My wife and I took up sailing just last June. We started with dinghies and
then took the usual sequence of ASA classes. We don't own a boat, but we've
been sailing consistantly ever since. To make a long story short, the
sailing bug has bitten us hard.

We're now considering a dramatic step. We're considering selling our
townhome, buying a boat and living on it. We have no children and don't
need much space. We work near the marina (the townhouse is an awful
commute). I'd say we are about 60% serious about it.

Would anyone like to share opinions or their experiences in living aboard a
sailboat? What did you miss about living on shore? What did you wish you
had considered before you made the move?

I'm sure I'll have many detailed questions as we work through this decision.

Some basics: we sail in So Cal. We enjoy coastal cruising at the local
islands. We're not interested in any bluewater stuff in the near term,
though we both earn lots of vacation and that could be interesting later. I
enjoy racing but the boat would be strictly for a home and for local
cruising. I don't know what kind of boat yet, but my preliminary thoughts
are on a 10-20 year old boat in the 38' to 45' range, and something that
holds value (as boats go).

Thanks.

As a long time live aboard who has been in many marinas over the years,
I can tell you it does not work out for a lot of people. I've seen them
come and go.

It takes unusual people to make it work. I could write pages on this
subject.

Get a smaller boat and spend some long weekends and try it out a little
first, meet some liveaboards. If you love having dinner on your boat on
a stormy night, it might be for you.

If you think you need more dinner plates than you have people, it won't
work. If you think you don't need the basics of life (hot and cold
running water, a usable galley, a usable head, comfortable bunks) you
won't last long. I've seen people who, after moving back ashore, say,
"I can't believe I lived like that." I can't believe they lived like
that either. There are some real horror stories out there.

What area of So Cal. are you interested in? Don't let the stories of
long lists worry you, there are many ways around that.

Jim

Brien Alkire wrote:

My wife and I took up sailing just last June. We started with dinghies and
then took the usual sequence of ASA classes. We don't own a boat, but we've
been sailing consistantly ever since. To make a long story short, the
sailing bug has bitten us hard.

We're now considering a dramatic step. We're considering selling our
townhome, buying a boat and living on it. We have no children and don't
need much space. We work near the marina (the townhouse is an awful
commute). I'd say we are about 60% serious about it.

Would anyone like to share opinions or their experiences in living aboard a
sailboat? What did you miss about living on shore? What did you wish you
had considered before you made the move?

I'm sure I'll have many detailed questions as we work through this decision.

Some basics: we sail in So Cal. We enjoy coastal cruising at the local
islands. We're not interested in any bluewater stuff in the near term,
though we both earn lots of vacation and that could be interesting later. I
enjoy racing but the boat would be strictly for a home and for local
cruising. I don't know what kind of boat yet, but my preliminary thoughts
are on a 10-20 year old boat in the 38' to 45' range, and something that
holds value (as boats go).

Thanks.

As a long time live aboard who has been in many marinas over the years,
I can tell you it does not work out for a lot of people. I've seen them
come and go.

It takes unusual people to make it work. I could write pages on this
subject.

Get a smaller boat and spend some long weekends and try it out a little
first, meet some liveaboards. If you love having dinner on your boat on
a stormy night, it might be for you.

If you think you need more dinner plates than you have people, it won't
work. If you think you don't need the basics of life (hot and cold
running water, a usable galley, a usable head, comfortable bunks) you
won't last long. I've seen people who, after moving back ashore, say,
"I can't believe I lived like that." I can't believe they lived like
that either. There are some real horror stories out there.

What area of So Cal. are you interested in? Don't let the stories of
long lists worry you, there are many ways around that.

Jim

Brien Alkire wrote:

My wife and I took up sailing just last June. We started with dinghies and
then took the usual sequence of ASA classes. We don't own a boat, but we've
been sailing consistantly ever since. To make a long story short, the
sailing bug has bitten us hard.

We're now considering a dramatic step. We're considering selling our
townhome, buying a boat and living on it. We have no children and don't
need much space. We work near the marina (the townhouse is an awful
commute). I'd say we are about 60% serious about it.

Would anyone like to share opinions or their experiences in living aboard a
sailboat? What did you miss about living on shore? What did you wish you
had considered before you made the move?

I'm sure I'll have many detailed questions as we work through this decision.

Some basics: we sail in So Cal. We enjoy coastal cruising at the local
islands. We're not interested in any bluewater stuff in the near term,
though we both earn lots of vacation and that could be interesting later. I
enjoy racing but the boat would be strictly for a home and for local
cruising. I don't know what kind of boat yet, but my preliminary thoughts
are on a 10-20 year old boat in the 38' to 45' range, and something that
holds value (as boats go).

Thanks.

Since you mentioned that you live in SoCalif and you already have a marina
in mind, I strongly suggest that you find out how long the waiting list is
at that marina. From my experience, most all SoCalif marinas have liveaboard
waiting list that is several years long.

Sometimes you will find a boat listed for sale that is currently a live
aboard and the seller or broker may give you the impression that getting you
the 'live aboard slip' won't be a problem.. Don't believe it.. Sometime the
broker can pull some strings but it's normally a deal 'under the table' and
you could end up loosing the slip at the end of the current lease.

Others will tell you about the other short comings of living aboard.. I have
lived aboard and I am presently moving aboard my Ingrid 38. The time I lived
aboard in SanDiego was great but the only way I could do it was live aboard
at a mooring.. I was on the waiting list for a slip for about 4 years. I
finally move to the Pac. NW..

It's a great life but it does take a certian mind set and a willingness to
give up a lot of domestic luxuries (laundry, reserved parking, closet space,
privacy, etc.

But on the up side, you have a home right on the water..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Since you mentioned that you live in SoCalif and you already have a marina
in mind, I strongly suggest that you find out how long the waiting list is
at that marina. From my experience, most all SoCalif marinas have liveaboard
waiting list that is several years long.

Sometimes you will find a boat listed for sale that is currently a live
aboard and the seller or broker may give you the impression that getting you
the 'live aboard slip' won't be a problem.. Don't believe it.. Sometime the
broker can pull some strings but it's normally a deal 'under the table' and
you could end up loosing the slip at the end of the current lease.

Others will tell you about the other short comings of living aboard.. I have
lived aboard and I am presently moving aboard my Ingrid 38. The time I lived
aboard in SanDiego was great but the only way I could do it was live aboard
at a mooring.. I was on the waiting list for a slip for about 4 years. I
finally move to the Pac. NW..

It's a great life but it does take a certian mind set and a willingness to
give up a lot of domestic luxuries (laundry, reserved parking, closet space,
privacy, etc.

But on the up side, you have a home right on the water..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

While Steve is absolutely correct, all of those concerns are of no
consequence for me. I have more "closet" space than I need. I have two
hanging lockers, and use 1/2 of one.

By looking out the window, I can see the laundry in the dryer and both
cars in the parking lot. And, there are several nice marinas I could
move to, in this area, (Los Angeles) any time I want to. With a
livaboard slip.


I need the binoculars to see if the dryer is still running. But I can
see it.

Jim



Steve wrote:

Since you mentioned that you live in SoCalif and you already have a marina
in mind, I strongly suggest that you find out how long the waiting list is
at that marina. From my experience, most all SoCalif marinas have liveaboard
waiting list that is several years long.

Sometimes you will find a boat listed for sale that is currently a live
aboard and the seller or broker may give you the impression that getting you
the 'live aboard slip' won't be a problem.. Don't believe it.. Sometime the
broker can pull some strings but it's normally a deal 'under the table' and
you could end up loosing the slip at the end of the current lease.

Others will tell you about the other short comings of living aboard.. I have
lived aboard and I am presently moving aboard my Ingrid 38. The time I lived
aboard in SanDiego was great but the only way I could do it was live aboard
at a mooring.. I was on the waiting list for a slip for about 4 years. I
finally move to the Pac. NW..

It's a great life but it does take a certian mind set and a willingness to
give up a lot of domestic luxuries (laundry, reserved parking, closet space,
privacy, etc.

But on the up side, you have a home right on the water..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

While Steve is absolutely correct, all of those concerns are of no
consequence for me. I have more "closet" space than I need. I have two
hanging lockers, and use 1/2 of one.

By looking out the window, I can see the laundry in the dryer and both
cars in the parking lot. And, there are several nice marinas I could
move to, in this area, (Los Angeles) any time I want to. With a
livaboard slip.


I need the binoculars to see if the dryer is still running. But I can
see it.

Jim



Steve wrote:

Since you mentioned that you live in SoCalif and you already have a marina
in mind, I strongly suggest that you find out how long the waiting list is
at that marina. From my experience, most all SoCalif marinas have liveaboard
waiting list that is several years long.

Sometimes you will find a boat listed for sale that is currently a live
aboard and the seller or broker may give you the impression that getting you
the 'live aboard slip' won't be a problem.. Don't believe it.. Sometime the
broker can pull some strings but it's normally a deal 'under the table' and
you could end up loosing the slip at the end of the current lease.

Others will tell you about the other short comings of living aboard.. I have
lived aboard and I am presently moving aboard my Ingrid 38. The time I lived
aboard in SanDiego was great but the only way I could do it was live aboard
at a mooring.. I was on the waiting list for a slip for about 4 years. I
finally move to the Pac. NW..

It's a great life but it does take a certian mind set and a willingness to
give up a lot of domestic luxuries (laundry, reserved parking, closet space,
privacy, etc.

But on the up side, you have a home right on the water..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...

some snips

My wife and I took up sailing just last June
We're now considering a dramatic step.
We're considering selling our townhome, buying a boat and living on it.
Would anyone like to share opinions or their experiences
in living aboard a sailboat?

For seven years I've lived aboard for 7 months of the year on RAPA, an
Oyster 406. She's just over 40ft and we wandered around N Europe before
ending up in the Mediterranean. We sail a lot - certainly every other day,
travelling from port to port, so our style of living aboard is probably
different from your needs. We give up lots of things which take up space in
order to have lots of mobility.

We love being able to live in the centre of the small villages and towns we
visit. This makes up for the acrobatics of heaving shopping baskets aboard
(dropping things in the water the meanwhile) and the inconvenience of having
a home which rises and falls alongside the quay as the tide comes and goes
(tho not in the Med!). We also have to occasionally 'up sticks' or add
another anchor at 0200 in the morning when a nasty bit of weather threatens
damage!

Compared to a house, she's expensive to run, needs a lot more maintenance to
keep her value, and even then her value diminishes slowly over time. Mooring
fees are about $3,000 a year, keeping her in good order (fuel, rig, sails,
paint etc) costs around $8,000 a year and a fair bit of my time, and she's
lost about $6,000 a year in value over the 7 years (and she keeps her cost
very well compared to many vessels). Brokers say she'll currently fetch
about $170,000.

Compared to a house there's very little space aboard, so all non-essential
items are discarded, the wardrobe is slimmed right down, and ingenious use
of stowage space means that it takes a little while to dig out less used
items.

What did you miss about living on shore?

Washing machine, TV and air conditioning, though in a boat of 45ft and more
you'll find room to add some of these. Instead we've discovered laundrettes,
good books and open air living under a sun awning.

What did you wish you had considered before you made the move?

The difficulty of keeping in touch with family and friends. Mobile phones
are a great bonus, and internet cafes help, but when we're moving around so
much it's difficult for people to come and stay without lots of
pre-organising when and where. May not apply to you. We always keep the fore
cabin and its loo available for visitors, but we just don't have the space
for the grandchildren. So now we return to UK in the winters, and as the
grandchildren are multiplying (rabbit genes in the family) we're buying a
house in the sun which can accommodate them and selling the boat.

Some basics: we sail in So Cal. We enjoy coastal cruising at the local
islands. We're not interested in any bluewater stuff in the near term,
though we both earn lots of vacation and that could be interesting later.
I
enjoy racing but the boat would be strictly for a home and for local
cruising. I don't know what kind of boat yet, but my preliminary thoughts
are on a 10-20 year old boat in the 38' to 45' range, and something that
holds value (as boats go).

Have a look at RAPAZ on my website (below). She's a comfortable ocean going
boat. I think she'd be too small for a home unless you were well geared to
living in a small space, or you gave up the idea of having visitors stay
aboard. She's got a very light and bright saloon (deck saloon) which is a
big plus, 'cos you can see what's going on in the world around you. Many
live-aboards who sail a bit less than us sacrifice the sailing performance
and go for a deck house, rather than a deck saloon, giving them even more
living space within their 40ft. But you need a bigger engine to push a deck
house to windward - more a motor-sailer than a sailboat!

--
Jim B, Yacht RAPAZ,
Sadly, for sale:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jim.bae...cification.htm
jim[dot]baerselman[at]ntlworld[dot]com

"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...

some snips

My wife and I took up sailing just last June
We're now considering a dramatic step.
We're considering selling our townhome, buying a boat and living on it.
Would anyone like to share opinions or their experiences
in living aboard a sailboat?

For seven years I've lived aboard for 7 months of the year on RAPA, an
Oyster 406. She's just over 40ft and we wandered around N Europe before
ending up in the Mediterranean. We sail a lot - certainly every other day,
travelling from port to port, so our style of living aboard is probably
different from your needs. We give up lots of things which take up space in
order to have lots of mobility.

We love being able to live in the centre of the small villages and towns we
visit. This makes up for the acrobatics of heaving shopping baskets aboard
(dropping things in the water the meanwhile) and the inconvenience of having
a home which rises and falls alongside the quay as the tide comes and goes
(tho not in the Med!). We also have to occasionally 'up sticks' or add
another anchor at 0200 in the morning when a nasty bit of weather threatens
damage!

Compared to a house, she's expensive to run, needs a lot more maintenance to
keep her value, and even then her value diminishes slowly over time. Mooring
fees are about $3,000 a year, keeping her in good order (fuel, rig, sails,
paint etc) costs around $8,000 a year and a fair bit of my time, and she's
lost about $6,000 a year in value over the 7 years (and she keeps her cost
very well compared to many vessels). Brokers say she'll currently fetch
about $170,000.

Compared to a house there's very little space aboard, so all non-essential
items are discarded, the wardrobe is slimmed right down, and ingenious use
of stowage space means that it takes a little while to dig out less used
items.

What did you miss about living on shore?

Washing machine, TV and air conditioning, though in a boat of 45ft and more
you'll find room to add some of these. Instead we've discovered laundrettes,
good books and open air living under a sun awning.

What did you wish you had considered before you made the move?

The difficulty of keeping in touch with family and friends. Mobile phones
are a great bonus, and internet cafes help, but when we're moving around so
much it's difficult for people to come and stay without lots of
pre-organising when and where. May not apply to you. We always keep the fore
cabin and its loo available for visitors, but we just don't have the space
for the grandchildren. So now we return to UK in the winters, and as the
grandchildren are multiplying (rabbit genes in the family) we're buying a
house in the sun which can accommodate them and selling the boat.

Some basics: we sail in So Cal. We enjoy coastal cruising at the local
islands. We're not interested in any bluewater stuff in the near term,
though we both earn lots of vacation and that could be interesting later.
I
enjoy racing but the boat would be strictly for a home and for local
cruising. I don't know what kind of boat yet, but my preliminary thoughts
are on a 10-20 year old boat in the 38' to 45' range, and something that
holds value (as boats go).

Have a look at RAPAZ on my website (below). She's a comfortable ocean going
boat. I think she'd be too small for a home unless you were well geared to
living in a small space, or you gave up the idea of having visitors stay
aboard. She's got a very light and bright saloon (deck saloon) which is a
big plus, 'cos you can see what's going on in the world around you. Many
live-aboards who sail a bit less than us sacrifice the sailing performance
and go for a deck house, rather than a deck saloon, giving them even more
living space within their 40ft. But you need a bigger engine to push a deck
house to windward - more a motor-sailer than a sailboat!

--
Jim B, Yacht RAPAZ,
Sadly, for sale:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jim.bae...cification.htm
jim[dot]baerselman[at]ntlworld[dot]com

There are some excellent liveaboard articles all over the Internet
which detail people's answers to the questions you are asking. You
could start at http://www.irbs.com/directory/Dmoz/Living_Aboard/ .
And of course you could check out the liveaboard section of the finest
boating site on the 'Net at http://www.casualsailor.com/LAIntro.shtml
..

I really do believe that there is a "minimum" size of boat that people
can tolerate. For Florrie and me, it was a 38' motor yacht. However,
a broker we know lived with his wife on a 25' sailboat for a while.

I'd agree with the respondent who warned that most people can't deal
with it. Florrie and I love living aboard, really love it. But it's
clear that most of our friends think us extremely eccentric.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

E.J. Bleendreeble
http://www.casualsailor.com