Before you sell the home, try living in just the bathroom for a month or so.

Liveaboard friends tell me they hardly ever sail, and I can see why. You
have to move all your living stuff out of the way to get ready to go
sailing--and then you gradually scatter it out again as "living" takes
precedence. If you work near the marina, find an apartment near the
marina--and sail at the drop of a hat.

UNLESS you're cruising full time, living on a sailboat is an exercise is
full time frustration, IMHO.

Fair winds whatever,

RWB (lives in house, sails in boat--A LOT.)


"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...
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.