I'm a retired submarine officer and spent a lot of time on an LA class fast attack submarine, a bit older and smaller than what the author experienced.
When my parents came to visit one time, I gave them a tour and my mom described living on a boat as like "opening up the hood of your car and crawling into the engine." That's not too far off.
When my parents came to visit one time, I gave them a tour and my mom described living on a boat as like "opening up the hood of your car and crawling into the engine." That's not too far off.