Sharing a cabin for six months without falling out

You can be excellent at your job and still have a miserable season because of two square metres and a bunkmate. THE PRACTICAL BIT • Agree on lights and alarms in the first week, not the fifth. Different watches means someone is always sleeping. • Headphones, an eye mask, and earplugs that actually fit. Buy good ones. • Keep your half genuinely tidy. Resentment in a shared cabin is almost always about creeping mess. • Charge things in your own space. Cable spaghetti is a surprisingly common flashpoint. • Shower discipline in the mornings — everyone has ten minutes and there are four of you. THE HARDER BIT Say the small thing early and lightly. "Mind sticking your alarm on vibrate?" on day three is nothing. On day sixty, said badly, it's an argument that lasts the season. And separate the person from the job. Someone can be irritating in a cabin and excellent on deck. Both can be true. WHEN IT ISN'T WORKING Take it to your HOD before it becomes a crew-wide problem. Cabin reshuffles happen and nobody thinks less of you for asking. WHAT ISN'T NORMAL Bullying, harassment, or anyone making you feel unsafe in the space you sleep in. That's not a personality clash and it shouldn't be handled with tolerance. Raise it, and if the boat won't act, get off. What's the cabin rule you'd make compulsory on every boat?