Liveaboard.... Doable? Feasible? Lets talk...

[TxPaw79]

Originally Posted by MJH

Sounds like you have time to plan this all out. One thing I noticed was your desire for a watermaker. More thinking required there as to how you will power it and best use requirements in a 30'. A number of shipboard items are related and you need a comprehensive plan particularly where overall power supply is concerned for self sufficiency.

Good Luck.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

Yes, the water maker is something I havent seen a lot of on smaller boats and while not a deal breaker for me, I want to explore the option. But, yes, I didnt really think about the power requirements. Thank you!

[TxPaw79]

Originally Posted by Marutji

Written with the newbie in mind: https://www.amazon.com/Get-Real-Gone...7351642&sr=8-1

Thank you Marutji! I will look this book up!

[laird]

Loving this thread guys , my target is to be a livaboard in about 2.5 years , it is encouraging to read that people are living on budgets ranging from 400 to 1900 dollars a
Month ,a boat like that Pearson 385 would do just fine ,as long as the engine s works

I'm planning on 1500 dollars a month ,with a cash reserve

[Kolchac]

I have never lived aboard. Just 2-3 months max and always returned home. IMHO 20,000 a year is not enough.
To liveaboard for one-too people, you have to buy a reasonable boat, 30-32' at least (bigger-better), with big a water and waste tank. Probably you can find one even for free, but anyway you will spend for restoration about 20,000. To buy in good condition - 30,000-40,000.
Maintains: "A boat is a hole in the water you throw money into". Also, you will have to clean and paint the hull at least once a year, so hauling and launching - ~$800. Insurence - at least $500.
You will be only anchoring (mooring is ~$50) a day, usually far from shopping.

And very important - it is boring. You are a vet, so you know what it is to live for months in a tent.
I love my boat, I love sailing very, very much, but I know I have a home.
Liveaboard is not for everyone. Be realistic.

[PineyWoodsPete]

Originally Posted by Kolchac

I have never lived aboard. Just 2-3 months max and always returned home. IMHO 20,000 a year is not enough.
To liveaboard for one-too people, you have to buy a reasonable boat, 30-32' at least (bigger-better), with big a water and waste tank. Probably you can find one even for free, but anyway you will spend for restoration about 20,000. To buy in good condition - 30,000-40,000.
Maintains: "A boat is a hole in the water you throw money into". Also, you will have to clean and paint the hull at least once a year, so hauling and launching - ~$800. Insurence - at least $500.
You will be only anchoring (mooring is ~$50) a day, usually far from shopping.
And very important - it is boring. You are a vet, so you know what it is to live for months in a tent.
I love my boat, I love sailing very, very much, but I know I have a home.
Liveaboard is not for everyone. Be realistic.

To put it simply, the above is mainly fantasy from a non-liveaboarder. Below is the first ad I saw for a Catalina 30 - '88 shoal-draft version listed @ $25,750 - with the live-aboard interior as my '83 had. The current owner has lived aboard for several years, and many upgrades done - both interior and exterior, including essential AC (FL boat). Low engine hrs @ 616, and it's the 18HP Universal rather than the marginal 11HP one I had:

https://www.boattrader.com/boat/1988...na-30-7982950/

[HighTemp]

Originally Posted by Kolchac

And very important - it is boring. You are a vet, so you know what it is to live for months in a tent.
I love my boat, I love sailing very, very much, but I know I have a home.
Liveaboard is not for everyone. Be realistic.

I don't know if I concur with this entire assessment.

We knew, pretty much right away, that living on board a yacht was for us from the first time we chartered and spent the night. We did the 4 bedroom home, big yard, two cars, kid, dog, lifestyle until my son grew up and set out on his own. We bought our first boat, and noticed quickly that we spent every weekend on her, from Friday afternoon, through to Sunday evenings. Packing up and heading back to the house on Sunday evenings was almost depressing. So, we ended up trading up to a slightly larger yacht that had more cold storage and would allow us to have guests for extended periods of time. Shortly thereafter, sold the house and moved on board. That was 2 years ago, and all I can say is that we should have made this move 15 years earlier.

Please do not misunderstand, the lifestyle is certainly not for everyone, but if you buy the right boat for your needs, and stick to your budget, you will be able to determine if it is right for you fairly quickly, without exposing yourself to too much depreciation risk.

[rwidman]

Living on a small boat that is anchored and seldom moves is only one step up from living on land, under a bridge in a refrigerator box.

How are you going to get food and water? How are you going to dispose of your sewage? How are you going to bathe? And of course, what will you do with your time?

It sounds romantic to live on a boat, but unless you are cruising from place to place and unless you can afford a marina stop at least every now and then, it's not quite like that dream some people have.

You need to do some serious thinking. Asking on a web forum is OK, but remember, those people won't be actually doing what they are suggesting that you do. Think for yourself.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by TooCoys

.............. I miss things like bathtubs and being able to flush toilet paper. .

One can certainly flush toilet paper in a modern marine head and holding tank.

Not just any toilet paper, but cheap single ply toilet paper and some more expensive "marine" toilet paper.

[mvweebles]

SailorBoy graciously puts out his cruising expense spreadsheet almost every month. While well in excess of your $1900/mo budget, it's a detailed expense ledger that you can adjust based on your lifestyle.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...at-252044.html

Good luck -

Peter

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by rwidman

.

How are you going to get food and water? How are you going to dispose of your sewage? How are you going to bathe? And of course, what will you do with your time?

It sounds romantic to live on a boat, but unless you are cruising from place to place and unless you can afford a marina stop at least every now and then, it's not quite like that dream some people have.

You can have a small boat and then need a marina
Or choose a bigger boat and no need for marina as it has showers, laundry, proper tender etc.
For us, savings on cost of a marina more than offsets the cost of running and maintaining the bigger boat and cruising full-time.
5 years out here, zero marina time and have been doing it on around $2k/mth including maintenance, insurance and diesel

That's Aust dollars so around $1500usd
Plus our diesel here is more expensive than US

[R Hutcheson]

Of course it is feasible! Whether it is right for you or not, who knows. A thirty foot boat is a good place to start. You can certainly take one over to the Bahamas and cruise around the US in one. My advice, for what it's worth. Invest in training. Blue Water Sailing School out of Ft Lauderdale has a great program. I'm sure there are others but I'm not familiar with them. Do the first two courses with them. You will be living on board and actually going somewhere. Once you have done that you'll have a good idea whether or not you want to pursue this dream further. You'll also have a lot better idea of the kind of boat you want, and what to look for in buying one. If you still want to proceed, buy the boat. 30' is a good size for a single person planning on cruising the US and Bahamas. Avoid the temptation to start modifying the boat. Go cruising with it. If you still want to change things after a year, do so, or change boats. The biggest mistake people tend to make is buying the boat first, spending a ton of money on upgrades and equipment, then going cruising only to find they don't enjoy it, and selling the boat for less than what they paid. Failing to get training plays a big part in this due to avoidable mishaps. I can't recommend the sailing school enough. It's not cheap but you'll have a great vacation. If you find out you no longer want to do it, at least your not stuck with a boat. If you buy a boat and the training causes you to avoid just one incident, it paid for itself.

[jalmberg]

My advice is to start crewing for other people. Racing is good for learning how to sail, cruising is good for finding out if you like the lifestyle. Try both!

I am not a fan of sailing schools. Lots of money for very little result. If you do choose a school, ask if you will be allowed to solo sail the boat before the end. If you can’t sail the boat on your own, you haven’t learned anything.

Finally, start saving as much money as you can. You need a cruising kitty as well as an income to realistically survive. Be prepared to interrupt you ideal cruising life periodically to refill your kitty. Don’t forget you will eventually get old. It’s not fun to be old and poor.

Good luck!

[Riggerman]

Originally Posted by TxPaw79

Hello everyone! I am new here to the forums but have spent the last 2 weeks just clicking through everything and trying to absorb any and every thing in regards to becoming a live-aboard.

Just a little about me. Im a 40's something young man, who has never sailed before. Now I have been out on both ocean and lake waters on powered boats, and I have always grown up near the gulf coast. So I am confident that being around and on the water will be right up my alley.

The first thing that comes to my mind is can I afford this? So I am a 17 year military vet and do receive disability every month. Im not going to get rich off of it, but it is more than just some spare change each month. I envision being a solo sailor/cruiser with roughly a 30' monohull ( yes yes.... i dont have a boat... this is what I like to call the learning/planning phase of a dream). Would a monthly payout of roughly $1900 a month. Would it sound possible to be able to sail in and around the Gulf Coast to Carribean islands area? I know from what I have taken from alot of forums that it doesnt cost anything to anchor out somewhere vs a marina, but how long can you even stay at anchor if im out off the coast of an island like that?

I appreciate any and all responses as I continue to educate myself on this life style

I have been doing the Caribbean thing for the last 10 years. There are expensive and there are affordable place for live aboard. The cheapest I know id RioDulce in Guatemala. You can anchor for up to 2 years and once you have paid the entrance fee ( around $300.00 or so US for the first year and about the same for the second) Very popular with boaters there are an average of 600 boats here at any time. Marinas can be had for in between ?150.00 and 300.00 US a month 3 ship yard and very affordable craftsmen. So yes $1900.00 a month is very doable. get tired of Guatemala ? Roatan Honduras is just 22 hours sailing time away and fairly similar pricing. Ex-pat boaters will help you navigate the boating rules such as when you need to leave, for how long, where to get boat stuff etc.... Good luck.

[Roddu]

I don't understand why, when you are in your forties, you won't work a bit more, save and then tackle this budget problem. You write you get a disability allowance, but when you can cruise and sail, physically and mentally, wouldn't you be able to work and make money?

[Hugo B]

Hi

I subscribe to the philosopy of Lyn and Larry Pardey "Go small, go simple, go now" (you should read their books, very interesting for sailors and liveboard alike).

The reason I subscribe to this philosophy is that often people have conflicting requirements about the cruising lifestyle: one the one hand there is the idea that once you are on a boat, you actually go sailing. On the other, there is the idea of living on a boat in some comfort.

Unless you have lots of money and also are are able to handle a fairly large boat, there is a compromise to be had between the two. In my view (and some people might disagree) once on the water one can never really expect to have the same creature comforts as on land, and and so it is best to make a concious decision to accept that and prioritise for a boat in terms of seaworthiness and safety. A good boat where things don't break all the time is important, and the more gadgets one has the more can go wrong. Bigger boats cost more in maintenance and in marina fees. That's why I agree with the Lin and Larry Pardey way of thinking.

I am also planning to live the cruising lifestyle, in Europe. My budget is about the same as yours. I bought a small yacht, a fibreglass Vertue which are renowned for their seaworthiness. She only 26 ft, but in very good condition and very nicely kitted out inside. She also has a windvane. I will probably spend another $6000 or so on safety gear, such as an AIS and and a liferaft, as well as on solar panels. But then I have a very good boat. You can ask yourself: is 26 feet too small? I don't think so. The advantages are that she can be easily controlled by one person under all conditions and marina berths are much cheaper for boats under 8 meters. In terms of creature comforts, my plan is to stay in marinas a couple of times a week, and on top of that go to an airbnb once in a while where I really have all the comfort I need. As long as I do not stay in marinas all the time, I think that is doable on 1900 US (or 1600 EU) a month.

In terms of boats in the US, I looked at that actually because there are some very good quality yachts out there. In the end it was not convenient for me because of the location. But I would go for something like a 28 ft Cape Dory, very seaworthy but perhaps a little basic inside. You can pick up a nice one for about 20,000 US. A Pearson is also a very good boat, but also not the most sophisticated inside. The next level up and perhaps my favourite would be a Pacific Seacraft Orion (27 ft), very comfortable and very seaworthy.