Cost of Liveaboard Dockage?

[Hudson Force]

We do much latitude cruising with the seasons along the East US Coast, sometimes anchoring out and sometimes at marinas. When we first lived aboard in 1972 monthy rates were typically $50/month. Now, typical rates are about $500/month. I used to be able to buy a tunafish sandwich at the diner for $1.25 and now it's $8. An afternoon at the movies was about $0.75 and now it's $8. Transient docks at a daily rate in 1972 were typically 10 cents per foot per night. ..... but wait! In 1972 I was earning in a year what I now earn in a month! It's all much the same except,- no house, no car, no ownership of stuff ashore....puts me way ahead!

[Bash]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

Transient docks at a daily rate in 1972 were typically 10 cents per foot per night. ..... but wait! In 1972 I was earning in a year what I now earn in a month!

1972, I remember it well. My freshman year of college! In 1972, with a student ID, we would get a half-day lift ticket at Santa Fe Ski Basin for $1.25.

A good deal for the kids who couldn't afford the $75 season pass!

[pyeguy]

I pay 2000.00 for the season in belleville Ontario for my 37 foot houseboat. That includes water, two 30 amp connections, garbage disposal and pump outs and Wi-Fi..so about 335 a month.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by pyeguy

I pay 2000.00 for the season in belleville Ontario for my 37 foot houseboat. That includes water, two 30 amp connections, garbage disposal and pump outs and Wi-Fi..so about 335 a month.

So then, "the season" is six months and that leaves another six months when a liveaboard would be homeless unless you have a home ashore to retreat. A second home would cost far more than the savings with the $335/month. ....or do you stay on the boat for the "non season" at a still cheaper rate? We've heard from some who live aboard in Ontario through the winter and this sounds difficult to me. I suffered during my single winter on the Potomac, but then I'll admit to being a real pansy when it comes to suffering cold!

[pyeguy]

Good question, it is 6 months and then I move to my winter slip in a different marina in the same town. The winter slip is only $25 a foot but you have to pay for hydro(electricity) so its about the same. As long as you frame up your boat and shrink wrap it and use some kind of insulation ( bags of leaves works fine)on the upper decks. You can be toasty warm even in -35 weather. Of coarse it depends on how much hydro you use. If people take turns running their bubblers then that cuts down on the cost.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by pyeguy

Good question, it is 6 months and then I move to my winter slip in a different marina in the same town. The winter slip is only $25 a foot but you have to pay for hydro(electricity) so its about the same. As long as you frame up your boat and shrink wrap it and use some kind of insulation ( bags of leaves works fine)on the upper decks. You can be toasty warm even in -35 weather. Of coarse it depends on how much hydro you use. If people take turns running their bubblers then that cuts down on the cost.

Something is wrong here, "only $25/ft" would be $925/month..... oh wait! This must be per season,- I'm not used to calculating a slip by a season. So that is a real savings; however, the seasonal conditions also means the boat is not used except as a living space. All these choices are affected so much by what a person expects to have by "living aboard". We're among those that are often cruising. Even when we are renting a slip we are off the dock frequently.

It's important for me to keep an awareness of all the diversity that exists among those on this forum. It sounds like you have a great opportunity and savings with your seasonal changes.

[skipper68]

We have been at the same Marina for 20 years, in the Finger Lakes.
Our boat went from 37' to 44' with the swim platform and bow pulpit.

We went from $444.00 winter and $1,400.00 summer, to $250.00 a month in the summer and $200.00 a month in the winter.
Our electric is metered. It goes from 0.00 if we are gone, up to $80.00 a month @.15 cents a kilowatt if both the circulaters are running for a month in the winter.

It cost around $700.00 for propane in the winter.
We use a Suburban RV furnace for heat.
We shrink wrap in the winter and put in windows.
We draw our water for utilities from under the boat, and carry on about 6 gallons a week for cooking and drinking.

We have a large yard, flower garden, a shed, gazebo and a big fire pit.
There are 3 other liveaboards here also.

The Marina advertises- or should I say WARNS newbies, that we have a "Lively Attitude" here.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by FlyMeAway

I pay 1.5X standard marina fees plus whatever I use for electricity, and $15 for slipside pump-out. It's high, but all told the marine mortgage and the cost of the slip is still cheaper than a nice one bedroom. Plus, I get to live on a BOAT.

I pay $550 a month for a 31' boat in an upscale marina. That includes 30 AMPs of power, water, cable, heated pool, hot tub and a great location both for land and water. Each of their seven docks is behind its own locked gate, and I only know the code for my gate. As a single woman I welcome the extra security. Fantastic shower rooms, great laundry, super-helpful staff and even a little mini-mart on the premises, which was very handy when I was sick this winter. Extremely liveaboard marina. Parties for the live aboards once a month with really good food provided. Located in Manatee County; email me if you want to know more. They're selective about both the boards and the people they accept as live-aboards, which is nice -- I hear credible stories about used needles being found in the shower rooms at another marina in the area!

For non-live aboards, their rate is $9/foot for the regular docks and $11 for the floating ones. I personally see no need for the extra expense of a floating dock but some people love it.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

....................For non-live aboards, their rate is $9/foot for the regular docks and $11 for the floating ones. I personally see no need for the extra expense of a floating dock but some people love it.

I agree that I would not choose to pay more for a floating dock, but some find it easier to get on and off their boats with the constant level of the deck compared with the dock. I know some big tide areas make this very important. We have one week left at our marina before heading north and we just moved out to0 the floating docks so it would be easier to do some work with the installation of a stainless steel plate on our stem that protects the bow from the anchor fluke.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

I agree that I would not choose to pay more for a floating dock, but some find it easier to get on and off their boats with the constant level of the deck compared with the dock. I know some big tide areas make this very important. We have one week left at our marina before heading north and we just moved out to0 the floating docks so it would be easier to do some work with the installation of a stainless steel plate on our stem that protects the bow from the anchor fluke.

Where I am, the typical tide is 1 1/2 - 2 ft. I personally don't see the need -- here. Other places, I can't imagine not having it.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

Where I am, the typical tide is 1 1/2 - 2 ft. I personally don't see the need -- here. Other places, I can't imagine not having it.

We only have a 1-2 foot tide where we are too, but one of the draws for the floating docks here is related to the age of the boaters. Nancie and I are in our upper sixties and we expect many more years before we start searching for the "assisted living marina". I can already see by Nancie's increasing difficultly with big steps (post-polio syndrome) that getting on and off the boat will be the factor that moves us ashore sometime in the future. The ability to place a fixed step on a floating dock with a constant level with the deck will allow us more time at marinas. Not long ago we met a cruising couple near Norfolk in their eighties and one of the couple was actually "boat bound",- unable to debark without special assistance. I've always known that the ultimate result while living aboard will be that health eventually will take it away. We've had a long ride and more to come. The floating docks might extend our time!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

We only have a 1-2 foot tide where we are too, but one of the draws for the floating docks here is related to the age of the boaters. Nancie and I are in our upper sixties and we expect many more years before we start searching for the "assisted living marina". I can already see by Nancie's increasing difficultly with big steps (post-polio syndrome) that getting on and off the boat will be the factor that moves us ashore sometime in the future. The ability to place a fixed step on a floating dock with a constant level with the deck will allow us more time at marinas. Not long ago we met a cruising couple near Norfolk in their eighties and one of the couple was actually "boat bound",- unable to debark without special assistance. I've always known that the ultimate result while living aboard will be that health eventually will take it away. We've had a long ride and more to come. The floating docks might extend our time!

Sorry about that post-polio thing. I had a cousin who went through that. Still, it's amazing the solutions that can be worked out. I'm sure tht some day something will force me off the boat, so I'm going to get all I can get out of it now, and then enjoy the memories. Even when I'm off, I still will have gotten to do it.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

Sorry about that post-polio thing. I had a cousin who went through that. Still, it's amazing the solutions that can be worked out. I'm sure tht some day something will force me off the boat, so I'm going to get all I can get out of it now, and then enjoy the memories. Even when I'm off, I still will have gotten to do it.

Thanks, though I must say that nothing yet is slowing Nancie down. I tend to be a long term planner and I want to be ready for the future. Sure, we are all destined to lose our life aboard. I'm planning on another ten years or maybe a little more.