What is the cheapest to maintain sub 30 feet powerboat?

[Suijin]

I'd also look for "trawler" or "tug" style boats, which are going to have more usable interior space than a faster motor yacht.

Honestly...why don't you just look for a house boat? If you don't plan on traveling on it it but once or twice a year, then throwing out traveling in it at all would eliminate a whole host of maintenance issues and costs. The money you save could be put towards a real vacation.

[fstbttms]

Assuming you are planning to liveaboard in the Bay Area, you need to be aware that marinas here are limited to 10% liveaboard occupancy. As you might imagine, you are not the first person to try to beat the high cost of living in this area by living on a small boat. Most marinas are full up with liveaboards already. In addition, most (if not all marinas) have minimum size requirements for liveaboard vessels. And none of them are particularly interested in having you use a slip as an apartment when actual boaters could be renting it.

You would do well to do a little research.

[Scout 30]

As usual Steady Hand got this one right. Look for a displacement or semidisplacement hull type designed to run well at low speeds with either a straight shaft or a 4 stroke outboard. Economical to run & not weight sensitive which is important for liveaboards. Absolutely avoid I/O's as they are a maintenance nightmare. I'd also avoid any express cruisers like Bayliner or Sea Rays. Poor quality & inefficient fuel guzzling hulls. Albin, Nimble, Rosborough & C-Dory are a few I'd recommend. There is a Fisher 25 for sale on Craigslist that is really worth looking at. It's a motorsailer that can be used as a trawler & is a very high quality seaworthy boat at a great price.

https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/col...809156275.html
https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/boa/5869133070.html
https://orlando.craigslist.org/boa/5851123336.html

[varkpilot]

You show your location as Singapore. Is that the area in which you will live? Anyway, boats are like many other items in that they all have their fans. I happen to like Chris Craft Commanders. The hulls on the things are practically bullet proof, very heavy duty fiberglass. If you insist on a small one, Chris made a 27 footer you can pick up for 6 or 8 thousand. It'll be an inboard and most likely gasoline engine. Learn about inboard gas engines on boats. They're just fine, but you need to use common sense with them. Most everything will be cheaper on the smaller boats. Haul-outs, surveys, slips, electric bills, all of it. You'll really only have to worry about the drive shaft through-hull and a couple of sea-cocks as far as sinking is concerned. Have the old sea-cocks replaced and keep the packing gland adjusted on the drive shaft and you should be good. I'm the proud owner of a 47 foot Commander with twin diesels, by the way. Great boat. I don't think you want a sailboat, based on what you describe. If you're not already a sailor, there is much more to learn and maintain on a sailboat. Great fun, but knowledge intensive. It's been my experience over the years that outboard engines don't like to sit without running for long periods. And believe what the guys are telling you about inboard-outdrives. I've had 'em and they were a lot of trouble and work. Best of luck to you.

[Scout 30]

I agree that Chris Crafts can be a great deal. With these boat, really with any used boats, condition is key. If you can find an old fiberglass Chrissy that's been refurbished you could have a real treasure. I'd look for 60's - 70's models. Keep in mind that these are usually twin gas inboards & although they are more efficient than V hulls they will still burn a lot more fuel than a trawler. The flip side is that you can go fast when you want to.

1967 Chris Craft 27' Commander Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
1977 Chris Craft 28' Cruiser Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[ranger42c]

Originally Posted by BoxHome

It's more of a decision to live in a place that is small, and which would hopefully run us cheaper than rent after the initial investments.

We love living this specific way but if it costs more than rent in the city center of San Francisco in a small apartment, then we'd have to reconsider.

Boats are depreciating assets... so "investment" and "boat" in the same sentence can turn into an oxymoron fairly quickly.

Another thought is about your time. Boat maintenance is pretty much a constant... more easily bearable if you like doing it... but expensive (especially labor) if you hire it done. If you devote your own time to it, saving labor costs, you still end up with an opportunity cost. IOW, you could have been doing something else.

BTW, I'd guess a 30' flybridge boat has about 1/3 the space (or less) of a typical one-bedroom apt.

-Chris

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Here is one that would fit the bill for you and annual maintance would likely be under 2k a year on the years you do a bottom job and less than 500 on the other years .
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/boa/5862363887.html

I would avoid an outdrive of any kind. They are fine for trailer boats only.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I would avoid an outdrive of any kind. They are fine for trailer boats only.

That stuff about out drives is really interesting considering just about every power boat in my marina under 30 ft has out drives . The key to out drive maintance is zink.
Zink paint and zink anodes .

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Assuming you are planning to liveaboard in the Bay Area, you need to be aware that marinas here are limited to 10% liveaboard occupancy. As you might imagine, you are not the first person to try to beat the high cost of living in this area by living on a small boat. Most marinas are full up with liveaboards already. In addition, most (if not all marinas) have minimum size requirements for liveaboard vessels. And none of them are particularly interested in having you use a slip as an apartment when actual boaters could be renting it.

You would do well to do a little research.

I missed the mention of San Francisco earlier in the Opening Post. Whooops!

HEED THIS Warning by FSTBTTMS he posted above.
_____________

Some years ago I wanted to buy a liveaboard boat when I was in SF. Unfortunately I could not find a liveaboard slip at that time. I could have bought the boat (a 43 footer) but had NO PLACE found where I could live on it. Sure, I could have kept it in a marina, but NOT a liveaboard status or legal place or allowed.

So, it is a very important point that you must consider. You could buy a boat in SF area, and wind up NOT being able to live on it. If you are not prepared for this, and have enough money to afford rent on a dirt home AND pay for your boat slip too, you may not care. But, you need to do more research on this issue.

There have been several mentions of this in CF before, and YES there are some people who do buy a boat and do find a liveaboard slip. BUT, there is a real risk you may not find a liveaboard slip in a place you want to berth your boat, or possibly not at all in a short time. Some marinas have strict limits on liveaboards and waiting lists that are long and take years to be available.

Some may have a liveaboard slip available but may be 1-2 hours commute from a job (if you work on land). The SF Bay area is large, and commuting from one end of it to another or one side of it to another can be very time consuming in traffic. I know, because I used to do that every day for years.

Here is more on this issue from the CF Archives:
Live-Aboard San Francisco
https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=011403...sco&gsc.page=1

[msrcal36]

It's the boat you neglect. Cheap to maintain boat is an oxymoron. Any boat can be expensive or cheap depending on your level of expectation.
😎

[varkpilot]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

I agree that Chris Crafts can be a great deal. With these boat, really with any used boats, condition is key. If you can find an old fiberglass Chrissy that's been refurbished you could have a real treasure. I'd look for 60's - 70's models. Keep in mind that these are usually twin gas inboards & although they are more efficient than V hulls they will still burn a lot more fuel than a trawler. The flip side is that you can go fast when you want to.

1967 Chris Craft 27' Commander Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
1977 Chris Craft 28' Cruiser Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Exactly, Scout. Chris only made the 27' model from 65 to 70, and they made 535 of them. I googled and came up with quite a few around the country, one that I looked at was $6,000. It was a single-engined model. Any inboard single is a dog to back into a slip, but much cheaper to operate. I owned a 25' Chris, wooden model, back in the 60s. Nice boat. That was my first experience with reversing into a slip with a single. There is a technique to it that works most of the time. It had a 6-cylinder Plymouth engine and would get up on the step, no problem. We water skied with it from time to time. The glass boats are much nicer, however, not to mention easier to maintain and no dry rot. The one I have now, the 47 footer, is a 1969 and practically like new. Those Commander hulls are about as good as it gets.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Assuming you are planning to liveaboard in the Bay Area, you need to be aware that marinas here are limited to 10% liveaboard occupancy. As you might imagine, you are not the first person to try to beat the high cost of living in this area by living on a small boat. Most marinas are full up with liveaboards already. In addition, most (if not all marinas) have minimum size requirements for liveaboard vessels. And none of them are particularly interested in having you use a slip as an apartment when actual boaters could be renting it.

You would do well to do a little research.

I think you have answered their question. I thought that was the situation there and it basically makes it a pipe dream. What about hanging on the hook?

[varkpilot]

By the way, I belong to the Chris Craft Commander Club, and they have a listing of all Commander models made, including pictures and layouts. Kinda handy if you're a Commander fan like me.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

HEED THIS Warning by FSTBTTMS.

Some years ago I wanted to buy a liveaboard boat when I was in SF. Unfortunately I could not find a liveaboard slip at that time. I could have bought the boat (a 43 footer) but had NO PLACE found where I could live on it. Sure, I could have kept it in a marina, but NOT a liveaboard status or legal place or allowed.

Just a question. Would it be acceptable to liveaboard if you take the boat out every night and anchor some place. Get back to slip every morning go to work..

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

Just a question. Would it be acceptable to liveaboard if you take the boat out every night and anchor some place. Get back to slip every morning go to work..

That would be a real pain in the butt to do. In my marina we have a few people that live on their boats but are not marina liveaboards. Then rules here say up to 4 nights a week onboard. Which means 3 nights out of the marina. These people are in the marina Monday night to Thursday night/Friday morning and they spend the weekends on the hook . It all depends on how the marinas rules are written.