Marine Forum

living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

01 June 2006 14:44:57

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

I am considering buying a yacht to live on with my girlfriend. We are thinking of buying something like a Bavaria 36 and will go up to 40 foot if we can afford it. Our budget is about 50 000 to 80 000 We are obviously doing it on a budget. Does anyone know much about the practicalities of living aborard or have any experiences of doing this and holding down a full time job? the idea is to work in our jobs for a year, saving money on rent that we are currently paying and then take the boat to the med.

I have some fairly specific questions too:

1) whats a good boat in the price range and length for a live aboard?
2) Are mariners generally accommodating to live aboards?
3) what insurance implications does living aboard have?

All advice gratefully received!

Re: living on a sailing boat

cyndi63

16 April 2007 00:36:29

Joined: 15 April 2007 23:46:40 | Posts: 5

thats pretty small for 2 people year round

Re: living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

11 June 2007 09:29:50

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

Life is what you make it.....go for it !
Our son and daughter in law live on a boat with 2 children and another on the way....of course it has it,s problems but so does ANY way of life.
GOOD LUCK....DO IT NOW WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG !!!!!

from a couple who left it too late and regret it !

Re: living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

29 December 2007 19:02:32

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

Hi !
did you get any good advice ?

We are thinking the same thing and are trying to build a 3 year plan to do the same !

Have bought a small dinghy to mess a round in and will be saving like mad soon - did you try youtube and "blink ice" - this might help!

Cheers, mark & marie

Re: living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

20 March 2008 10:27:00

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

hi there.

I was thinking about doing the same with my girlfriend.
Any advice on monthly cost implications would be much appreciated.

I plan to buy a 36 feet one, new boat probably, price around 75K.

Regarding the space, if a couple lives in a flat share, where they live in the same room, and otherwise you have a dining/living area, plus a kitchen, you get the same from a 36 boot in my opinion. anyway, you sleep and eat there, then off to work for the rest of the day, on weekends you can enjoy sailing out with your house :)

ok, i would be interested in other's experience in this subject!
cheers

Re: living on a sailing boat

sailmatch

02 July 2008 12:51:56

Joined: 01 July 2008 13:16:38 | Posts: 6

Have you considered getting a multihull boat? More space - more stable sailing - it's worth checking some out. I bought a 26ft multihull for £17000 and although single handed I can have visitors as I have 2 aft cabins and can sleep two people in the main cabin. You will get more space for your money. I earn a living by working online whilst travelling - I am currently in Spain on my way to Australia from England. Tough for a female but safer than backpacking!!
Sassy
http://www.sailmatch.com

---

www.sailmatch.com
Online Dating and Crewfinding Service

Re: living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

08 May 2010 12:08:36

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

Advice...

Get as much time as you can Ocean sailing and complete as may courses as possible before you jump into this...safety safety safety. Being at sea in a small boat miles from anywhere is not everybodies idea of fun ...even competent coastal sailers!

If you are going to do it try a Colvic Contessa 33 or a boat with a wheel house....a fisher if you can afford it.....bullet proof and above all safe.

Re: living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

11 May 2010 09:10:34

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

After going to see a Westerly Conway in Wales we've decided to move onto a 55ft narrow boat instead.

We've got a 1 year old daughter and feel that moving straight from a "house -> yacht" would be very difficult and we've still got so much to learn. So the new idea is "house -> narrow boat -> yacht".

The benefits being:
* Always near land
* Non-tidal
* More space than on a yacht
* Can get used to boat parts - diesel engine; 12V electrics; 240V shore power; gas; water system
* We can try living on a boat in winter
* We get to manoeuvre in a marina in tight spaces with a large boat for experience
* We can go on holiday immediately
* I can keep my current job whilst we kit her out a bit
* We can make the boat child safe for Mia

We've actually bought the narrow boat called "Lazy Dayz" and have had quite a few problems already. It's all a good learning curve but stressful as well - we can't wait to move on and see how it goes. Also my wife is happier with this idea than living on open waters!

It will also make us mortgage free and hopefully remove the chains of debt - at least for a while.

One thing I will say is that the list of jobs on boat just gets longer and longer, for each job you tick off two more will appear.
Just get used to it and don't worry.

Mark & Marie & ickle Mia

Re: living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

05 June 2011 11:42:51

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

Hi Let me know what the replies were please as I am a little older 53 and am thinking of selling up and sailing for 5 years - was looking at a 38 footer as it will only be two of us. Input would be appreciated. I live in South Africa and the boats down this way look a little tired - so was thinking of looking for a boat in Europe or the UK - saves haveing to sail it from down here.

Re: living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

06 June 2011 08:15:09

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

We'll we moved onto a 55ft narrow boat called 'Lazy Dayz' and managed to live on it for 6 months. It was great fun but hard when you've got a 1 year old.

We have now moved back into a house, but in all I would say we enjoyed the change and don't regret giving it a go. The main reason was the space for our daughter - toys and play area on wet and cold days.

It was different to normal living, exciting and different and the people we meet were all very nice.

If you are thinking of doing it then go for it. If you are not 100% sure then just have a plan B and agree on it with your wife. Keep giving it one more day and make sure you talk to each other if things are getting under your skin.

What was good about living on Lazy Dayz
--------------------------------------------------------
Wonderful scenery
Living cheaply - gas / electric / food
Feeling more outdoors than indoors
Exciting new sounds and problems to cope with
Seeing the wildlife fly around and come up to us in the day
Limited space for clothes - only allowed essentials aboard, no incentive to buy new "unused stuff"
Limited space for food - no buying rubbish, essentials only
Feelign cosy in the bed at night
Feel like your living and doing stuff to live - not just flipping buttons
Fantastic people and some odd characters who are really friendly
Having a reason to go outdoors - you wanted to go out more when living on aboat
Felt fitter
Going on a 3 week canal trip for great views and interesting people and times
Only having 3 electric sockets meant you couldn't leave lots running
Not having a mortgage
Staring into the face of mr hanky

What was bad
--------------------
Space for our daughter to play in when couped in doors
Filling up the water every 3 days
Filling up the fire 3-4 times a day in winter
Pump out every 2 weeks which did get easier the more we did it
Noise on boat travelled and ended up distrubing Mia so we couldn't watch movies and films in the evening
Saftey for our daughter - we never managed to go cruising with Mia top side
Condensation and drips from windows in the winter
Driving out of the Marina - locking/unlocking two sets of gates
We struggled to socialise and live the wonderful dream that was meant to be
Getting the washing and drying done - and was very expensive

Comments from : oursailingdream.blogspot.com

Re: living on a sailing boat

Anonymous user

01 October 2011 23:20:21

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

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