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Astrid · 16-04-2010, 15:09

Marinas are like any neighborhood--some good and some bad. For the most part, they can be safer as has been pointed out. I have been a single woman living aboard for a couple of years now and feel perfectly safe.

**rebel heart** · 16-04-2010, 15:47

My wife's blog: Rebel Heart - The boat and her crew - Charlotte's Blog

freya34 · 16-04-2010, 16:18

Thanks! You have all been very helpful and I'm convinced it will be safe besides I'll have a my dog onboard. So no suprises. Now all thats left is sleeping on a boat. Before I sell everything ,including my horses and buy a boat.

SailPenelope · 16-04-2010, 17:42

I want to live aboard, husband and kids do not, but we do spend many weekends there and plan to cruise full time in a couple of years. I do feel safer there......can secure the boat, there's a locked gate to the dock, and harbor patrol responds promptly to calls.

EelKat · 23-12-2011, 07:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by freya34

Any other women living on their boat's by themselves? I'm considering this and would like your thoughts on how safe marinas are.

I was just wondering this same question.

I grew up in a fishing village, surrounded by boats and fishermen (and angry gun toting lobstermen) my whole life. Weird thing is my parents were farmers and would have nothing to do with boats or fishermen, which is even more strange because both came from long lines of "boating men" and our family have lived on this land since the 1500s always with jobs connected to boats...go figure. My whole life (as in about since I was 4 years old) I've wanted a boat, wanted to live on a boat, spent most of my life obsessing over "ocean things" (mermaids, pirates, fish, beach-aqua jogging...). I've lived right on the edge of the ocean my whole life (a terrible place for farming btw, between the sand and the cold salt wind and the 90 day growing season, nothing grows.) Every 4th of July I stand on the beach to watch the fireworks and spend more time watching the people watching from their boats. Every Christmas Santa rides into town on his lobster boat. The only thing this region is good for is fishermen and boats, seeing as we are daily bombarded by heavy rain and have temps under 50F most of the year, dropping to -48F in deep winter. You really have to love the ocean to be insane enough to live here...not many people do and I'm one of the not many, and I'm one of the few who lives here and doesn't have a boat. *sigh*

I feel in love with this amazing old 40' yacht years ago, tried to buy it, deal went through.

Anyways I start college next month and, was trying to figure out housing arrangements so I don't have to drive so far...and well, the whole coast of Maine is boats no matter where you go, and low and behold the college is neighbors with a boat yard. perfect! a place to live, now I need a boat... and that 40' yacht I wanted years ago... still for sale ... she's grounded, been grounded over 20 years - she was in much better shape when I tried to buy her years ago - now she needs A LOT of work to get her sea worthy again, no one wants to spend the time.

So I've spent my recent days obsessing over how to get this boat fixed, so I can live on it, how much work does she need, how much will it cost me to fix her, can I do the repairs myself or will I have to hire out, will it be cheaper to buy a different boat, etc, etc, etc and than it occurred to me... hey... I'm a woman alone, is this whole living on a boat thing even possible?

For some reason I never thought about that part til just now - been thinking about living on a boat most of my life, but never thought about the fact that every one around here living on a boat are families, and I've never seen a boat this size with less than 5 or 6 people on it... can a single person even run a boat this size on their own... wow, you'd think all this thinking about living on a boat I would have thought of this before, but nope, I didn't. It never occurred to me to think that maybe I couldn't do this alone.

Your question, was "is it safe", I'm not worried about that sort of thing... I've lived around this environment my whole life, I'd feel less safe away from it. My question is more into the range of: how a big a boat can a single woman handle by herself? a 40' yacht is a pretty big boat, but than I was also considering a 60' yacht for a while... is a 40' yacht too big for a woman alone? How hard is it for a woman alone to live on a boat? What about emergancies, say I end up in the hospital, who'll look after the boat and my cats?

And than there is the weather. We get some pretty hellish weather here. What about blizzards? We get hit by blizzards every few days 3 or 4 months a year, the boats have to come out of the water during hurricans and blizzards...where do you live while you wait out the storm? What about the snow? Snow gets dumped on us 3 to 9 feet per storm, 3 to 5 days a week 4 to 7 months a year. Did I mention that people think every one who lives here is crazy because of the extreme weather we get? How the heck do you live fulltime on a boat, year round, HERE? I know people do it...I also know that when they get news of a storm they pull the boats out of the water and spend a week with relatives in Florida...uhm, but what about a single woman like me with no family to stay with and the boat being the only place I have to live?

But yeah, I could go on asking questions about this for hours. I guess I have a bit more research to do before I move into a boat, at least, before I move into a boat full time on a storm driven ice coated rocky coast.

Astrid · 23-12-2011, 08:47

Hi. I am afraid that I cannot really offer much advice on how to handle your winters up in Maine. I live in Northern British Columbia and we do not have quite the same severe winter weather along the coast and islands as you do in Maine. I was in your area a few years ago during winter, and felt like I would never get warm again.

As to the boat, a great deal of the work needed to get an older boat ship shape again might have to be done by a professional, so I would really advise you to think about a newer design that will not take so much to get it ready for moving aboard. You would really be much better off with a more recently built vessel unless you can come up with one that has been well maintained over the years. Otherwise you will find you need to be a painter, woodworker, cabinet maker, plumber, electrician, rigger, and mechanic all in one.

As far as size goes, 40' should be just about right for living aboard. I have a 50' and it does not feel too large to me, so I am sure a 40 will be fine. A 60' will be a handful to handle, and at the same time will cost you more in moorage fees compared to a 40'.

Asta

SailPenelope · 24-12-2011, 11:22

40 feet is fine. You don't have to do everything at once. I've lived aboard, and want to live aboard again. I had a Catalina 30 for years, now have a CT41 ketch. It's a ton of work, but I'm learning (took wood working classes and have good friends and family to help).

It has to capture your soul. For me, the newer boats don't, but the CT41....a William Garden design with traditional lines - awesome. And at night, with the kerosene lights and the wood interior......priceless. This boat has a fiberglass hull......so I don't have to worry about rot below the waterline.

Go sailing, hang out at boatyards, talk to people......you'll find the right boat for you. Then start taking care of it and gradually move aboard. Remember the movie "Captain Ron"? OK, a comedy, but full of soul.......and more underlying truth than many want to admit. You don't have to learn everything at once. It does help to have a good engine. (and it's a great way to judge an older boat........if the engine is clean, well maintained, well then, the rest of the boat probably is also.)

You will get to know every square inch of your boat. You'll get to know every pump, valve, and fitting. You'll spend a fortune at the boatyard.....yes, maybe more than you should, but you'll be learning. As a general rule, offer no more than 80% of asking price, and get a good survey.......then make the repairs the surveyor recommends.

You will get frustrated. You will cry. And it's OK, and it's all good. You'll find out who really knows their stuff, and who's just giving you a line. You'll be overwhelmed, and you'll be right at home. I have never regretted this and neither will you. It is the fullness of life.

sailstoo · 24-12-2011, 12:59

Location, location, location

captainKJ · 24-12-2011, 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by freya34

Any other women living on their boat's by themselves? I'm considering this and would like your thoughts on how safe marinas are.

What marina are you in??? slip number also,,,,and do you prefer red or white wine???best time to come by?????? fish or steak??????

Charon · 24-12-2011, 16:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lesmusic1

I am currently packing all my things from my landhouse and will be living on my 28ft sailboat. My husband found another woman and we are in the middle of a divorce.

I am sooo excited to live on my boat full time!!! I have no hot water there and not much room for my things, but I am soooooo ready! I feel more safe at our marina then out in the real world. The locked gates are so nice!

If anyone has any advice on how to make things easier, please let me know. I am a musician of 30 years so I am having to figure out what to do with my equipment when I'm not working.

I'm in Oregon.....and really want to find a sailing friend, male or female, I do have alot more to learn...(like the desiel engine) and want to do some up grades, etc.

SO...any sailers on the Columbia River who want to chat? I'm so ready for this move, didn't exspect to have to make this move in 3 weeks and hoping I've got everything organized...LOL Right!

Not sure about your musical equipment - but I play piano ad have a great Casio piano keyboard (88 note - with proper weighted keys) that never goes out of tune and plugs into my inverter. I use it in a little jazz band (Piano and singer) and it fits in a tall locker that is my mizzen compression post. Mouth organ, piccolo, recorder and clarinet would be easier - but I could also play the harp or double bass (however that could be a great dinghy!)

So go for it. I also moved aboard after a property settlement that left me somewhat homeless - and I love it. I have a great place to live and I am part of a community of wonderful lifelong friends - oriningally in a Marina in Hobart (Tasmania) and now cruising around the Aussie East Coast.

Good on you and you will do fine.http://www.cruisersforum.com/images/.../whistling.gif

R

MacG · 24-12-2011, 16:06

Frankly speaking I am somewhat surprised that there are women that prefer a boat to live on.
I've never met such so-called "Mermaids" - but only girls/woman with a strong dislike for the sailing craft let alone living on the water.
In Holland we have Laura Dekker, but she was born on the open sea and living on a boat is her normal habitat. But she is almost unique in her attitude.

Now I learn that living on a boat is not that uncommon to the free spirited females who call themselves "Mermaids".

I have never seen one in Holland or France, not even in the UK when I was there with my previous boat. I find it encouraging that there are more Laura Dekkers on this planet.

atoll · 24-12-2011, 16:37

here in the uk 3 of our closest friends are single women living on boats,2 of them with children,,all in mud berths with tidal consiserations,no shore power or water!!

at this moment my wife and kids are spending xmas doing a bit of cruising around the bay on board a 50 ft yacht that is sailed single handed by a woman.

so all i can say ,the only limits are those you place on yourself,and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
happy xmas