LEAVING BOAT

[Trippin]

Ok so that went well... time for next newbie question - Assuming you want to do some stuff onshore, like touring etc, how long can you leave a boat unattended if tied up to marina? That is, how long is reasonable to be away from the boat? And what is the usual procedure? Do you have the marina staff keeping a eye on it?

I suppose what I want to know is if its possible to do other travel while being a liveaboard?

[SailFastTri]

It’s always a good idea to have a trustworthy person check the boat daily, if possible, or at least to check the lines before/after storms. I like to arrange for a dockhand or manager to watch it, for a few extra bucks. There’s also technology you can use to monitor the boat remotely using WiFi or cellular hotspots, or even Starlink (if the boat is on shore power). The tech options are extensive, ranging from purpose-designed marine systems to adapting inexpensive home security tech. (I have battery powered cams in the bilges, main cabin, and cockpit).
If you don’t have any of those things, your anxiety level will be justifiably higher.

[HankOnthewater]

Yes, you can leave the boat unattended when sight seeing and travelling away from your boat.

In a marina?
You can leave a boat as long as you want, as long as you pay the bills.
You are right that it makes sense that someone is keeping an eye on your boat, but generally marina staff do not do that.
The most important thing is that ropes are not subject to chafe. secondly, as battery systems are getting more complicated, check on the health of the batteries. And for boats that could take on water (think wooden boats), that bilge pumps are kept in working order, either on battery power or via shore power.
Also for more common sense things like to tie back slapping halyards and things like that.
And the question is always.... shall I keep it connected to shore power or not?

On a mooring?
Even more important to have someone to keep an eye on your boat. As above, plus to keep an eye on the the single mooring line/chain, plus nesting birds.

At anchor?
Maybe for a day or so, but likely not for extended periods. I would not move away from boat for more than 24 hours.

[gonesail]

i have left mine tied up for months at a time. make a checklist of things to do when leaving the boat. the dockmaster usually does visuals on the boats but that's about it.

[AiniA]

Marina - We left our boat at a marina in Simonstown, South Africa for about 10 months after I suffered a serious hand injury that required three surgeries and months of rehab. This was about the worst place possible since katabatic winds of 50 knots were common. Winds were strong enough that a 12" fender split open at one point. We hired a boat keeper who was terrific. When we got back to the boat we had seven fenders and 13 dock lines, but the boat was fine.

Mooring - We left Ainia on double moorings in a river in Ecuador while we went backpacking in Ecuador and Peru for a month. The moorings were owned by an American ex-cruiser who had staff who checked the boats daily.

Anchor - We left the boat for four nights in the harbour of San Cristobal island in the Galapagos, while we did a tour of the islands. The harbour was well-protected and there is virtually no wind in the area anyway. The town also seemed quite safe. The boat was fine when we got back. To show how things can go wrong, the day after our return the tsunami from the Japanese earthquake came (the harbour faces Japan) and we had to abandon the harbour for a few hours.

Conclusion - you just have to take it case-by-case.

[Fore and Aft]

Trippin you can leave a boat for years in a marina without touching it. I personally know two boats that have not been touched for coming up three years. One in particular the owner rings me and asks if I could have a quick look to make sure it's alright.
Cheers

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Trippin you can leave a boat for years in a marina without touching it. I personally know two boats that have not been touched for coming up three years. One in particular the owner rings me and asks if I could have a quick look to make sure it's alright.
Cheers

Yeah, I know of a couple of sail boats that have not moved in years. Sails and running rigging were covered in mold last time I saw the boats. At one point, there was tall mold growing on one of the cabin tops, it looked like an unmowed lawn, but someone did clean that up. Dock lines were a mess too.

The dock fees over the last few years are likely more than the value of the boats.

I wonder what the inside of the boats is like.....

Hurricanes have passed over and near the marina several times in the last few years and those boats survived.

Later,
Dan

[Marathon1150]

As others have said, you can leave it as long as you want. But, depending on where it is, even tied up in a marina, there are some things that can/should be done to minimize grief on your return. We have left our boat for up to 2 years in a marina in Papeete because we could not get back to it during the pandemic. French Polynesia was shut down.

But we had someone do the following every two weeks: start the engine and let it run until it was up to temperature, flush the head, check the bilge, check the canvas.

Even then the heat and humidity did terrible damage. You can read about it here: https://currents.bluewatercruising.o...ting-horizons/

[Trippin]

Thanks. That is what I was hoping for. Be a great way to explore new places. Always having a home base.

[Liberty Tambien]

Originally Posted by Trippin

Ok so that went well... time for next newbie question - Assuming you want to do some stuff onshore, like touring etc, how long can you leave a boat unattended if tied up to marina? That is, how long is reasonable to be away from the boat? And what is the usual procedure? Do you have the marina staff keeping a eye on it?

I suppose what I want to know is if its possible to do other travel while being a liveaboard?

As a liveaboard cruiser, its very case by case.

I anchor 100% of the time, i ain't got the funds for docking.

Always anchor in a cove, so you aren't subject to large gusts of wind. generally if your anchor is gonna drag it'll drag when you set it, so just keep n eye on the sea floor that you're anchored on. Some have large beds of seaweed X dont go there, some are muddy, those work, make sure you got enough line out though, sand is same as mud, rocks you wanna stay away from, especially if you have large tide changes, usually rocks you'd want a specific anchor for.

If your boat is good and swinging safely, ur good to leave it there for about 3 months at a time. the hard part is where to store the dingy? Some marinas are ok with a dingy off to the side for who cares how long, others wont even let you have it tied up for a day. beaching is pretty much always a NO in public, at a national park or somewhere you can hide it away from the big eye is generally ok for a week. If you can drag it up on a boat launch and take it with you, even better, Inflatables make this easy, you could probably backpack it in an emergency.

Make sure you can put the dingy somewhere safe before you leave and after that, your pretty much good for 3 months.. maybe more if your in a secluded area.

I have left my boat unattended for a good while and have gone on road trips and come back to nothing being messed with and everything just the way i left it, Just check ahead of time where you plan on going and see what their rules are and wether or not you can strike up a deal or not.