Liveaboard - Pros & Cons

[AudreyK]

Dave what do you do with the dingy if you go ashore for awhile? how do make sure its there when you get back?
Audrey

[cat man do]

There's no gaurantees there Audrey, but on the City side of the creek it'll be mainly drop of and pick up.

I'm pretty sure Port of Brisbane have a secure dinghy pen that need's a key for about $30/year. That and some hefty chain and padlock should keep the honest thieves at bay.

Dave

[AudreyK]

its the dishonest ones that worry me! but $30 a year for a secure pen sounds pretty good, gosh theres a lot of things to think about in this living a board lurk! still gunna do it though!
Audrey

[cat man do]

I'm pretty sure that is a key through the gate, use of shower toilet and I think they have washing machines as well.

But maybe you can only get this if you take a pile mooring which I believe is a first come first served arrangement.

These are still very cheap, just dont think they have the space for a 50 x 24 ft cat.

Gardens Point | Port of Brisbane

Seems it's actually $5-00 for a key

Dave

[Stevens 47]

Apparently my information was wrong ... so what I'm hearing is that if young Matthew has enough money, he can move right into a live aboard slip ... right

I wish it was as that easy. Kona Kai is one of the most expensive marinas in San Diego, I used to have my office in the marina. They seemed to have more live aboards available but you paid more, for me and my boat it would be about 1200 per month. Some of the other marinas on shelter island are not as high some are 30% less. Chula Vista is in the south bay has the lower demand and is the farthest from the Bay entrance. No matter where you go you and your boat still have to pass muster with the dock master. I have heard of people who have called a marina only to be told that there is a 2 year wait. I called the same marina for a client the very same day and got them a slip.

Jack

[windthief]

Stevens47 brings up a great point. I had asked for a liveaboard slip here at the Shelter Island marina for some time being told that there was a five year wait. Then, after asking if Niki and I could have a two week stay on the boat before moving into a new appartment they offered up the coveted liveaboard option.

[mudnut]

Dave,in ya link I could not find anything deffinatly saying that you could live aboard full time.Did I miss something?.Mudnut,

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by mudnut

Dave,in ya link I could not find anything deffinatly saying that you could live aboard full time.Did I miss something?.Mudnut,

Why would they have showers , toilets and washing machines ?

They come down and collect the rent from the laundry area 2 days a week. Be a real pita unless you were a liveaboard.

All cruiser's as well.

Of course you can anchor outside the mooring area for nothing as long as you aren't a hazard to shipping which is where my 800mm draft will be handy.

Dave

[cat man do]

Some more pic's from the Brisbane City/ Garden Point mooring's to taunt you poor Northern hemisphere Yachties.

$39-00 U.S /weeek for up to a 100ft pile berth, just a short dinghy trip from the Port office Hotel, with icy cold beer and a good Steak and view's like this.

Oh yeah, shower's, toilets and washing machine facilities as well.

Come on down to the lucky country.

I should be getting an earn from Tourism Queensland for this

Dave

[ssullivan]

You have got to love a draft that is measured in millimeters!

Originally Posted by cat man do

Why would they have showers , toilets and washing machines ?

They come down and collect the rent from the laundry area 2 days a week. Be a real pita unless you were a liveaboard.

All cruiser's as well.

Of course you can anchor outside the mooring area for nothing as long as you aren't a hazard to shipping which is where my 800mm draft will be handy.

Dave

[Boracay]

You forgot to mention that the moorings are right by the Botanic Gardens.

[Wahoo Sails]

Cat Man Do ..... those pictures sure look great .... nice invitation .... then Wheels or someone mentions the cost of .. of? well, anything having to do with a boat! A tube of sealant requires a mortgage!!!
Bob

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by windthief

There are plenty of liveaboards here in So-Cal. It is VERY....VERY difficult to get into the percentage of allowable. Shelter Island Marina for instance where Niki and I live has a 10% allowable live aboards. It costs us an additional $350.00 a month, for a total of $960.00.

as for alternatives we are actually moving to a mooring this spring for our last year before cruising. This costing $200.00 a month and full allowance for live aboard. On the flip side we won't have the jacuzze or five star hotel ammenities.

I'm over in Sun Harbor, and it's the same deal there. 10% liveaboard status. They make a big deal about reminding everyone that they're "legal liveaboards", because there's the infamous "sneak aboards", where you basically just keep a low profile about the whole thing.

Most marinas just don't want any problems, and I think in San Diego it's a regulation of some type (I keep seeing the 10% thing in a lot of the marinas). If you want to be ninja about it, I don't think anyone is going to care.

That being said, I'll be tossing my name onto the waiting list because I know we'll be ready in a few years, which is about as long as it takes to get on the list.

[rebel heart]

And while not an exhaustive list of pros and cons, my one piece of advice:

My girlfriend and I have a 38' HC sitting with no one on it in a marina, and we have an apartment we live in that's roughly 1/4 mile from our jobs (we walk to work every day).

It's much more convenient for me to have a land apartment with high speed Internet access, lots of power, clean clothes, our dogs, etc. I work 40-60 hours per week (saving for a boat trip), and I need the support and logistical benefits of a land based apartment.

I mean really, it's a hell of a lot easier and more comfortable to balance a heavy job committment with a land home rather than a boat home. If you really want to push the limits, you can live on your boat, but it's not going to make anything any easier.

But I really think it comes down to what you need. If you don't need all the luxuries and benefits of a land home, then moving to the boat wont be an issue. But try it sometime:

- go to work without taking a shower
- eat some cold meals from time to time because you forgot to fill the propane tank. make sure to do this when you're *really* hungry.
- wear wrinkled clothes to work every now and then
- sleep right next to the window during a storm, or leave it open if possible. (and drip some water all over your apartment whenever it rains)
- never leave the central heater on at night
- unplug the fridge

Being on a boat is a lot of work, and working full time as a professional is a lot of work too. So if you can commit to both, do it. If not, maybe ease into it gradually.

See if you can spend your weekends on the boat, comfortably without issue. If you can, that's probably a good sign. Problems should be noticeable very quickly.

One fun one for me (if any of you San Diego people know the mooring field near the Coast Guard station north of the Star of India) is that it wasn't until three days into living onboard that I learned that the Coast Guard does multi hour helicopter drills 200 yards from where my boat was tied up; totally unliveable during the daytime with that noise coming through.

My deal with boating these days is that when 90% of the lights are green, I'll do it. For projects, it means having all my tools, products, and instructions before I do any work. For moving onto the boat, it means painstakingly going through everything and ensuring that it's the way you want it.

If you need a better cabin heater, for example, it's a lot better to live at home for the month until it's installed, then to freeze your ass off on the boat for the same interval of time.

Boating is supposed to be fun, not self punishment.

[unbusted67]

Okay Dumb question.... When someone says $1.50 per foot or $15 a foot is that per day, per month, per year? Or is it both? why don't marina's say $/ft/month. That makes me crazy.