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.