruisers who don’t have one or the other of these, adding an extra bonus to our days.

Another side note: make sure you have a couple of spare ink or tape cartridges. These we keep stored in ziploc bags with desiccant packs, hoping they won’t dry out or die before we need to use them. Nothing would be worse than needing the label maker or the printer and not being able to use it because we didn’t have those essential bits!