scrubbedexpat027

I'm thinking about taking the plunge and moving onto a sailboat for a while. It's something I've always wanted to try. I'm currently taking sailing lessons and they're going well. I lived in a motorhome for a year in the UK and loved that but a boat is a whole new kettle of fish.

Anyone got any experience in this area?

Orangepants

Personally couldn't think of anything worse but I had friends in the Cayman Islands who lived on their boat for 4 years then planned to sail to Fiji but did leg one of the trip towards the Panama canal and she hated it. They just sold the sailboat in Honduras.

They enjoyed their time living on the sailboat whilst getting ready for the trip as they had an on-land bathroom and laundry, friends living nearby for a comfy sofa and they had a place for table, chairs and loungers.

Good luck!

Michael

It better be significantly larger than a 40' boat or it will get extremely tiring quickly for the vast majority of people. For me, one night on a 40' boat is one night too long. Maybe if I was in my 20's, I could stand it for up to 6 months.

MMcD

Plus a sail or 3, a hull...........and maybe an occasional potato

Jerseygirl

The marina opposite us is full of boats that folk use as their homes all year round. Must be bloody cold in the Canadian winter...especially this year when it was completely frozen for over 4 months.

Pulaski

He must be an odd guy, .... does he live near the marina?

Jerseygirl

Bloody iPhone autocorrect.

Yorkieabroad

Most of the boats I've wintersailed in have had pretty good heaters - the main problem has always been condensation.....

Yorkieabroad

Back in the late 80's I was so pi$$ed off with the housing market that I wanted to buy a narrowboat and live on the canals north of London. I had the boat lined up, and even a space at a marina (owned by a mariner) but BWB were strictly limiting the number of residential licences at the time, and they were like gold dust. My name never got to the top of the list, so I never actually got to do it.

I haven't lived more than 4 weeks(ish) on a boat, but I think its perfectly do-able if you plan it right, and get the right boat. The main thing to make sure is that your bunk is comfortable - sounds obvious, but you need to check the pitch and camber - if you get something that is designed to be lived on at sea, the bunk may well not be very comfortable when tied up alongside, which is where you will be using it. The 2 boats I sailed most were a Sigma 33, which I would not recommend as a liveaboard, and a Starlight 42, which would have been very livable. I also spent quite a bit of time on an Oceans 52, which would have been awesome!!

With the right research, and plenty of cash, I'd say there's no reason at all not to do it. Go for it, and let us know how it goes - I can regain my liveaboard years vicariously through you!!

Beaverstate

You might consider a houseboat..https://www.google.com/search?q=redn...04%3B567%3B333

Trixie_b

I did it for a couple of years.

Would you be sailing all over (My friends called me "the international pikey") or day sailing from a marina?

scrubbedexpat027

I'd be based at a marina (Ventura) and sail at weekends. I'm coming down on the side of getting a cheaper boat for now and going over at weekends. Maybe tackle the liveaboard after a while if I still really like it.

Trixie_b

If you've been around boats enough, you'll know the phrase

"if it floats, ****s or flies, rent it"

It's not inexpensive to own and maintain a boat. Also, while I'd do it again in a heartbeat, provided I had the resources, a partner might not take to it quite so well.

Days at sea without seeing land, where 1 baby wipe is a wash and 2 are considered a shower. Sleep deprivation and spending very close quarters with crew, who may be friends on land, but when you can't go anywhere further than 30 ft for 10 days, become the very devil.

Do it... Marina based is a good intro, but make sure you have the funds to maintain your boat and upgrade it when you need to.

Yorkieabroad

I used to dream of buying my own, then I looked closer at the accounts of our sailing club for a couple of years and saw where the money went, and quite how much it took to look after the things, and that put me right off! "Money pit" and "black hole for cash" are 2 oft used, and very apt phrases....

Nutek