A Message For Those Who Live On Boats

[Artif]

You need to define your requirements.
Are you looking for a boat to live on or are you looking for a boat to go long distance cruising.
The two options can make a huge difference to what would suit.
If you're looking for a home then you might try looking at trawlers, barges etc and have a small sailing boat or 2 to play on.
If your looking for a cruising boat then get one as small as you can get away with. Smaller boat equates to much smaller bills which equates to going further.

The dogs would probably be better off on a cat for cruising. Getting in and out of companionways when they are a bit older may prove difficult on a mono.

[Fezwig]

+1000 on what Rilie1 said!

I got out after six and was so sick of being haze gray the reserves were out of the question for me. 9 years later I ended up joining the Reserves and wished i had the credit for those lost years. The real good side is that you actually can quit if you decide to. Many many differences than being active.

I've been lurking for a couple of years, I think this is actually my first post, lol. You sound like you are where i wanted to be, so I guess your quest for a boat hits home.

Good luck, Shipwreck

Fezwig
USN 92-98
USS DeWert

[capngeo]

I have a 28' sailboat, a dog, a girl, a bird, and two cats. The cats mostly stay ashore, but the rest go along. We make it work, but rarely for more than 2 weeks at a time. Storage is the biggest issue, and more often than not the V-berth becomes the "junk room". The upside is that other than the $500/month to keep her in Key West, the boat is fairly inexpensive to maintain and run.

I retire in a little over 30 months from the Fire Dept, and the GF and I plan to move aboard....... a different boat! As much as I prefer monos, we are looking at cats just for the extra room.

If you make it to Key West, the first round is on me just to thank you for your service!