State of Living Aboard in Florida

[billdomb]

Lots of issues to consider.

Don't just focus on marinas. If you do a little legwork, maybe even with a realtor, can often find properties with their own docs that are not in use. Might be able to rent space.

Having said that, need to be careful becuz many of these properties are hidden behind low bridges and don't have a great deal of depth either, so getting a boat TO them can be problematic.

Certainly worth exploring.

Also: need to consider how you're going to manage your blackwater disposal, fresh water and power.

[Davy J]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

Then you are lucky. We have been to many marinas with Trump flags on many boats and have been the recipients of snide remarks over our Biden/Harris flag in many of them.

That's funny.........

Since you seem to be on a motor vessel, will you still be flying your Biden/Harris flag when fuel is over $5.00 a gallon???

[sailorboy1]

This thread has taught me a lesson. From now on I am not writing reviews or telling people places in Florida where a good spot for living on the boat may be found.

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by Davy J

That's funny.........

Since you seem to be on a motor vessel, will you still be flying your Biden/Harris flag when fuel is over $5.00 a gallon???

The election is over. We stopped flying our political flag when our guy won. My principles and ideals don’t change with the price of fuel though. Fuel prices go up and they go down at the whim of the multinational oil companies, politicians have very very little to do with it. That said, if new taxes bring US fuel prices in line with those in the rest of the developed world, I can afford it. Especially if the added revenue brings Medicare for anyone who wants it and free college tuition. I don’t mind paying my share of taxes, if they buy me a functioning infrastructure and an educated and healthy population.
One more year and I will have been voting Democratic for 50 years, I make a point to vote in every election I can even in the off off years.

[Davy J]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

One more year and I will have been voting Democratic for 50 years.

Truly, my condolences..............

$5.00 a gallon will be a good thing for you then??

[sailorboy1]

Well this thread will be dead soon now

I vote for what i feel my best choice is. That makes me part of that middle 10% that matters. I don't see the high ground to just voting based on a party, hasn’t each “side” taken a look at some of “their” people

[Woodland Hills]

It won’t be a bad thing if it buys healthcare or higher education for other Americans. Our youth are our future, we need to invest in them. Universal free healthcare is an investment in our present and our future and that’s a good place to spend money. If my neighbor has a better life for herself or her kids, I win too since the country I love is then a better place.

[Dave9111]

In the future, I'd be interested in living aboard in Florida for about 5 months per year. Like Dec, Jan, Feb, March, April. I've been in mid-Florida in July/August and found it to be pretty much unbearable. The breeze at the coasts helps, but its still extremely hot and sunburns occur in what seems like minutes. So I really don't see much point in staying in Florida over the summer months.


So, my question, is it reasonable to attempt to live aboard in Florida for 4-5 months a year in the winter? Then pull the boat, store it, and come back the next year and do it again? Or do you have to keep your boat in the water all of the time so you don't lose your slip? I don't like the idea of leaving the boat in the water without me being nearby.


I'm thinking Atlantic side, Daytona beach, or north up to St. Augustine.

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Well this thread will be dead soon now

I vote for what i feel my best choice is. That makes me part of that middle 10% that matters. I don't see the high ground to just voting based on a party, hasn’t each “side” taken a look at some of “their” people

If I don’t like the candidate of my particular party I don’t vote for them. When I first voted in 1971, the local Democratic Party was filled with racists: Dixiecrats. So I voted for the Republicans for state offices until the Democratic Party purged the Klan supporters. I still pulled the lever for Democrats for national office though.

[Davy J]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

It won’t be a bad thing if it buys healthcare or higher education for other Americans. Our youth are our future, we need to invest in them.

Once again, that's funny, what's your cut-off point?? $10.00 a gallon??

At some point, people need to be responsible for themselves.

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by Dave9111

In the future, I'd be interested in living aboard in Florida for about 5 months per year. Like Dec, Jan, Feb, March, April. I've been in mid-Florida in July/August and found it to be pretty much unbearable. The breeze at the coasts helps, but its still extremely hot and sunburns occur in what seems like minutes. So I really don't see much point in staying in Florida over the summer months.


So, my question, is it reasonable to attempt to live aboard in Florida for 4-5 months a year in the winter? Then pull the boat, store it, and come back the next year and do it again? Or do you have to keep your boat in the water all of the time so you don't lose your slip? I don't like the idea of leaving the boat in the water without me being nearby.


I'm thinking Atlantic side, Daytona beach, or north up to St. Augustine.

Find a marina with a boatyard attached and arrange to have them make a weekly check of your boat. You can have marina staff do this too, but boat mechanics from the yard have more skill, training and experience. I suggest Cedar Point and Lamb’s in the Ortega river at Jacksonville.

[Darrell Britt]

Originally Posted by Davy J

I can't address the situation in NE Florida. But here on the west coast, every marina, every marina, in my area is full and has a waiting list.

I emphasized "every marina" because only a handful of marinas allow liveaboards. Some of the marinas don't even want you to stay onboard overnight.

One strategy is to buy a boat that is already in a liveaboard marina and take over the slip assignment. This is popular at the Saint Petersburg Muni Marina.

St Petersburg Municipal Marina allows live aboards with a liveaboard fee. Slips are no longer transferable. They have a waiting list. Well run by nice people.

[Davy J]

Originally Posted by Darrell Britt

St Petersburg Municipal Marina allows live aboards with a liveaboard fee. Slips are no longer transferable. They have a waiting list. Well run by nice people.

Interesting, it's been a few years since I checked with them about a slip. But, I wonder, does that mean if you purchase any boat in the marina, are you forced to move out and let someone on the list in ??

[Dave9111]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

Find a marina with a boatyard attached and arrange to have them make a weekly check of your boat. You can have marina staff do this too, but boat mechanics from the yard have more skill, training and experience. I suggest Cedar Point and Lamb’s in the Ortega river at Jacksonville.

Are you saying it would be ok to leave it in the water in that case? Doesn't bottom growth become an issue if the boat is left in the water and not moved?

Is the winter weather in Jacksonville much harsher than in St. Augustine or slightly further south? I'm not sure where I will be healthwise when I do this, but perhaps I am thinking wrong. Perhaps I should just store the boat during the off season on the ground, then ready the boat, have it dropped in, rent a transient dock for a few days to make sure the boat is set, and then head out.



FYI - I vote for both Dem and GOP candidates. I really don't care what party they are hooked up with. If I agree with them more than the other guys, they get my vote. Of course that is not what the party's want. They want loyalty. But that to me makes zero sense. Why should I be loyal to a "party"?

[SeaStory]

Originally Posted by Davy J

Interesting, it's been a few years since I checked with them about a slip. But, I wonder, does that mean if you purchase any boat in the marina, are you forced to move out and let someone on the list in ??

It is something to ask about when looking at a boat. Ask the marina staff, not the seller or the broker. The waitlists are for certain sizes of slips, so they may be able to accommodate you for one size, but not another.