I am Officially a Liveaboard !

[GordMay]

Congratulations on your new status, and the back 40 cafe, Brian.

Maritime attorney Ted Guy advises cruising sailors who live aboard their boats to adopt the term “fulltime cruisers” when referring to their lifestyle, thus shifting the responsibility to municipalities to prove the vessel is a residence under Florida law.

Florida Statute 327.60 (2)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit local governmental authorities from the enactment or enforcement of regulations which prohibit or restrict the mooring or anchoring of floating structures or live-aboard vessels within their jurisdictions or of any vessels within the marked boundaries of mooring fields permitted as provided in s. 327.40. However, local governmental authorities are prohibited from regulating the anchoring outside of such mooring fields of vessels other than live-aboard vessels as defined in s. 327.02*.

*327.02 ➥ Section 327.02, Florida Statutes 2007

(13) “Houseboat” means any vessel which is used primarily as a residence for a minimum of 21 days during any 30-day period, in a county of this state, and this residential use of the vessel is to the preclusion of the use of the vessel as a means of transportation.

(17) “Live-aboard vessel” means:

(a) Any vessel used solely as a residence; or

(b) Any vessel represented as a place of business, a professional or other commercial enterprise, or a legal residence.

A commercial fishing boat is expressly excluded from the term “live-aboard vessel.”

[Beersmith]

Congrats! My girlfriend and I went to the Back 40 Cafe not too long ago and enjoyed it! I am rebuilding my boat over at Oasis Boatyard and will be moving aboard once complete. If you ever want to have a beer or three, feel free to send a message my way.

-Erick

[2theSea]

Hi Phisher,

Great to see more sailors in St Aug! We just moved here a year ago ourselves and now that we sold our old boat in Austin, will be looking for the next one. We just checked out Back40Cafe last weekend, very yummy and loved the feel of the place.

It would be great to figure out a little meet and greet for those settled here as well as any passing through. Anyone interested?

[wingNwing]

There is a meetup planned! It's this Sunday, 5 PM at Milltop (on St George St) There's a thread over on SailNet: Looking for sailors in St. Augustine, FL - SailNet Community

[2theSea]

Thanks wingNwing, count us in. We look forward to meeting you on Sunday!

[wingNwing]

Sweet! Looking forward to meeting everyone from both boards!

[wolfenzee]

One of the first things I learned about the necessary modifications to a boat is that there is a very distinct point where a boat becomes a home.
As far as the difference between a cruiser and an "in transit live aboard"...when a cruiser is done their cruise they go home to their house.

[Bash]

Another term that often works better with the Powers That Be, at least in these parts, is "long-term transit." As in, "I have a long-term transit slip."

In other words, you'll be moving on, but just not tomorrow.

[wingNwing]

We're calling ours "an extended cruise to celebrate our retirement." No one has ever asked us how long the celebration was intended to last ...

[burnhad]

The state laws of Florida do NOT define people who live on their boats: "live aboards".
The state laws of Florida define vessels as "live aboard" or "non-live aboard". To live on a "live aboard" vessel, means your vessel does not use the waterways to navigate under its own power. A non-live aboard vessel may have people living aboard and IS capable of navigating the waterways without the aid of another vessel.
It seems that the state law's definition should be changed to more closely reflect the common usage of the term "live aboard" by the boating community which has little to do with navigating to avoid confusion.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, burnhad.

Section 327.02, Florida Statutes 2007
➥ http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/filest...on_0327.02.HTM

“... (17) “Live-aboard vessel” means:

(a) Any vessel used solely as a residence; or ...”

[burnhad]

solely implies that the vessel does not also navigate; among the other many things a vessel may do that a house would find difficult to emulate.

[wingNwing]

The get-together last night was fun, for those who could find each other when we discovered Milltop was closed. Photo posted on the Sailnet thread: Looking for sailors in St. Augustine, FL - SailNet Community We're going to do it again 2/2 at the no-name bar across from the Fort.

[2theSea]

What a great meet-up! We really enjoyed meeting everyone and look forward to the next one.

[wingNwing]

Next meet-up is tomorrow, 2/2 at 6 PM at the no-name bar across from the Fort. (I don't think we're going to continue to meet this often, just trying to recover from the confusion of Milltop being closed. And speaking of just-in-case-it's-closed ... if no-name is closed lets move to A1A alehouse.