How many Liveaboards Actually Sail?

[WebWench]

As of now we are about 40 percent on the boat and 60 percent on land still....due to having to work. We sail every chance that we get and hope that as we get closer to retiring the time on the boat will increase.

We also like to sail with friends on their boats and charter in the BVI and Australia.

Many of the liveaboards at our marina never do leave the dock....or at least I haven't seen them go out. I hope to never get that way....defeats the purpose of having and maintaining a boat!

[Yofy]

We do and we always have. When were liveaboards in Cananda over 20 years ago, we could only sail about half the year.

Now we are living aboard in the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea and we can sail all year round! So winter or summer we sail every week and more if we can arrange time off from work. We often anchor out for a night or two. The only real hassle here is that our marina has a bridge with limited opening times. Its a pain when there's a beautiful full moon, an offshore breeze and we can't go out to enjoy it because the bridge won't open.

We have been dockbound for a couple of months at a time when we are doing renovations onboard. And we do understand Lauderboy's situation too. We've been stuck like that before. Generally we've noticed that the more you stay at the dock, the harder it is to motivate yourself to leave.

Robyn and Manny

[wanderer1]

I`ve lived on my boat for almost 16 years,8 years on a 31 Grampion Classic,and for the last 7 1/2 years on my 36 Hunter.I`ve logged close to 100,000 miles over that time,over 10,000 last year alone.Most of it Solo,People meet up with me in different spots,but I do most of the sailing by myself.I`m like Lauderboy,I want to see what washed up on the next shore.Sailing is like a box of chocolates(To quote a famous quote)

[Hudson Force]

Like many others posting above, I've said that we sail often as liveaboards, but the original post was about how many do sail. At the marina where I am currently located in Florida there are ten boats with a totaol of 17 people living aboard fulltime. I've been here at this location for 6 weeks after finishing a six month cruise. We've been out twice since our arrival and, as far as I know none of the other liveaboard boats have left the dock. Five of these haven't left the dock in more than a year and three are looking at long term future cruising plans, but not ready now. So, if this repesents the average, then about ten percent of liveaboards are sailing ad cruising.

[forsailbyowner]

Often. I work and travel to and from jobs in boat so its almost daily. In my canvas trade I meet many people who have never left the dock. One guy described his boat as a prison cell cause he couldn't get his wife to agree to go sailing and he's been sitting in a slip for 10yrs.

[Yofy]

The marina here in Eilat does not have many liveaboards. No more than 10 I'd say and only one of them does not go sailing. Everybody else is regularily out on the water.

Alternatively, there are lots of boats here that just sit at the dock month after month, with owners who never visit them. It was the same in Canada. And when we sail in the Med, we've seen beautiful new boats sitting at the dock with owners who only visit and use the boat as a floating hotel. They never go out sailing - the boat is just a status symbol.

Robyn

[eisselhardt]

Captain Dave of Auspiscious (a truly wonderful delivery skipper BTW) once gave me a great piece of advice--amidst many great pieces of advice. He said he always has his boat set up in such a way that he can be off the dock in 30 minutes. My 7 yr old daughter and I keep the boat so that we may be off in half an hour. The result is that we sail most weekends. I see many sailboats with so much "stuff" that it would take them half the day to get off the docks, let alone half an hour. We try not to be too smug about it all. Everyone lives on a boat for a different reason....

[Jimbo485]

Liveaboard is an expression from the USA.

We are yachties. 8000 miles in the last 6 months. 6 nights tied to a dock.

[Lagoon4us]

Retired and cruising the Med.

Unless under maintenance our boat in a Marina is ready to leave within 30 minutes, always food and fuelled, if at anchor bring that back to ten minutes (max) before anchor can come up.

Reasons:-
1)Foreign country and all that comes with that.
2) Weather sometimes dictates. Dinghy is stowed EVERY NIGHT.

[boatman61]

I used to...
Then I started doing deliveries... just aint got the time...
and... after 19+K miles in 10mths... do I really want to...?
Not Really
Jus wanna Chill Mon...

[River Cruiser]

I can be out of the slip in 15 minutes or less, boat is always ready unless I have something apart for maintenance. Unplug the cords & throw off the lines & gone, I'am usually out at least 2 days a week, 121 hours on the mains & 83 on the gen during 2012. After winterizing a couple weeks ago I removed the Manicooler from the port engine, after the holidays I'll have it cleaned, tested & ceramic coated. Hope to have it replaced during March so I can start all over.

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by eisselhardt

Captain Dave of Auspiscious (a truly wonderful delivery skipper BTW) once gave me a great piece of advice--amidst many great pieces of advice. He said he always has his boat set up in such a way that he can be off the dock in 30 minutes. My 7 yr old daughter and I keep the boat so that we may be off in half an hour. The result is that we sail most weekends. I see many sailboats with so much "stuff" that it would take them half the day to get off the docks, let alone half an hour. We try not to be too smug about it all. Everyone lives on a boat for a different reason....

Thumbs up for a wonderful post!

[Kettlewell]

There is a big difference between "liveaboards" and cruisers. If someone calls themselves a liveaboard they think of their boat first as a home and second as a boat. A cruiser thinks of the boat first as a travel vehicle. I'm not into being a liveaboard, though I did live onboard various boats for 12 years straight at one point. I always think of myself as a cruiser. I always keep the boat ready to go with just a few minutes preparation. In fact, I like to keep everything onboard so that I could take off for a month or two. My boat is always ready to go to Bermuda. Most of the time we have owned boats we were either underway, or kept the boat on a swinging mooring or at anchor, so getting underway was little different than for any other cruiser. Spent a bunch of winters at a dock in New England and a couple in South Carolina, but we are not the happiest when cooped up in a marina. Like to be out on the water, whether or not I can go anywhere for long.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

There is a big difference between "liveaboards" and cruisers.....................

Maybe not! The connotations for these terms seem to vary. Many cruisers spend time taking extensive voyages, but they also own a house. Many liveaboards cruise extensively. Fulltime cruisers are always living aboard. We have been liveaboards for more than forty years and we do extensive cruising with many months away from the docks. I assume that those like us, that don't own anything that isn't on the boat, are liveaboards,- even though we are mostly cruising.

[Kettlewell]

Maybe not! The connotations for these terms seem to vary. Many cruisers spend time taking extensive voyages, but they also own a house. Many liveaboards cruise extensively. Fulltime cruisers are always living aboard. We have been liveaboards for more than forty years and we do extensive cruising with many months away from the docks. I assume that those like us, that don't own anything that isn't on the boat, are liveaboards,- even though we are mostly cruising.

I don't disagree with that, but there are many people who are "liveaboards" who don't go anywhere--they literally just live aboard. Nothing wrong with that, but I was trying to point out that to me the term "liveaboard" indicates your living arrangement only, while the term "cruiser" indicates that you are a traveler by boat, and while you are doing that you are also living onboard.