A Dream.....

[lhelewski]

As far back as childhood I always dreamed of living on a boat and traveling .I just surpassed the milestone birthday of a HALF a CENTURY and realized I truly am not getting any younger. Both kids are on their own and the husband is self employed and is ready for anything. I live in a GREAT place... Southern California and I work as a General Manager in retail. I am grateful to have a job but my passion has always been with the sea! I want to take the GIANT step and I am looking for any and all advice on how to make my dream a reality! I am interested in all aspects of the journey... how to prepare for a life on a boat, life on a boat with a dog, finances how much money you may need, how you learn all the things you need to know, any and all information to help me transition from this life of corporate America to a completely different lifestyle all together! I am scared to make the step but am also scared that at some point in my life I will look back and say " I should have" Can anyone shoot me some answers???? Thank you so much!

[David_Old_Jersey]

No answers here........

.....but we can help you with finding a squillion more questions to ask!

But to kick start ya:-

1) where do you plan to use the boat (initially and in the future?)
2) how many onboard longterm (2?)
3) budget (initial and annual)

As a broad starting point looking at a 40' boat (plus or minus 5 foot - according to taste,needs and budget. Will also need to learn to sail, to navigate and to maintain and fix stuff onboard yerself (unless very deep pockets! and also wish to be beholden to others)......ideally all that both of ya.......

......anyway, welcome to CF!

[Hudson Force]

The answers to David Old Jersey's questions will make a big difference in your prospects. We are long term liveaboards based in Florida and cruising is very easy on the US East Coast and down through the Bahamas. Though we are now retired, ourselves and others typically maintain professional employment while living aboard. I believe that our cost of living is the same or less than my land bound colleagues. Other than your adaptation to living in a smaller space and adapting to the care and maintenance of your boat, there's little to change.

[Doodles]

You don't mention anything about sailing experience ... any? If not you might want to start learning to sail and find out for sure if it's for you. Same for the husband.

[skippy]

want to live on a shoe string myself and i think i have whittle it to a fine angel hair pasta noodle. take all the advice you can get but keep the important kernels that apply to your own situation and put them in place. put a pencil to paper and decide what you can and cannot live with or with out. try on land first! then you know there will be less when you are out there.

[PamlicoTraveler]

Any reason you posted this same thing in two different sections?
There's a thread going in meet and greets too replying to the same post....

[swabbmob]

Your dream can become reality. Many have done it successfully, and many have jumped in and decided it wasn't what they expected.. I surely don't know how one figures that out ahead of time.

Unfortunately, it WILL be an expensive lesson if you decide to backtrack and go back to land.

I love living on the boat and working ashore. I was able to breakaway and explore for awhile, but had to come back to the mainland for work. Subsistence sounds easier than it is. Hard to really find work outside the US.

Space and reduced clothing and material stuff is the biggest issue. We decided to keep a small mini-van as a closet for our work clothes.

Our two boys don't seem to require much space at all beyond their bunks. they have all the game/video gear they desire.

Best of all is being so close to nature and the weather. Coffee in the cockpit every morning.

We had a bit of boat experience, but I just methodically started learning each aspect of boat operation and maintenance. After 2 or 3 years, you've picked up quite a bit of knowledge. Start now!

[GaryMayo]

I took the time to count the amount of times you mentioned" ""sailboat""" or" ""sailing""" and the grand total is" ""zero"""

Because this is a sailing forum, one could assume you are interested in sailing. However, a post like yours, is about akin to posting on a hospital blog, you wish to become a doctor and you are nowhere close to med school, with dreams of saving lives.

Do you sail, have you ever been sailing, ever been on a boat?

50 year olds are seldom without wherewithal, so get a small sailboat and get started.

Spend time walking up and down docks, looking at boats and talking to people.

[transmitterdan]

This is Cruiser's Forum, not Sailior's Forum. Motor cruisers frequent here a lot. I like that because cruising is not all about sailing.

Cheers,
Dan

[Astral Blue]

As Dan mentioned, this forum is not dedicated to sailing. There are many people who live aboard and cruise on a powerboat.

If you do not have much experience cruising, I would suggest exploring life on a powerboat. Most of my boat owning friends are sailors. My marina and yacht club are dominated by sailboat owners. I love sailboats and sailing. However, nothing beats the conveniences and amenities of a powerboat. You should see the awe on the faces of sailboat owners with a similar sized sailboat as they spend time on our boat and discover the space and amenities they don't have.

In the near future, we plan on upgrading to a larger powerboat to live aboard and cruise on. If you don't plan on doing ocean crossings, a powerboat is very practical for living the cruising life.

To each, their own. Just thought I'd offer another perspective.

[boating2go]

You've received a lot of good advice above. Your lifestyle is going to determine the cost of what it will cost you. Do you want to live in a marina or moor? Marina will definitely cost more than mooring, I know the mooring here is San Diego has a long waiting list. Most of the marina's here are accepting live aboards to fill empty slips. They will quote a live aboard fee but if you mention other marinas will accept you 9 out of 10 will drop the live aboard fee. However marinas here are not cheap, I am paying over $15.00 a foot plus my electric.

If you want TV the satellite feed or cable at a marina is extra unless you have the equipment aboard to have your own satellite feed. That equipment is also expensive. Your dog could be a problem because some reason some marinas here in San Diego do not allow live aboards to have bets.

Those are some of the cons, the pros are the lifestyle and community. Everywhere I have lived as a live aboard I've have made numerous friends. You'll meet people from all over the world and if you want to cruise enjoy a life you can only imagine.

I wish you luck with your dream and suggest you take some sailing lessons and do a charter to determine if you think the lifestyle is what you want. Most of us would not trade it for any other form of living.

Good luck to you.