How Did You Start as a Liveaboard?

[Mark1977]

Originally Posted by Erik de Jong

maybe a great story, but also pretty crazy, especially in the first few months. Still married though

Where do you keep the boat at in Halifax?

[Nemo55]

I was born and Raised in Liverpool Kirkdale to be precise,very near the docks, Most of my Family,friends,etc all worked in some capacity over the years servicing the Maritime industry.
Some members of the family went away to sea and only came back to dry land long enough to hand over the pay packet and get good and roaring with the old mates, and then back to sea again, some for many years at a time.
The smell of the river Mersey was always a backdrop to my young life as where the dock workers who went past my front door on their way to work by the thousands every morning,,this was back in the sixties before the great collapse.
At 15 years of age 1970 i was uprooted with the rest of my family, one brother, and two sisters,Mom and dad, and it was off to Canada to call Richmond BC home.
Richmonds biggest industries back in 1970 were the Commercial Fisheries and Lumber Processing.
And so again the smell of low and high tides where the backdrop to my life.
Fast forward to four years ago and i had my first rude awakening, a heart attack.
Present day and three pacemakers later with only 47% of my heart muscle left and i am planning on living aboard my 31 foot J.B. Tri-Maran (Tamara).
I have bought her and she lives 793 miles away from me in San Rafael harbor.
I will be leaving in June this year to go join her just as soon as my daughter is safely settled in her (Near to University) apartment,and i have downsized radically from the years of clutter which comes with land lubbering.
The hardest adjustment will be to forgo my hobby of fixing up old cars and of course letting go of my workshop and tools.
But i have made my decisions and am not easily dissuaded, and so it's the Mariners life for me.
As soon as i get to San Francisco i plan of taking it slow and learning how to sail before setting out to circumnavigate after a long period of local cruising that is.
As i type this, i am sitting here with a broken leg in a cast (another story) anxiously waiting for other documents to be ready to enable me to get my passport for travel to the States. Bring it on Baby!!!!! oh,,and i am a rebellious 55 years old.

[SpringWater]

We started out "normal". Got married then bought a house once, rebuilt the whole thing, sat around and looked at it a while (2 years or so), then was bored. Since my husband spent time living on boats year-round, and I during the summers growing up, we decided to sell all and find a floating home. We started with a 44' sloop for about 4 years, during which we had our daughter, left cruising with a 7' keel. Sold that bit of ICW stress last year and bought a Kadey Krogen 42. Couldn't be happier aboard with my little family! I had no idea that I could sum up the last 7 or so years in a couple of sentences...

[matauwhi]

G'day, mates. When we bought the 2nd boat on the Great Lakes, we decided to abandon the house during the summer and just live on the boat. Would go to work from the boat. Would stop occasionally at the house to "make sure it hadn't dragged" (i.e. mow the frick'n grass) and pick up the post (mail). Hauled the boat when the ice moved in and hunkered down for the winter back in the house. When we bought the 3rd boat, sold the house & the rest of the stuff and set sail west. Cheers.

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

Thanks for the memories. When we moved aboard, I suddenly realized my husband couldn't swim and I didn't know how to come about. I refused to go out again until he learned to stay afloat, then I learned to bring 'er about under sail if necessary so I could go back and fetch him if he fell overboard. The whole process took only a week.

+ 1 .....VERY Worthwhile!

[gpshephe]

I thought about and researched it for two years. I bought a sailboat this February and moved on. I wish I would have payed more attention to cruising vs liveaboard. I now find myself dreaming about sailing offshore, but know this ships not ready yet. I am trying to find out everything ( or close ) I need to know about setting this up for that. I need some more hand holds, some lee cloths. Where do I keep the dinghy while cruising. Being at sea for weeks at a time means everything has to be nailed ( figuratively ) down or easily nailed down. I am thinking about webbing for storage areas secured with hooks of some kind. I have glasses in cupboards, ceramic stuff. I'm thinking about throwing the baby out with the bathwater at this point and getting either paper or plastic. Maybe I should start a new thread rather than this one, but let's see if anyone here might like to discuss this.I haven't even scratched the surface. My motto "Think minimalist".

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by gpshephe

I thought about and researched it for two years. I bought a sailboat this February and moved on. I wish I would have payed more attention to cruising vs liveaboard. I now find myself dreaming about sailing offshore, but know this ships not ready yet. I am trying to find out everything ( or close ) I need to know about setting this up for that. I need some more hand holds, some lee cloths. Where do I keep the dinghy while cruising. Being at sea for weeks at a time means everything has to be nailed ( figuratively ) down or easily nailed down. I am thinking about webbing for storage areas secured with hooks of some kind. I have glasses in cupboards, ceramic stuff. I'm thinking about throwing the baby out with the bathwater at this point and getting either paper or plastic. Maybe I should start a new thread rather than this one, but let's see if anyone here might like to discuss this.I haven't even scratched the surface. My motto "Think minimalist".

I made snap-down curtains to go over all my shelves. They're very strong and had no trouble restraining my laptop when we were heeled over 30 degrees. I store everything in labeled plastic bins -- and i'm in the process of labeling where they go so when people sail with me I can put things back where they belong afterwards. you just have more stuff when you live aboard and it inevitably gets moved. You could probably use safety netting to keep things from flying as well.

[Teeto]

Spent a few months looking at 38- 40 foot cats aiming to do some coastal holidays. Thought a nee Lightwave 38 might fit the bill although it would stretch the budget. BUT, then we saw our amazing Chamberlin 44. That did it. Total change of plan. Now coming up to two years liveaboard cruising and loving it. Sometimes the boat can make all the difference.

[BirdoPassage]

Originally Posted by Lagoon4us

We built our round-bilge steel Adam's 35 (mono) on an island in the 'Whitsundays' on 'The Great Barrier Reef' and motored her to Gladstone where we lived moored to piles in a muddy bank creek.

Rowing out each day and night dealing with 6,5 metre tides it was fun, building other boats on the creek bank that are now scattered far and wide around the world. Lorraine Schionning (Lollie) lived on a H28 'Nyalla' just behind us.


Our $500:00 car stolen from the creek bank, our outboard removed from our anchored dinghy. You just dealt with it....


Those days 'Sat-nav' was just an un-reliable dream, we all enjoyed an un-electronic simple lifestyle, carrying ice and LPG to our boats, it was 32 years ago and we totally enjoyed it!!!


Now we move back on board to electronics, comfort, refigeration, TV, GPS, Radar, hot water, double beds, etc etc etc......

In retirement we start again, what remains the same? The cruising folk and attitude, the sea, the weather all the things we love.

What are your root's? What made YOU become part of this world-wide community and lifestyle??

Cheers see u out there......

Well, the answer to your question is : The sea....

Johan on Bird of Passage

[keyspc]

rated Able seaman at 18.(OM) moved to keys got masters ticket and ran headboats for a while. after that did freight.
got my own fish boat, long story but it got auctioned off. drunken bum for ten years after.
bought this piece o crap cause nowhere else to go.

[S/V Blondie-Dog]

After suggesting to my then wife that we should explore the possibility of living in the Caribbean, we subscribed to the St Thomas Sunday paper to check out property values and get the lay of the land. (This was pre internet days of course)

Soon afterwards after realizing we wouldn't be able to afford to live there my better half came across an ad in the classifieds stating, "Live Rent Free... Buy a Sailboat"!

And after enthusiastically reading every book on sailing in the local library, including "The Henry David Thoreau Approach to Sailing", we were soon loading up our car and driving off to Florida in search of a boat.

[forsailbyowner]

I had a 23' trailersailer. Was staying at a girls house giving her $125 a week. At the end of the month she handed me a stack of bills. I was living on the 23 that night. Later I met a girl with 8 and 10 yr old boys. We made the deal we raise the boys and at age 42 we move on a boat(kids would be of age to do as they please). She was true to her word and we left the kids the house and moved aboard a 33' morgan bought off an ebay auction.

[gpshephe]

Originally Posted by S/V Blondie-Dog

After suggesting to my then wife that we should explore the possibility of living in the Caribbean, we subscribed to the St Thomas Sunday paper to check out property values and get the lay of the land. (This was pre internet days of course)

Soon afterwards after realizing we wouldn't be able to afford to live there my better half came across an ad in the classifieds stating, "Live Rent Free... Buy a Sailboat"!

And after enthusiastically reading every book on sailing in the local library, including "The Henry David Thoreau Approach to Sailing", we were soon loading up our car and driving off to Florida in search of a boat.

Got a kick out of the "then ex-wife" comment, so how does the "future ex" feel about sailing?

[Erik de Jong]

Originally Posted by Mark1977

Where do you keep the boat at in Halifax?

Sorry, only noticed your post now. We are in Dartmouth (DYC) where are you?

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by Bash

Wonderblond was offered a job at Stanford. I was still in grad school, and wasn't particularly excited about a move to the bay area. Wonderblond sweetened the deal by saying, "We've always wanted to live aboard, this is our chance to do it."

The house was up for sale the next day.

We all know there is much more to this story Bash. How about a 2nd installment?

For me, I was coming on 12 years in the same house in Carmichael (suburb of Sacramento), which is still a record for me, when aerospace decided they didn't need my services anymore. Sold everything that would sell, gave away everything that didn't sell and bought a used, late model motorhome and headed south to Pismo Beach. At the last minute decided to include my HAM radio gear and a marine VHF, not knowing at the time how that decision would effect the rest of my life. While at Pismo, bought a Meyers Manx dune buggy that I could tow behind the MH and continued south to Baja, Mexico. Got my XE2 HAM call and proceeded to Muluge and park on the beach at Santispac. Had no idea how popular I would become among the cruisers with my road legal dune buggy, and had a blast. Went for day sails and listened to all of their stories and thought this is something I need to do. Went to Long Beach, and bought a Cal40. Only previous sailing was as a kid on my family's Flying Junior and our friends Rhoades 19. Thought just maybe I bit off more than I could chew. Sailed to Catalina Island and was hooked. Returned to Long Beach and proceeded to match the $16K purchase price with nice cruising goodies, water maker, inverter, solar, wind vane and auto pilot, Loran C (this was pre-GPS), dinghy and outboard. Even after the fun and successful trip to Catalina, I was having reservations, as I've never sailed truly off shore, I was still learning how to sail the Cal, and of course I was doing it solo, as I prepared with provisioning for my 1500 nm trip back to Muluge. As luck would have it, downwind for the entire run to Cabo and was I feeling good about all the crazy decisions I had made in the last 2 months. Enjoyed that season in Bahia de Conception and wanted to do Alaska for the coming summer months. I decided luck had been on my side so far, and since what was a downwind sled ride going south would now become a beat for the return, combined with my new found knowledge that as a cruiser, your inland excursions are via the kindness of others, sold my Cal and took the Green Turtle bus back north to my MH, and would do Alaska with it. Upon arriving in Portland, Oregon with MH and dune buggy in tow, went on a sales tax free shopping spree for the Alaska trip. Sold the dune buggy and bought a 2 axle flatbed trailer, a Jeep Comanche 4X4 truck, camper shell, new dinghy and outboard and continued north till the San Juan Islands and ferried across to Friday Harbor. Cruised the islands in my new dinghy for a couple of months, then back on the highway heading north to Alaska. Made Valdez my home for a year at a mobile home park that had large cables to anchor your mobile homes down for the September winds that reach over 70 mph. While there waited for a weather window to take the dinghy through Valdez Narrows and on to the Colombian Glacier and back. Also 800 miles of the Yukon River, each night stretching a long wire for HF communication to my cruising friends. This is where the decision of taking along the radios changed my life. I started talking to, and later socializing with, the radio officers (still required at this time) on the tankers inbound for the Valdez terminal. After awhile I thought this might be my calling, merchant shipping. With recommendations from the industry professionals I met in Valdez (not Joe Hazelwood's) I went south again and showed up at the California Maritime Academy, hoping to be accepted even though my age was 25 years older than the midshipmen. Was informed that my courses that I had taken during my 1971 time at college, some they wanted me to re-take before they would consider me, and upon leaving the admissions office was told that a grade of "C" to them, is not a passing grade. So now I headed further south for warmer winter weather and to get those classes done, wound up at the Glen Eden Sun Club, a family nudist resort that to this day I still have my permanent site and member. Went to Riverside College, got straight A's, and returned to CMA, admitted into the Class of 1998. Due to previous college and loading my schedule, I graduated 3rd in my new class of 1997 and off to sea I went. This is the first time I typed all this out, just got carried away and hope I didn't bore you all to tears, but reading other's posts on this topic just got me going on auto-pilot.