Questions/Advice about Living aboard

[silent]

I am a Medical Student in New Orleans, LA. I don't have any sailing experience, but me and my finance would love to sail in the future, and I figured that now is as good a time as any to get started. I currently live in a cramped little dorm room, but my finance and our dog and cat would eventually be joining me. I was looking at an Ericson 34T '78 and was wondering if this would be comfortable. Also, is getting an old boat a bad idea? It seems to be in very good condition and of course I would have it surveyed. I would also make it a point to be present at the survey.( a little piece of advice I picked up somewhere in these forums). Who should I ask about finding a good surveyor? I read somewhere not to ask your broker. Is it a bad idea to jump into a liveaboard situation with almost no sailing experience? I don't plan on sailing much because most of my time is taken up studying for medical school, but I would hope to learn the ins and outs of sailing and maybe some valuable experience for future adventures! This is something I am fairly sure I want to do, but I don't want to make any big mistakes. I've been doing a lot of research and only recently found this forum. I have been reading the other post, and I would love to hear everyone's opinion.

[David M]

Do you want to live aboard a boat and also have a boat that sails well? There are boats that do not sail well that would make decent living quarters. This might save you money.

I think your length range for two people is about right. Any smaller would be cramped quarters indeed.

If you want an inexpensive boat that sails well in that length category then I would have a look at an Ericson 35 as well.

[wolfenzee]

I live aboard a 30' sailboat with an 85lb malamute and a shipwright (I get the foreward cabin, shipwright gets the main cabin and dog chooses to sleep on deck). I am presently rebuilding the cabin interior, doing deck work etc...it's not easy to keep live on board and keep a boat ready for sailing at the same time. I recently hit some nasty weather out in the Straights of Juan de Fuca and my dog is horrified to leave the dock, but is quite happy as long as we are tied up. If I wanted to stay tied up all the time I would have got something alot more spacious and cheaper.

[ssullivan]

Good LORD..!!

This has to qualify as the most hardcore liveaboard situation I've ever heard of, making mine (doing the interior, splitting and cutting our wood to heat the boat, living with just my wife) sound like a luxury cruise.

My hat's off to ya!

Incredible...

I think I would have lost my mind within the first 15 minutes...

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

I live aboard a 30' sailboat with an 85lb malamute and a shipwright (I get the foreward cabin, shipwright gets the main cabin and dog chooses to sleep on deck). I am presently rebuilding the cabin interior, doing deck work etc...it's not easy to keep live on board and keep a boat ready for sailing at the same time. I recently hit some nasty weather out in the Straights of Juan de Fuca and my dog is horrified to leave the dock, but is quite happy as long as we are tied up. If I wanted to stay tied up all the time I would have got something alot more spacious and cheaper.

[Auspicious]

Take a good hard look at your books, think about storage and space to spread out and study. Make sure there is room for your fiance and her needs and interests.

[swabbmob]

I think you have a decent plan of action. You're not going to get in too far over your head with the type of boat you're talking about. Not all brokers will mess you up with their surveyors. I would have loved to live aboard while in college. Of course there wasn't an ocean near Oklahoma State. We've been living aboard since May, and I absolutely love it. Took my wife a bit to get used to it. We kind of had to reinforce our wedding vows - which worked out pretty good!

We've taken the boat sailing fairly often, as we are determined not to get permanently tied to the dock. Finally this next week we are taking our first real cruise all around Long Island Sound.

Best of luck to you, and keep studying. Course, once you get a taste of boat life, you may not need that fancy education.

[Chief Engineer]

If you can live simply...go for it....you can always move back to the dorm room.

It is one of those things that you need to experience.

When I was 18, I took my first trip out west....Camping in the Rockies and then flying to San Francisco and Hitchiking to Yosemite......I was a spelunker and climber back then.....One day after a techical climbing class, I was "clanking" down the trail when old guy (He musta been 35) said..."If I was a few years younger I'd try that"..

I have never said that.....at the age of ** I am ALWAYS up for an adventure.

Next year it might be a sailing trip from the Pacific Northwest to Nueve Jork via the Canal...Boo-freakin-YAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wolfenzee]

I have spent the last year living on board, just figuring out where I want stuff (handles, storage, bins, galley rebuild, hatch modifications, etc...lots of kewl little touches. A friend of mine (who is a shipwright) is living on board and is helping me with the stuff I can't do, this will also allow me to see what is necessary to make the boat comfortable for two people living on board for an extended period.