Hey Big Nick, you started quite a thread here! LOL
I read most of the posts, and skimmed the rest. I have a few thoughts (some of which has been touched on already). I figured I would share a little of what my experience has been like. I can't speak much to
living aboard right now, I am not there yet. But I am close to people who have made the jump and I am helping my brother get aboard his own boat (he is still shopping).
The first thing I was going to suggest is to think about the Gulf or Atlantic coasts. I found my first boat in Virginia. She was a
Columbia 8.7
sloop and I paid less than $1k for her. She needed some work, but was a full
seaworthy boat. A little small for
liveaboard, and not a
blue water boat by any means. But she had enough space for vacations (wife, daughter, and dog along) and enough
headroom in the
salon for me to stand erect (I am 6'4"). I had her for 18 months and cut my teeth on her in the Chesapeak, which are really forgiving waters to sail in. The slip I had her in cost me $950 a year, including
electric. She was only hauled out for scrape,
paint, and inspections. I let her go to a good friend in exchange for some work on my
new boat. He is currently
living aboard her part time and is sailing south toward the Carolinas in the spring.
After her I bought my
current boat, a Westsail 32
cutter. She is bigger, more comfortable, and more of a
blue water boat than my
Columbia was. She would be more than enough boat for a couple to
liveaboard, and is in what seems to be about the sweet spot for reasonable
maintenance and mooring/slip costs. I got a great deal on her, as she is
seaworthy with solid
rigging,
sails, and
equipment. I paid $15k and the cost of my slip was the same as it had been on my Columbia. She isn't perfect yet, but I working on getting her there. I have moved to Connecticut this
winter, and will be sailing her up to
Long Island Sound this summer. I will actually be putting her
on the hard for the second half of the season to do the work I want to get done on her. I am going to be paying $75 a month for my
winter storage, and can do the work I want to do onsite. In spring I will be moving to a
mooring that will cost me $275 for the 2017 season.
A good friend of mine is currently living aboard and cruising South
Florida and the
Bahamas. He came to the
east coast from
California to take advantage of the much lower cost of boats/moorings/slips and to get more experience in more forgiving seas. The boat he is on is an
Alberg 37 yawl. he lives on it alone with his Doberman. The interior space seems on par with my Westie, but it has a much larger cockpit and a mizzen sail. She is a very comfortable boat. He paid something in the mid $30s and she was fully equipped and ready to leave. He did put some
money in to her for items of comfort and a new
chartplotter. But in general she really has been truly "ready to cruise". He plans to put her
on the hard next month in
Florida, and return to Virginia for his other boat. He bought a
Cheoy Lee Offshore 31
ketch in need of a rebuild/refit for $1k. He plans to spend the next year working on her full time, and sail her back to
California. I am not sure if he plans to sell it once it is there. I only know that much of his plan. He said he is spending average $1100 a month, mostly
anchoring out (but not always- I know he rented slips a lot when he was coming down the
ICW in fall). Both of his boats are in about the inexpensive to keep range as well I think.
My brother is looking for a boat to liveaboard something in the 45 foot range with his wife. Last time I spoke to him he was looking at a
Gulfstar 44 that is in fantastic shape for $35k. It is cheap because of a divorce. He is also looking in the Virginia area due to the high volume of good deals on solid sailboats. Once he finds the right boat he plans to spend a year bumming around Virginia, and then
head south for Florida. I honestly believe he is looking for is a little out of the sweet spot for cost of
ownership vs livability. I have told him as much, but he is gonna do what he wants. LOL
Another friend, who just happens to be a trucker in the
PNW, decided after a year of looking for a boat to liveaboard in the
Seattle area to leave the
PNW and move to the
Gulf Coast of Florida to find his boat. The cost of living, cost of boats, low volume of good deals on boats, difficult seas, rainy
weather, and overcrowdation in the area drove his decision making. I know he is looking for something similar to what my brother wants.
Another couple I am close to (he is Australian and she is French) bought their Bristol 30 on
Long Island for $16k. They sailed her down the
east coast a couple winters ago and ended up in my marina in Virginia, which they called home on and off until last fall. They live on her with their toddler and are currently in
Cuba, and on the way to
Central America. I know they live on much less than $1k a month, and that is for a
family of 3.
I told you all this because I thought that you could maybe get some perspective, and get a little information that would be useful to you. My point is that it would be worth it for you to consider the east coast. If I can help, send me a PM. Good luck, I hope I helped