Has Anyone Ever had 2 Boats as Liveaboards???

[GalaxyGirl]

I know, I know, CRAZY right??? But why. I'm seriously thinking of picking up a 53' Defever and a 44' Lagoon. Lots of space for my large family to live at the marina and have both power and sail option for trips. Is it the maintenance that makes it crazy? How bad could it be?

Any thoughts???

[Bash]

Hmmm. A great deal of the pleasure of living aboard, for me, has been the process of simplifying a lifestyle. You certainly won't be simplifying with those two boats.

The two huge boats you're considering are going to run you ragged keeping them in cruising shape. When will you have time to enjoy the boats?

[capttman]

One is plenty just go with a large motor sailer

[Kettlewell]

I have briefly owned two boats while trying to sell one of them, and the hassle factor does add up. The main issue I would see is what do you do with the one left behind if you are off cruising? Probably the best bet would be to get it hauled and put in storage if you will be gone for more than a month or two. Longer than that, and I wouldn't want to leave a boat unattended in the water. I suppose you could get someone to watch it for you. That person would have to be reliable, someone who wasn't likely to go cruising themselves, someone who knows boats, etc. It probably depends hugely on your individual situation. For example, if you live in the hurricane belt that adds issues, or maybe you know the perfect boat sitter. Also, someplace like New England docks are crazy expensive, if you can find a slip in the first place, though in recent years there are more openings due to the recession. But, the prices haven't come down. On the other hand, in the Chesapeake or the Carolinas there are marinas where you could easily keep two boats for less than the cost of keeping one boat in New England.

[GalaxyGirl]

Originally Posted by Bash

Hmmm. A great deal of the pleasure of living aboard, for me, has been the process of simplifying a lifestyle. You certainly won't be simplifying with those two boats.

The two huge boats you're considering are going to run you ragged keeping them in cruising shape. When will you have time to enjoy the boats?

Thanks for the reply. What does that mean, run me ragged, sure wish I had some insight into what the maintenance really entails. Is it like daily chores? What are they? Someone said the average live aboard does an hour or 2 a day on maintenance. What I want to know is, what do you do for 2 hours every day?

[GalaxyGirl]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

I have briefly owned two boats while trying to sell one of them, and the hassle factor does add up. The main issue I would see is what do you do with the one left behind if you are off cruising? Probably the best bet would be to get it hauled and put in storage if you will be gone for more than a month or two. Longer than that, and I wouldn't want to leave a boat unattended in the water. I suppose you could get someone to watch it for you. That person would have to be reliable, someone who wasn't likely to go cruising themselves, someone who knows boats, etc. It probably depends hugely on your individual situation. For example, if you live in the hurricane belt that adds issues, or maybe you know the perfect boat sitter. Also, someplace like New England docks are crazy expensive, if you can find a slip in the first place, though in recent years there are more openings due to the recession. But, the prices haven't come down. On the other hand, in the Chesapeake or the Carolinas there are marinas where you could easily keep two boats for less than the cost of keeping one boat in New England.

Great info. I'm actually in NE now, but I was planning on selling my house, buying the boats and heading to Florida. What size boats did you have? Your so right, when I take an extended cruise, which could only be when my kids are off school for the summer, I could take the boat that I'm not using and store it somewhere safe. If that's my biggest problem, I'll take it.

[GalaxyGirl]

Originally Posted by capttman

One is plenty just go with a large motor sailer

yeah, I explored that option tons, but the problem that I have is that I have 5 kids and 2 adults, so I would need probably a 90' boat. I wouldn't be able to easily operate that with no experience. It would be complicated with needing a captain and crew and all.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by GalaxyGirl

Thanks for the reply. What does that mean, run me ragged, sure wish I had some insight into what the maintenance really entails. Is it like daily chores? What are they? Someone said the average live aboard does an hour or 2 a day on maintenance. What I want to know is, what do you do for 2 hours every day?

Have you owned ONE boat yet? Something always breaks, or needs cleaned or polished, or adjusted.

[barnakiel]

If I could afford many boats, I would have (too) many boats.

Beyond some number, your time becomes an issue, but otherwise go for it and tell us if you like it!

b.

[Kettlewell]

Myself, I would think a more practical alternative would be to own a big powerboat for living aboard and a much smaller, but great sailing, sailboat you keep on a nearby mooring. You could take out the sailboat for fun and short trips. Get two that are low maintenance. I've known several people who've owned various boats at the same time, used for various purposes, but not two big ones like you're contemplating. Thinking back, the largest two I have owned at the same time were a 30-foot sailboat and a 37-foot sailboat, though essentially we had the 30 footer in storage while we were selling her. Still, we had to make an emergency trip back to New England from the south in order to paint her and spruce her up for the selling season in the spring. Luckily, we had some friends who were great around boats and helped us with some very big projects in order to get her presentable. You could cut down on the work level a lot by getting some low-maintenance boats. I think it is doable. Where in New England?

While I was typing the above you posted you have 5 kids and 2 adults--that nixes my idea of the smaller boat. My latest thinking is go with a bigger cat and get one with twin engines and good motoring capability. Cats make fantastic motorsailors and have the room you need.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by GalaxyGirl

Thanks for the reply. What does that mean, run me ragged, sure wish I had some insight into what the maintenance really entails. Is it like daily chores? What are they? Someone said the average live aboard does an hour or 2 a day on maintenance. What I want to know is, what do you do for 2 hours every day?

What do you think it means?

It's not the daily chorse. It's the EXTRA chores. Maintaining a boat is a LOT of hard work. You're talking about spending a lot of money, and you will end up with two boats, neither of them adequately maintained.

If you don't know what that daily maintenance is, then truly, you don't know nearly enough about boats to be considering this. I don't mean to be harsh, but if this is what you're considering, you should be able to answer that question yourself.

You also have to look at your budget. Boats are expensive to maintain -- much more per sq ft of living space than a house.

[casual]

Since u can afford xxxxx for two boat's maintence should not be a problem,If live aboard is all that u are seeking.With all that family put them to work,most day to day things would be taken care of,

[Hudson Force]

The cruisers that I have known that were most successful owning two boats kept one liveaboard boat in south Florida and the other in the Great Lakes. They skipped the latitude cruising that we do and simply put away one boat and seasonally flew to the other. Two boats operated at the same time require two crews or some juggling that may be better achieved with one boat at around 55' to 60' for six or seven people.

[GalaxyGirl]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Myself, I would think a more practical alternative would be to own a big powerboat for living aboard and a much smaller, but great sailing, sailboat you keep on a nearby mooring. You could take out the sailboat for fun and short trips. Get two that are low maintenance. I've known several people who've owned various boats at the same time, used for various purposes, but not two big ones like you're contemplating. Thinking back, the largest two I have owned at the same time were a 30-foot sailboat and a 37-foot sailboat, though essentially we had the 30 footer in storage while we were selling her. Still, we had to make an emergency trip back to New England from the south in order to paint her and spruce her up for the selling season in the spring. Luckily, we had some friends who were great around boats and helped us with some very big projects in order to get her presentable. You could cut down on the work level a lot by getting some low-maintenance boats. I think it is doable. Where in New England?

While I was typing the above you posted you have 5 kids and 2 adults--that nixes my idea of the smaller boat. My latest thinking is go with a bigger cat and get one with twin engines and good motoring capability. Cats make fantastic motorsailors and have the room you need.

Well, I actually thought about that also, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to operate a 60-70'??? Cat. Also, for living, I was really hoping to get everyone some kind of door to shut as 4 of my 5 kids will be teens...yikes!!! It seems like no matter how big a Cat is, they still only have 4 REAL cabins.

I guess part of my problem is that 50' and 44' boats don't seem like a size LARGE, but more like a MEDIUM. But then again, my family is EX LRG...LOL

We live in Boston now.

[WebWench]

What about a houseboat to live on and a small sailboat to enjoy sailing on?

As far as maintenance goes....everything on boats is more expensive and complicated than in houses. For example, Usually you have 110 power when in the dock but then you have to have 12V and batteries, plus solar and or wind power if you plan to be on a mooring or on the hook. There is an engine to maintain on each boat, some power boats have two of them. Big boats like you describe usually have several A/c and heat units. Things are more expensive too...the refrig/ freezer has to run on both 12V and 110.
If you don't have experience with large boats you would be in for a very rude awakening when you see how much has to be maintained, fixed and replaced on a regular basis!