Liveaboard living - what life is like on a boat

[watersofdiego]

Great recently posted video I just found showing liveaboard life....

Debt-free boat tiny home for family of 3 on Portland island - YouTube

"Jane and Tony had lived on a sailboat when they were child-free and loved it, so when their landlord raised the rent on their 960-square-foot apartment by 19%, they decided they wanted to avoid payments and they started thinking about boats again. Though this time it would be with their 5-year-old daughter.

When they started looking at boats on craigslist they found a lot on offer. After looking at over 40 boats, they settled on a 43-foot Chris Craft Corinthian for just $14,000.

After the initial investment in their 46-year-old boat (it needed some work), they pay less than $400 per month in slip fees which includes the mooring, as well as electricity and water. They're hooked up to the Internet and have cable tv. The only convenience they're missing is a flush toilet (they use an electric one which has to be pumped out).

Jane and Tony say that their families don't fully understand their choice to make a boat their home, but for the couple they wouldn't feel right living any other way."

[rw58ph]

We bought the Eagle to be a dock condo on Lake Union, middle of Seattle as we could not afford a condo in Seattle. We wanted a bigger boat than the 30 ft we had and a condo in Seattle as my wife worked in Seattle and we spend most of our off time in Seattle. I did not expect my wife to by a 58 ft ugly old trawler as we where looking at 40 ft, just at crash in. When the children left the nest, we decided to live on the boat until the house sold and we bought a dirt condo. We been a live aboad for 18+ years now!

the best is that each marina seems to be close not group, and with the secured gate even in the middle of Seattle we felt secure. Several time we did not like out neighbors so we moved to another slip and/or marina which is not a big deal. We will not move back on to the dirt until we have to.

[Cap Erict3]

A nice cabin cruiser or trawler make a great floating home.

I am partial to my Morgan O/I 41. It took a bit of effort to get it setup for single handed sailing but I like to cast off my lines and sail away.

[kthoennes]

Boy there are lots of those big honkin' old Chris Crafts on the market. I'd love the space but they look like such old fogey boats. I think even at the time they were new they looked like frumpy old coot boats. But to each his own...

[BigBonesBotta]

Originally Posted by kthoennes

Boy there are lots of those big honkin' old Chris Crafts on the market. I'd love the space but they look like such old fogey boats. I think even at the time they were new they looked like frumpy old coot boats. But to each his own...

Hey if it's cheap and big who cares if it's kind wonky?

[kthoennes]

I always expect those big old Chris Crafts to smell like my grandmother's house. It's not like I own a sleek superyacht myself by any means, but I'd still like the lines to be pleasing to the eye. For quite a while it looked to me like CC was trying to mix their old classic look from the '50's with some updated styling but the mix just didn't work - like dressing up a 90 year old lady in a spandex yoga suit.

Now look at an older bayliner 3888 for example, big, relatively cheap, but surprisingly pleasing lines. Nice sweep.

[BigBonesBotta]

Originally Posted by kthoennes

I always expect those big old Chris Crafts to smell like my grandmother's house. It's not like I own a sleek superyacht myself by any means, but I'd still like the lines to be pleasing to the eye. For quite a while it looked to me like CC was trying to mix their old classic look from the '50's with some updated styling but the mix just didn't work - like dressing up a 90 year old lady in a spandex yoga suit.

Now look at an older bayliner 3888 for example, big, relatively cheap, but surprisingly pleasing lines. Nice sweep.

I never was one for Bayliners. They, like any Chris Craft made after the early 60's, just seemed generic. Don't get me wrong they're both great boats, but I used to have an 81 Chris Craft Catalina and everything about it felt mass produced and a little cheap...

[Hudson Force]

The words that struck me from the post #1 video were those attributing the close knit family and good communication to the small space. Though we lived aboard for six years before children, our children were with us aboard from infancy to adulthood. Still after well over forty years aboard we love our life! There are huge differences among those living aboard and what they choose. We remain in cruising mode and well adapted to energy efficient 12V systems as well as a stable environment that can withstand rock, heel and swell while adventuring from port to port as nomadic liveaboards. This is far different than what is presented in the video, but simply another viable choice. Like CaptErict3 we're aboard a Morgan OI...




...... good space for us, but nothing similar to the big ChrisCraft!