Possible to Liveaboard 20' Boat?

[stonedpirate]

Hello,

I would like to live an alternative lifestyle that may seem harsh to most that are used to the modern life and would like some opinions from liveaboarders.

The plan is to lead a minimilist lifestyle aboard a 20' sailboat. The boat will be used for sleeping on, catching fish, cooking and getting from A to B. The rest of the time will be spent exploring coastal towns and cities as i travel up and down the coast of western australia. I dont want to use gps, fish findrs, radar, onboard showers or any other creature comforts usually associated with liveaboard boats. Very oldschool way of life.

I plan to live like this from spring to autumn then store the boat at my yacht club in winter while i work and save during the rains for the next 9 months of fishing miimilism.

The boat i am looking at is here: Galleries

Are these just too small to live like this?

On the plus side, they are cheap and easy to sail.

On the dowside, they have an extremely low freeboard and might not handle rough conditions too well.

I want to live off the hook and am unsure about how these would go at anchoring along the coast over night in a large swell.

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[motion30]

anything is possible but bigger would be better

[speciald@ocens.]

Some people live in refrigerator boaxes so I guess its possible.

[lorenzo b]

go punch out a cop and spend some time in a jail cell, see if you like the spartan life.

[stonedpirate]

3 meals a day, a gym, tv, payed work and a matress wud be luxury compared to my boat :P

Cant see how an extra 10 foot wud make this lifestyle any less cell like.

The boat serves 4 functions, even if i had a bigger boat, i wud still spend my days walking around insread of sitting in the cabin.

[motion30]

Originally Posted by stonedpirate

3 meals a day, a gym, tv, payed work and a matress wud be luxury compared to my boat :P

Cant see how an extra 10 foot wud make this lifestyle any less cell like.

The boat serves 4 functions, even if i had a bigger boat, i wud still spend my days walking around insread of sitting in the cabin.

You asked the question, these are the opinions of those here that have lived aboard I you think this will work for you , go for it.after all you can always go back to the hard. Something to think about, do you think you may ever want entertain ?

[stonedpirate]

Thanks.

I guess the lifestyle i have planned is a solitary one and outside the norm so the opinions recieved are understandable. I dont plan on entertaining on the boat. But friends dont mind going offshore for a few hours on the occasional fishing trip. It will be used as a boat rather than a replacement surburban home.

[Jetexas]

If you find you need to tow a dinghy behind the sailboat to store your gear, it might be too small.

[SouthernComfort]

It sounds like you are wanting to pocket cruise. There was a fellow from New Jersey that sailed his 19' West Wight Potter sailboat from his home state down the coast to Florida then accross to the Bahamas. He sailed the islands and went back. There is a fellow in England named Dylan Winters that is sailing his 19' sailboat around the Bristish Isle.

Here is a link to his videos.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

[SouthernComfort]

I might add that if you do this, give consideration to a beachable boat like a West Wight Potter 19 or one like Dylan Winters. It makes it easier not having to tow around a dingy.

[cantxsailor]

You need enough room to get out of the weather and to store what ever stuff you feel you need to have.

A young man can live in some very "alternative" homes if he is so inclined. I lived in a home built camper van 9mos, a small fishboat 2years, a teepee for a winter on Vancouver Island and a tent on and off for a couple of years.

I would not want to HAVE to do it now but I know I could if I had to.

If you really WANT to, you CAN live almost anywhere. It's much less of a hassle if you're single. If I was single right now I be living on my 25ft boat.

As I age I find having a woman around all the time is overrated.

I wish I had learned this much earlier............m

[stonedpirate]

Thanks for the link Southern Comfort.

Didnt know about pocket cruising Thought i was an original for a second :P

Cheers

[stonedpirate]

Lol Cant.

Yes i'm single and in my early 20's

Its either a wife and cubicle, or messing about on the sea in a small yacht :P

Or working my ass off for the next 5 years paying off a big boat and by the time i can afford it, the whim would have probably passed and my first kid would be on the way.

[cantxsailor]

Keep your eye on the prize, your head in the clouds and your wookie in your drawers. Feb 7th 2010 is my freedom from minor children day. At that point I'm no longer LEGALLY responsible for them. If I have my way I'll be sailing shortly there after.

IF, of course, my wife doesn't take my boat in the divorce which WILL happen if she ever reads any of these posts..........m

[Squeaks]

I once met a "retired" (older) fellow who lived & sailed his 20-ft English twin-keeler. His cabin was stuffed with stuff and he slept in the cockpit, at sea in a wetsuit!!! So anything is possible, it's a matter of your cost for freedom (but standing headroom makes a world of differance :-)
I lived aboard & cruised (w/my wife) my 23-ft Westerly for almost 15-years, but she has 5ft10in headrom!