Buying a boat & home base: Canada or UK?

[desodave]

You also need to look at some other issues re North America and living aboard. Are you thinking about being able to anchor out all the time? Difficult or impossible to do in many places and you need to factor in marina costs ... and they are not cheap. There are a number of liveaboards in my marina and they are paying around CDN $500/mo for a 40ft slip inc electricity. A large number of marinas will also want to see proof of insurance before you tie up, especially if you're there for an extended period. Another is insurance availability and cost, especially for boats in the price range you are talking about. Lots of threads on this forum where people are having difficulties finding insurance for older boats, and all companies will want some evidence of proficiency/experience as well. I think you should widen your search parameters a bit.

[Tedd]

Originally Posted by bpbpbp

I'd love to spend more time in BC, on the water this time.

I sail on the BC coast and it is fantastic. But, for your purposes, I suspect the east coast or great lakes area would be better. The waters from the mouth of the Juan de Fuca Strait to, say, northern California are notorious. I've never sailed them but, based on what I've been told, I will probably avoid them at least until I have more experience and a more capable boat. Obviously, the risk is very much dependent on the sailor and the boat.


On the other hand, you can probably live aboard here on the BC coast without having to go south at all. That might be worth considering.

[Kettlewell]

Are you thinking about being able to anchor out all the time? Difficult or impossible to do in many places and you need to factor in marina costs ... and they are not cheap.

Perfectly possible to anchor every night on the East Coast (and I have done so) as long as you are cruising. Many liveaboards in New England rent a mooring ball for the summer, and I know they are available in some parts of Atlantic Canada. Marina spaces vary tremendously in cost and availability, depending on the location.

[sv_pelagia]

Well, there are thousands (+) of safe anchorages on the BC coast. Most isolated and far from towns/cities. Easy to anchor out evety night for a year.

And to reiterate: most places the sea does not freeze over in the winter (certainly not enough to worry about).

The problem is finding marinas with available space in southern British Columbia (Salish Sea), especially close to towns/cities. .