live aboard slips
 

I;ve noticed that in some threads, there has been discussion of how
some marinas won't allow aboard living. Why is that? because people
junk up the marina? or is it the extra expense of shore power and
utilities? I thought that if you rented a slip it was yours to do with
(that is..with discression) I've seen some houseboats turn into some
class A party barges and never leave the slip.

just wondering.

Tim

"Tim" wrote in message
oups.com...
I;ve noticed that in some threads, there has been discussion of how
some marinas won't allow aboard living. Why is that?

Hard to say. Liveaboards run the gammit from very responsible
folks that just like to live aboard (most of my friends) to absolute
deadbeats that can't afford anything else. Unfortunately, the deadbeats
sometimes make the bigger impression.

because people junk up the marina?

Some do, and ruin it for those of us that are responsible.

or is it the extra expense of shore power and utilities?

One normally pays for power via a meter. In the marinas I have
lived aboard, an extra charge is paid to compensate for water usage,
trash removal, etc. The charge has varied from $15/mo to $85/mo.

I thought that if you rented a slip it was yours to do with
(that is..with discression)

That would be wrong. Just as with anything one rents. Even if you
buy a slip, you are still constrained by various covenants.


I've seen some houseboats turn into some
class A party barges and never leave the slip.

No doubt. Some states stipulate that a boat has to act like a boat
and not a barge. I think FL has such laws.

just wondering.

It's really a load of crap, but liveaboards are an easy target. The marina
I am in welcomes liveaboards (at a $85/mo extra fee). A great asset.
We have caught many a vandal.

Tim

On 12 Jan 2005 19:51:34 -0800, "Tim" wrote:

I;ve noticed that in some threads, there has been discussion of how
some marinas won't allow aboard living. Why is that? because people
junk up the marina? or is it the extra expense of shore power and
utilities? I thought that if you rented a slip it was yours to do with
(that is..with discression) I've seen some houseboats turn into some
class A party barges and never leave the slip.

In some places (SF BAY, for one) environmental controls forbid.
Marinal allow at their peril. May be the same where you are.


Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a


Ask not with whom the buck stops . . .

"Rodney Myrvaagnes" wrote in message
...
On 12 Jan 2005 19:51:34 -0800, "Tim" wrote:

I;ve noticed that in some threads, there has been discussion of how
some marinas won't allow aboard living. Why is that? because people
junk up the marina? or is it the extra expense of shore power and
utilities? I thought that if you rented a slip it was yours to do with
(that is..with discression) I've seen some houseboats turn into some
class A party barges and never leave the slip.

In some places (SF BAY, for one) environmental controls forbid.

What environmental controls?

Marinal allow at their peril. May be the same where you are.


Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a


Ask not with whom the buck stops . . .

Most of the reasons for "No Live Aboards" have been well covered already,
here and elsewhere.

One of the main reasons in Calif. and most other areas is because the Marina
operates on a lease from the local port authority or the docks are in water
ways that are controlled by the Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR). They
forbid or set limits on how many marina residense may live aboard.

If live aboard were allowed without restrictions the marina would have to
install more power, pumpout facility, parking, head/showers, etc.

Speaking of parking, most live aboards I have known, are families and that
mean multiple vehicules/parking spaces, everyday, not just weekends. Often
they will have an extra van just for storage..

Myself, I love living aboard and try not to abuse the privilege. However, if
I look at it objectly, I could compare it to parking my RV at the curb in
front of someones house and claiming it is my right as long as I don't
violate any parking code limitations and pay my license fees. (hey! just pay
someone to let me plug into their electric and hook up to the outside water
faucet. To hell with the rest of the neighborhood..) Send my 6 kids to the
local school...

Now back to the marina question. I have known of people who purchase a
large boat for a home at the dock. No intentions of using it for a
recreational boating or if they do plan to do some future cruising, these
noble intentions are soon diminished by the realization of the realities of
boat care and repair. (too much boat for the budget or the abilities)

My opinion and experience, FWIW.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

"Steve" wrote:

Most of the reasons for "No Live Aboards" have been well covered already,
here and elsewhere.

One of the main reasons in Calif. and most other areas is because the Marina
operates on a lease from the local port authority or the docks are in water
ways that are controlled by the Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR). They
forbid or set limits on how many marina residense may live aboard.

If live aboard were allowed without restrictions the marina would have to
install more power, pumpout facility, parking, head/showers, etc.

In Maryland, and on the Chesapeake, and in the Keys, marinas are
required to have pumpout facilities whether they have live aboards or
not. This is NOT a live-aboard issue regardless of how people try to
make it into one.

Speaking of parking, most live aboards I have known, are families and that
mean multiple vehicules/parking spaces, everyday, not just weekends. Often
they will have an extra van just for storage..

I do not think multiple vehicles are restricted to live-aboards. We
own 20 cars at our home, and while we don't take all of them down to
the marina at once (because there are only 2 of us, and some of them
don't run), if we go out in the boat with other people, mostly they
have their own transportation.

There are also commercial fishing boats in our marina (and many other
marinas) and every time they go out, all the people that hire the boat
come by car and park at the marina.

At the Marathon City marina where they rent moorings out, the people
that have moorings have available a certain number of bike and parking
places with the mooring.

So the extra parking is not really a live-aboard related issue.

Myself, I love living aboard and try not to abuse the privilege. However, if
I look at it objectly, I could compare it to parking my RV at the curb in
front of someones house and claiming it is my right as long as I don't
violate any parking code limitations and pay my license fees. (hey! just pay
someone to let me plug into their electric and hook up to the outside water
faucet. To hell with the rest of the neighborhood..) Send my 6 kids to the
local school...

It is not comparable to that at all. Live-aboards pay for the marina
slip (and through their payments they pay taxes in the same way any
other rental unit pays taxes) and usually for the electricity, the
pumpouts and sometimes for the water. The question of property taxes
to support the schools isn't really relevant either because many
cruiser's home school. It's more comparable to living in a trailer
park and sending your kids to public school.

No - the business about not allowing live-aboards is purely NIMBY

Now back to the marina question. I have known of people who purchase a
large boat for a home at the dock. No intentions of using it for a
recreational boating or if they do plan to do some future cruising, these
noble intentions are soon diminished by the realization of the realities of
boat care and repair. (too much boat for the budget or the abilities)

My opinion and experience, FWIW.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions


grandma Rosalie

Neither of the marinas I have lived in has had city sewers or
water. No big deal other when we have a power failure. But
with 250 gallons of water aboard we can coast through a
pretty long failure without problems.

Doug
s/v Callista

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
wrote:

On 12 Jan 2005 19:51:34 -0800, "Tim" wrote:

I;ve noticed that in some threads, there has been discussion of how
some marinas won't allow aboard living. Why is that? because people
junk up the marina? or is it the extra expense of shore power and
utilities? I thought that if you rented a slip it was yours to do with
(that is..with discression) I've seen some houseboats turn into some
class A party barges and never leave the slip.

just wondering.

Tim

My particular marina does not have the facilities for liveaboards. Because
of
their location, they are not connected to city sewers, for starters. The
owners
live on the property, and they like things quiet and low key. So do the
people
such as myself, who prefer their marina's atmosphere to that of nearby
marinas
that allow liveaboards.

It is not necessary to have a connection to city sewers in order to
have live-aboards. There are many areas of the country where there
ARE no sewers. If connection to a sewer was required to live there,
there would be no people at all, let alone marinas with or without
live-aboards.

Our home marina on the Potomac is not connected to the sewers. Our
former marina on the Patuxent was not connected to the sewers. In
both cases, they have bathrooms and showers and do pumpouts and our
home marina also has laundry facilities. Our house in Maryland is
not connected to the sewers. We have a septic tank. My daughter's
house in Miami is not connected to the sewer. She has a septic tank.
So what?


grandma Rosalie

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 18:48:13 GMT, Rosalie B.
wrote:

It's more comparable to living in a trailer
park and sending your kids to public school.

===================================

That comparison is a little too close for comfort. All to many areas
with a large liveaboard population come to resemble a floating trailer
park, and that is what inspires the restrictions. Tell people you are
a cruiser instead, and actually use the boat once in awhile.

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 09:26:55 -0500, "Doug Dotson"
dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote:


"Rodney Myrvaagnes" wrote in message
.. .
On 12 Jan 2005 19:51:34 -0800, "Tim" wrote:

I;ve noticed that in some threads, there has been discussion of how
some marinas won't allow aboard living. Why is that? because people
junk up the marina? or is it the extra expense of shore power and
utilities? I thought that if you rented a slip it was yours to do with
(that is..with discression) I've seen some houseboats turn into some
class A party barges and never leave the slip.

In some places (SF BAY, for one) environmental controls forbid.

What environmental controls?

I forget the name of the agency, but it has the power to forbid all
kinds of things, defined as "bay fill." Forbes Island, for example,
was ejected from the bay after several years off Sausalito.

For those who don't know, Forbes Island looked like an island, with a
house, beach, and palm tree. It was actually a moored barge.

Of course such an agency provides an excuse if a marina just doesn't
want liveaboards, but the zeal with which South Beach Yacht Basin
enforces its rule suggests real concern.

I was always happy to have lots of liveaboards around. It is cheap
security.


Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a


Ask not with whom the buck stops . . .