Critique My Liveaboard Idea . . .

[NFTB]

I love the idea. The boat appears very well cared for. I suspect the current owner has never abused it, as witnessed by the carpeted cabin sole...a bit tacky but suggestive of a fastidious sailor. Your idea of moving aboard a smaller boat is great if:
You can live aboard a 27 foot boat
Your income is not expected to increase significantly in the near future
A marina is available for water, electricity, restrooms, etc. through cold winters
You can build a quality winter boat cover
Good luck! Keep me posted.
Stu Hochron

[snort]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Fewer available boats usually...

Well, that makes sense. I was beginning to think it had something to do with the inordinate number of Scots in the area.

[easterly38]

Originally Posted by Nomdaica

.
5) The 27" cat may be small...but 5 years worth of sailing...has to be worth it? no?

Whoa! I thought it was 27 feet!! Boats really are more expensive there!

Joking aside, if you're saving that much on rent, I don't think you can do anything but come out way ahead.

[muskoka]

Do it!

For the price of a used car you can get your Catalina which is a nice sailboat and will no doubt make a comfy home. I think starting with something basic and economical is critical: You'll learn how to repair things (a must), it won't be prohibitively expensive to maintain, and you'll be able to sail it solo for short voyages in local waters.

We started with a 30' mono and now live on a 40' cat - and I'd never have wanted to jump straight into the larger boat. It was good to wet our feet on a small, simple boat first.

If you like it, then after a couple of years you'll have a much more critical wish list of what you want from a live aboard.

[Bash]

One caution regarding the variable prices of Catalina 27s: boats with outboards will sell for considerably less than boats with inboards. And a diesel, of course, is worth much more than a gas engine. (Some were built with Atomic 4s.)

You really can't compare the price of a Catalina 27 with a diesel with a boat with an outboard. In this size range, the engine could be worth more than the boat it powers.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by snort

Well, that makes sense. I was beginning to think it had something to do with the inordinate number of Scots in the area.

The Scots and the fact that our economy didn't tank over this last while. Boat prices slumped but not like south of here.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by muskoka

If you like it, then after a couple of years you'll have a much more critical wish list of what you want from a live aboard.

Absolutely! I'd been sailing all my life, but when I bought my first liveaboard I had no idea that a crummy refrigerator, et cetera, could make my life so miserable. Lived on that boat for 8 years, and finally figured out what I wanted in a liveaboard, at which point I purchased the boat I wanted.

Sometimes life works out.

[michaelmrc]

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

It seems germane to the discussion that she looks like a pint-sized lass. She makes that tiny boat look like it has 7' headroom! Us guys take up more space, and our stuff takes up more space, and we eat what she calls 'long-term storage' in a single sitting.

That said, she has made a conscious effort and has succeeded in down-sizing to make it work for her. Many have done less with more, even if less is more, more or less.

John

teresa's blog sailingsimplicity.com is an excellent blog on the minimalistic lifestyle living on a 27ft sailboat. and no she is not single i checked lol

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by Bash

Absolutely! I'd been sailing all my life, but when I bought my first liveaboard I had no idea that a crummy refrigerator, et cetera, could make my life so miserable. Lived on that boat for 8 years, and finally figured out what I wanted in a liveaboard, at which point I purchased the boat I wanted.

Sometimes life works out.

I am doing similar now on my H 28 with an ice box! Bugger the dramas of refrigeration or any other complicated system at least till I work out the basics. The living area is small, but I can manage the costs and she sits well at sea. I get "boat envy" every now and then, however, I can sit back reading and practically thinking about what I REALLY need. More often than enough I decide my little boat is just fine for aty least the moment and a bit.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I am not in the boat delivery business - but, dinner with a Punter??? WTF??? and said as if it was a generous thing to offer rather than made as a threat

I would only spend time with a Punter (when I wasn't getting paid for it) if it was part of warming up a prospect for more business. .......otherwise I would bill them by the hour for my company. triple time I often do have better things to do than dine with strangers. not always, but often It's called being a proffessional (I can never spell that - LoL ).

If you want a freind for the evening, then get a Prossie


Want to really thank someone in a (smaller) business??:-

a) pay your bill on time.
b) write a "To whom it may concern" reference, and mail it to 'em.
c) recommend them to others.

But mainly it's about a)


Got to remember that everybody (well, pretty much everybody ) is nice to you when you are giving 'em money...........best not to confuse that with being freinds. or them actually liking you. That applies to Yacht Delivery Skippers, Plumbers...........or Prossies

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

my bet is you were a lot fussier on the 2nd than you would otherwise have been .

or not

We were. The first taught us what we wanted when we got our bigger one. We bought a 32ft hull which we had to rebuild - simply because of lack of choice in Kuwait. Continuing to sail as crew on the 40ft yacht (which we did eventually buy) was simply not an option, because I couldn't stand the rest of the crew, who were older banker w.. idiots. We learnt so much from that first rebuild, which meant that when we did rebuild the larger boat we got it right.

We sold the smaller one on for a pittance, and now she sits on her pontoon, being sailed once a year - her 'abandonment' hurts more than the loss of money.

Originally Posted by tgzzzz

But here's the worst thing. The smaller your boat the more difficult it is to stow things correctly so you MIGHT get a little lazy. ..... Tuck the computer into the cushions.

Is that not where it belongs?

[mohawkmariner]

not a bad idea but it does cost to live aboard ..mooring,slip dingy dock parking etc.theres a 78 catalina 27 looks good on ebay at 1400 now...2 days left to bid good luck

[mohawkmariner]

also try fl keys craigslist...theres a catalina 27 in marathon key asking 7k..you could live aboard on a mooring in boot key harbor for like 250 month

[LauderBoy]

Originally Posted by Nomdaica

Living rent free would allow me to save faster for the bigger 36" proper livaboard.

It doesn't work like that. You really won't be saving as much as you think you will. Really, if you just want to "live cheap", rent a room for half what you're paying now in rent. That'll be a much more realistic way to save up.

Personally I don't think it's a money thing, I think you just want to go NOW. Which is perfectly fine.

But what'd I'd recommend is to look at some 30's. A catalina 30 or oday 30 or hunter 30 would be right in that 10k ballpark. You can get one of those, move aboard and then sink your "saved" 1k a month into that boat on all the things she'll need to get cruise ready and be outfitted the way you want to make a comfy home that you'll probably want to stay in for several years rather than just trade out of asap.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by LauderBoy

It doesn't work like that. You really won't be saving as much as you think you will. Really, if you just want to "live cheap", rent a room for half what you're paying now in rent. That'll be a much more realistic way to save up.

or rent a property - and sublet the rooms. downside is you get to deal with folk who don't have a lot of money. and you may not be there first intended stop for what they have........but all things being equal, and over a couple of years, should at least cover your own rent.