Former sneakaboard in the bay area here (+/- 2 years):
I have been a sneakaboard in the bay area (withholding my
marinas name) for roughly two years now and have learned quite a bit about whats kosher and what isnt. As others have pointed out, there is an abundance of folks who live further out (Tracy, Fresno, etc) and work in the city and think living on a boat +/- 5 days a week while not being a
legal liveaboard will fly. You may get away with it for a short time, but in the long run, youll be caught.
I joined a liveaboard wait list the month i bought my boat (3 years ago) KNOWING there was a hell of a wait. Being a sneakaboard gets tiring: leaving before the harbormaster arrives in the morning, coming home after hes gone, not being seen by other
LEGAL liveaboards, etc. I did it, mind you, but its a headache. My opinion is this: Get on a legal liveaboard list NOW (even if you arent here) and just wait it out. I am now no longer on my boat (got an apartment until my name is called) and wasting away
money until I am up on the list. Also note, go through the marina's liveaboard requirements BEFORE you apply to make sure your boat qualifies. It would suck to finally get called only to not qualify.
Good luck, the bay area is the worst place to liveaboard but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I checked my status a few months ago and now im on the
single digits on the list.