"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.


Hey, try this URL. It is a pretty good article to read if you are
going in that direction. I have never lived aboard, but I found this
article very interesting:
http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&...ver.com&rnum=7

Scotty

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

"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

I like living abord because you have your house on your back, like a snail,
and can move where interesting things happen, where the nature is amasing or
where the partying is hefty - and most of the time where the climate is
plesant.

If you live in a city (on a boat) and have a nine to five job, you really
can't enjoy all the benefits of living on board, but are left with the manny
disadvantages: Bathroom facillities for two people, both going to a job in
the city in the morning, are not sufficient. You will have to get rid of
most of your books, most of your kitchen tools, most of your clothes and so
on.

Of course you can live with the problems for a period of time, if you are
saving to go cruising, and are willing to suffer now, while looking forward
to later, but otherwise I cant really se the benefits.

If you have monney to get yourself a 55' well-equiped boat, it might be
tollerable, but otherwise the only advantage is that you can minimise your
pendeling time.

I don't know what will work for you, the above is just some general
thoughts.

Peter S/Y Anicula

"Brien Alkire" skrev i en meddelelse
...
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.

Sign up to the Liveaboard Mailing List and ask those folks. I'm not sure if
this is current but try sending an email to
with a text message that says "subscribe
live-aboard". You will then receive emails posted to the list and can ask
questions.
There is also an archive at
http://www.irbs.com/lists/live-aboard/
and a forum at
http://www.irbs.com/forum/viewforum....cd3e9f61 557a

As for living aboard, not much room for big hobbies like wood working g.

"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.

"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.


Hey, try this URL. It is a pretty good article to read if you are
going in that direction. I have never lived aboard, but I found this
article very interesting:
http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&...ver.com&rnum=7

Scotty

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).

I'd say you're in a perfect place to try it. Dockmate a decade ago had a
low-level job, but sunk the "rent" into a 45+' quality cruiser -- far
more than he could have afforded if he had lived on shore and kept a
boat. The Chesapeake is CHILLY in the winter, but 3 heaters kept him
toasty those winters he didn't have a girlfriend onshore.

South CA is far more benevolent, and the housing costs CONSIDERABLY
higher than the MD eastern shore, so I'd go for it in a NY second. (boy,
am I mixing a bunch of things!)

When our dockmate was laid off, he sunk the 6 months of unemployment
into the kitty and final commissioning and then headed south with his
current girlfriend. We didn't see them for a few years. Saw him and his
boat last season (when we visited our old marina), both well worn, but
haven't debriefed him on the experience.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

However, don't expect it to be easy to find a liveaboard slip in So. Calif.
It is not impossible, but difficult.

--Alan Gomes

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
...
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).

I'd say you're in a perfect place to try it. Dockmate a decade ago had a
low-level job, but sunk the "rent" into a 45+' quality cruiser -- far
more than he could have afforded if he had lived on shore and kept a
boat. The Chesapeake is CHILLY in the winter, but 3 heaters kept him
toasty those winters he didn't have a girlfriend onshore.

South CA is far more benevolent, and the housing costs CONSIDERABLY
higher than the MD eastern shore, so I'd go for it in a NY second. (boy,
am I mixing a bunch of things!)

When our dockmate was laid off, he sunk the 6 months of unemployment
into the kitty and final commissioning and then headed south with his
current girlfriend. We didn't see them for a few years. Saw him and his
boat last season (when we visited our old marina), both well worn, but
haven't debriefed him on the experience.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/