Cruising while NOT living aboard?

[thesaltytar]

To be fair, there are all types of people. The variety is what makes life fun. It would be boring if everyone agreed with me on the finer points, such as the obvious advantages of the gaff schooner as a rig.

But more to your point, I'm not confident it is correct. It might be but what is your source? I grew up living on all sorts of boats. We never even cranked the engines. My family talked about it a lot, but it was really a lifestyle choice. It provided a good floating foundation to decry the "Man" and how we didn't like living in "boxes." Horrible things with climate control and no chance of sinking whatsoever. No, that was not to be our fate. We were liveaboards.

So there are many types of liveaboards.

[Tetepare]

Technically, while cruising one IS living aboard. That is, unless you sail from port to port, and then stay in a hotel at night (the uber rich actually do this.)

Whether one cruises for a weekend for a decade, is at anchor or on a dock, if one spends significant time aboard, and sleeps aboard, that's living aboard.

Whether one owns a home as well is immaterial. We "live aboard" though typically these days that's limited to weekends. Our friends live aboard in summer, and return to a land house in TX in winter.

Many people own boats and live aboard when time allows, often far from home. As seen from stories in this thread, COVID put a real brake on this. So there is risk, as there is with any approach.

[rslifkin]

Marinas restricting liveaboards is more of an issue in places where boats commonly stay in the water all year. In the frozen north, derelict boats aren't as much of a concern, as most of the boats come out of the water for winter. So marinas don't have the same concern for derelict liveaboards (as most that live aboard in this climate only do it for part of the year, or they actively use the boat and go south for winter).

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by more

99,9999999 people doing like this
have boat in marina and coming on boat xx week yearly or on weekend
only strange people living on boat all year, living on boat all year is not healthy all this people have problem with back,neck

I agree with the first part. True full time year round liveaboard cruisers are rare. Most cruisers are the weekend variety.

As far as being unhealthy...that's just silly. Maybe if you are cramming a family of 5 in a 20ft monohull but for a reasonably sized boat properly outfitted, it's a non-issue.

We've done variations from weekending to full time. The further from home, the more challenges. At one point, we were keeping the boat in Spain for a few years. We finally sold that one because getting sufficient time on her was just not working out.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Anders

Most people that liveaboard don't stay in a marina.

It depends on the location but I would say it's the opposite in most places.

[sck5]

We left our boat on the hard in some boatyard or other in the islands (Antigua and Grenada mostly) during hurricane season and came back for 5 months or so every year. When sailing around we anchored out a lot but not exclusively.

Many people seemed to be doing what we were doing. Many from both N. America and Europe - seemed fewer and fewer US boats the farther south we got.

Insurance sure got expensive after the hurricanes though

[Happ]

Originally Posted by more

99,9999999 people doing like this
have boat in marina and coming on boat xx week yearly or on weekend
only strange people living on boat all year, living on boat all year is not healthy all this people have problem with back,neck

Strange people? Really? A lot of people live on their boats. Maybe you can’t afford it or just not choose that lifestyle. But to call them strange I think is harsh and wonder why you are on this forum?

[Networker]

I’m doing this currently, we’re off to the Caribbean from Oct to May 2023, then will put the boat on the hard somewhere and head to Alaska to hike, kayak and pack raft from June - Sept, then we go to Europe from Sept to Xmas 2023 or so, then back to boat and cross Panama Canal and Pacific from Jan to Oct 2024. Then we will haul out again before cyclone season, where I don’t know.

Ideally we’d like to live aboard full time and get on with the circumnavigation, but have some reasons to stay in US part time for a another year or two, hopefully by 2025 we can go full time for a few years and wrap up the circumnavigation slowly…

[OneBoatman]

This is the way the great majority of cruisers have been doing it for years, only the bravest go all in. The advantages are you still have your land home to go back to if illness or tragedy strikes, and of course assuming you can afford both "homes" you alone get to pick and choose your home waters and enjoy so long as you remain mostly unharmed by hurricanes. The down sides: You need extra care in choosing the marinas for the boat whether on land or at a slip because wrt security, you may have only a cameras look to check your boat when you're away. The cost of maintenance is generally much higher because trips to the boat are more expensive with distance, and you may not be there to do anything yourself for nearly have the year. Prices of anything you can't do yourself and most everything else associated with boating have skyrocketed in the past 5 yrs or so. These things should be considered before you jump in.

[rwallace]

We started out living aboard while traveling - emphasis on traveling - but are now “commuter cruisers”. We store the boat on the hard in the most storm safe place we can find, then splash when the next season comes around. This works well as it keeps us from settling in one place too long and maintains enthusiasm for the next cruise. True, you loose some of that “street cred” of being a full timer, but for us it works.

No matter how long your cruise appears in the beginning, you will eventually have to “bury the anchor” ashore. Can’t tell you the number of cruisers I’ve met or known of that have either aged out or lost interest. Better to keep a few options open.

[merrydolphin]

The way that we made cruising work was to make it our full time endeavor. This does a couple of things that really help.
1. Keeps upkeep and maintenance continual, thoroughly and therefore easier as things don’t build up. And boats HATE to sit. And,
2. Cost. When the boat is our entire overhead, the cruising life is pretty affordable. No house or anything to pay for or be responsible for. NO cost ashore.

This is my choice. Tried for a while to have a house and cruising boat and when the boat, its maintenance, payments, dockage and insurance became more that the cost of the house with same, something had to give. One or the others, but not both.

[Grith]

There is another way and we are in the process of emulating friends who have been doing it 6 months a year for over 30 years.
They have used a 25 foot trailer sailer (Court 750) here in Australia. They live in a relatively cheap location about 40 miles from the water (and 30miles from their state capital) in the hills on a half acre block with room for the yacht on trailer and 4x4 on their driveway.
We have chosen to go up a size to a 28 foot trailable yacht with standing headroom at the galley, a shower toilet compartment and big double bed not requiring deconstructing the dining/lounge area.
We have also chosen a different type of home base being a slightly remote ( an hour 10 min from a major state capital) very small marina development along with buying the vacant block next door for on land yacht and truck camper storage.
Whilst only 9 months into retirement now it’s been perfect.
Step on board sailing from the back yard whilst the whole country to explore unique sailing destinations in accessed by yacht on trailer.
Just another route for those not focussed on ocean crossing sailing. 🙂

[Moana Bella]

We currently, for last 18 months, live aboard and run a business. Mostly work on the boat, but have to go back home about 4 times per year to work.
I am thinking of reclaiming my rented out house next year, so we have somewhere to go when we return home, and can set up a comfortable office. Not agreeing with a previous comment about liveaboards being "strange", but I do have to agree about back and neck problems when you spend hours of a day working on a laptop on a boat.
I anticipate we would do very much as you suggest, sail the boat from place to place while cruising, and spend approx. half the year home working.
That way we can get our work out of the way while home in a comfy office, and when we go to the boat, can get on with enjoying sailing and travelling.
The biggest issue I see is cost. You are then funding the cost of a house and a boat, and paying marina fees whenever you leave the boat. Airfares have shot up out of control in Aus just in the last few weeks, so that adds to cost also.
Second issue, as others have said, is the time it takes to prepare the boat to be left, and what you need to do when you return. Boats do not like sitting around unattended. As a minimum, I recommend you get a good dehumidifier and leave it going when you are away, with all the doors and drawers open. This will at least keep mould at bay. Even in a 'dry' climate area, it is surprising what a difference this makes. You will also preferably find someone reliable to keep an eye on the boat and let you know if anything happens. Also worthwhile to install a tracking device that will alarm if someone disconnects it. Not that I have personally heard of any boat thefts from marinas, but it will relieve any anxiety when the AIS mysteriously stops transmitting. (that happens a bit) And they only cost about $300 or cheaper ones uninstalled are about $40, so you could hide a couple of them in the boat.
And lastly there is the heads. We haven't done this yet, but I am putting it on my "leave the boat checklist". Worthwhile to go out and dump or pump out holding tanks and then leave the heads with fresh water and vinegar in them. Full holding tanks and seawater in the bowl is not a nice greeting when you rejoin the love of your salty life.

[thesaltytar]

..what an interesting journey this was. The next time I see a strange person with back and neck issues, I will secretly know the truth...

Having lived aboard, for a number of years, I do enjoy it. Again, I also enjoy the contrast of going from a camping-style experience to back home again. I feel it helps me keep the boat honest because I'm not asking too much of her. This is just speaking for me and my vessel, and how I feel about that amount of space. But for a few weeks, or a month or two? Sure, no problem! It's an adventure.

I'm not really worried about street cred anymore, but the logistical challenges of being separated from the vessel, that IS real, and that can be a problem for ongoing maintenance. I think Grith has it figured out. That's an awesome craft. Reminds me of the MacGregor 26s but in all accounts better. I'm really impressed by that craft.

Does anyone have any experience leaving their vessel at a mooring, or well-anchored? I see the obvious reasons for leaving it at the dock, but docks do get expensive, and people moor boats all summer in New England, etc., why not moor them somewhere else? I suppose if a person's boat drags or sinks you live locally and ostensibly have a rolodex (boom: dated myself) of vendors that can help but, honestly, the damage is done. The other option might be haul out for dry storage?

Maybe these factors are affected by the length of your cruising season compared to the period of time away?

[Moana Bella]

Originally Posted by thesaltytar

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Does anyone have any experience leaving their vessel at a mooring, or well-anchored? I see the obvious reasons for leaving it at the dock, but docks do get expensive, and people moor boats all summer in New England, etc., why not moor them somewhere else? I suppose if a person's boat drags or sinks you live locally and ostensibly have a rolodex (boom: dated myself) of vendors that can help but, honestly, the damage is done. The other option might be haul out for dry storage?

You might want to check your insurance before leaving your boat unattended on a swing mooring or on anchor.
Don't know about your part of the world, but it's not really a thing with insurance companies in AUS. Actually they don't like to insure very much at all when it comes to boats. But sadly that has been the big story of my week..... Grrrrrr......