Making Plans to Live Aboard a Sailboat

[edge0302]

Thank you so much, Sailjumanji!

[captmikem]

Lauren,
Crew helping crew on facebook may be a good resource for you.

Bear in mind even if you only make 3,000 per month you have no expenses on a mega yacht other than your own entertainments. Say you spend 200 per month on things, (pub visits etc.) you will end up after a year with over 33,000 cash in your pocket.

here are a couple last week from CHC:

[edge0302]

3000/month is already a little under 3x what i live on... thats incredible to me.

[john61ct]

Median household income in my state is over $5,800 a month.

And that includes lots of burger flippers and lawn mowers balancing out a few surgeons and hedge fund managers, average number would be much higher.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by edge0302

I like the idea of finding work as a deckhand on another boat. Certainly something I’d be happier doing than anything on shore. I was already considering offering my own skills to the marina in the way of some maintenance if they wanted or actually applying for a position if there was one open. Sounds like there are other types of jobs that I don't know about yet and therefore haven't considered. Thank you M

In addition to boatyard maintenance, our marina has a couple "office" people, and the crew that staffs the fuel dock. Any of that might offer opportunities to negotiate for slip fees.

Another possibility is being a mate on a recreational charter fishing boat, if you could like that sort of thing. Around here, that's a bit seasonal (decent season) and for tips only.. but good mates probably make decent money... when they're actually working... which is a bit hit and miss.

-Chris

[JPA Cate]

Lauren,

Raymond R mentioned Googling on Julia Hazel and "Jeshan", and I'd like to add a little to that recommendation. Basically, she is a woman who wanted to go sailing. She wanted it so much that she learned to weld, and built her own little steelie, "Jeshan," and circumnavigated back in the 1980's. She found ways to support herself while doing it. We met her after she had come back, she is a friend of friends.

Good luck with the project. Starbuck's 12 step program could work for you, and also mikem's.

imho, what you need most of all is to start sailing and find out if you really like it, not everyone does. An inexpensive way to do this is by working for free on other people's boats, who will take you sailing in exchange, also by being volunteer crew on club racing boats. You learn by doing. Classes are only one way of learning, and they are expensive, too.

Fair winds.

Ann

[edge0302]

SO I bought my boat about a month ago, a Pearson Coaster 30, and I’ve been living aboard in Long Island Sound for the past few weeks! It’s been a lot of fun most of the time with only this past weekend being a little trying with the storms and lack of sunlight for my solar panels (seriously I haven’t seen the sun in 5 days!!). I’m looking forward to cruising out of the sound and sailing south for winter, but I’ve been grateful to have a lot of decent people offer me advice and sailing lessons as well as information materials and safety tips. Thank you all for your advice, and I will share some of my adventures in the future!

Lauren

[LadyByrd]

That is awesome news Luaren! Good for you for following your passion and not listening to the naysayers. At 27 years old, the world as all yours. Please keep us posted. I'll be on my boat when I'm done with my schooling.

[laika]

Great to hear things are working out! The Pearson looks like a solid boat. It's a great life! Make your way down the coast, small steps out of the comfort zone, and go get lost in the bahamas for a while

[Carat]

I currently live on a Catalina 34. Storage space has been taken up by a diesel heater in the cockpit lazarette, AC in the v-berth and battery for windlass under settee. No extra storage, so consider that an issue if you need the space to store things. If cooking is important, consider a better arranged galley. Mine sucks unless PB and J sandwiches are on the daily menu.

I am selling my boat to move up to a boat that is better suited for living aboard full time. If I could have been given the opportunity to spend a week on my boat before purchase, I wouldn't have bought it. That wasn't an option, though.

Think about what is important to you and what you want to have to deal with on a daily basis.

[deCarabas]

Hey Lauren congrats on the purchase! I was just curious how much you were able to pick up the Pearson for? Would love to see some pics as well

[edge0302]

Thank you! I actually was lucky enough to pick up the boat for $1. The only reason it was even that much was because the yacht club I got it from didn’t want to have to fill out “gifting paperwork” for which I don’t blame them. I’ll post some pics, some from the original ad so they’ll be a little grainy but it’s a nice boat it seems. There’s a long list of things that need done to her, but she’s sail-able! I’ve had her on several day trips out into Long Island Sound, each of which was very pleasant and uneventful. My absolute worst complaint to date is the portholes leak when it rains. Otherwise she seems very solid, something that was alluded to by other members of the club whenever I went fishing for information. The club was even nice enough to give me two weeks on their stand before they launched me which I used to paint the bottom and assess any areas I was concerned about. It’s not the best paint job in the world, but the bilge hasn’t seemed to taken on much if any water beyond what I’ve spilled on accident inside. The club was nice enough to provide me with some paying work while I was there, which was very kind of them. I also got to meet a member that owns his own sailing school who is also a professional captain. He offered me some sailing lessons as well as He asked me to help him crew a boat from one dock to another about 8 hour’s away. That was a blast and I got to gain more experience on a large boat and get more general waterway navigation knowledge. Overall my stay here has been surprisingly pleasant despite the challenges and drawbacks I’ve encountered along the way. Below should be some pictures I hope!

[PetiePirate]

Hi Lauren, we are also preparing to live aboard and I have been binge watching utube videos of other cruisers. One that might interest you is abandon comfort. They are trying to be very minamalist and are open about their costs.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by edge0302

My absolute worst complaint to date is the portholes leak when it rains.

You probably know it already, but you'll want to fox those porthole leaks asap so you don't get (more?) mold from that.

Otherwise, looks promising, good luck with it!

-Chris

[edge0302]

No apparent mold as yet, surprisingly. But even if that weren’t a threat, having to make sure things don’t get wet inside is annoying and I want to stop worrying about that as soon as I can. Just gonna do it in baby steps since I can’t afford to replace any glass if I break it. It would be nice if I could find construction drawings but I’m not sure where to begin looking.

Thank you though, glad to hear someone besides me thinks it’s promising lol