No sailing experience but wanting to buy a 41ft morgan out island as a liveaboard

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I like having another place to go when I get tired of being on the boat. At this time, it's either work, my apartment, or my home in the country.

Living on dirt scares me, Dirt people scare me. I find them quite strange.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Living on dirt scares me, Dirt people scare me. I find them quite strange.

Then you have some sort of problem and may need therapy....

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

A Chinese Philosopher once wrote..."If someone tells you the way...it's not it".

Thanks for quoting my earlier posts.

The OP definitely needs to see them since many others here are just supporting his "dream" of which he knows nothing about.

It appears the OP knows nothing about boats, sailing, or living aboard and for some reason maybe 6-10 people in the entire world think it's a good idea for him to buy a huge old boat and liveaboard it

It's like when folks used to tell folks on here to "Go For It" when their dream was to sail around the world or across an ocean but had yet to ever own a sailboat or sail

[thomm225]

Also the OP is in an area where they have had lots of hurricanes since the mid 1990's.

I think I went through 8 or so when I was there. I lived 100 miles to the West in Pensacola, but we had early Winter Regattas in Panama City so I'm familiar with the area.

I've had several friends that were liveaboards lose their boat's during those Hurricanes especially Ivan in 2004.

We had no power for about 2 weeks after Ivan and there was a curfew starting at 4 pm until around 8 am. The National Guard was called in also.

Plus if the boat is also your home you have no place to go except to a friends house or motel during a hurricane

One of my friends had his boat hauled before Ivan hit since he had no insurance. It got destroyed anyway when it go knocked of the stands it was on.

He was a liveaboard. The boat was a Tayana 37

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Thanks for quoting my earlier posts.

The OP definitely needs to see them since many others here are just supporting his "dream" of which he knows nothing about.

It appears the OP knows nothing about boats, sailing, or living aboard and for some reason maybe 6-10 people in the entire world think it's a good idea for him to buy a huge old boat and liveaboard it

It's like when folks used to tell folks on here to "Go For It" when their dream was to sail around the world or across an ocean but had yet to ever own a sailboat or sail

Ya but who are you to tell them what to do and how to do it. This is a theme of a lot of your posts on CF. 'there's only one way and it is mine'. I have had lot's of adventures around sailboats. I have made lots of mistakes, including some lemons I have bought. But it's not up to me to piss on someone else's ideas. Nothing wrong with making cautionary suggestions but there is a line between suggestion and control.
Perhaps your aggressive line of "Then you have some sort of problem and may need therapy" could be applied to you.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Ya but who are you to tell them what to do and how to do it.

No one is telling anyone what to do.

I'm just pointing out the facts which you are short on concerning the area where the OP plans to live his dream.

The OP has no clue what he is getting into but all he gets here is how great it's going to be and go for it!

Btw Mr. OP if you plan to live on anchor anywhere near Panama City you better figure out how you are going to keep your Air Conditioner powered up during the late Spring, Summer and early Fall months

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by jsizemore76

Hello! Im Jesse. Ive followed many sailing channels, uma, delos etc. Ive been wanting to get off the land and liveaboard for over 5 years now. Been looking at boats. Trying to find one i like and ive found one for a good price.

I dont have any sailing experience but im reading some sailing books and researching online and i have a knack for figuring tomhings out. A 41ft morgan out island center cockpit. Needs some cosmetic tlc but from what the broker says the boat is solid and last used in april. Its in my budget.
All apartments and houses around here arnt since hurricane michael cat 5 came thru 5 years ago everythings doubled or tripled in price. I plan to anchor it in the bay just north of my job. Probably get a stern anchor to ensure it stays in place. Eventually i would live to do a circumnavigation but thats not anytime soon. Any advice, suggestions is welcome! Thanks in advance!

Hello, Jesse,

I hope your plan works out for you, but I want to tell you some caveats....

Remember there's no requirement for brokers to tell you the truth about very much. Their job is to sell you a boat, often one which has been a slow mover. What you call an "assessor" on land is called a "surveyor" for boats. Even the surveyors don't usually survey masts and rigging, that takes a rigger.

If you are buying a boat with the intention of living at anchor, you will find some things in the way: insurance is required to take the boat into a marina, which is where you will mostly load up on drinking water, and it is also where your holding tank will be pumped out. You might want to investigate Florida's legislation about composting toilets. You'll need money for marinas, even for short stays sometimes, though you may be able to arrange to come in to a fuel dock to take on water and fuel at a low activity time. You will need a way to get ashore, clean and dry, which means a dinghy of some sort (maybe a PortaBote?).

My husband and I lived aboard and worked in land based occupations that did not require high heels, nor suits, but we did it in a marina (toilet and hot showers available). Each of us needed a vehicle, as it was too far to ride a bike, and undoable in rainy weather.

Anchoring is imperfect, big puffs, especially those associated with changes in wind directions, can make even well anchored boats drag. Anchoring with two anchors is considered anti-social in places where the custom is to anchor with only one because the one with the stern anchor doesn't swing the same as the others. We've anchored out for many years, but we don't usually leave the boat out of sight. One time when we did, she was thumping on the beach when we got back to her when a thunderstorm came through. Pretty scary.

None of the above means your plan is undoable, it is just that if it is to go at all smoothly, you'll need to think things out carefully. It will cost more than you plan on, as the purchase price is merely the setting of the hook. I hope you can find a good surveyor, scarce as hens teeth, they are.

Ann

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Hello, Jesse,

I hope your plan works out for you, but I want to tell you some caveats....

Remember there's no requirement for brokers to tell you the truth about very much. Their job is to sell you a boat, often one which has been a slow mover. What you call an "assessor" on land is called a "surveyor" for boats. Even the surveyors don't usually survey masts and rigging, that takes a rigger.

If you are buying a boat with the intention of living at anchor, you will find some things in the way: insurance is required to take the boat into a marina, which is where you will mostly load up on drinking water, and it is also where your holding tank will be pumped out. You might want to investigate Florida's legislation about composting toilets. You'll need money for marinas, even for short stays sometimes, though you may be able to arrange to come in to a fuel dock to take on water and fuel at a low activity time. You will need a way to get ashore, clean and dry, which means a dinghy of some sort (maybe a PortaBote?).

My husband and I lived aboard and worked in land based occupations that did not require high heels, nor suits, but we did it in a marina (toilet and hot showers available). Each of us needed a vehicle, as it was too far to ride a bike, and undoable in rainy weather.

Anchoring is imperfect, big puffs, especially those associated with changes in wind directions, can make even well anchored boats drag. Anchoring with two anchors is considered anti-social in places where the custom is to anchor with only one because the one with the stern anchor doesn't swing the same as the others. We've anchored out for many years, but we don't usually leave the boat out of sight. One time when we did, she was thumping on the beach when we got back to her when a thunderstorm came through. Pretty scary.

None of the above means your plan is undoable, it is just that if it is to go at all smoothly, you'll need to think things out carefully. It will cost more than you plan on, as the purchase price is merely the setting of the hook. I hope you can find a good surveyor, scarce as hens teeth, they are.

Ann

Listen to the Lady. It's not impossible and you wouldn't be the first to succeed.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Listen to the Lady. It's not impossible and you wouldn't be the first to succeed.

Right but he is in Panama City, FL.

Live there for 10-12 years and then you'd understand.

[JPA Cate]

So, thomm, you're suggesting he might have other problems than thunderstorms to consider? Of course, I agree, and the OI 41, is rather shallow draft (an impediment to it's sailing performance), and able to get into good mangrove creek protection, although I'll admit I'm not comfortable with some of the denizens of the swamps. Most people find the "find the dry land and sit under a tree" or get the heck out of there approach more appealing. But we've friends who have sat out cyclones in mangrove creeks, one of whom reported 60knots at the masthead, and nothing on deck. Yes, buggy (this was in Fiji), but very safe for them and the boat--she didn't even get scratched.

People start where they are, without knowing what they don't know, and their successes depend largely on good luck and the wisdom of their decisions, as well as their comfort zones, and general character. Individual "growth" is an interactive experience.

Actually, thomm, I do appreciate that you're trying to say to Jesse that it is not all beer and skittles, and there are real dangers, as well as inconveniences.

Ann

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by dwedeking2

....
I will say that those I've seen who live aboard solely for financial reasons usually go back to land after a couple years.

Having lived aboard for about 8 of the last 25 years, and having jumped in with both feet much the way the OP is considering, I agree with this. Some folks get the boating bug that overrides all the negative aspects (and there are plenty). I've met a handful of folks who enjoy living aboard even though they never take their boat out and have no aspirations to cruise.

Only word of advice I can offer is being a full time anchor out is really difficult from a logistics perspective. Especially at the beginning - doing any work on the boat is much more complicated. I know it can be hard to find a liveaboard marina but it will payoff in the end.

[The Yacht Rigger]

As long as you don't expect it to be easy, and you are willing to get your hands dirty, spend a lot of time learning, and dive into the lifestyle completely, you can do it. Many have.
As mentioned a couple times above. Expect it to be harder physically, mentally, and financially than you expect... and you might just love it!

[thomm225]

Living at anchor and trying to work also would be a royal PITA.

Just doing laundry and getting groceries to and from the boat would take lots of extra time.

Then there's the unexpected weather.

Next are you good at anchoring? It seems to be a big subject here as many don't seem to understand how.

What will power your lights and A/C

It gets very hot in Panama City during the season, and there isn't always a breeze to cool things off.

Then for every storm there's a new problem to deal with. Even just a tropical storm. That bay gets quite a bit of wind in there at times, but I guess you have never sailed or been on a boat out there to actually see it.

Are you going to use a dinghy to get to shore or something you paddle.

An OI 41 is huge so if you need to haul it or paint the bottom or make repairs, it will cost quite a bit.

Speaking of living at anchor, does the boat have good anchors or will you have to buy those also.

How about a generator for the A/C?

It's doable but with no experience you can only see about half the problems/hurdles you would have to deal with especially at anchor then if you decide to abandon the anchoring idea and find a marina for that size boat in PC I'm guessing wouldn't be cheap. So what then?

Many here including me have had similar dreams, but then the reality hits and we have adjusted our dream.

Some of us get a smaller sailboat that we can stay on during weekends while we learn then make a plan to live on the boat or a larger one at anchor when we aren't working.

Everyone does it differently though.

[thomm225]

So I was speaking of St Andrews Bay not West Bay or North Bay.

I've raced in both with St Andrews having much more wind. We did the Round Shell Island Race and had quite a bit of wind .

The entry coming back is so shallow it isn't even on the chart. Folk were wading there when I entered with my daggerboards up!

Getting out the Pass and into the Gulf that day was easy but getting back out to the start finish line against the wind was hard since the race took us all the way back near Panama City then back out to near the pass

Winds similar to photo which was 18-22 knots Pensacola Bay. I'm pinching up in the photo and dumping wind plus trying to find the mark after a hectic downwind mark rounding. I barely go most of the spinnaker back in

https://www.charts.noaa.gov/PDFs/11390.pdf

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Living at anchor and trying to work also would be a royal PITA.

How would you know?