What Are the Disadvantages of Living Aboard ?

[S/V Elusive]

For those that don't know - Kai owns three boats and two houses, and definately qualifies as an authority on various places to sleep (we won't even mention the land based vehicles). <veg>

As for live aboards not sailing much. I believe, that like most things, trying to generalize people usually leads to gross misunderstandings. In Kai's case, he has a 'throw down' boat so he can go sailing when ever he wants. But we both have boats that we live aboard (or will be living aboard) that will also function as our recreational sailing venues and eventual cruisers.

I took my boat out July 4th (oh what fun it is to ride amongst so many that know so little) for a little sail. It took me 30 minutes below decks to prepare the boat to get under way (including making and eating a sandwich), and 20 minutes above deck.

The sail was lovely, thank you for asking - winds were 13 knots out of the WSW, with W swells of 5 to 6 feet at 8 seconds. My first tack, after sailing out of the harbor, was toward Gina (an offshore oil platform) about 6 miles out , closely hauled. I made an average of 6.5 knots with the wind 50 degrees to starboard. Then a nice beam to broad reach, getting an average of 7.6 knots for about 6 miles. Then the very broad reach to run back to the harbor (only averaged about 5 knots). A little victory sail around the harbor -heavy on the horn, before I dropped sails and motored into my slip.

Three and a half hours or so of sailing (single handed). Then, about an hour to put the boat to bed topside, and about 40 minutes to straighten up and put the boat back to live aboard condition below. So about a 1:1 correlation between the work necessary to go sailing, and the actual sailing. This is not always appealing to a live aboard. It is so much easier to go on someone else's boat. And yes, I could have stayed out longer, but there were other considerations that limited my time - just like all of us.

It is very easy to fall into a liveaboard frame of mind and think of your boat as a home, rather than transportation that you can live in. I keep reminding myself that I'm a cruiser who is temporarily forced to be a liveaboard until I can resume cruising. That is what keeps me taking these little trips - and keeping track of how much time it took to prepare and resume vs. the time I was out.

I like to think - and I suspect many others are of simillar mind - that when you live aboard, you are, to some extent, cruising; maybe not far away, but when you climb into your bunk and doze off, there is no telling what island you are then at.