Trying to liveaboard in Baltimore, MD

[J_A_P_I_V]

Hello,
I am a 20 year old male who lives thirty five minutes north of Baltimore. Trying to move on with my life and out of my parents home, I would love to purchase a sail boat and live on it in the Baltimore area. I say Baltimore because I have a job lined up that is something i would really enjoy and it is just 10 minutes from where I live now. A lot of the people I have read about living aboard in Baltimore seem like it is quite a chore making it through the winter. My parents keep a boat at Anchorage Marina in Canton and have a few friends there that do live aboard, so I know it can be done. Does anyone have an idea of how much it would cost me to live year round and lease a thirty or thirty five foot slip in Baltimore? I am looking to purchase an older sail boat within that range of size. Also is it realistic to live on a boat I will only be paying roughly $10,000 for?
Stay Windy!
JAPIV

[boatsail]

I'm at the anchorage. G pier. 30 foot or less is like 2800 yr and 35 or less foot is like 3.3k a yr.

Great marina!

[TheOffice]

Are you looking for a floating home or a boat you can actually sail? You might find the former in your price range, but finding one with a reliable engine, rig, sails and hull will be difficult. You'll need to check craigslist, Spinsheet and local marinas who may know which boats are abandoned. Good luck!

[boatsail]

I think 10k is easy. You cold live on my boat and I paid less than 10k for it. Buy it for 3k and put 7k into it and you could have a great boat!

[boatsail]

I realize I could have been confusing on my last post. Not on MY boat, but finding a boat for 3k is not hard and with 7k to put into it, you could have a great boat!

[Pat Ross]

Originally Posted by boatsail

I think 10k is easy. You cold live on my boat and I paid less than 10k for it. Buy it for 3k and put 7k into it and you could have a great boat!

You can get a nice Catalina 30 to 35 for that price, 10K, particularly with the way the market is right now. Good Luck!

Let us know how it goes.

Pat

[ranger58sb]

For Baltimore marina prices, check websites for Baltimore Marine Centers (Inner Harbor, Inner Harbor West, Harborview, Lighthouse Point, etc.), Inner Harbor East, Anchorage, etc. You can use ActiveCaptain to identify the various marina on a chart, and the links can take you to their individual websites...

Periodic pump-outs seem to me to be the most serious challenge. At least some places (e.g., Inner Harbor) have dockside pump-out capability...

-Chris

[boatsail]

composting toilet is the solution

[J_A_P_I_V]

I really appreciate all of the responses. I figure I could definently purchase a cheaper boat and dump a lot of money into it to suit my needs as mentioned by "boatsail". I have plenty of time to get it ready for liveaboard status because its not like my parents are kicking me out. If it turns out that i would be miserable in the worst of the winter its only a few minutes back up the road to the home i grew up in. Also what is a composting toilet? can someone show me a link for that? Also what era do you think is too old to live on at this time? I dont need to much luxury obviously, but im sure some boats are just too out of date.

[boatsail]

dont think boat age, think cleanliness and condition

[boatsail]

If you want too check out my Marina and boat and see what a composting toilet is, just let me know I'm getting together with some off the guys from the Marina this weekend and I think next too if you want too swing by. Like most, I always like talking boats. Just seems a pm or Post on this thread

[Pat Ross]

Originally Posted by boatsail

dont think boat age, think cleanliness and condition

You are already on the right road because you are thinking ahead. I agree with the above to a point, one day you will sell the boat you buy in the coming 12 months. Thinking farther ahead about who will purchase it when that time comes will insure you get the boat you need now and later. I like Chuck Gustafson's book "How to Buy the Best Sailboat".

http://http://www.amazon.com/How-Buy.../dp/068810987X

There are others that are well written but this is a good place to begin to read and study, it is short and informative. His focus is on monohulls; with the goals and the finances you are reporting this is the type boat to be considering.

I rarely buy new books. Amazon, Abe's Books, Good Will Industries all have used titles on line, if this is not available at your local library.

Pat

[Pat Ross]

Originally Posted by Pat Ross

http://www.amazon.com/How-Buy-Best-S.../dp/068810987X

Books like the above, sailing forums, looking at other boats and actually sailing will help you build your knowledge base. No one source is the end all and be all of determining the best boat for you, just as anything in life.

Carl's Sail Calculator http://www.image-ination.com/sailcalc.html is another of those resources that can be helpful when evaluating similar designs and understanding their differences. Building your knowledge base first will help utilize his free website.

Pat

[airedog]

No one mentioned heat. Funny. I live aboard in Maryland on the Eastern shore, an hour from you (near Cambridge). The boat will need insulation, especially if you use electric or propane heat. Everything will be so wet from condensation it will make you think the boat is sinking. The overhead and bulkhead. At anchor in the winter would be pretty damn harsh I think...

Anyway, for heat, there are options, not cheap. Electric will cost 150/month or so, and create crazy condensation. Other options are (in order of preferability); There are are plusses and minuses with all, but the best two options I think are hydronic or forced air. Hydronic is great and probably the most expensive. Want the cadillac? Check out Hurricane boilers. They have 6 hot water outlets. Four for heat which run to remote radiators which have fans and separate zone thermostats (if wanted or big enough). The waterlines run under the floorboards so the floor is toasty warm. The other 2 outlet ports run to the water heater and engine (you circulate warm water thru the engine which prevents freezing. The negative of hydronic is it doesn't eliminate condensation. It remains a pain in the butt...

The other cadillac is forced air (like an Espar diesel furnace). These do conquer condensation, the boat will be nice and dry. The only problem with forced air is heat rises. The floor won't be as warm unless the vents are on the floor. But a great choice (it's what I have).

Next there are bulkhead mounted diesel (or propane) heaters (like the Dickinson which are probably best of the lot). The lower it's mounted the better. nice warm heat, but localized. They also make a solid fuel (wood or coal) but the burn box is tine, and carrying fuel would be a pain I think. I'd pick diesel over propane every time. Especially if you have a diesel engine, nice to only carry one fuel...

The dickinson starts @ $1000. The Espar is $4-5000, the hurricane is most expensive, $5000 or more.

[piratesoul]

I am also curious about the number of liveaboard marinas in the Baltimore-Annapolis area.