Can I Live In A Boat That I Won't Be Able To Stand Up In

[Adelie]

Apparently editing my post has deleted part of it. I will try to recreate when I get to the laptop.


A house is but a boat so poorly built and so firmly run aground you would never try to refloat it.

[CascoME]

The quietest voice on here had the best answer: I second VJM's call on the Bristol 24. Lots of room, a burdensome hull, well built, fairly common, good all-round sailor, and a bunch of them around for about $4500. Good to look at, too...

S.

[vjm]

Aww thanks! Even better, the outboard models top out at 4K. Inboard tends to be 4-8k (could be more, just speaking for most boats). Common problems: wet decks, chain plates pulling out of rotting bulkhead, hull to deck joint is an outward turning flange stapled together, mixed keel material (cement and iron in some boats, not all) can cause the fiberglass to fail. There is a good owners group on (unfortunately) yahoo groups.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by vjm

Aww thanks! Even better, the outboard models top out at 4K. Inboard tends to be 4-8k (could be more, just speaking for most boats). Common problems: wet decks, chain plates pulling out of rotting bulkhead, hull to deck joint is an outward turning flange stapled together, mixed keel material (cement and iron in some boats, not all) can cause the fiberglass to fail. There is a good owners group on (unfortunately) yahoo groups.

Nothing against Bristol but my ol' Columbia 24 had none of those problems, and my current 29 doesn't either.

[Jim Cate]

Wonder what happened to the OP? Owen hasn't been here since his second brief post.

So,Owen, if you are still o n board, check in please. It's kinda discouraging for folks to try and help with no responses.
Jim

[vjm]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Nothing against Bristol but my ol' Columbia 24 had none of those problems, and my current 29 doesn't either.

My understanding is no standing headroom in the 24, and 5'9" in the 26. Bristol 24 has 5'11" to 6'. I definitely agree that it depends on OPs priorities.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Wonder what happened to the OP? Owen hasn't been here since his second brief post.

So,Owen, if you are still o n board, check in please. It's kinda discouraging for folks to try and help with no responses.
Jim

He's 17.. likely found out his folks won't up his pocket money to match the prices being bandied about..

[ebsail]

You might consider an Oday 25 with about 5'8" in headroom. The keel/centerboard combo version will let you into get into small shallow anchorages and save $ when traveling. You can get them in very good condition for around $6000 or less. A new 6 HP extra long shaft outboard will take care of power needs for about $1700. The Odays are simple, and easy to maintain ( if you're careful when selecting). Try to get something in very good condition with good sails. I've owned 9 boats and most were project boats. It's better to pay slightly more and get the one in the best possible condition. There will still be plenty of work and $ to spend to get it the way you want it.
There is a Tanzer 27 for sale at the Nyack Boat Club, Nyack, NY which is in the same price range if you're interested. Has a big cabin and an outboard. I saw it sailing last summer and looked OK. Owner only used it twice last summer.

[hsi88]

Lots of 27 foot boats with standing head room, nice head, galley and sleeping space for a grand. Start cheap. Comfortable boat size and easy to sail. Go to any marina. They will have them, even with running engines and good sails for $3K or less.

[ebsail]

Turns out that that Tanzer in Nyack NY is a 28' with a 15 HP outboartd and Near new sails. I think about $6000

[valhalla360]

You also don't say where you will keep the boat.


Will it be in a marina or anchored out? If anchored out, I would push for upper 20's/low 30's. Even in a marina, you probably want to go a bit bigger. Many marinas, have a 30' minimum so if you come in with a 20' boat, you pay the 30' price. Also, many marinas discourage liveaboard on smaller boats.


I'm guessing you are thinking of buying a boat for next to nothing and fixing it up. Nothing wrong with that but don't expect to make or save money on the deal and expect it to be 2-4 times as much work and cost as you expect. That said, a larger boat is advantageous. If you have a sub-25' boat even in perfect condition, it's not going to be worth much. There just isn't a market that will pay big bucks for them. Above 30', it will at least have some resale value if everything is in good working condition. Also, if you start sanding and varnishing in a 22' boat, where do you live during the project? With a larger boat, it's not fun but you can get away with picking an area to work on, close it off with plastic sheeting and live in the other areas.


If your skill set is half as good as you state, my suggestion would be to work hard, live on a budget and buy a functional boat in 2-4yrs. For every blog you come across where someone brought a boat back from the dead with nothing but sweat and hard work, there are a dozen rotting hulks eating up storage fees in a marina yard.

[boatman61]

This is a UK boat.. a Ballerina, 21ft with 4ft 6" headroom.. 5ft under the hatchway.. I lived on her for 9mths on a trot mooring in Poole.. August through to April while I temped in a sausage factory.
It was lousy.. condensation was a major problem during the winter from cooking and my heating was an oil lamp.. prior to that and the following summer when I could use the cockpit life was much better..
I'm 6' 2" and back then 35yrs younger..
I sold her and moved up to a Virgo Voyager 23.. 6ft headroom..
The boat with the dinghy is the Virgo.. in Cherbourg on a booze cruise.

[cruisersfarm]

Originally Posted by Lizzy Belle

Maybe for some women, just like some men like a bit of luxury.
But as far as I can tell, they're a minority.

This is because you live in Europe. Women in Europe are simply cooler.

Women in the States demand the showers, luxuries, etc.

It is quite a feat to find cool chicks here who don't care about luxuries or impressing other people.

[lansell]

Sounds like an exciting idea, and you'll likely to have a lot of fun with it.

However, having just sold a Tanzer 22 that I owned for a year, it would only work as a live aboard if you were in a warm climate and you screened in the cockpit for extra living space. Otherwise, I suspect you might develop a permanent hunchback.

Sent from my XT1023 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Three Sisters]

Originally Posted by Owen kenobi

Hi my name is Owen, I am 17 years old. I planning on buying a sailboat within the next 2-3 years and taking a year or so to restore it to good working condition. I am well versed in carpentry and welding and am planning on working for a small company for the next 3 years as a technician. so I will be able to gain some more experience and build up some assets on shore. So I am farrly confedint that I would be able to do any level of restoration on any age boat.

The question that I have is in picking the right boat. I would prefer a boat in the 20-24 foot range, preferably smaller(I know that is pretty small). That I would be able to live aboard for a couple of years. With a fixed keel, preferably fin. But my dilemma come in with cabins, if there is any sailboat out there that has standing height in the cabin and still has good performance. And if there are no boats out there with that much cabin height and good performance, what the next best thing. Also was wandering if any of you have lived on a boat that they were not able to stand up in, for more than a year. I am looking to do a good bit of work on which ever boat I in up with, so something that has a little bit of age or need some work done on it, in order to be sea worthy is were I am. I do think I would be able to deal with a non stand up cabin in order to get optimal performance/speed out of the out of a boat, just want your opinion on what would get the most performance and a cabin that I can sleep in and eat in, in a sailboat of that range.

I have already looked at the San juan 24, Catalina 22, Capri 22, Hunter 22, Tanzer 22, and the Oday 20. But any suggestions on other boat or any of these would be much appreciated.

I have not been able to find a another discussion or any other information on this topic for this size boat, but if there are any out there, a referral would be very helpful. Sorry for the long post, just wanted a good description of what I am looking for.

Thank you, Owen

I guess, try it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjtBjSM5100