Conversation/Advice for Planning to Liveaboard

[Islandgirl2018]

Hello;
We're a middle aged crazy couple (50 something) and our dream is to purchase a trawler and live aboard full time!!! Thinking of a 1980's 42' Kadey Krogen or similar. We live in Victoria BC, Canada and would like any conversation/advice?? pros/cons, costs, are we crazy.

[a64pilot]

Well, quite a few of us are.
You going to love aboard, that far North year round?
No plan on traveling?

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Islandgirl2018

Hello;
We're a middle aged crazy couple (50 something) and our dream is to purchase a trawler and live aboard full time!!! Thinking of a 1980's 42' Kadey Krogen or similar. We live in Victoria BC, Canada and would like any conversation/advice?? pros/cons, costs, are we crazy.

FWIW, you might get more response about your boat targets on trawlerforum.com (sister site).

-Chris

[Islandgirl2018]

Yes, we're still working for a few more years and this is where we live, so planning to start out here. It's not really cold here and may get one snowfall of wet stuff each winter. We plan to cruise around the Gulf Islands in the summer.

[JPA Cate]

Welcome aboard CF, Island Girl,

No crazier than some of us! Not to worry. Determined landlubbers will never understand. It's your lives and you guys decide how you want to spend them.

Ann

[Pelagic]

Definitely not crazy and much cheaper than owning a waterfront lot in the Gulf Islands these days.[emoji4]

Best advice I can give you is....

Don't just think of cruising with the boat during the busy Sumner season

Being in Victoria, you dont have Georgia Straight winter gales to worry about, so plan to do weekend trips and the boat then makes far more sense.

Look for a well insulated and heated trawler with spacious cockpit enclosures, so you can extend out your living space year round.

If it's in your budget, consider a simple rental apartment near your work, so that you can position your boat further up the Vancouver Island coast.

A Friday night to Sunday visit by car to explore different areas year round will increase the enjoyment exponentially.

[TrentePieds]

Hello Islandgirl, and welcome :-)


I agree with Pelagic. I don't need to tell you that from, say Cowichan Bay, Victoria is a commute to Victoria no longer than the commute most eople must suffer on the Mainland :-) Ladysmith is a few minutes more. Last summer there was a lovely trawler for sale in Oak Bay Marina. Not sure if OBM permit liveaboards, but I know that there are several live-aboards in Ladysmith. So on that score I think you are talking mere logistics :-)

After you slough off the shackles, Port Hardy merits a lookie-see. Living aboard IS permitted, and a one bedroom condo for a winter crash-pad can still be bought for fifty or sixty grand. And the "suburbs" of PH are close neuff to the harbour/marina that you can walk. The is an active summer time market for rental accommodation for visiting Americans. Play the game right, and rentals paid by American tourists will buy the condo for you :-)

One of our members is an expert on Alert Bay. Authentic "First nations", and the wharfinger tells me that they DO accept livaboards.

Lotsa ways to skin the cat, so you are not crazy. At the beginning of your learning curve, perhaps, but not crazy :-)!

TrentePieds

[Cadence]

Have at it, your only young once.
Some of the egg heads I discourage but you sound like you have given it thought.
Best of luck.

[waeshael]

Great idea.
But don't buy a boat built outside Canada/USA. You need a trouble free boat to enjoy crying/live aboard. Most trawlers are built in the Far East and there is nothing like the quality control we have in America.
You could consider a Hatteras, or Egg Harbor. I lived on an Egg Harbor 43 for ten years and it was great living but wooden built and cost me $500 a month in maintenance of the woodwork alone.
Most problems with trawlers are to do with hardware - fridge, engine, generators, a/c and so on because they are usually foreign built devices.

There are probably many cruisers in Victoria area who live aboard, and I guess you have talked to most of them.

Anyway, go and do it as soon as you can. You will still be able to cruise into your seventies.
Cheers

[alansmith]

I always like the Kogens. But pricey... but well done. Enjoy your retirement years. God knows how hard we worked to get to that point. Choose well!!!! You can’t do that until you have talked to many trawler owners. People usually are very willing to talk about their boats. Especially if you got a couple of beers. Get on the trawler forums and start destroying your remaining eye sight. This is a sailing forum primarily.

Get your mind around how much it will cost for a 45 foot trawler for insurance, maintenance, fuel, marinas, breakage or upgrades, and misc things like navigation and communication. There is so much interesting things to study. Have a great time.

[Islandgirl2018]

Thank you to all!!! Great feedback and love all the positive thoughts! Us 'crazies' all understand one another. Checked out the trawlers forum and we'll move over to that site, as it is probably more suitable to us.
Happy sailing everyone!
Cheers

[flyingfin]

Do you plan on continuing to work or retire? If still working, you are right, it is a dream, so just buy a barge or houseboat and live at the dock. All the liveaboards I know who are not retired have vessels that are nailed to the dock.

[sailorcherry]

I've been aboard that model, a few times, not underway just at anchor and at their slip. It's such a nice layout. The owner's loved her and said she was well built and they hated parting with her when they moved far away. They definitely had high standards and a lot of boat ownership.

Sounds like the perfect boat for your area and plans and with a diesel heater and enclosure year round cruising too.

[ATBster]

Hey there, Island Girl~

We are in our 60's, the 2nd owners of a magnificent Selene 43 'Moondance" (nee Wandering Star) now for about 4 years and have been living aboard for the past year. It is heavenly. One of the best parts of living aboard is the obvious need to downsize.

Now, just the small detail of retiring...
But it's a start!
ATBster