Liveaboard on the hard

[Calif.Ted]

Originally Posted by kmrtraptow

Awesome! I'm probably overestimating the time it takes for a refit lol

That doesn't happen often, just took me 3 days to finish a 1 day job.

[Lancerbye]

I have lived aboard everytime I have the boat out for bottom maintenance. It is usually less than a week but when I had the bottom stripped and new barrier and bottom paint done by the yard it took 4 weeks at a yard in Sidney BC. It is a good climb but I have a swim grid and a transom door that made things easier.

[ilanortho]

Originally Posted by jharding

I pulled in a yard in Texas for a two week bottom job, ended up staying for 4 months, that's how projects can go. My Bassett hound and I had no problems, felt quite comfortable. I made a sling with a block and tackle hooked on the boom lifted him up and down 2-3 times a day. Staying on the boat you can get a lot more done, sometimes working on something till 11pm. I have a composting toilet so that was no problem, everything else worked fine except no A/C, fans seem to do the job, same as being out on anchor. If you have a problem with ladders build a set of stairs, not that big a deal. It is not so easy finding a yard that lets you work on your own boat and then to stay on it. A simple extension cord powers boat quite well when not using A/C

Any way I could see a pic of that sling? Going to have to get my mutt in and out of a dinghy.

[TrentePieds]

Kevin:

Sound out Race Rocks Yacht Services in West Van. I think they've recently been sold, though, so the new owners may not be as agreeable as was the previous one. I have heard from former employees that the new owners tend to be "a new broom". I spent 10 days on the hard there a few years ago and "camped out" because of the distance to my home. They have a shoreside toilet but no showers. WestVan Municipal swimming pool is some distance way, but doable in a pinch if a "Liverpool wash" doesn't suffice.

You might have better luck at Shelter Island Marina on the Fraser. For as long as I've been in these parts they have "specialized" in providing this particular service, though I've never known their specific rules or charges. For many, many years SIM was known as the "yard where boats go to die". There were reasons for that. Principally that the naïve and the new-to-the-game who had bitten off more than they could chew, simply walked away from the detritus they'd created. Think Ferro-concrete!! That may have changed as a result of SIM having learned a lesson! Do give them a call. I think that will be your best bet.

If you are still thinking of the Island, I've seen signs at Ladysmith Marine Services on Ludlow Road that they are easy to get along with, but AFAIK there are NO sanitary services there.

As someone else mentioned: Be realistic about your time estimates! The old rule of thumb is that you treble the number in the estimate and then go to the next time-unit up., e.g. If your initial estimate is 2 weeks, your "time to complete" will be 6 months! Take heed - that maxim is more than a joke!

Modern battery powered tools make any job easier as long as you have a means of charging them. However, I myself cannot do a decent job of woodwork without having immediate access to a good table saw. A great many jobs of refurbishment in a boat (new rub rails, for example) really require a saw of at least 1 HP. Likewise a "grown-up" router and a bench where to deploy it. At SIM people used to set up makeshift "shops" (2be4 and poly) next to the boat. You will also find that if you are doing serious work, you really need a van to use for a tool crib and materials storage, particularly if you are living aboard :-)

TrentePieds

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Hmmmm. Felt just fine in Trinidad 4-10 weeks per season.

See if the marina can set you up like this. Shrink cover outside the drip line of the toe rail. Walk up steps and landing with railing. Carry two bags of groceries and walk directly onto the deck. Chaguaramos really knows how to treat us.

Almost looks like my boat when I was working on it, can’t tell but my stairs had wheels, I could roll it around any place on the boat and use as a work platform. The only way to go ! Had to chain it to my boat though, every time I went to the yard I had to hunt it down.

[copaco]

I lived abord for two summers at a boatbuiling yard near Québec City.If the ladder is properly secured and you take it easy, it does not seem a problem to me.It's like going hunting, for sanitation.I could take a shower for a dollar at a camp groung while I was going to Mc Donald's for Internet.I was 76 at the time.

[darylat8750]

I did it for several months on Isla Mujeres and again in Kenosha Wi. My built in swim ladder from the transom platform gets within 3 feet of the ground so a two step box makes access easy with empty hands. A little harder with a load. I can barely reach the swim platform from the ground so getting big loads on the boat is just a two step process. Water system works fine. Lavatory use is a pain. If I ever decide to paint the boat myself again I would find a yard that could park me someplace they could pump out and convert my head to fresh water. Ten years ago in Isla Mujeres I installed a "mini split" air conditioner . Makes working on the hard most civilized. Also I can leave it in the dehumidifier mode when l leave the boat in the water without having any through hulls open.

[yr2030]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I tend to live on the hard for weeks to a month at the outside on either end of the season. This has been in Newfoundland, so the opposite side of the country.

Insurance has never been an issue, although to be honest, I've never asked my broker about it. One yard did not allow it, but I think that was more because they were being dinks. Otherwise not an issue.


Still, it certainly can be done.

Did it once in Grenada, but that was for a bottom paint job. Forty gallons and a month later, we were still there. Had roll up stairs to use. No extra insurance needed. It wasn't half bad, but I wouldn't want to do it again.

[Macblaze]

Some yards lock up at night as well. I spent a week on the hard (in Nanaimo) and had to be in by 9pm or call security to let back in. No plumbing was the worst part of the whole thing.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by kmrtraptow

Awesome! I'm probably overestimating the time it takes for a refit lol

Define "refit".
2 years ought to be enough.
Just make sure the yard allows you to live on the boat, and also check to make sure it doesn't get real expensive after a week or to. many yards are reasonable until your week is up.
Have your own ladder and chain it to the boat. Or you will wake up some morning and someone has taken the ladder for their use.

[SV__Grace]

Our boat is our home and we only deal with boatyards who allow us to live on our boat while in their yard. So far, not a problem and never had to pay extra.

During our 18 month refit I would estimate we spent 4 months on the hard. Climbing 15 feet up and down ladders stops being scary after awhile and since living on a boat is an inconvenient lifestyle anyway, adapting to boatyard living wasn't hard for us.

[jharding]

Originally Posted by ilanortho

Any way I could see a pic of that sling? Going to have to get my mutt in and out of a dinghy.

I have attached (I hope) a pic out of a video of Fred my bassett in a sling I made to lift him up and down while my boat was on the hard

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I tend to live on the hard for weeks to a month at the outside on either end of the season. This has been in Newfoundland, so the opposite side of the country.

Insurance has never been an issue, although to be honest, I've never asked my broker about it. One yard did not allow it, but I think that was more because they were being dinks. Otherwise not an issue.

It is hard to live on the hard. Up and down the ladder is difficult and dangerous. The boat's water systems are not really functioning properly. Luckily our composting head is OK, but the boat just feels wrong being in that position.

Still, it certainly can be done.

These are issues that can be dealt with.

On Roxy, our fridge and freezer cold plates run best with outside cooling water but will run without. The Frigaboat is air cooled. The pressure water only needs water in the tanks although we prefer to use the foot pump in the galley. Showers and toilets are one boat length from the stairs off the boat. (Chaguaramos, Trinidad) Power Boats Marina provides walk up steps and a platform so NO LADDER. With the additional shrink wrap above deck and 6” wide vent all around as well as marina supplied AC in the salon hatch we are quite comfortable.

With this set up it is EASY to live on the hard. The first Trinidad season we had a hard time leaving. It was like a 58 foot single wide. The social group was great. Great tours and wonderful food.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by kmrtraptow

Has anyone ever lived aboard a sailboat on the hard in a boat yard in Canada (west coast) while working on it? Do you require special insurance or sign some waiver from a boat yard?

Cheers
Kevin

Used to be allowed to stay overnight on the slips at my favourite yard until some idiot woke up p——ed in the middle of the night, forgot he was not in the water and “stepped onto the dock”.

He survived. Just.

Now the yard has banned overnight stays, which is a right royal PITA.

[kmrtraptow]

Originally Posted by GILow

Used to be allowed to stay overnight on the slips at my favourite yard until some idiot woke up p——ed in the middle of the night, forgot he was not in the water and “stepped onto the dock”.

He survived. Just.

Now the yard has banned overnight stays, which is a right royal PITA.

You'd think boatyards would at least make you sign some sort of liability dicument! Crazy!