What Are the Disadvantages of Living Aboard ?

[rtbates]

Most liveaboards I see take quite awhile to clear the decks and below for sailing. Your fondest memories will be the weekend you stayed at the Motel 8 and the bed didn't move! You won't have a garage.

Best wishes on your dream.

[jzk]

Why do you want to live aboard? I know many people who have tried it, and it seems like there are too many downsides to count. I knew a girl that lived aboard a 54' sailboat. She never went sailing. There was just too much stuff everywhere, and it would take too much effort to stow it all to actually go sailing.

One of the benefits in living in a house is that the house appreciates (or rather the real estate does). And, many things in a house are much cheaper than the same things for a sailboat. Then, when you are ready to go cruising, sell or rent your appreciated asset, and buy a better cruising vessel.

Then go!

[JGarrick]

Originally Posted by markpj23

There are liveaboard slips available in San Diego with a reasonable wait list. Chula Vista marina and now the soon-to-open Pier 32 Marina complex in National City...

Thanks for the heads up. Most of the other places I looked into accepted few, if any, liveaboards, and typically they were limited to singles or couples with no kids.

Just from looking around, it also appeared that a lot of the boats at the moorings near Shelter Island, downtown, and Coronado were also either liveaboards or cruisers passing through (I wasn't there long enough to figure out which), but if living on a boat at a dock is impractical, living on a boat at a mooring seems downright nutty. On the other hand, it's dirt cheap at around $120/mo at Shelter Island.

Kids consume electricity. A mooring could be a problem. Consider the number of trips you make every day on land with school, soccer practice, football, birthday parties, scouts or whatever else your kids are into. Now consider how much effort it is to get them all ready and in the car. No think how much harder it would be to do all this in a walk in closet, then stuff them all in an MG and push the car to the destination. Moorings are not ideal for every day living.
Still, to rtbates, I would say, I can not sleep on land anymore. I miss the motion.
To jzk I will say I love it, and can not think of a single thing that I miss about living on land. Only trade-offs. Still, I wouldn't do it if my kids were still at home and in school.

[S/V Elusive]

For those that don't know - Kai owns three boats and two houses, and definately qualifies as an authority on various places to sleep (we won't even mention the land based vehicles). <veg>

As for live aboards not sailing much. I believe, that like most things, trying to generalize people usually leads to gross misunderstandings. In Kai's case, he has a 'throw down' boat so he can go sailing when ever he wants. But we both have boats that we live aboard (or will be living aboard) that will also function as our recreational sailing venues and eventual cruisers.

I took my boat out July 4th (oh what fun it is to ride amongst so many that know so little) for a little sail. It took me 30 minutes below decks to prepare the boat to get under way (including making and eating a sandwich), and 20 minutes above deck.

The sail was lovely, thank you for asking - winds were 13 knots out of the WSW, with W swells of 5 to 6 feet at 8 seconds. My first tack, after sailing out of the harbor, was toward Gina (an offshore oil platform) about 6 miles out , closely hauled. I made an average of 6.5 knots with the wind 50 degrees to starboard. Then a nice beam to broad reach, getting an average of 7.6 knots for about 6 miles. Then the very broad reach to run back to the harbor (only averaged about 5 knots). A little victory sail around the harbor -heavy on the horn, before I dropped sails and motored into my slip.

Three and a half hours or so of sailing (single handed). Then, about an hour to put the boat to bed topside, and about 40 minutes to straighten up and put the boat back to live aboard condition below. So about a 1:1 correlation between the work necessary to go sailing, and the actual sailing. This is not always appealing to a live aboard. It is so much easier to go on someone else's boat. And yes, I could have stayed out longer, but there were other considerations that limited my time - just like all of us.

It is very easy to fall into a liveaboard frame of mind and think of your boat as a home, rather than transportation that you can live in. I keep reminding myself that I'm a cruiser who is temporarily forced to be a liveaboard until I can resume cruising. That is what keeps me taking these little trips - and keeping track of how much time it took to prepare and resume vs. the time I was out.

I like to think - and I suspect many others are of simillar mind - that when you live aboard, you are, to some extent, cruising; maybe not far away, but when you climb into your bunk and doze off, there is no telling what island you are then at.

No wonder you weren't returning your calls

[mrohr]

Hi all:Such honesty! The truth shall make you free.
Living on land in house: easy. With kids: less so.
Living on boat at dock: some what more difficult if a car available. With kids:Quite difficult
living on a mooring: quite difficult. With kids: Extremely difficult with no offsets
Traveling aboard a well found cruiser with some $ and knowledgeable parents extremely difficult but priceless.
After all nothing is impossible, people here in NYC live in subways and cardboard boxes , but the trappings of civilization and legality fall by the wayside. Best to reread all the post above and think long and hard about all the details. Good Luck.

[Hudson Force]

My wife and I moved aboard in our early twenties and remained aboard for six years before the first of two children was born. I might not have good advice because we grew into our life aboard without "giving up" an established home ashore. Two considerations that kept us happy aboard were living in a suburban marina with plenty of safe shore play areas for our children and their firends and keeping our boat in a condition and status that allowed us to spontaneously leave the dock for an afternoon sail within fifteen minutes of preparation. Our live aboard friendly area before fulltime cruising was NE Florida, but we've seen many places with great potential for leaving the dock and keeping a "home" slip.

[atmartin]

I know it's an old thread, but it's been revived.

It's interesting to read many of the comments about living aboard in SD; the situation has changed dramatically in the last year or two.

My girlfriend and I recently purchased a 31 footer (January 2011) and moved it to a marina on Shelter Island and will be living aboard starting in July. The majority of marinas in San Diego Bay have openings, even for liveaboards.

With that said, there's a big difference between calling and asking about availability and whatnot and meeting face-to-face (and not looking like a derelict). I got somewhat different responses from the same marina on phone vs. in person. Having a photo of your (hopefully) clean and presentable boat helps too.

We had some concerns, since I heard a lot of marina's don't want liveaboards in boats under 35' (ours is 35' with bowsprit), but clearly this a renter's market.

[roverhi]

I've looked at the economics of living aboard and it makes sense in California. Take the SF Bay Area's Alameda as a for instance. 100 year old, 1200 sq ft frame houses are selling for near $500,000. What I would consider a nice house, nothing really ostentatious or huge goes for $750,000 and mostly up. This is after the realestate crash and property is selling.

For $200,000-$300,000, I can buy a damned nice boat, something in the 45' plus range. Slip fees are about $8-$10 a foot so $500 a month for slip rent. Add a County tax of about a $2,000 a year and we have monthly ownership expenses of around $800 a month not counting the boat and utilities. So we are into a quality residence of about the same square footage as a house for half the money.

With a boat, you don't have the fun of yard maintenance and all the other neat things that are entailed in a house like buying furniture, window coverings, wall hangings, floor treatments, etc, etc.

I like living in a a marina. By and large, you have really interesting people around you and quite often from all walks of life. It's a bunch of people who are slightly off kilter because they own a boat. Hell of a lot more interesting than the people in a typical residential neighborhood. They tend to be a community rather than a bunch of people isolated in houses connected only by geography.

Living aboard takes more discipline than living in a normal abode. You don't have unlimited space to collect the detritus of what we consider normal suburban living. You have to make a decision what's really important in your life and stick with it. You also have to be more organized especially if you expect to take the boat out occasionally. You just can't leave things laying about or thrown into a closet. But then your neatness has a purpose other than some anal fetish drilled into you by your parents.

We lived aboard for a couple of years. It was probably the happiest time of our marriage. It was pre kids so didn't have to deal with that but didn't feel we were giving up anything to live on the boat. In fact, felt we had a much richer life living on the boat. The few people who were living aboard with kids seemed to be doing just fine. Most had children older than 5 and only one or two of them. The kids had the run of the marina and usually had their own dinghy to explore with. The kids would take their dinghies out for exploring the environs, impromptu racing and just getting away from the stuffy adults. The kids seemed to be much better adjusted and comfortable around adults. The families seemed to be much more integrated and closer to each other. Didn't seem to have the wild rebellion and acting out that inflicts so many today. We didn't have real jobs that required the trappings of a profession. My wife worked at an alternative school for behaviour problem kids with the daily wrestling matches that that required. I was finishing up our boat and doing pick up work around the marina. We didn't have a big wardrobe requirement. Those who were living aboard and maintaining a corporate appearance usually had an alternative storage medium. The most popular was a panel van that did multiple duty as a workshop, storage area, clothes closet and 2nd, car if the need arose. Parking wasn't tight and they parked at far corners of the lot so it wasn't a problem to keep the extra vehicle.

So for my money, I'd say try it out. Of course, there is the big problem of finding a slip. Know the waiting list for liveaboard in Alameda was very long and probably the same in most other other desirable areas in SF Bay. The only place that it was easy to find live aboard slips was Richmond which seemed to have more murders than births. Of course, the marina areas were insulated from the big crime areas but not by a lot. Do have an acquaintance who lives there and likes it. Of course, he's a cop and runs around armed most of the time. What you could do is find a slip wherever it's possible for the immediate need. Keep your name on the marinas live aboard wait list where you want to be and move when the opportunity arises.

Best of luck in putting it all together. Remember, the people who aren't living aboard and giving you advice aren't living aboard.

[rtbates]

Not much imagination, huh??

To give it a trail run. All of you need to move into ONE of your current rooms. Give that a shot and she how she goes. For realism every now and then open a window and spary in a little or alot of water...

Oh yea it's a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by roverhi

..................Living aboard takes more discipline than living in a normal abode. You don't have unlimited space to collect the detritus of what we consider normal suburban living. You have to make a decision what's really important in your life and stick with it. You also have to be more organized especially if you expect to take the boat out occasionally. You just can't leave things laying about or thrown into a closet. But then your neatness has a purpose other than some anal fetish drilled into you by your parents................ We didn't have real jobs that required the trappings of a profession.................. Remember, the people who aren't living aboard and giving you advice aren't living aboard.

So, with our near forty years of living aboard I'm beaming with the pride of being a disciplined person who is not burdened by the trappings of a "profession"..............well, maybe a profession, but certainly not burdened! Thanks, we enjoyed your insights.

[dropanchorfor3]

Originally Posted by Kai Nui

I have to agree that the chosen location has allot to do with the discouraging comments so far. The delta does still have live aboard slips, and warm weather. There are lots of day sail destinations there as well. Not the best sailing, and a few shallows. Also not the best public schools for the kids. But, it is a good option. Also a reasonable commute to several large cities where you might be able to continue working if that is part of the plan.

Not the best for public schools. Your right one thing to remember your children's education always comes first. Part of being a parent, even if it means your dreams are on hold for a bit. Don't make your children suffer it's not worth it. Maybe you can rent something in San Diego and stay on the boat on weekends.

[zeehag]

living aboard in san diego is very very expensive. is why i am not there anymore..LOL

[Capt Phil]

We loved life aboard... first on a Transpac 49 for about 5 years which we cruised from S Cal to Mexico and puttered around the Sea of Cortez for a few years then back to San Diego to a marina. I did deliveries up and down the coast while my wife was in the Personal Training business. Then moved aboard a Defever 54 for almost another 5 years and we cruised most weekends locally with the odd 2-3 week trip to the Channel Islands. We adjusted just fine to the limited space and didn't feel the need for a shore side base. Only left the life due to poor health and advancing years otherwise we would still be there. My kids grew up living aboard in British Columbia with me and my then wife (now deceased) and although they are in their 40's now still tell me it was the best years of their life growing up. We did some home schooling in those days but there wasn't the govt watching everything you did with your family like they do today. Both now have college degrees and young families but feel that there are too many legal impediments to bring their families up the way they were raised... pity! They both have decent morals, respect others and work at fulfilling jobs so it is important that they have good role models and are given a good set of values learned living aboard.
I would highly recommend the life aboard, with kids or not, but try and find a place without all the oversight and restrictions we have now... Capt Phil