Advice for Potential Liveaboards in Baltimore, MD

[kcoleman]

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has lived on their boat through a winter somewhere with a similar climate to Baltimore. I'm having trouble winning my husband over on this idea, and the majority of the forum discussions come from people living somewhere warm and gorgeous, like the BVI, which would make this an easy win if only we lived there! All I have seen from Baltimore liveaboards on the forum discuss the summer they spent living aboard in Baltimore, but I know there are year-round liveaboards out there in this city!

I would just like to hear the realities, good and bad, of living in this situation.

[Takamoana]

Not sure about the climate specifics of Baltimore, but we have just spent the winter onboard in Southampton UK. Good heating and an effective de-humidifier made life reasonably comfortable. We have diesel fired, ducted heating (Webasto) and this has worked very well. We also bought some cheap, oil filled column heaters and a de-humidifier with a drain hose to run off shore power to ensure the boat didn’t freeze when we were away for any amount of time. Biggest hassle was condensation from hatch frames and solid grp hull sections. Our last “winter” was in Port Moresby(9.50S) so we are definitely not used to snow and sub-zero temperatures.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, kcoleman.

[psneeld]

Lived aboard a 37 foot sportfish in Annapolis 2 years, 98-99.

Loved every minute of it....well except for maybe 2 nights when the temps were in the teens and the winds howling.

3 space heaters usually kept it comfortable...even with the drafty all glass main salon. One year I went crazy and stuffed foam in every crevice and put the 3M window film over all the windows (clear heat shrink stuff)...it was well worth the effort because the second winter I was lazy and didn't...some nights it would have been worth it.

Walking to the showers barefoot through the slush was a great way to wake up even before my coffee! .... but that probably was related to my idiotic love of the years I spent on polar icebreakers!!!

Some issues are marina related and some are boat issues...obviously it all comes down to what YOU can live with. There are great blogs and articles out there about living aboard in Chicago and points worse...and I can't imagine those winters.

Sailboats are probably easier than a sportfish as more boat is in the water and the water tanks can live down deep...my tanks would have froze some weeks so I had a camping 5 gallon container for everything except showering. I've also lived aboard a 30 foot sailboat...but in Ft Lauderdale...so winter was less of an issue.

Living aboard is worth almost every difficulty...but then again...after 4 military survival schools..I may not be the right person to ask!